The St. Louis Public Schools District is pleased to announce that the Class of 2009 earned $42,968,553.00 in scholarships and grants towards higher education pursuits.

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2008-2009 SLPS Graduates Earn Almost $43Million in Scholarships and Grants

ST. LOUIS, MO, August 11, 2009 – The St. Louis Public Schools District is pleased to announce that the Class of 2009 earned $42,968,553.00 in scholarships and grants towards higher education pursuits.

As part of the St. Louis Public Schools’ curriculum, all high school students are introduced to the opportunities available upon graduation such as automatically entering the workforce, attending a trade school, or attending a college or university.  Last year, approximately 75% of 1,603 graduating seniors applied to at least one college.

“As a district we have found that by creating and supporting a post-secondary plan for our students we have 1) motivated them to fully capitalize on the academic opportunities available to them during high school 2) built confidence that each student can be ‘college bound’ and 3) helped them to easily navigate the college application process that has hindered many families in the past,” said Dr. Kelvin Adams, Superintendent for St. Louis Public Schools.
 
To ensure that all students were in a position to make informed and educated decisions about their future, the district employed College Summit.

College Summit, a nationally acclaimed organization, provides a post-secondary planning course for all seniors, with a comprehensive curriculum that guides students through every stage of planning and a website that helps them manage their college application materials. Plus, senior leaders from each school attend summer workshops, where they complete their college applications and are equipped to return to their schools to motivate their classmates.

“Since our time with St. Louis Public Schools we have seen more students going to college, an increase in scholarship dollars, and a great awareness of college earlier in students’ academic careers,” said Stacy Clay, Executive Director, College Summit St. Louis.

College Summit currently supports nine high schools across the district by training teachers and counselors to help students to write a strong personal statement, to completely and accurately fill out a college application, and to navigate the FAFSA form, all of which can be daunting.

College Summit also assists with students learning about ways to pay for college, including the many types of loans and grants. The organization also provides scholarship information as it becomes available and administers the St. Louis Public School internal scholarships as well as serves as a clearance house for external scholarship distribution.

For more information about College Summit, or to support, please call (314) 345-2327.