The 8,000-plus members of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Class of 2013 brought in more than 2,600 scholarships worth almost $94 million, the district reports.
The scholarship report always makes me twitch a bit. Years ago, I treated these tallies like hard data, trying to figure out why some schools were so much more effective than others in getting their graduates college money and why numbers fluctuated so wildly from year to year.
What I learned was that these totals rely on self-reporting by seniors and guidance counselors, both of whom have a lot of distractions at the end of the year. So now I don't put a lot of energy into the specifics.
But the big point is worth recognizing: A whole lot of students leave CMS with a great education and bright prospects.
And let's face it, lists are fun. So in the spirit of celebration, let's take a look at the report and tip our hats to ...
Providence High topped the tally, with 361 scholarships worth just over $16 million. Next were Myers Park (302, $13.7 million) and Ardrey Kell (245, $9 million). Those were also the top three schools based on academic scholarships only.
Vance topped the list for athletic scholarships, with almost $4 million, followed by Mallard Creek ($2.6 million) and West Charlotte ($2 million).
Ardrey Kell logged $840,000 in military scholarships, followed by Providence ($677,606) and Independence ($188,500).
South Meck topped the fine arts list with $537,290, followed by Providence ($253,100) and Northwest School of the Arts ($184,500). It's probably worth noting that the arts magnet is much smaller than the two traditional high schools.
And for band scholarships, South Meck was way above all other schools with $279,300.
All in all, that comes to a lot of students and parents with good cause to celebrate.
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23 comments:
It appears that certain school guidance departments do not help their students apply for scholarships. Only 66 academic scholarships for Independence. That's all? You've got to be kidding me ... there's always next year.
6:55 a.m. It seems as if these 18 year olds don't need their diapers changed or their corn creamed anymore either.
I wonder if the principal at Indy micro-managed the guidance department...oh wait, of course she did! Wonder if her friend leaves if she will still have a job?
See, that's the thing that worries me about the list. It's possible that low numbers for a big school mean kids didn't get many scholarships (which might be the fault of students, families and/or the school). But it could also mean that, for any number of reasons, the guidance staff was focused on other things and didn't ride herd on the seniors to turn in their scholarship reports. I've seen some crazy numbers over the years, including very low totals for high-performing schools and no athletic scholarships for football powerhouses.
Ann, I assure you the guidance departments' first priority is to find any way at all, use any excuse at all, make up any way at all, by hook or crook, to be sure every senior get s diploma whether they earned it or not. Remember the fiasco at Garinger a year or two ago.
8:48 your miles off my friend. Counselors are strong armed and bullied by Area Supt., Principals, and Adminstrators to focus every waking minute on the 20% who simply refuse to earn their diplomas. Credit recovery class after Credit Recovery class after Credit Recovery class at the tax payers expense provide the biggest safety net for these kids who take a class 3 and 4 times just to get credit.
Ann.... As you stated in your blog, counselors play a role in informing kids how to report the scholarship monies. Students however use a system called Naviance to report monies earned for scholarship. The student has to log in and enter financial information.
9:12, that's interesting -- didn't know that. Is there any kind of verification?
Another interesting fact left out is that often a single student will be offered multiple scholarships which are college/university specific. Thus a small core of intellectually proficient students can rack up millions in scholarships but can only attend one university. Within this context the gross dollar amount is really a useless measure of academic achievement when applied to an entire class or school.
The real question is how much of these scholarship dollars will actually be used. A lot of private schools will throw money at students to make tuition cost competitive with public schools, but no where equals a free ride. I've seen a lot of times with students I consider academically average at best. Yet, it lets school tout how much money was won by them.
I wonder why North Meck High doesn't appear on this list, they used to dominate in scholarships.
Theoretically an enlistment for four years in the military with "all expenses paid" could be recognized as a scholarship as well. It certainly would provide real world skills.
9:25, you forgot one link in the sequence. The part where the guidance counselor harasses teachers into whatever scheme possible to pass unqualified students to the next level, especially the "do you really want this student back here next year?"
I'm not impressed with the guidance department at Independence. Some of them can be quite rude and not overly helpful.
The numbers at Indy are surprisingly less than I would have expected - across the board. Is the administration too focused on the AIS program?
...another CMS story about lack of data, erroneous data and accountability.
Anyone see a pattern here?
9:12, you proved my point. Not sure which ear you heard yourself reading my comment out loud cmment.
Someone needs to check the data for Independence. That just doesn't seem correct. Twice as much money awarded to Butler students? I would expect a little more, but more than double?
This really news? Kids that want to learn and engage get scholarships. Those schools have proven time/time again that their staff will drive the quality education. WAKE UP ! FOlks who are unmotivated can continue to get by on jobs stocking counters at Belks. They wont need scholarships and for that note not much more as its a dead end career. enjoy
fyi....a college degree today gets you a job at Belk department store, or Starbucks or maybe even Dick's sporting goods if you're lucky.
I am VERY CONCERNED that there were no scholarships from Phillip O'Berry HS the only STEM HS Magnet. My son would feed into Philip O'Berry from Morehead STEM an Honors School of Excellence with cum score of 95%! I guess we better start thinking of the alternate!
Ann you must have asked about the Compensation Task Force! I hear it is meeting in two weeks...
Folks who are saying there are no scholarships from some schools, please click the link and see the whole list! I only typed in the top three in each category.
These numbers are generated in each school. At my school, the counselors make an announcement asking that all the seniors self report their scholarship offerings. Some kids turn them in and some don't. Not always an accurate number. Another factor is for the really blessed kid who gets more than one offer. He/she can only take the one offer. For example, a student could get offered a full ride to Harvard and then get an appointment to West Point. They report both but in reality, the kid can only take one. Makes the numbers seem higher than they actually are. Glad that kids are earning scholarships but this is more to make the schools look "good" than anything.
8:54, that's definitely a factor. I profiled a Mallard Creek student who was offered a Park scholarship and a Morehead-Cain -- can you imagine the dollars that added to the total? You can't blame the schools for being proud of that accomplishment, but I do think that's one reason school numbers vary so widely from year to year.
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