Six kindergartners and their families at John G. Riley Elementary School received a life-changing surprise: scholarships to cover tuition for their first year of college. The inaugural Classroom Connection Scholarships at Riley came as the result of donations from five local businesses and one family participating in the Tallahassee Chamber’s Classroom Connection Program.
A partnership between the Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce, World Class Schools, and Leon County Schools, the program allows the business community to support students and teachers during the first years of elementary school by adopting a kindergarten or 1st grade classroom. The scholarships initiative grew out of the 6 donors’ desire to make a lasting impact on the students they mentor each month through Classroom Connection, and to break the cycle of poverty through higher education. Riley Elementary sits at the center of the state’s poorest zip code, 32304, and is among the 150 highest-poverty Florida zip codes where students can qualify for Path to Prosperity Scholarships
through the Florida Prepaid College Foundation and the Florida Chamber Foundation.
Each of the Riley Classroom Connection sponsors contributed money to the Foundation for Leon County Schools, and the Florida Prepaid College Foundation matched the donations 1:1. Riley school leaders selected the students based on financial need, academics and teacher input. Recipients will be paired with individual mentors to help them along their academic journey. The scholarships will cover the first 30 college credit hours.
The businesses and individuals who donated toward the scholarships are: Carroll and Company CPAs, Kessler Construction, MillCreek Financial, The Moore Agency, the Mullin Family, and Sparkle Boutique.
The students who received scholarships are:
Alayna Manning
Gael Alberto Mejia
Jahmir Johnson
Bryson Lee
Laila Robinson
Taylor Jones
Watch the broadcast from WTXL HERE. For more information on Classroom Connection, contact Dana Noles at dnoles@talchamber.com.
