EducationQuest Awards Grants to Nebraska High Schools
Funds will help increase college-going rate
(LINCOLN, Nebraska, September 12, 2008) – EducationQuest Foundation has selected 13 Nebraska high schools as recipients of its 2008 College Access Grants – a program designed to increase the number of students who go to college.
EducationQuest will award a total of $660,000 in grant funds to the 13 schools over the next four years. The amount each school receives is based on their enrollment.
Large schools (more than 1,500 students) – will receive $25,000 a year for four years:
- Lincoln High School
- Omaha North Magnet High School
- Omaha South High School
Intermediate schools (between 301 and 1,500 students) – will receive $15,000 a year for four years:
- Columbus High School
- Crete High School
- Lincoln Northeast High School
- Omaha Benson High School
Small schools (less than 300 students) – will receive $5,000 a year for four years:
- Bancroft-Rosalie Community School
- Cedar Bluffs High School
- Central City High School
- Garden County High School
- Santee Community School
- West Point-Beemer Junior-Senior High School
The schools will use their grants to fund college access programs and activities such as college visits, financial aid sessions, scholarship searches, career exploration, ACT and SAT test preparation, and completion of college applications. The grant program also promotes involvement from parents and businesses to help ensure success.
Eric Drumheller, EducationQuest director of Grants and Scholarships, said the recipient schools have set goals to increase their college-going rates by approximately 10 percent over the next four years. "We're pleased to help fund the tools they need to meet that goal," he said.
Drumheller explained that the aggregate college-going rate for these 13 schools is 60 percent compared to a statewide college-going rate of *67.7 percent.
In total, EducationQuest is helping 26 Nebraska high schools get more students to college through the College Access Grants program. Thirteen high schools received grant funds in 2006. They include Alliance, Aurora, Broken Bow, Falls City, Gordon-Rushville, Grand Island Senior High, Hastings, Lincoln North Star, Madison, McCook, Meridian in Daykin, Millard South, and Umonhon Nation in Macy.
In 2010, EducationQuest will select up to 15 additional Nebraska high schools to receive College Access Grants.
EducationQuest Foundation is a private, nonprofit organization with a mission to improve access to higher education in Nebraska. Headquartered in Lincoln, EducationQuest provides free college planning services; funds need-based scholarship programs; provides grants that help high schools increase their college-going rate; and provides outreach services for community agencies statewide. For more information, call 800.303.3745 or visit www.EducationQuest.org.
