Pinellas County Education Foundation Inc

Programs: Take stock in children:the take stock in children (tsic) scholarship program is a long-term collaborative initiative uniting the school system, social service and health care agencies, business, government, and community organizations in support of at-risk children and their families. Tsic provides deserving pinellas county public school students in grades 6 through 11 with a florida prepaid college scholarship for up to four years tuition at the florida public college level, college readiness planning and a mentor throughout their school years. Through the support of businesses, civic groups, and a myriad of organizations and individuals who care enough to invest their resources in the future of our school children, the tsic scholarship initiative is giving low-income students the opportunity to work toward the attainable goal of a college education. While tsic provides those necessary college tuition funds, this comprehensive program offers so much more including mentors who provide inspiration and guidance and school-based ambassadors who monitor student progress and enhance student learning through enrichment activities. The tsic program has been so successful, it has become a model for similar programs both statewide and nationally. Donor contributions are matched dollar-for-dollar by the florida prepaid foundation. That means that every contribution, no matter the size, will be doubled in value. Currently, the cost of a full scholarship is $6,750 and will be fully matched to fund one deserving student's college education. Students may be nominated for a tsic scholarship in grades 6 through 10. If awarded, they will receive the opportunity for up to a four-year college tuition scholarship by fulfilling a contractual obligation to attend school regularly, maintain at least a "c" in all classes, study for tests, meet with their mentor and remain crime and drug free. Students can request additional tuition hours after they complete their associate's degree. Since its inception, tsic has maintained a 96% graduation rate and more than 1,000 tsic students have earned a college degree with another 1,200 tsic graduates now achieving success at many of our florida colleges and universities. Approximately $15 million has been contributed to the program and there are approximately 40,000 students in pinellas county who are eligible for tsic scholarships.

programs and grants:this program awards grants to front line educators to sharpen their skills by attending symposiums, workshops, and seminars. In addition, each year, hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants are awarded to classroom teachers to create programs that are designed to enhance the classroom learning experience and positively affect their students. This program also includes the youth connect program. The youth connect program provides guidance, support, financial assistance with vocational and academic training, work readiness and job placement services to low income youth (ages 16-24). Since inception (july 2007) this program has served more than 2,900 students. Students enrolled may also be eligible for the frances stavros career technical education scholarship. This scholarship may provide up to $2,500 in education funds allowing students an opportunity to attend vocational or post secondary institutions. Nge (next generation entrepreneurs) and ngt (next generation tech) are year-long commitments open to all students from across pinellas county high schools. During the course of the year, students work closely with teachers and business mentors to refine their business plans, using a business model canvas template or product charter. Typically, students teams participate in workshops to retain the 21st century skills. Once the students have completed the first three workshops, judges then narrow down the teams to the top 10 semifinalists. Semifinalists participate in interactive workshops, submit a marketing plan and present to a panel of judges, as they compete for that #1 spot and $10,000 in prize dollars. Students engage in networking opportunities with industry professionals that match their business idea. For all involved, it is a win-win situation with public relations opportunities, including the annual announcement of each program's winner, or winning team, at a highly attended spring foundation event. Nge students are challenged to apply business acumen in the invention, design, and go-to market strategies for solutions that make the world a better place and lead to the next generation of job creators. While nge is open to any new business idea, the ngt challenge is limited to solutions that are based on technology enhancements, apps or innovations. Ford ngl (next generation learning) is a collaborative community-driven approach to transforming education to achieve the following outcomes, young people prepared for college, careers, lifelong learning and leadership, community prosperity shared by all, strengthened talent pipeline, educational equity and justice for all and capacity to contribute and go further. Ford ngl has a national network of communities that work together, compare notes, and share best practices. These best practices will be explored at the study visit, a gathering place for communities who are committed to use a creative mindset in cutting new paths to success in our schools.

student scholarships:this program provides more than 100 different college scholarships to high school seniors throughout pinellas county. The scholarships are as varied as the sponsors who fund them. Donors choose their criteria and focus areas such as specific majors, volunteer hours, academic achievement, sports, or financial need. Students apply for these scholarships through the foundation's website whereby one application runs through a sorting process for all of the available scholarship funds. Scholarships may be either one-time awards or renewable scholarships for students who continue to meet the scholarship qualifications throughout college.