[OKPromise-k12-counselors] Seven Oklahoma High Schools Names Scholarship Champs

[Alexander, Carol]

February 27, 2020 - Seven Oklahoma High Schools Named Scholarship Champs
Media Contact<https://www.okhighered.org/news-center/index.shtml#contact>
Seven Oklahoma high schools have been named "Oklahoma's Promise 2019 State Champions," leading the state in the number of graduates who met the requirements to receive an Oklahoma's Promise scholarship. Oklahoma's Promise is a state program that provides an opportunity for students from families whose annual income is $55,000 or less to earn a tuition scholarship for college or certain programs at public career technology centers.

"These seven Oklahoma high schools are champions for their students. Since 1996, with the schools' guidance and encouragement and their students' persistence, more than 90,000 Oklahoma students have taken advantage of the opportunity to pursue their college education through the Oklahoma's Promise scholarship," said Chancellor Glen D. Johnson. "The State Regents commend these schools for their outstanding work."

High schools named Oklahoma's Promise 2019 State Champions are:
Class B

  *   Champion: Moss, with nine Oklahoma's Promise graduates.  This is the third championship for Moss.
  *   Runners-up: Indiahoma and Webbers Falls, with eight Oklahoma's Promise graduates each.
Class A

  *   Champion: Soper, with 16 Oklahoma's Promise graduates. This is the fifth championship for Soper.
  *   Runners-up: Sentinel and Smithville, with 11 Oklahoma's Promise graduates each.
Class 2A

  *   Champion: Dove Science Academy (Oklahoma City), with 23 Oklahoma's Promise graduates.  This is Dove Science Academy's ninth championship.
  *   Runner-up: Hobart, with 17 Oklahoma's Promise graduates.
Class 3A

  *   Champion: Sequoyah (Tahlequah), with 32 Oklahoma's Promise graduates.  This is the second championship for Sequoyah.
  *   Runner-up: Okmulgee, with 24 Oklahoma's Promise graduates.
Class 4A

  *   Champion: Southeast (Oklahoma City), with 40 Oklahoma's Promise graduates. This is Southeast's eighth championship.
  *   Runner-up: Stilwell, with 34 Oklahoma's Promise graduates.
Class 5A

  *   Champion: Santa Fe South (Oklahoma City), with 81 Oklahoma's Promise graduates. This is Santa Fe South's 11th consecutive year as champion.
  *   Runner-up: Tahlequah, with 56 Oklahoma's Promise graduates.
Class 6A

  *   Champion: Union (Tulsa), with 164 Oklahoma's Promise graduates. Union has been the Class 6A champion for eight consecutive years.
  *   Runner-up: Putnam City, with 92 Oklahoma's Promise graduates.
Recognized as one of the top college promise scholarship programs in the nation, Oklahoma's Promise was created in 1992 by the Legislature to help more Oklahoma families send their children to college. The scholarship pays tuition at any Oklahoma public college or university until the student receives a bachelor's degree or for up to five years, whichever comes first. It will also cover a portion of tuition at an accredited Oklahoma private institution or public career technology center. The scholarship does not cover the cost of fees, books, or room and board.

To be eligible for Oklahoma's Promise, students must apply during the eighth, ninth or 10th grade, and their family's annual income must not exceed $55,000 when they apply. A student's family income also must not exceed $100,000 each year the student is enrolled college.

To receive the scholarship at graduation, students must achieve a minimum 2.50 GPA in 17 core courses that prepare them for college and an overall GPA of 2.50 or better for all courses in grades nine through 12. Oklahoma's Promise graduates also must attend class regularly and refrain from drug and alcohol abuse and delinquent acts.

Students completing the Oklahoma's Promise program continue to be successful academically, with high school GPAs (3.45 average GPA) that exceed the state average and ACT scores that exceed those of their comparable middle- and lower-income peers.   The college-going rate of Oklahoma's Promise students exceeds the state average for high school graduates. They also have above-average full-time college enrollment, persistence and degree-completion rates. In addition, Oklahoma's Promise college graduates get jobs and stay in Oklahoma after college at a higher rate than non-Oklahoma's Promise graduates.

In order to receive the scholarship in college, students must be U.S. citizens or lawfully present in the United States by the time they begin college.

For the high school graduating class of 2019, approximately 6,000 students met the program requirements to be eligible for the scholarship. During the current 2019-20 year, about 16,000 students are expected to receive the scholarship in college.

Since 1996, when the first students in the program entered college, more than 90,000 students have earned the Oklahoma's Promise scholarship. By law, the program has a dedicated funding source that helps ensure that the program is fully funded each year.

For more information about Oklahoma's Promise or to apply online, visit www.okpromise.org<http://www.okpromise.org>. Information is also available by emailing okpromise at osrhe.edu<mailto:okpromise at osrhe.edu> or by calling 800-858-1840.
The Press Release can be found at https://www.okhighered.org/news-center/OKP-Champions-2019.shtml.


Carol Alexander
Director, Scholarship & Grant Administration
Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education
655 Research Parkway, Suite 200
Oklahoma City, OK  73104
Phone: 405.225.9160
Fax: 405.225.9230

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