SF State News {University Communications}

Image: Photos of SF State students and scenes from around campus

Sixth graders on fast track to college

February 13, 2009 -- Thousands of San Francisco public school students are assured a place at SF State if they meet all requirements to qualify for college. SF Promise, a program in partnership with the City of San Francisco and the San Francisco Unified School District, encourages young students to plan for college and is backed by the Robert and Joyce Corrigan SF Promise Endowed Scholarship Fund.

Photo of sixth graders lined up to enter San Francisco City Hall for SF Promise kick-off

Hundreds of San Francisco public school sixth graders lined up at City Hall to learn about SF State's promise to them.

The Endowment Fund, named in honor of SF State President Robert A. Corrigan and his wife Joyce, was established with $1.9 million in donations. It ensures that financial aid will be available to SF Promise students who need it.

"The promise of a college education is the promise of a bright future for these graduates as well as those who live and work beside them,” said President Corrigan. "In the coming years, SF Promise aims to double the number of San Francisco public high school graduates who receive post-secondary education and at the same time, increase the number of college graduates from underrepresented groups." He noted that the students who benefit from SF Promise will ensure that the workforce will mirror the diverse population of the United States.

Beginning with classroom programs starting in the sixth grade, SF Promise aims to reach students who will be the first in their families to earn a college degree. State employment and CSU projections indicate that by 2025, 41 percent of all jobs in California will require a college diploma, even though only 32 percent of the population are expected to have completed a four-year degree by then.

The SF Promise pilot program, intended to eventually reach 10,000 middle-school students, is focused this year on classes at three San Francisco middle schools: Horace Mann, Martin Luther King, Jr. and A.P. Giannini. More than 250 sixth grade students from these schools attended a kick-off event honoring the Class of 2015 at City Hall hosted by Mayor Gavin Newsom, Superintendent of Schools Carlos Garcia and President Corrigan.

For more information about SF Promise or the scholarship fund, including how to make a contribution, call (415) 338-3954 or visit www.sfpromise.org.

-- Denize Springer

 

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