Washington Achievers

Fairy tales coming true for disadvantaged scholars

(Published October 12, 2003, The News Tribune, Tacoma, Washington)

Modern-day fairy tales fascinate me. I can't resist stories about ordinary people struggling to overcome difficult personal and family circumstances in pursuit of their dreams and goals and ultimately triumphing.

It's the happy endings that get me, and the heroic struggle to get there. Because fairy tales are essentially stories of hope and renewal, I have made it my personal mission to search them out and share their powerful magic.

Today I am going to tell you about real-life fairy tales occurring here in our state - 1,500 of them to begin with, and counting. Our heroes and heroines are low-income junior and senior Achievers Scholars in 16 high schools all over the state (three of them in Tacoma: Foss, Lincoln and Mount Tahoma).

The fairy godmothers are the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Washington Education Foundation.

These modern-day fairy tales began three years ago, but the idea germinated in 1998 after the Governor's 2020 Commission on the Future of Post Secondary Education released its report. Among its recommendations was the establishment of an "independent nonprofit organization that would advocate for postsecondary education and high standards of accessibility, quality, innovation, efficiency, and responsiveness to the needs of learners."

Driven by their passion for education and public service and concern for the state's disadvantaged children, two community leaders stepped up to the challenge and founded the Washington Education Foundation: Bob Craves, co-chair of the 2020 Commission and chair of the Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board, and Ann Jenkins, a fellow board member. In establishing the foundation, Craves and Jenkins hoped to encourage scholarship philanthropy among Washington citizens. They wanted to help traditionally underrepresented children go to college, improve their economic condition and achieve a better life.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation pledged millions in funding, and the Washington State Achievers Program was born. The concept is simple. Working closely with 16 redesigned high schools that facilitate academic achievement and college awareness, the foundation aims to provide scholarship opportunities and mentoring support for talented low-income students who would otherwise not have the opportunity to pursue a four-year degree. (For information about the program, visit www.waedfoundation.org.)

A lot of people were skeptical in the beginning, including some school administrators and teachers from the qualifying high schools. Some believed that this sector of the student population was (a) not interested in going to college; and/or (b) did not have the skills or the persistence to succeed. Some said it was a Herculean task destined for failure.

But Craves and Jenkins, their board of directors and a small cadre of dedicated staff believed otherwise, and they appear to have been vindicated.

In the three years since the program started, about 1,500 underrepresented low-income students have been awarded the Achievers scholarship, with 1,180 of them now in college.

About a dozen students who were enrolled in Running Start when the program first started will receive their four-year degrees in June 2004. A good number of the first cohort is expected to graduate in June 2005. There will be about 400 more each year until the program ends in 2013. By that time, the number of college-trained Achievers Scholars will have grown to about 5,000.

Think about that for a moment. Over the next 10 years, there will be an average of 400 new college graduates each year from the Achievers program alone who will join the work force, earn good pay, lead better lives and contribute to the development of our economy.

The benefits get compounded when you think about the people around these students whose lives will also be changed. Achievers Scholars now serve as new role models in their communities, reinforcing the message that good work and perseverance are rewarded, access to higher education is possible and a four-year degree is attainable.

Many of the students will be the first in their families to go to college and will inspire others to follow in their footsteps.

For scholars like Thu Nguyen, who graduated from Foss High School's International Baccalaureate program with a 4.0 grade-point average and a string of scholarships and grants for college, an Achievers award has provided the option to go to her school of choice without taking out student loans or worrying about working while in college.

The lesson in these stories is clear. A few individuals with the right heart and a good cause can indeed make a difference in the lives of other people, and happy endings are possible for those who work hard and persevere. Surely, that's the stuff fairy tales are made of.

(Belma Villa of Tacoma writes once a month as a guest columnist for the Perspectives Page.)