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Dozens of Sacramento-Area High School Students Awarded College Scholarships

Program Aims to Help Students with Financial Needs

Monica Roberts and Manuel Ruedas

Sacramento Cal-SOAP Consortium Director Monica Roberts introduces Manuel Ruedas from the Sacramento Cal-SOAP Governing Board.

More than 60 Sacramento-area high school students received grant-funded scholarships through programs designed to help young people with their financial needs as they prepare for and enter college.

The students received scholarships, ranging from $1,000 to $2,500, during a special ceremony at the Sacramento State University Alumni Center on May 12, 2008.

In January, the California Student Opportunity and Access Program (Cal-SOAP), a project administered locally through the Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE), received a $160,000 grant from The College Access Foundation of California to provide college scholarships.

This year, the Cal-SOAP program provided 43 college scholarships for students with financial need who have been admitted to and plan to attend a four-year college or university, or community college.

Students from the following schools received scholarships through the Cal-SOAP program:

  • Sacramento City Unified School District: Luther Burbank High School, Rosemont High School, John F. Kennedy High School and Hiram Johnson High School.
  • Grant Joint Union High School District: Foothill High School, Grant High School, Highlands High School and Rio Linda High School.
  • Folsom Cordova Unified School District: Cordova High School.
  • Breakthrough Sacramento, a Sacramento Country Day School program.

In addition, 18 students received Cash for College scholarships, also funded by The College Access Foundation, for their participation in Cash for College financial aid workshops this winter.

The Sacramento Cal-SOAP directly serves students in 50 middle schools and high schools throughout Sacramento County. The project provides tutoring services to students and delivers a college and financial aid advising program to approximately 5,300 students in nine high schools.

The College Access Foundation of California, the largest grantmaking organization of its kind in the state, helps California students who have financial needs attend college. The Foundation provides millions of dollars in grants to community-based organizations that are helping students prepare for and enter institutions of higher learning.

For more information about Cal-SOAP, call (916) 228-2656.

Audience applauding
Students wearing medals