High school seniors in a school district in Texas will receive $1 million in scholarships after their district was named the winner of this year’s Broad Prize for Urban Education.  The award is offered annually by the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation and is designed to reward notable gains in student achievement and in narrowing the achievement gap for poor and minority students.  Aldine Independent School District, which serves the Houston area, won the top prize this year, after having previously been a runner up for the prize three times.

The Broad Foundation names five finalists each year and from them, chooses a winner for the $1 million Broad Prize.  This year, the other finalists were Broward County, Florida (a two-time finalist); Long Beach, California (a former winner and three-time finalist); Socorro Independent School District in El Paso, Texas; and Gwinnet County Public Schools in the Atlanta, Georgia area.

Aldine won the prize based on a number of factors.  The Broad Foundation cited the district’s gains in breaking “the predictive power of poverty,” as the district’s predominately low-income students outperformed peers of similar backgrounds on state standardized tests.  The achievement gap for both low-income and minority students has been closing at Aldine, with a 14-point reduction in the achievement gap for African-American middle schoolers in math over the last four years.  Other successes included Aldine’s recruitment of highly qualified teachers, engagement with students, and districtwide standardization of education practices and curriculum (many poor families move around within the district, so making what is taught in each grade more uniform across the district helps them keep from falling behind).

The scholarship awards will help further the success of graduates from Aldine, with $20,000 over four years going to students who enroll in four-year colleges and universities and up to $5,000 over two years going to students who enroll in community colleges.  Students at other finalist schools will also receive scholarship money:  each of the prize’s four finalist districts will receive $250,000 to award to their high school students.

Posted: under High School, High School News, Scholarships.
Tags: college scholarships, High School, High School News, high school student scholarships, high school students, Scholarships, state news, Texas scholarships

Comments (0) Sep 18 2009

Did you think your high school’s administrators were strict?  Chances are they’ve got nothing on Suzanne Lukas, the superintendent of Bonny Eagle High School in Maine.  During the school’s graduation ceremony, a student pointed to his friends and blew a kiss to his mom when his name was called.  Instead of shaking his hand and handing him his diploma, the superintendent told him to return to his seat empty handed.  He still hasn’t received his diploma.

The story’s getting national media coverage as the student’s family demands an apology and a diploma from the school’s superintendent.  While this story certainly appears to fall on the extreme end of things, it does serve as a good reminder to high school students to take school policy very seriously until you have that piece of paper in your hand and are literally out the door for the last time.

This has us curious, though.  For those of you who have already finished high school: did you run into any incidents at your high school graduation where students’ diplomas were withheld?  What antics did you or your classmates get away with as high school seniors and as participants in your school’s graduation ceremony?

Posted: under High School, High School News, Tips.
Tags: High School, High School News, high school students, Just for Fun

Comments (1) Jun 17 2009

Roosevelt University in Chicago has just awarded its first batch of full-tuition scholarships to students graduating from Social Justice High School, a school on the city’s southwest side.  Eight graduates from Social Justice High School earned four-year scholarships, each worth more than $80,000, for earning good grades and doing well on the ACT.

The program was announced in 2006 to give low-income students at a predominately Hispanic high school incentive to succeed in high school and go on to college.  To qualify, students must earn at least a 20 on the ACT and maintain a cumulative GPA of at least a 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.  The scholarships cover up to the full cost of tuition at Roosevelt for four years, minus other aid.  In addition, the students will also receive housing allowances of $11,000 per year to allow them to live in the Roosevelt University dorms downtown.

Winning scholarships can hold many benefits for students beyond just financial ones.  The Roosevelt University scholarships at Social Justice High School encourage students not to give up on academics and to push themselves in school.  Several of the recipients retook the ACT or put in extra effort on their coursework in order to qualify for the scholarship.  Winning a scholarship can also motivate students to be more successful in college, according to research into benefits of scholarships.

The Chicago Sun-Times has more information on the Roosevelt University scholarship porgram. This is just one of many generous local scholarships out there.  To learn about other scholarship opportunities, you can conduct a free college scholarship search.

Posted: under College News, Financial Aid, High School News, Scholarships.
Tags: academic scholarships, college news, Financial Aid, full-tuition scholarships, High School News, high school student scholarships, local scholarships, Scholarship Search, Scholarships

Comments (0) Jun 09 2009

We’re now a solid week into May, and for most high school seniors, that means a switch back from obsessively worrying about making it into college to concentrating on the more immediate task of trying to make it to graduation while finalizing those all-important summer plans.  Once AP exams are out of the way and college deposits are paid, it can be tempting to shift focus entirely away from schoolwork and towards enjoying your last days as a high school student.

However, an article in USA Today warns that the temptation to just coast through the last days, weeks, or even months of one’s senior year of high school can carry dire consequences this year.  Colleges typically request a final transcript once you’ve officially graduated from high school, and often include language in their admission letter saying that their decision is contingent on receiving this information.  While colleges have always given this final semester at least a cursory glance, in previous years, they have tended to largely be forgiving.  But as with nearly everything else in college admissions, this year may be different.

Many schools are admitting more students and adding more names to their wait lists due to a larger group of applicants and greater uncertainty about where students will end up attending college.  As a result, it’s more possible now than ever that some schools will overfill their freshman class, prompting them to need to rescind some admission invitations, while others may find themselves drawing extensively from the wait list, meaning students who may not have been reevaluated at all are having their transcripts scrutinized for possible acceptance into their dream school.

Students are encouraged to let colleges know if any problems have come up that might jeopardize their acceptance for fall.  Your college would rather hear from you than your high school, especially if you are able to explain extenuating circumstances and how the situation has been addressed.  This is generally good policy if you find yourself falling short of requirements after something’s been awarded, whether it’s acceptance into a program or a college scholarship.  On the same note, letting schools know if something fantastic has happened your final semester of school also couldn’t hurt.  For example, if your GPA has jumped and you are now eligible for more financial aid at your college, contact the school and see if there is still funding.  I know people who have found themselves awarded university scholarships as late as July, and every time it was because they contacted the school, explained their situation, and asked about the award.

Posted: under College News, High School, High School News, Tips.
Tags: college admissions, college news, college tips, GPA, High School, High School News, scholarship tips

Comments (0) May 07 2009

Advanced Placement, or AP, classes are becoming more popular and more students are passing the exams, according to annual data released by the exam’s publisher this week. Approximately 15.2 percent of the class of 2008 received a passing score on the AP exam, as compared to 14.4 percent of the class of 2007.

AP courses, typically offered to high school juniors and seniors, allow students to take college-level classes in high school and potentially earn college credit.  Each AP course ends with an exam, scored on a scale of 1-5, with a score of 3 considered to be “passing” and credit-worthy by most colleges.  A few high schools also offer the option to take an AP course as dual-enrollment, where students pay to earn college credit for their work completed, rather than their test score.  Students can potentially shave a semester or more off their college experience through AP coursework, or AP work can free students’ time in college up for more exploration of a variety of courses.  Either way, many students see AP courses as a way to work towards their college goals.

Despite the benefits of AP, there are some arguments against it, as with any standardized test.  For students, AP exams cost money, often have relatively low pass rates, don’t guarantee college credit, aren’t offered in every subject at every school, and are likely to conflict with at least one event your senior year of high school.  For teachers and college administrators, there’s a concern about depth of coverage, quality of instruction, and students missing out on a key part of the college experience by coming in with so many AP credits.

Advocates of AP coursework say it can help students start college planning, get excited about the subject area, and save money by shaving off a few general educational requirements.  As AP grows in popularity, high schools are continuing to add courses and improve their teaching of the subject.  As long as you weigh the benefits and drawbacks, AP courses are definitely worth considering.  AP credit can be a way to build your resume, explore a potential college major, and jumpstart your career.

Posted: under High School, High School News.
Tags: Advanced Placement, college goals, college prep, education study, High School, High School News

Comments (0) Feb 06 2009