$29 Million for Neighborhood Revitalization9.23.10

Dan McFeely
The Indianapolis Star

Isaac wants to be a chiropractor, Alondra a pediatrician, Jaclyn a crime scene investigator.

But without a college degree -- and the state-funded scholarship they just signed up for -- they're looking at sweating in a factory or serving up fast food.

"My mom works in a factory, and she doesn't love what she does," said 14-year-old Alondra Marcos. "And if you don't love what you do, you're gonna be sick and tired all the time, and it's not going to be fun."

On Tuesday, students at Chapel Hill 7th and 8th Grade Center joined Mayor Greg Ballard and the Central Indiana Community Foundation in celebrating a 55 percent increase in the number of local students signing up for the 21st Century Scholars program, which pays for college tuition.

This year, 60 percent of the eighth-graders in Marion County schools have signed up, a dramatic leap from 39 percent last year.

The program gives students a tuition-free education at any Indiana college as long as they meet a certain income requirement, maintain good grades and stay drug-free.

School counselors in all Marion County schools competed for more than $6,000 in gift cards awarded to schools that were the most successful in signing up new students.

And in some cases, students were enticed to fill out the applications with the promise of a candy bar.

"As part of College Go Week, we announced that the first 200 students to turn in their paperwork would get a free candy bar. And they were lined up out the door," said Aurore Johnson, head guidance counselor at the Wayne Township school, where 80 percent of eighth-graders are now signed up for the program.

The incentives were funded by the Central Indiana Community Foundation, The Indianapolis Foundation and the Lumina Foundation for Education. Lumina also helped fund two similar initiatives for the Legacy Foundation in Lake County and The Greater Cincinnati Community Foundation.

"We believe the 21st Century Scholars program is the foundation of most of our work in this area," said Brian Payne, president of the Central Indiana Community Foundation. "We've made real progress here."

The scholarship program, established in 1990, has been growing so much that state lawmakers are looking for a way to plug an estimated $30 million gap to keep it fully funded.

Statewide, the program has enrolled 10,000 to 15,000 seventh- and eighth-graders a year on average, but that soared 102 percent in 2009 when 31,463 students enrolled after state lawmakers allowed sixth-graders to sign up. This year's enrollment promises to be even higher.

In order to qualify, a student must prove financial need as of the year of sign-up -- for example, a family of four could not earn more than $39,220 a year.

More than 100,000 students have taken advantage of the program since the first class of 1995, and the percentage of kids going to college right after high school in Indiana has increased from 33 percent in 1986 to 63 percent in 2006.

Every middle school in Marion County was invited to participate in the community foundation challenge.

After three months of talking to students, meeting with parents and promoting the benefits of a college degree, the final numbers show 2,919 seventh-graders (about 46 percent of all those eligible) and 3,678 eighth-graders (60 percent of those eligible) had signed up for the program.

Mall gift cards were doled out to 33 counselors from 28 of the most successful schools, according to Roderick Wheeler, a grants officer for the Central Indiana foundation.

During a news conference at Chapel Hill's school auditorium, Ballard challenged the students to live up to the awesome responsibility they now face.

"We need you to fulfill your potential and be the future leaders of our city," he said. "And we know you will."
http://www.indystar.com/article/20100923/LOCAL18/9230423/21st-Century-Scholar-sign-ups-increase-by-55-?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|IndyStar.com

---