APS Foundation Awarded Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative

                                                                

NEWS RELEASE #25
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 15, 2014

APS Foundation Awarded Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative Grant
Grant to be used for Future Centers in local high schools

The Aurora Public Schools Foundation is excited to announce that it was awarded a $75,000 Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative (COSI) grant. 

The state initiative’s goal is to create a strong network of career and college readiness programs across Colorado while also increasing the total amount of scholarship giving available for post-secondary students.

The APS Foundation will use the grant money to open its first “Future Center” at Hinkley High School in the beginning of 2015. Future Centers are an innovative approach to connect Aurora Public Schools high school students to post-secondary options.

Advisors will guide students and their families through the college application process including: how to construct essays, how to apply for financial aid and scholarships and how to understand the dynamics of post-secondary institutions.

Future Centers coordinate closely with the school district, principals and school counselors to complement the pre-collegiate programs already in place. They also work to strengthen the college attendance culture in schools. The Future Centers initiative will help ensure all APS students graduate ready to access and succeed in post-secondary opportunities.

There is an acute need to support APS students in creating and executing post-secondary plans. Earning a post-secondary credential is increasingly necessary to be competitive for jobs in today’s economy. By 2020, 74% of Colorado’s jobs will require some form of post-secondary education.

About Aurora Public Schools Foundation
The Aurora Public Schools Foundation was founded in 1987 as a non-profit organization with the mission to cultivate community investment to enrich student opportunity. The foundation facilitates collaborations between schools and the community, fosters innovations that enable schools and the district to meet the challenges of the future and secures supplemental resources from individuals, corporations and foundations to support programs. 

###

Interested media may contact APS News Media Specialist
Patti Moon at 303-326-2755 for more information