Tag: Migrate

Akron Promise, in conjunction with the Stark State College Foundation, has launched a scholarship to benefit the graduates of Kenmore-Garfield High School.  

The Kenmore-Garfield Stark State College Scholarship will provide scholarships for up to two years toward tuition and books for the Kenmore-Garfield Class of 2018 to attend Stark State College in the fall of 2018.  To be eligible, students must graduate from Kenmore-Garfield High School, be Pell eligible, reside in the city of Akron, and pursue a full time certificate or degree at Stark State College.

There will be up to ten scholarships awarded to 2018 Kenmore-Garfield High School Graduates.

This is a pilot program for Akron Promise.  Our hope is that this scholarship will be expanded to more students and more Akron Public Schools’ high school graduates in the future.

Akron Promise will continue their efforts to shape a community involved culture of education which includes providing tuition free paths to post secondary degrees and certificates for all students in Akron.

More information is available here, or by contacting Tom Ghinder at TGhinder@gmail.com.

The application is available directly here.

In the latest Blog post from The Campaign for Free College Tuition, they reported some success in state policy across the country in 2017.  Akron Promise is dedicated to working with the State of Ohio to find the right program to implement here to enhance our economic opportunity and the economic development of our state.

From the Blog Post:

— Tennessee extended its first in the nation Promise program to all adults who want to return to a community or technical college to get their certificate or degree this fall. We expect that their Tennessee Reconnect program, which was discussed in detail with state leaders at our May workshop in Denver, will be copied by other states as well, just as the Tennessee Promise has become the model several state Promise programs – including Nevada and Rhode Island – enacted this year.

— New York’s Excelsior Scholarship program made that state the first to extend the concept of free tuition to its four-year institutions, for students at any level of undergraduate studies.

— California’s new College Promise Grant will be the first to offer a “first dollar” scholarship at the state level when the program is funded for the Fall 2018 term. This means that, assuming funds are appropriated for those grants in next year’s budget, Pell and Cal Grant eligible freshmen community college students who take a full course load can use these need-based funds on books, transportation, and other costs of attendance.

Their entire review is available here.

Last week, the Upjohn Institute hosted a information webinar, “Learning from a Decade of College Promise Scholarships”, on data, metrics, and the status of Promise programs in the US.  I invite you to view and consider how, together, we can bring a Promise program to Akron and the affect such a program would have on our community.

Here are some links mentioned in the webinar:

Buchanan Promise
El Dorado Promise
Richmond Promise
Detroit Promise
Michigan Promise Zone Designations
Kalamazoo Promise

A Recap of  PromiseNet 2017 is available at the link.

Thank you for your continued interest and support of Akron Promise. We have had an exciting few months since our last update, including a number of meetings with various civic and education leaders in Akron and Summit County. We’ve refocused our efforts for the coming year. Here is a summary:

Kenmore-Garfield High School Education Advocates
Instead of tackling the entire district, we’re starting with one school. It’s known that at-risk kids (and at-risk families) need lots of help with post-secondary navigation. We are working with Akron Public Schools to help 25 seniors navigate the requirements to succeed after they leave high school. The focus will be on working with the students and families so that they know about job and educational opportunities, completing the FAFSA, applying to and visiting colleges, and preparing for life after high school. To do this work, WE NEED VOLUNTEERS! Please contact us via the methods mentioned at the bottom of this update if you are interested in this important work.  No experience or prior knowledge is required!

PromiseNet 2017 Invitation
PromiseNet 2017 will take place in Kalamazoo, MI on November 6 and 7th.  PromiseNet is an annual gathering of people seeking to transform their communities by making a long-term investment in education.  Akron Promise has attended the last three conferences with other local education stakeholders.  Each year there is more to learn about how to develop and shape a program.  There is something to learn for everyone!  If you would like to attend with our group from Akron, please let us know via the contact information at the bottom of this update.  More information about PromiseNet 2017 can be found here.

Scholarships
The cornerstone of every Promise program is to remove the financial barrier from post-secondary educational attainment. We are learning about current scholarships, focused on graduates of Akron Public Schools, to make them more accessible for students. More dollars for students has been, and will continue to be, one of our goals.

Neighborhood Approach
A beautiful thing about Akron is that people are always willing to help! In addition to city, state and county assistance, we continue to find out about smaller, grass-roots organizations offering a variety of assistance to Akronites. This year, we will be looking at resources in the Kenmore Garfield cluster neighborhoods and work with leaders in them to find ways to connect people in need to the help available.

You can’t just throw scholarship money at kids and expect them to succeed. In addition to others in our city, we know how important the wrap-around supports are in getting our graduates enrolled, employed or enlisted. We all need to support our kids from cradle to career – it truly takes a village. If you’d like a role in Akron’s village, please contact us via the links below.
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Read about how you can support scholarships for Akron Public School students here via Amazon Smile.

And please follow us on Facebook and Twitter to stay informed as we continue to shape the community involved culture of education in Akron! 

To be sure to stay informed on future updates, please join our official mailing list by signing up here!

For further information, please contact Tom Ghinder at TGhinder@gmail.com or (330) 329-4855.

​Now is the time to begin planning on how you can contribute to the future of Akron.  One possibility is to mentor an Akron Public School student via iC.A.R.E. mentoring.
Mentors go through a short training, background check and are provided with a activity playbook and guide to provide a framework for developing your relationship with your mentee.  Mentors are given much flexibility in the program and they determine which schools they wish to be matched with and choose the time of each meeting.  Students are matched to mentors by coordinators that take into account the needs and desires of both the student and the mentor.

People of all ages and experience are needed.  No one is too young or too old to participate.  Our youth need caring adults in their lives.  I encourage you to fill out this profile and begin the process.  YOU can make a profound impact on a child’s life.

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Today, I came across this article from 2014 that identifies fourteen items that need to be examined and changed to support learning required in our 21st Century society and economy.  The article doesn’t propose specific solutions on all items, but identifies possibilities and reasons that the status quo must be changed.  Many schools are already implementing the changes which have been suggested here.

A significant point that isn’t mentioned, but is evident based on the list is that schools must be nimble and open to change in order to address the needs of students as society continues to change.  This list isn’t finite, but will change again and again as the needs of the students change.

Do you have other ideas of things that are now ‘obsolete’?   This article invites all of us involved in education to continuously review the status quo and be prepared to respond to new requirements and situations in order to provide the best possible education for our students.

There are two quotes that stand out to me.  The first is that standardized tests “measure only a small part of what we want our kids to learn and by focusing on these exams we are narrowing the curriculum. “

The second quote is addressed to teachers, but I believe that all who have a passion or interest in education can take to heart and find ways to invoke change to improve opportunity for our next generation.

“If you want to see change in education, you should start in your own classroom.”

What do you think?

In this 16 minute video, the LeBron James Family Foundation, Akron Public Schools, and the City of Akron announce the creation of the “I Promise School”.

At about 14:30 in this video, LeBron says that the infrastructure, the mentors, the leaders are here for the kids, but it’s also a reminder to the adults “that it’s our job to put forth the effort to help these kids understand that they do have a purpose in life, individually and collectively”

The LJFF has many partners working to make this school a reality.  A key component to these efforts are the contributions of individual community members.  There is a role for everyone in the education of the next generation.  I encourage everyone in Akron to ask “What can I do?” and then step up and help make a difference in our hometown.