December 12, 2007 :: Eight Oklahoma High Schools Named Scholarship Champs
State officials recently named eight Oklahoma high schools that lead the state in the number of graduates who earned a state scholarship that offers free college tuition.
The schools were named “Oklahoma’s Promise 2007 State Champions” by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education at their recent meeting.
The top schools were recognized within each class for having the most graduates who qualified for Oklahoma’s Promise, a state scholarship that allows students from families whose annual income is $50,000 or less to earn free college tuition.
High schools named Oklahoma’s Promise 2007 State Champions include:
Class B
- Champions (Tie): Roff and Stringtown with 12 Oklahoma’s Promise graduates each
- Runners-up (Tie): Buffalo, Chattanooga, Mountain View-Gotebo and Sentinel with 11 Oklahoma’s Promise graduates each
Class A
- Champion: Ripley with 17 Oklahoma’s Promise graduates
- Runner-up: Hollis with 16 Oklahoma’s Promise graduates
Class 2A
- Champion: Tushka with 18 Oklahoma’s Promise graduates
- Runner-up: Wellston with 17 Oklahoma’s Promise graduates
Class 3A
- Champion: Morris with 27 Oklahoma’s Promise graduates
- Runners-up (Tie): Henryetta and Sperry with 25 Oklahoma’s Promise graduates each
Class 4A
- Champion: Southeast, Oklahoma City, with 48 Oklahoma’s Promise graduates
- Runner-up: Broken Bow with 44 Oklahoma’s Promise graduates
Class 5A
- Champion: Booker T. Washington, Tulsa, with 76 Oklahoma’s Promise graduates
- Runner-up: Shawnee with 45 Oklahoma’s Promise graduates
Class 6A
- Champion: Broken Arrow with 81 Oklahoma’s Promise graduates
- Runner-up: Putnam City with 71 Oklahoma’s Promise graduates
“I am very encouraged by the participation and support that the Oklahoma’s Promise program has received from these outstanding Oklahoma high schools,” said Chancellor Glen D. Johnson. “By first enrolling students in Oklahoma’s Promise then following through until completion, these schools have gone above and beyond in their efforts to prepare their students to continue on a successful path toward higher education.”
Oklahoma’s Promise was created in 1992 by the Legislature to help more Oklahoma families send their children to college. Its goal is to prepare students academically for college and to provide them financial assistance. The scholarship pays tuition at any Oklahoma public college or university and is good until the student receives a bachelor’s degree or for five years, whichever comes first. It will also cover a portion of tuition at an accredited private institution or for select courses at public technology centers.
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 $50,000 when they apply. To receive the scholarship at graduation, students must achieve a minimum 2.5 (C+) grade point average in 17 core courses that prepare them for college and an overall GPA of 2.5 or better for grades nine through 12. Oklahoma’s Promise graduates also must attend class regularly and refrain from drug and alcohol abuse and delinquent acts.
Starting this school year, all students enrolling in the program must be U.S. citizens or lawfully present in the United States by the time they begin college in order to receive the scholarship. Beginning with college students receiving the scholarship for the first time in 2009, a student’s family income must not exceed $100,000 at the time the student goes to college.
For more information about Oklahoma’s Promise or to apply online, visit www.okpromise.org. Information is also available by e-mailing okpromise@osrhe.edu or by calling (800) 858-1840.
Editors’ note: OHLAP (Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program) is now known as Oklahoma’s Promise.
