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Promising an educated future
Governor's wife visits with students in Beloit
By Julie Becker
Daily News staff writer
The number of Beloit area eighth graders looking forward to college seems to be on the rise, and one reason was obvious Friday morning as more than 100 eighth graders gathered at Beloit College with intentions of signing the Wisconsin Covenant.
Bearing T-shirts and bright neon signs with quips like “I'm college bound,” and “Be a part of the Wisconsin Covenant,” students from Aldrich, McNeel and Beloit Turner middle schools sat rapt with attention as Wisconsin's First Lady Jessica Doyle explained how the Wisconsin Covenant, which officially launched May 10, will work.
“What this says to everybody is that college is possible if you make a plan and work very hard,” Doyle said. “This is our dream for you all that there will be hope for everyone who wants to go to college in Wisconsin.”
By signing a Wisconsin Covenant pledge, which all 75,000 Wisconsin eighth graders now have the opportunity to do, students are committing to a focus on academic achievement and community service during their high school careers, in return for a guaranteed spot in a Wisconsin college - public, private or technical, although not necessarily their top choices - and the financial aid to meet their families' needs.
In order to fulfill the agreement, students must graduate high school with least a 3.0 GPA, at no time receiving below a 2.0 GPA, meet minimum college entrance requirements, participate in extracurricular activities and perform at least 30 hours of community service and apply for financial aid.
In the meantime, Doyle said the state will be focusing on increasing the amount of financial aid currently available and increasing the number of openings available in all Wisconsin colleges, especially those with waiting lists for key programs, like engineering.
In the days leading up to the official kick-off of the Wisconsin Covenant, the message that Beloit area educators sent to their students was all about opportunity.
“We discussed what a great opportunity this is to take advantage of, and, although they're in eighth grade, college is not too far away and it's something to start thinking about,” said Tiffany Bautch, eighth grade history and language arts teacher at McNeel.
Students have been quick to recognize the value of the deal, too, she said.
“I think it's a good thing because it can help out kids who didn't want to go to college because of the financial burden,” said Beloit Turner student Delaney McMillan, 14, adding that she has friends who are now considering going to college because of the program.
Fellow Beloit Turner student Emily Bentley, 13, agreed the program is opening doors for students. She already has a couple colleges she'd like to attend in mind, as does McMillan.
“They're (the students) very excited that the state is thinking about them, and the fact that maybe students who didn't have the financial means at home now have the opportunity available to them to go to college for a career they want to pursue,” Bautch added.
More than just opportunity, the Wisconsin Covenant is also about maintaining and increasing the number of jobs available in Wisconsin, Doyle said, and the hope is that future Wisconsin college graduates choose to stay and work in the state.
“Wisconsin is 34th among the states, in terms of the number of college graduates, so we're trying to increase the number of college graduates in the state,” she said. “More college graduates yields more high paying jobs and this is just a wonderful way to boost our economy.”
For more information about the Wisconsin Covenant program or to sign a pledge, visit http://wisconsincovenant.wi.gov, or call (608)267-9389.
By Julie Becker
Daily News staff writer
The number of Beloit area eighth graders looking forward to college seems to be on the rise, and one reason was obvious Friday morning as more than 100 eighth graders gathered at Beloit College with intentions of signing the Wisconsin Covenant.
Bearing T-shirts and bright neon signs with quips like “I'm college bound,” and “Be a part of the Wisconsin Covenant,” students from Aldrich, McNeel and Beloit Turner middle schools sat rapt with attention as Wisconsin's First Lady Jessica Doyle explained how the Wisconsin Covenant, which officially launched May 10, will work.
“What this says to everybody is that college is possible if you make a plan and work very hard,” Doyle said. “This is our dream for you all that there will be hope for everyone who wants to go to college in Wisconsin.”
By signing a Wisconsin Covenant pledge, which all 75,000 Wisconsin eighth graders now have the opportunity to do, students are committing to a focus on academic achievement and community service during their high school careers, in return for a guaranteed spot in a Wisconsin college - public, private or technical, although not necessarily their top choices - and the financial aid to meet their families' needs.
In order to fulfill the agreement, students must graduate high school with least a 3.0 GPA, at no time receiving below a 2.0 GPA, meet minimum college entrance requirements, participate in extracurricular activities and perform at least 30 hours of community service and apply for financial aid.
In the meantime, Doyle said the state will be focusing on increasing the amount of financial aid currently available and increasing the number of openings available in all Wisconsin colleges, especially those with waiting lists for key programs, like engineering.
In the days leading up to the official kick-off of the Wisconsin Covenant, the message that Beloit area educators sent to their students was all about opportunity.
“We discussed what a great opportunity this is to take advantage of, and, although they're in eighth grade, college is not too far away and it's something to start thinking about,” said Tiffany Bautch, eighth grade history and language arts teacher at McNeel.
Students have been quick to recognize the value of the deal, too, she said.
“I think it's a good thing because it can help out kids who didn't want to go to college because of the financial burden,” said Beloit Turner student Delaney McMillan, 14, adding that she has friends who are now considering going to college because of the program.
Fellow Beloit Turner student Emily Bentley, 13, agreed the program is opening doors for students. She already has a couple colleges she'd like to attend in mind, as does McMillan.
“They're (the students) very excited that the state is thinking about them, and the fact that maybe students who didn't have the financial means at home now have the opportunity available to them to go to college for a career they want to pursue,” Bautch added.
More than just opportunity, the Wisconsin Covenant is also about maintaining and increasing the number of jobs available in Wisconsin, Doyle said, and the hope is that future Wisconsin college graduates choose to stay and work in the state.
“Wisconsin is 34th among the states, in terms of the number of college graduates, so we're trying to increase the number of college graduates in the state,” she said. “More college graduates yields more high paying jobs and this is just a wonderful way to boost our economy.”
For more information about the Wisconsin Covenant program or to sign a pledge, visit http://wisconsincovenant.wi.gov, or call (608)267-9389.
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