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New Program Hopes to Break Cycle Of Poverty For Forsyth County Students

Local leaders gathered on campus at Forsyth Tech on Wednesday, Nov. 13. to announce a new education initiative known as the Winston-Salem College Guarantee. Photo courtesy of Forsyth Tech

A new education initiative will allow students in low-income households who graduate from high school in Forsyth County to attend community college for free. The program, called the Winston-Salem College Guarantee, was announced this week.

Several groups are involved in the project, including the Winston-Salem Alliance, the local school system and other nonprofits.

The goal is to help economically disadvantaged students in the county achieve education goals beyond high school without the burden of debt. They will take classes at Forsyth Tech Community College.

The program is funded primarily by a six-year, $870,000-dollar grant from BB&T Corp.

The scholarship would kick in after financial aid and can be used for tuition, books, childcare and other expenses while attending Forsyth Tech.

“It's really going to create hope and opportunity for students who need it the most and have quite honestly sometimes not had a lot of that in their lives, and so this money is going to be a game changer for these students”, says Forsyth Tech President Janet Spriggs.

She says it will have a lasting impact on the community. “I do believe it has the potential to interrupt the cycle of intergenerational poverty that exists in so many places within Forsyth County.”

There are certain requirements to qualify for the program. 

  • Be an immediate graduate of a Forsyth County high school and be between the ages of 18 and 21.
  • Be a full-time student at FTCC and carry at least 12 hours of credits.
  • Be from a family that has an income of 80 percent or less of the average median income of the county.
  • Have first taken advantage of or not qualified for other means of funding college, including Pell grants or other funding sources.
  • Maintain at least a 2.0 grade point average.
  • Participate in a remedial program if pre-testing indicates a deficiency in reading, math or other basic skills.

Organizers say participating students must also agree to remain in Forsyth County for at least two years after graduation, unless they are attending a four-year college or university outside the county.

Students in public or private schools can apply.

*Follow WFDD's Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news

Keri Brown is a multi-award winning reporter and host at 88.5 WFDD. She has been honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her stories about coal ash, and was named the 2015 radio reporter of the year by the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC).Although she covers a variety of topics, her beats are environmental and education reporting.Keri comes to the Triad from West Virginia Public Broadcasting, where she served as the Chief Bureau Reporter for the Northern Panhandle. She produced stories for the state's Public Television and Radio programs and was honored by the West Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association for her feature and enterprise reporting.She also served as an adjunct instructor at Wheeling Jesuit University and Bethany College in West Virginia. She worked with the Center for Educational Technologies in Wheeling, WV, and other NASA centers across the country to develop several stories about the use of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in the classroom.Keri's journalism career began at WTRF-TV 7 in Wheeling. She worked in several roles at the station, including the head assignment editor. She also was a field producer and assignment manager at WPGH-TV Fox 53 in Pittsburgh.Keri is a graduate of Ohio University. When she's not in the studio or working on a story, she enjoys watching college football with her family, cooking, and traveling.Keri is always looking for another great story idea, so please share them with her. You can follow her on Twitter @kerib_news.

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