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CREATING A PATH FROM POVERTY TO PROSPERITY

The Rising Scholars Program aims to:

• Increase high school graduation rates, enhance college readiness, and improve college/postsecondary attendance in rural counties.  
• Prepare a technically skilled, professionally trained workforce to promote economic growth in the region.
• Support the success of students who have promising academic ability
• Provide sponsored scholarships to cover tuition at Kent State Geauga for Rising Scholars and their student mentors.

Regional students face many barriers, including generational poverty, lack of role models, and insufficient academic preparation.  This is clearly evident at the Kent State regional campuses, where 81 percent of students receive financial aid, much of it Pell Grants, and the majority of students require remediation.

The need to prepare a skilled, professional workforce to ensure the prosperity of Geauga and Summit County could not be more significant. The 5XÉçÇø Geauga and Twinsburg Academic Center Rising Scholars Program is designed to increase the number of students who continue their education beyond high school, are college-ready, and enter the workforce with skills that will enhance the economic growth of the region.

CREATING A PROGRAM FOR SUCCESS

The primary focus of the Rising Scholars Program is to support the success of a select group of students who have promising academic ability.  These students, the Rising Scholars, are identified by the school district at the end of sixth grade. Once admitted to the program, they will participate in all of the following through high school graduation:

• Weekly mentoring from Kent State students
• An intense summer workshop that focuses on academic skills
• Biannual one-day workshops that emphasize the connection between education and local career paths

Students are supervised and guided through these experiences over a six-year period until they enroll in postsecondary education. If the Rising Scholar participates in the program and elects to attend college, he or she becomes eligible for a sponsored scholarship that will cover the cost of tuition at Kent State Geauga. Following the pay-it-back model, to qualify for the tuition scholarships, Rising Scholars must have participated in the entire program, maintained a minimum 2.5 GPA, and agreed to serve as a university student mentor for new scholars entering the program.

Participation in the highly successful College Credit Plus (CCP) program, where students can earn college credit while still in high school, is also encouraged. Several national studies have found that students who earn six or more college credits in high school are more likely to graduate college.

A vital strength of the Rising Scholars Program is the commitment to leveraging existing local resources like transportation programs, college faculty volunteers, student mentors, and a motivated advisory group of leaders in business.

The Rising Scholars Program will work with sixth-grade students in the Geauga and Summit County school districts and sponsor scholarships for college mentors. As the program expands, we hope to reach all school districts in Geauga and Summit Counties. They will include comprehensive support for Rising Scholars from middle and high schools. Additionally, the program requires local funding to support scholarships for university student mentors, the single largest budget item, as well as programming and administrative costs. 

AN INVESTMENT IN THE FUTURE

The primary measures of success for the Rising Scholars Program are:

• At least 40% of the students will complete the five-year program
• At least 90% of the students will graduate from high school
• All program graduates will pursue additional postsecondary education
• At least 50% of the Rising Scholars who graduate from high school will enroll in a college or university
• The Rising Scholar will require little or no remediation at the college level
• Scholars receiving sponsored scholarships will commit to working in Northeast Ohio for a specified amount of time after graduation from college

The Kent State Geauga, Rising Scholars Program, can become a model for increasing the number of rural, low-income students who pursue higher education and graduate from college.