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Northwest Ohio Scholarship Fund Awards 1,000 Scholarships |
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Contact: Ann Riddle, Program Coordinator
Northwest Ohio Scholarship Fund
(419) 244-6711 ext. 219 Work
(419) 351-4852 Cell
January 25, 2006 – Toledo, OH – The Northwest Ohio Scholarship Fund awarded 1,000 need-based scholarships for students from Lucas, Wood and Fulton counties to attend private schools, grades Kindergarten through eighth grade, for the 2005-2006 school year. These 1,000 students are attending 61 private schools in Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan including 32 Catholic schools, 4 Christian, and 2 Islamic. This is the first time that the number of scholarships has reached 1,000.
Students were selected through a lottery system by the national Children’s Scholarship Fund in July to qualify before the start of the school year. The Northwest Ohio Scholarship Fund is one of 38 programs throughout the country affiliated with the national Children’s Scholarship Fund. Founded in 1998 by Ted Forstmann and John Walton, the two men made a joint pledge of $100 million to maximize educational opportunity at all income levels, and promote a diverse and competitive educational environment.
The Northwest Ohio Scholarship Fund Program began seven years ago by awarding 836 scholarships for the 1999-2000 school year. Since then the program has expanded to allow students to re-qualify for up to nine years, giving them the opportunity to attend the same elementary school for their entire primary education, as well as including younger siblings in their families’ current scholarship award. Eileen Kerner, executive Director of Northwest Ohio Scholarship Fund stated, “Opportunity for a strong education is what this program promotes, and it works because it affords a long term commitment to families.” Dann Bragg, Superintendent of Toledo Christian School, said of the program, “We are so thankful for the Northwest Ohio Scholarship Fund and its impact at Toledo Christian. We have 65 families that are benefiting from scholarships.”
Interested families can find information on the program and the application process on the Northwest Ohio Scholarship Fund website at www.nosf.org. For more information please contact Ann Riddle at 419-244-6711 x219. |
