School Counts! Receives Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation Grant

UACCM is the recipient of a $125,000 grant designed to increase high school graduation rates and improve higher education levels among students in Conway County. The Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation announced that its grant will help the Conway County School Counts! Initiative by providing support to coordinate the project. Previously, the School Counts Initiative was managed by volunteers.

“This grant enables the University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton to provide much needed project coordination support to the initiative and strengthen its efforts to increase high school graduation rates reduce poverty,” said Dr. Sherece West, president and CEO of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation. “This funding will be used to promote the value of higher education, advocate for and monitor students’ progress, and work with local business and industry leaders to identify workforce training needs.”

The grant is for three years and targets high school students and community members in the county. One of its goals is to encourage high school graduates to recognize the need for post-secondary education, to begin higher education at UACCM and to remain in Conway County as employees.

The School Counts! initiative is a local effort led by Conway County business, education and community leaders. The goal is to help students achieve success in the classroom, work place, and the community by raising funds locally to invest in the education of the county’s youth. Students who meet the yearly criteria upon graduation from participating high schools are eligible to receive up to $1,000 per semester to attend The University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton.

“Support from the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation will give the initiative the basic support needed to grow and be successful,” said Dr. Thomas Flowers, a member of the School Counts! Steering Committee. “We will be able to reach more students, do a better job tracking them and anticipate positive movement in Conway County’s educational system.”

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