EPISD earns college readiness award
(EL PASO INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT -- Oct. 24, 2019) — EPISD beat out 29 other districts from throughout the country to win the Council of Great City Schools Build (CGCS) Your List Award for efforts aimed at encouraging students to take important steps in planning for college after high school.
The District earned the award by having 32 percent of all high-school juniors in the District complete the Build Your List process in the BigFuture college-readiness website operated by the College Board, the organization that administers university entrance exams like the SAT.
Build Your List is the first step required by the College Board to qualify for the Opportunity Scholarship — a first-of-its-kind program that outlines the six most essential steps on the path to college for high-school students. The completion of each step earns students a chance to win scholarships of up to $2,000. If all six steps are completed, students can compete for $40,000 toward their college education.
“We’re thrilled with the results of the challenge because it means that so many students from the class of 2020 took the first steps to get into college in addition to earning a chance for a scholarship,” said Michael Casserly, CGCS executive director.
CGCS is an education advocacy group made up of 74 of the largest urban school districts in the United States. EPISD is a member of CGCS.
As the winner of the challenge, EPISD received $5,000 to further support college and career readiness efforts. The prize was presented to Superintendent Juan E. Cabrera at the 63rd Annual CGCS Fall Conference in Louisville, Ky., today.
“We applaud all of the districts that participated in the challenge and encouraged their students to take part in the College Board Opportunity Scholarships,” said Jennifer Mulhern, College Board Vice President of State and District Implementation. “We created the program because we heard from students and families that the road to college was complicated and overwhelming. Our partnership with CGCS is helping to make students aware of the actions they need to take to get to college — and that a scholarship is within their reach.”
For more information on the College Board Opportunity Scholarships programs, visit cb.org/opportunity.