Peoria Promise offers scholarships to ICC for Dist. 150 Grads
By Amanda Knowles | 11th March 2008
Approximately 400 students in the high school graduating class of 2008 will be the first to experience and reap the benefits of a brand new scholarship program offered by the city of Peoria. Peoria Promise is Mayor Jim Ardis’ program to help every student residing in the city to receive a college education. All Peoria residents who graduate from a public high school (including Peoria Alternative and other specialized public schools) are eligible to receive the scholarship. Additionally, students who do not reside in the city of Peoria but attend and graduate from a District 150 school are eligible.
The program provides students with a scholarship to attend Illinois Central College (ICC) for up to two years or once a degree or certification program is completed, whichever comes first. Extensions of the scholarship may be available if a degree program requires more than 66 semester credit hours or if a student needs remedial classes. Students are not required to use the scholarship immediately after graduating; it is good up to two years after graduation.
While there is no minimum GPA for a student to take advantage of Peoria Promise, students must maintain at least a 2.0 GPA while attending ICC and attend class full time (minimum of 12 credit hours).
Peoria Promise will cover tuition and mandatory fees, along with a book allowance. The scholarship program works on a sliding scale based on a student’s length of attendance, which is based on continuous enrollment in an eligible school and residency of the city. For students who reside in Peoria and have attended a public school for 13 years (K-12), the program will cover 100% of tuition at ICC. The percentage of tuition covered then decreases by 5% for each year not in attendance at a qualifying school.
Students who want to benefit from Peoria Promise must fill out the scholarship online application through the ICC website between January 1 and April 1 of each year. Also, qualifying students must fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid Form (www.fafsa.ed.gov) to apply for any government grants and scholarships available. Also, ICC offers 350 scholarships to help students cover any remaining costs.
Peoria Promise is funded by private donations from citizens and companies around the Peoria area. The cost per student by the city will vary based on the percentage of tuition covered, but (calculating $75 per semester hour at ICC) the program is estimated to cost between $800,000 and $1 million for the 2008-2009 school year. So far, Peoria Promise has earned about $500,000 in contributions for this school year, which is short of their needed goal.
Julie Hammond, project manager of Peoria Promise, says the program has a “very good commitment from the business community, but [we] are still short of our projected needs.” Some companies around the Peoria area that have made significant contributions include: Ameren ($10,000), CEFCU ($100,000), Commerce Bank ($10,000), David Vaughn Associates ($15,000), ELM ($50,000), Illinois American Water Company ($50,000), OSF St. Francis ($50,000), and RLI ($67,000). The largest contributor to Peoria Promise is Caterpillar Inc with a promised donation of $100,000 per year for three years, as well as an additional $100,000 per year community match donation.
Ideally, the program will become self-sustaining and won’t always rely on fundraising and donations from others; however, the program will need a $45 to $50 million endowment to reach that goal.
In the meantime, organizers are reaching out to area businesses and holding fundraisers to boost the endowment. Peoria Promise is the beneficiary of the Hotel Pere Marquette’s annual Pere Gala event held May 2, which has been known to raise $100,000. The gala will feature artist Michael Israel and his “Art in Concert” show.
In addition to monetary donations, the program needs volunteers to help with a range of activities, including fundraising and clerical support.
Peoria Promise is modeled after the Kalamazoo Promise in Michigan. Like Peoria Promise, Kalamazoo Promise uses a sliding scale based on a student’s length of residence in the community; however, the scholarship pays for tuition at any public community college or university in Michigan, up to four years. Costs of the Kalamazoo Promise are covered by a self-sustaining endowment made possible by anonymous donors, similar to what Peoria Promise hopes to achieve.
Kalamazoo Promise is still relatively new, so the long-term effects are unknown, but many short-term effects have been seen. After about 40 years of declining secondary education enrollment, Kalamazoo has seen increases in enrollment. Additionally, the graduation rate of students has remained positive: only 10% of university students and 30% of students at community colleges have not maintained the program’s requirements and have had their funds taken away. The city has also seen rises in real estate and development. Organizers of the Peoria Promise hope to enrich and develop the community and economy in much the same way as the Kalamazoo Promise.
Peoria Promise may be seen solely as an educational program, but it is also intended to be an economic program. One of the main purposes of the program is to help develop the city’s economy. There is a direct correlation to the education in a community and the development of its economy. The program is expected to produce a larger and better-educated workforce, which brings related increases to income level. Scholarship programs like Peoria Promise afford low-income students the same opportunities as higher income students. Supporters of Peoria Promise believe about half of the students who take advantage of the program otherwise may not have been able to financially do so. This smaller gap between income and education will also have positive effects on the economy.
Organizers hope the program will increase the chances of students staying in the local area, thereby increasing real estate values into the community. The program’s website states that 70% of students who benefit from the scholarship stay in the area. As a result, home values may rise 7%, and median home prices may rise 4%.
Peoria Promise is still a new concept practiced by few communities across the nation. No one knows exactly what the long term, or even short term, effects will be, but Mayor Ardis and supporters of this program envision a better educated and enriched community for all. And that’s exactly what the residents of Peoria hope to see with Peoria Promise.
For more information, visit www.peoriapromise.com