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Alleghany Educational Foundation outlines scholarships, teacher-support grants and student mentoring programs
Summary
The Alleghany Educational Foundation presented a program update to the county commissioners, detailing increased trade scholarships, a teacher support grant tied to national board certification and countywide mentoring and college-exposure programs for students.
Melissa Vestal, executive director of the Alleghany Educational Foundation, told the Alleghany County Board of Commissioners on Jan. 7 that the foundation has expanded scholarship and programming support for local students and teachers.
Vestal said the foundation now offers a $750 trade scholarship sponsored by community members and that the foundation’s scholarships are split roughly 50/50 between graduating high school seniors and students already enrolled in postsecondary programs. “We have about 130 individual scholarships that students can apply for through the Alleghany Educational Foundation,” Vestal said. She described a renewed focus on scholarship renewals — awards that follow students into their 2nd, 3rd and later years of study — and said the foundation is working to grow renewing awards without reducing dollars for high school seniors.
The foundation highlighted several programs tied to student support and college/career exposure. Trojan Tracks (Trojans Reaching to Achieve Excellence) pairs a mentor with every eighth-grade student; the mentors meet four times a year and stay with students through graduation, and program participants become eligible to apply for a Trojan Tracks scholarship. The foundation also described an “adopt a college student” program that pairs college students with fourth-grade classrooms for monthly conversations, a High School Heroes program that pairs high school students with fourth graders to complete research and career projects, and a pilot professional-lunch program for Alleghany High School juniors that supports interview and dining etiquette skills.
Vestal also described the Great Grant (Growing, Retaining, Empowering Alleghany Teachers), which assists teachers pursuing National Board Certification and other credentials; she said certification carries a 12% salary increase for participating teachers. The foundation said these teacher supports are intended to help recruit and retain educators in the county.
Vestal listed upcoming and ongoing foundation activities, including a podcast (Alleghany Voices) and a fundraiser scheduled for April 5. She said the foundation distinguishes between scholarship funds (endowment/awarded funds) and program funds (raised through fundraising and events), and that Trojan Tracks fundraising does not draw from the foundation’s scholarship endowment.
Commissioners and attendees praised the foundation’s work during public remarks; one attendee later provided a figure for this school year’s scholarship awards total — $452,625 for the graduating class — which was recorded in the meeting but not presented by Vestal during her remarks.
The foundation asked commissioners whether they had questions; commissioners expressed appreciation and encouraged continued collaboration with the school system.
