Posted by John Ester on Nov 07, 2017
Sunrise Rotarians Mitch Deisch and Matt Olson discuss how the Club might become involved in the creation of a Michigan Promise School.
 
Mitch and Matt say that in Benzie County (and elsewhere) there are way too many students who drop out of college after a couple of years with no credentials but huge debt.  In Kalamazoo a wealthy donor established a Promise School that covers the cost of four years of college for any four-year graduate of a Kalamazoo high school. While a program with such generous coverage is not feasible for Benzie County, Mitch and Matt see a need for some sort of program to assist in the payment of post-high-school graduation costs.  This is essentially the goal of Michigan College Access Network:  to encourage and enable students to pursue some post-high-school education leading to a credential with value.

Mitch and Matt's presentation led to a spirited discussion of the granting of scholarships (and whether the many small scholarships given to Benzie Central graduates on Senior Night should be consolidated), as well as what role, if any, the Club should take with respect to these issues.  There was agreement that the issue warrants further Club participation through the Michigan College Access Network and otherwise.