| Virginia Schools recently received national acclaim for | | | | 2007 will be the fifth cycle of funding and the ECMC |
| some of its successful schools. Newsweek released | | | | has upped its pledge for Virginia Schools to $3 million |
| its list of the top 5% of schools in the nation, and 87 | | | | dollars in scholarships, mentoring stipends and program |
| Virginia Schools made the cut. Eleven Virginia Schools | | | | funding. Participants in the programs are selected from |
| made the top 100, and an additional two were included | | | | Virginia Schools at the end of their sophomore year. |
| in the list of the "public elites." Those two were Maggie | | | | What makes this scholarship program different is that |
| Walker Governor's School for Government and | | | | educators select students they know. Anonymous |
| International Studies and Thomas Jefferson High | | | | strangers who base the decision on faceless essays |
| School for Science and Technology. Both were | | | | or a qualifications list choose participants in most other |
| included because of the higher than average SAT and | | | | scholarship programs. |
| ACT scores of their students. | | | | ECMC and Virginia Schools select children based on |
| Virginia Schools achieve these results while spending | | | | future potential rather than past grades. The |
| about $7,751 annually per pupil. This puts the state right | | | | participants are mentored and tutored through their |
| in the middle for national spending. Clearly some good | | | | junior and senior years to bring out their best potential. |
| results are coming from some of the efforts of | | | | Ten Virginia Schools were selected on basis of need, |
| Virginia Schools. But there are still some big concerns | | | | and the program is funded through 2009. |
| and certain gaps. Like the rest of the country, Virginia | | | | Privately funded programs like the Virginia ECMC |
| Schools struggle with an achievement gap for minority | | | | Scholars Program are one way that Virginia Schools |
| students. African-American and other minority students | | | | hope to close the achievement gap and propel the |
| consistently score lower as a group on standardized | | | | state school system forward. Virginia had its own |
| tests. Socioeconomic factors have proven to | | | | testing system in place (Virginia Standards of Learning) |
| dramatically effect a student's academic success. | | | | prior to the 2001 No Child Left Behind Initiative. But the |
| One way that the Virginia Schools are trying to | | | | national mandate implemented class size and |
| remedy this problem is through a partnership with the | | | | Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) markers for every |
| ECMC Foundation. In 2003 the ECMC and the Virginia | | | | school in the nation. Pressure for students to meet |
| Department of Education teamed up to create the | | | | passing marks in both Virginia Schools and across the |
| Virginia ECMC Scholars Program to "increase | | | | nation has been intense. Educators and politicians |
| participation in postsecondary education by | | | | continue to debate the merits and pitfalls of |
| economically or otherwise disadvantaged students, | | | | standardized testing as a way to raise learning |
| and to challenge these students to better prepare | | | | standards in the nation. |
| during the junior and senior years of high school." | | | | |