Published Sunday, December 21, 2008
Bright Futures set to put first group on path to college
BY MICHAELA SAUNDERS
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

Starting next fall, a select group of public high school students will get the ultimate college-prep experience.

Laptop computers. Daily coursework on taking notes and writing essays. An academic coach.

And it's all for free.

The Bright Futures Foundation is ready to launch its multimillion-dollar college access program, called Avenue Scholars. It has been designed for first-generation college students or teens from low-income families.

"It will help students realize that (college) is within their grasp," said Omaha Benson Principal Lisa Dale. "It's all about creating that opportunity so they're successful in college."

One hundred-fifty students — 25 juniors and 25 seniors from Benson, Omaha Northwest and Ralston High Schools — will be the first full-fledged participants.

The goal is to put Avenue Scholars in most Douglas and Sarpy County high schools within four years. Parochial schools will be considered along with public schools.

Organizers say the effort — which could grow to include as many as 800 students within five years — is one of a kind nationally, partly because of its long-term commitment to
students.

The foundation will hire full-time staff — called talent advisers — to build relationships with high school juniors and stick with them as confidants through college and the start
of their careers.

Students can stumble at each of those points, and without help, they often give up, said Cris Fishback, a former Westside High School French teacher who will serve as an
adviser.

"They need to know there's a person along for the ride," he said.

The launch comes nearly a year after the creation of Building Bright Futures, a public-private effort to support the area's low-income children from birth to career. Building Bright Futures then led to the Bright Futures Foundation, which is providing help to youths in late high school and in college.

Mike Yanney, one of several Omaha philanthropists behind the foundation and its partner effort, said Avenue is on the right track.

"What the foundation is trying to do is very important," he said.

A fast-track version of Avenue will start in January with about 60 seniors already involved in an Urban League of Nebraska college-prep program.

The teens will receive intensive help with financial aid and scholarship applications as well as attend weekend and summer workshops to give them a taste of college life. Support will continue on campus.

"This is a wonderful opportunity for youth citywide," said Thomas Warren, the league's executive director.

Next fall, the full program will begin at the three high schools. Each serves a large number of students from low-income families, has an average ACT score below the state average and expressed an interest in participating.

Students will be selected after completing an application, including a Gallup personality survey. Each must show financial need — typically qualifying for free or reduced-cost school meals — and be on track to graduate from high school in four years.

A key part of the program is a yearlong class, during both the junior and senior years, that is taught by an adviser.

As part of the class, students will prepare for college entrance exams, work on budgeting and, as a way to encourage critical thinking, debate the day's lessons from other courses.

Creating that kind of "college-going" culture for all students at area high schools is among the program's goals.

"When young people model that behavior, it's powerful," said Omaha Public Schools Superintendent John Mackiel. "That does catch on."

The scholars will be among a select group — and they will be reminded of that regularly, with admittance to the Avenue Center, a midtown study site that will be identified soon. On nights and weekends, students can hang out, surf the Web and work on assignments.

The program also will offer a Facebook-style social networking Web site for the scholars, who can check out laptops if they don't have computers or Internet access at home.

After the students graduate from high school, foundation advisers will be available on some of Nebraska's college campuses. They will help with tutoring and financial aid and answer questions about things like meal plans or carpooling home for the holidays.

The program will work with families, too. Parents or other family supporters will be educated about the paperwork and decision-making related to college.

The $4.5 million annual budget does not include scholarship money, said Ken Bird, Avenue's president and chief executive officer. Instead, advisers will help students tap existing resources, including scholarships funded by the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation.

By the 2012-13 school year, 15 full-time advisers will work in high schools in the two counties. Some advisers may split their time between schools.

An additional seven full-time advisers will be on college campuses, likely including the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of Nebraska at Omaha and Metropolitan Community College.

In college, the program will link students to internships, said Jef Johnston, a former school district administrator who is coordinating the Avenue effort. Response from businesses so far has been good, he said.

Moving students from high school through college and into the metro area's job market is a lofty goal, he said, but it can be achieved.

"They're only going to be successful with support," Johnston said. "We're going to be the group that really believes in
these kids and helps them to better themselves."

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