In a $22.8 million program, of a scale never attempted in the Dayton region, a group of educators, philanthropists and business leaders hope to leverage local assets to create a scholarship program that will put 500 eight-graders from low-income families through college during the next decade.

The Montgomery County Ohio College Promise is the brainchild of John N. Taylor Jr., a respected philanthropist and former owner/retired CEO of Kurz-Kasch. He modeled the initiative after Florida’s successful Take Stock in Children Program, which has sent more than 9,000 high school students to college on full scholarships since 1995.

Similar programs dot large U.S. cities and several Ohio colleges and universities offer similar assistance on a smaller scale.

The goal is to use community resources to lift promising students and their families out of otherwise seemingly inescapable financial struggles.

Wright State University and Sinclair Community College have joined as partners, promising to help offset the costs of an education for students in the program.

So far, 35 adults have volunteered to mentor the first class of 40 eighth-graders from Montgomery County schools. Participants will receive tutoring and other support throughout high school and college to help ensure they not only enroll, but complete degree programs.

For WSU President David Hopkins, the program meets his school’s mission of providing access to students from challenged backgrounds.

“This really fits what we are trying to do,” he said. “What is remarkable about this program is how it can change lives.”

Taylor’s $1M Gift

To date, Taylor has given $1 million. The Dayton Foundation has promised $600,000 to go with another $3 million in pledges. But backers continue to work to raise their ultimate goal of $6.2 million in private money that will leverage the total $22.8 million in tuition, services and gifts to the program during the next 10 years.

Ned Sifferlen, the former Sinclair president and a lead organizer, credits Taylor for seeing a major community need and offering a bold solution.

“He has put his heart and soul in this, including a million dollars,” Sifferlen said.

The seed for the program was planted during Taylor’s time in Florida, where he encountered the Take Stock in Children Program. He studied its work for five years before deciding it would translate well in Montgomery County, but with some modification and more local investment.

In Florida, state government played a major funding role. But since Ohio’s current fiscal picture is troubled, Taylor knew he would have to go to area colleges and universities directly. “Nothing would have happened without them,” he said.

Help From His Friends

Taylor tapped local leaders closely tied to education and local youth programs to help create the Montgomery County version. He brought Sifferlen, along with Donald Thompson, executive director of the Dayton-Montgomery County Scholarship Program, and Michael Carter, Sinclair’s vice president for student services who once worked with the Out of School Youth program, to see how the Florida program operated and to meet with top leaders.

Interest in the College Promise is spreading quickly thanks to the education ties of Gary Smiga, a former Centerville superintendent who leads the program. He expects to see more applications for the next class. The next selection process runs from Sept. 15 to Nov. 15.

“We hope to announce the first 40 kids in May,” Smiga said. They plan to hold a gala celebration for the students to meet their mentors for the first time.

Taylor and others involved with creating the College Promise program want to continue beyond the initial 10-year commitment and hope to see it spread to other parts of the state.