MHS wins $30K EdQuest grant

LINCOLN, Neb. – McCook High School is among 22 Nebraska high schools selected to receive a College Access Grant from EducationQuest Foundation.

The school will receive $7,500 a year for four years to develop or enhance programs designed to increase the number of students who pursue education beyond high school.

In total, EducationQuest will award $580,000 in grant funds to the 22 selected schools over the next four years.

The amount each school receives in based on their enrollment.

The high schools will use the grants to fund programs and activities such as college visits, financial aid sessions, scholarship searches, career exploration, ACT test preparation, and completion of college applications.

The grant program also promotes involvement with families and businesses to help ensure the program’s success.

The recipient schools have set goals to increase their college-going rates by approximately 10 percentage points over the next four years.

EducationQuest awards College Access Grants to Nebraska high schools every two years and has awarded 131 grants to 89 high schools since the program began in 2006.

anae Solomon, McCook High School school counselor and coordinator of the McCook Schools TeamMates program, said McCook High School previously received the College Access Grant from 2006 - 2010 and from 2012-2016. A two-year wait period is required before re-applying for the grant. Some of the programs established from previous grant funding that this grant will allow the school to enhance this year include:

— College Fair hosted at McCook High School on September 25th from 1:30 - 3:00 p.m. with over 40 colleges and military recruiters in attendance 

— Financial Aid Night with EducationQuest on Wednesday, October 3rd from 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. in Conference Room B at the high school 

— Apply2College Day for Seniors on October 17th at McCook High School from 8:00 - 12:30

— FAFSA Completion Days for senior parents with EducationQuest on November 6th and 7th at McCook High School

Some new programs MHS intends to implement this year with the funding include:

— Scholarship Saturdays at the high school in February and March

— Evening event in the spring for students and parents to learn about dual-credit or college credit opportunities and the registration process with McCook Community College

Additionally, this grant allows the school funding to take students on campus visits in the state of Nebraska to increase their exposure to post-secondary opportunities and to help guide them through the process. Campus visits for Juniors and Seniors have been scheduled so far this fall for:

— The University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK) on Sept. 19

— Diesel Technology Career Fair at Central Community College in Hastings on Oct. 4

— Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture (NCTA) and MidPlains Community College in North Platte on Oct. 22

— Chadron State College on Nov. 6

— The University of Nebraska at Lincoln (UNL) and Wesleyan University (date in November TBD)

A requirement of this grant is for a community business to provide a 10% match over the term of the grant. McCook National Bank has generously agreed to that partnership. With this additional funding, we plan to take students on a campus visit to Fort Hays State University this spring, which otherwise would not be allowed with the grant funds due to it being out of state. 

“We are excited to be able to offer our students and families more opportunities to help increase engagement and promote access to post-secondary opportunities,” Solomon said.