Scholars program is expanding

by GEOFF ANDREWS

Oberlin City Schools superintendent

Last year, for the first time we can document, each member of the Oberlin High School graduating class applied to and was accepted to college. Many people and programs were involved in realizing that achievement, but one that has been particularly successful is the Ninde Scholars Program. This has been so effective that the program is now expanding into Langston Middle School.

The Ninde Scholars Program grew out of the generosity and vision of Dick and Nan Ninde, Kendal residents who challenged the community to raise money for a college access program targeting potential first generation college students (students for whom neither parent had graduated from college). The Nindes matched dollar for dollar the nearly half million dollars raised by the community, and this money has enabled Oberlin High School, the Lorain County Urban League, and Oberlin College to provide various activities that have led dozens of students to enter college that will be the first in their families to graduate.

Nationally, the likelihood of a high school student to enter college when neither parent is a college graduate is about 20 percent (one in five). Of those who do go to college, only one in five of those students end up with college degree.

Thus, the likelihood of a first generation college student getting a degree is about 4 percent. Yet the OHS Ninde Scholars have all gone on to college -- 100 percent of them -- and 90 percent of those are on track to graduate from college. The first cohort of Ninde Scholars will be receiving their bachelor's degrees this month.

Students apply to the Ninde Scholars program in their sophomore or junior years at OHS. They meet weekly with a college tutor, attend an intensive summer writing workshop, go on college tours, receive a laptop computer that goes with them to college, go through some test prep for ACTs and SATs, and receive various other forms of support in the college preparation process. The Ninde funds also provide for college tours, scholarship guidance, career speakers, and test prep support for all of the students at OHS, not just the Ninde Scholars.

As successful as this program has been, there are students who might benefit from all of this help who are not getting far enough in school to hook into the Ninde Scholars program. That is why we are creating an Aspiring Scholars program for students who will be entering seventh, eighth, and ninth grades this fall.

Bo Arbogast, who directs the Ninde Scholars program, and Will Torres, who assists him and serves as the OHS college counselor, are working with the schools to identify five to six students at each grade level in Langston this spring who will get similar treatment -- college tutors, a summer writing program, a netbook computer, and other supports -- to help more students make it to the point where they could become Ninde Scholars.

Students at Langston who would be the first in their family to graduate from college have until May 3 to apply at the Langston office to be a part of the Aspiring Scholars program. The funding that supports this program specifically targets students who are economically disadvantaged, minority students, and male students (there are far fewer males applying to college than there are females).

Parents, please encourage your children to apply. Materials are at the Langston Office.

And while we are mentioning Langston, there were several notable events there last week. On Tuesday at the board meeting, science teacher Doug Sheldon talked about the success of the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) course that is new for all LMS students this year. Sue McDaniel spoke about her new class and their functional curriculum, social studies teacher Christine Baylis and several of her students spoke about their successful Ohio Model United Nations experience (they will be speaking at Kendal tomorrow night), English teacher Barb Pratt and author Lynn Powell spoke about their poetry unit while several LMS students read original poetry, and some science students from Amy Swislocki's science class performed an original skit about energy conservation.

Thursday night was the first annual Langston Arts Festival. The choirs performed, the eighth graders served dinner to raise money for their DC trip, and both the new Phoenix murals in the stairways and the Library Gallery were unveiled for public viewing.

Then on Friday, Sheldon's Lego Olympiad students swept the medal podium for the second year in a row at the Lorain County Lego Olympiad at LCCC. All of these events, presentations, and results were affirmations of the state's judgment of Langston Middle School earlier this year - it is an Excellent School.

I must also express my appreciation to all the school and city employees who made it possible to open the high school yesterday. On Saturday, the power went out at OHS.

When it could not be restored Saturday night, several school people moved food from the freezers to other locations (including the girl scout camp), and there were five trucks and 10 workers out on Sunday restoring power, along with our John Schroth and Trapper Lisle. School opened yesterday with few even knowing it had been in jeopardy.

Likewise, while the board is still facing difficult budget decisions for the coming year, negotiations with the teachers' union have been quite positive. I appreciate the hard work that everyone has put forth and I remain optimistic that we will reach a solution with no teacher layoffs.

Space limitations relegate to future columns our great new partnership with OC Cinema Studies, several generous gifts that have recently come to the schools, groups coming to learn about IB from Oberlin, Stevie Wonder playing for the schools, successes of the Kindercamp program, school visits from author Rick Bowers ("Spies of Mississippi") and film director Jonathan Demme ("Beloved," "Philadelphia," "Silence of the Lambs"), and a celebration of all of our International Baccalaureate authorizations.