The MELMAC Education Foundation Announces $1.1 Million in Grants to Maine High Schools and Communities
Article published September 1, 2003
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information, contact Wendy L. Ault, Executive Director 207.622.3066
(Augusta) - The MELMAC Education Foundation today announced a major new initiative Connect Aspirations to a Plan with $1.1 million in grants to Maine high schools and communities over the next three years. The initiative funds school- and community-based programs to increase students' aspirations for higher education and to help students connect those aspirations to a plan that ensures enrollment in college immediately following high school graduation. Successful community applicants will receive a $5,000 planning grant and two annual implementation grants of up to $30,000 for a total of $65,000. Successful school applicants will receive two annual implementation grants of up to $10,000 for a total of $20,000.
"The goal of the Connect Aspirations to a Plan initiative is to raise Maine's college enrollment rate from 55% of all graduating seniors to the national average of 68% of all graduating seniors by 2008. This will result in 2,100 more Maine high school graduates enrolling in post-secondary education each year," stated Wendy Ault, the Foundation's Executive Director. The Connect Aspirations to a Plan awards are wide in scope:
- 28 total awards (16 School-based grants of $20,000 over two years and 12 Community-based grants of $65,000 over three years)
- Reaching 32 Maine high schools representing 25% of Maine’s public high school student population
- When the target of 68% of graduates enrolling in college is reached for successful applicants, then an additional 730 Maine high school graduates will be going to college
12 Connect Aspirations to a Plan $65,000 three-year Community-based grants
|
Collaborative with Partner High Schools
|
Town |
Total Students Served |
Contact Person |
Contact Phone Number |
| Greater Gardiner College Access Community with Gardiner High School |
Gardiner |
1,300 |
Gay Grant |
(207) 582-5882 |
| Irving Tanning Community Center with Nokomis High School |
Hartland |
735 |
Jim Dyer |
(207) 938-5191 |
| Jackman Region Community Association with Forest Hills High School |
Jackman |
136 |
Nancy Paradise |
(207) 668-7749 |
| Lawrence High School |
Fairfield |
1,200 |
Gretchen Sy |
(207) 453-4200 x 259 |
| Millinocket School Department with Stearns High School |
Millinocket |
318 |
Eric Steeves |
(207) 723-6435 |
| Mt. Blue Community Collaborative with Mt. Blue High School |
Farmington |
935 |
Jennifer Hutchinson |
(207) 778-7106 |
| North Franklin County Collaborative with Mt. Abram and Rangeley Lakes High Schools |
Strong |
400 |
Gary Perlson |
(207) 678-2455 |
| Project Opportunity with Telstar High School |
Bethel |
300 |
Theodore Davis |
(207)824-2496 |
| STEP UP - University of Maine at Farmington with Dirigo High School |
Farmington |
413 |
Weiya Liang |
(207) 562-7552 |
| Southern Maine Tech Prep Consortium with York High School |
York |
510 |
Susan Williams |
(207) 741-5633 |
| Southern Maine Tech Prep Consortium with South Portland High School |
South Portland |
1,100 |
Jeanne Crocker |
(207) 767-3266 |
Washington County Consortium with
Lubec Consolidated, Machias Memorial and Narraguagus High Schools |
Machias |
469 |
Betty Jordan |
(207) 255-1219 |
16 Connect Aspirations to a Plan $20,000 two-year School-based grants:
| High School |
Town |
Total Students Served |
Contact Person |
Contact Phone Number |
| Ashland and Washburn High Schools |
Ashland |
250 |
Gene Bradbury |
(207) 435-3481 |
| Carrabec High School |
North Anson |
300 |
Jamie Weggler |
(207) 635-2296 |
| Good Will-Hinckley / Averill High School |
Hinckley |
75 |
Laura Ring |
(207) 238-4380 |
| Fort Kent High School |
Fort Kent |
402 |
Sandra Bernstein |
(207) 834-3189 |
| Gray-New Gloucester High School |
Gray |
676 |
Donna Beeley |
(207) 657-3326 |
| Hodgdon High School |
Hodgdon |
247 |
Bernadette Willette |
(207) 532-3663 |
| Lisbon High School |
Lisbon Falls |
436 |
William Luce |
(207) 353-3030 |
| Marshwood High School |
Eliot |
2,750 |
Gail Sullivan |
(207) 439-2438 |
| Mt. Ararat High School |
Topsham |
1,141 |
Amy Sherburne |
(207) 729-8763 |
| Noble High School |
North Berwick |
1,100 |
Martha Dignan |
(207) 676-2665 |
| R.W. Traip Academy |
Kittery |
120 |
Melinda Shofner |
(207) 439-1121 |
| Old Orchard Beach High School |
Old Orchard Beach |
353 |
Patricia Hayden |
(207) 934-5751 |
| Orono High School |
Orono |
387 |
Meredith Knight |
(207) 866-7113 |
| Poland Regional High School |
Poland |
532 |
Ray Lafreniere |
(207) 998-5400 |
| Upper Kennebec Valley High School |
Bingham |
120 |
Katie Flood |
(207) 672-3300 |
| Westbrook Regional Vocational Center |
Westbrook |
400 |
Carmela Barton |
(207) 854-0820 |
"The MELMAC Education Foundation inaugurates an impressive and timely education initiative," stated Arthur Doyle, Assistant Vice President, Northeast Regional Office, The College Board. "Its identification and prioritization of opportunities to deliver quality college access services will produce sustained benefits to students, schools, colleges, and the state of Maine as a whole."
Since January 2001, the MELMAC Education Foundation has provided over $640,000 in grants and scholarships. In 2001, the Foundation announced the three-year Maine Principals Scholarship program in which one student from every Maine high school, public and private, received a $1,000 scholarship toward their first year of college at the school of their choice, in state or out of state.
The MELMAC Education Foundation also operated the Financial Aid Enhancement Grant Program in 2001 and 2002, targeting grants to Maine's post-secondary institutions' financial aid offices to enhance and improve the delivery of financial aid.
The MELMAC Education Foundation is located in Augusta. The Foundation has assets of approximately 29 million dollars. Wendy L. Ault serves as Executive Director. For more information, visit the Foundation's website at www.MELMACFoundation.org.