The Washington State Achievers Program will create thousands of new scholarship opportunities for low-income students from a handful of Washington state high schools. This program is a tremendous opportunity for this state to both improve its secondary schools and increase the number of college-bound students. The program will support the redesign of 10-15 Washington high schools into small, autonomous learning environments of no more than 100 students per grade level. Only students from these high schools will be eligible for the Achievers Scholarships.
Redesign grants are five-year grants and include technical assistance.
Five hundred new four-year scholarships will be awarded each year for ten years, beginning in 2001. It is expected that after four years there will be 2,000 Washington State Achievers enrolled in school and receiving scholarships at any one time. Education has always been, and will continue to be my top priority. When an entity such as the Gates Foundation makes it a top priority as well, so much the better for the future of our students, and the future of education. Created in 1999 by Governor Locke and the state legislature, the Promise Scholarships have provided more than 5,000 scholarships to Washington state students pursuing higher education at in-state institutions of higher education.