Governor Gregoire Announces Opportunity Grants for Low-Income Adults to Pursue College Education

For Immediate Release: September 5, 2007

Program will award $10.6 million in grants to fill gaps left by traditional financial aid

OLYMPIA � Governor Gregoire today announced that the Opportunity Grants program, which helps low-income adults attend college, has expanded to all 34 community and technical colleges in Washington.

�Washington businesses need highly skilled workers in order to compete with companies around the world,� said Governor Gregoire. �These Opportunity Grants help low-income students pursue an education that qualifies them for high demand jobs. Now even more Washingtonians, and the state�s economy, will benefit from the expanded program.�

Opportunity Grants help low-income adults begin � and continue in - long-term career development and fill the gaps left by traditional financial aid. The average household income for participants in the pilot phase was less than $11,500 per year for an average household of three.

Rep. Phyllis Guti�rrez Kenney (D-Seattle) was the prime sponsor of the original 2006 legislation to create the Opportunity Grant pilot program at 10 community and technical college campuses. Building on the successful pilot year, Rep. Kenney sponsored a bill in 2007 to expand the Opportunity Grant program to all 34 community and technical colleges for the 2007-2008 academic year.

�A high school diploma or a GED is no longer enough to get a good paying job with benefits,� said Rep. Kenney. �The Legislature is committed to creating opportunities for more students to obtain higher education to succeed in high demand areas which address the skill shortage in our state and that provide family wage jobs and benefits.�

�This program fits the priorities of our two-year colleges to improve academic achievement for all students, implement innovative delivery models, and be responsive to the needs of businesses and the economy,� said SBCTC Executive Director Charlie Earl. �This is a totally new and innovative way of delivering financial support. And it works.�

Student awards will be between $2,800 and $3,800 and may cover tuition and fees, books, supplies, tools and equipment. Transportation and childcare may also be funded on an emergency basis. Each college�s direct costs for infrastructure and support services � such as counseling and advising, mentoring, tutoring, outside-of-the-classroom support services, campus project coordinator � are also supported by the grants.

Opportunity Partnership Program Builds Connections Between Students and Employers

The Opportunity Partnership program will pair a recipient student with a mentor in order to help them gain workplace experience through job shadowing or an internship. The mentoring program is a new element of the grants and will be evaluated a pilot study year.

Opportunity Grant awards for 2007-2008:
(District/College Name, Award)

• Bates 250,000
  
• Bellevue 350,000
  
• Bellingham* 344,000
  
• Big Bend* 399,000
  
• Cascadia 250,000
  
• Centralia 340,000
  
• Clark 250,000
  
• Clover Park* 419,000
  
• Columbia Basin 250,000
  
• Edmonds* 432,000
  
• Everett 290,000
  
• Grays Harbor 270,000
  
• Green River 325,000
  
• Highline* 432,000
  
• Lake Washington 250,000
  
• Lower Columbia 277,000
  
• Olympic* 305,000
  
• Peninsula* 370,000
  
• Pierce Ft. Steilacoom 340,000
  
• Pierce Puyallup 290,000
  
• Renton 250,000
  
• Seattle Central 350,000
  
• Seattle North 300,000
  
• Seattle South 290,000
  
• Shoreline* 416,000
  
• Skagit Valley 250,000
  
• South Puget Sound 250,000
  
• Spokane CC 290,000
  
• Spokane Falls 250,000
  
• Tacoma 250,000
  
• Walla Walla* 432,000
  
• Wenatchee Valley 250,000
  
• Whatcom* 250,000
  
• Yakima Valley* 363,000
  
• Total $10,624,000

*Indicates one of the ten 2006-2007 pilot program colleges

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