At least one Franklin Community High School graduate wouldn’t be a college freshman today if his mom hadn’t signed him up for a scholarship six years ago.
Jackson Robinson arrived at Indiana State University this fall with a dream of becoming a nurse practitioner. His goal is financially possible because he’s enrolled in the 21st Century Scholars program, which uses state tax dollars to give low-income students free college tuition for up to four years as long as they meet certain requirements during high school.
But in Johnson County, 40 percent of eligible students get signed up for the scholarship, which is below the state average of 45 percent. Those numbers are low, in most cases, because counselors — especially in the smaller districts — are overworked, and families aren’t aware of the program.
One of the biggest hurdles is that children have to sign up in middle school, before families are focused on paying for college.
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Nearly 700 sophomores at the six public high schools in Johnson County were eligible for the scholarship two years ago, but only 283 signed up.
If the others hope to attend college in 2021, they will likely have to depend on loans and grants. Students have to pay back loans once they graduate, and grant amounts vary based on a family’s income. Most academic scholarships are much more competitive. 21st Century Scholars requires that a student earn at least a 2.5 GPA throughout high school and college to remain in the program.
Franklin schools is the most successful district in the county at getting students registered when they are 12 to 14 years old; 57 percent of eligible sophomores are signed up. By comparison, in Edinburgh schools, 17 percent of eligible sophomores are signed up.
In recent years, the Indiana Commission for Higher Education has started focusing on making sure students, once they are enrolled, are prepared for college and graduate in four years or less.
Nearly 30 percent of 21st Century Scholars graduated on time in 2018 compared to 16 percent five years ago. About 50 percent graduate from college after more than four years.
“A lot of students were getting access to college but weren’t as prepared as we wanted them to be,” said Barbie Martin, the commission’s director of school and community outreach.
Program is a blessing
Jackson’s mother, Stacy Robinson, is a single mom. Although she’s certain she would have found a way to make her son’s college dream a reality, 21st Century Scholars made it easy, she said.
A family of two — like the Robinson’s — must make less than $30,451 to be eligible for the scholarship. A family of four must make less than $46,435.
Stacy Robinson remembers learning about 21st Century during an open house at the start of her son’s seventh grade year.
“To be honest, they don’t really share a lot of information about it. If I hadn’t gone to that orientation night, I don’t know how I would have known about it. So many of us (parents) don’t even know what it’s about. I signed him up, and then I kind of just spaced it. Once he was in high school, that’s when I started hearing more about it,” Stacy Robinson said.
“This one stands out because all you do is sign up for it and it’s basically given to you. It’s very feasible for anybody who meets those requirements in high school. It’s very easy to get it.”
She struggled as a single mom, so this scholarship was a blessing, she said, due to the financial opportunity and because it helps keep students like her son focused and on track.
High school counselors are tasked with making sure students who are enrolled remain eligible for the scholarship. Middle school counselors are tasked with getting eligible students signed up.
“She is the reason why I’m here. She was on me about it all the time. She did a phenomenal job,” Jackson Robinson said of his high school guidance counselor, Jennifer George.
Jackson Robinson attends a 21st Century Scholars group meeting each week while at college.
“For me, when I go to those meetings, yeah there’s free food, but also if you’re struggling with a class and don’t quite understand this, that or the other, you can get help. There are resources available to you,” Jackson said.
Awareness, not requirements, is the obstacle
In 2013, legislators changed the requirements for students graduating after 2016 to get the scholarship. They raised the minimum GPA by five points and worked with the Indiana Commission for Higher Education to develop a program for students to complete in high school.
For example, freshmen scholars have to create a graduation plan, sophomores have to take a career assessment, juniors have to visit an Indiana college and seniors have to fill out a FAFSA. Scholars also have to watch several videos about paying for college and succeeding in it.
“It’s a miracle in disguise. In this generation, with the cost of college being what it is, having that ability to go to college and not come out with a ton of debt … that’s stress level knocked down. And the requirements you have to meet in order to remain eligible are pretty easy,” Jackson Robinson said.
“If you really apply yourself and actually talk to your teachers, it is 100 percent achievable. It’s so crazy — I couldn’t believe it when I was going through the steps — how easy it is.”
George tracks all of the students enrolled in the program with help from an Indiana Commission for Higher Education liaison, who visits with the scholars a couple times a year. Toward the end of the school year, if a student hasn’t completed a required task, George meets with them individually and often has them do it while they’re in her office.
“None of them are hard to complete, they’re just time consuming,” George said.
“A lot of private scholarships are very competitive academically. Not every student can do all of those things, but they still deserve a scholarship. They still need help. I wish everyone took advantage (of 21st Century Scholars). I wish everyone was automatically enrolled.”
Getting students enrolled is a challenge, said Monica Anderson, a counselor at Franklin Community Middle School.
“One barrier, obviously, is getting that information from school to home — actually having students bring that application from school to their parents, and then bring it from their parents back to school,” Anderson said.
They’ve tried mass mailings and brochures, parent nights, including information about the scholarship in newsletters and robocalls and offering incentives to students who return a completed application.
“It’s one of those kind of mind-boggling situations — how do we get more kids involved? How do we get the parents to understand that this is free college?” Anderson said.
The situation can be intimidating for families who don’t have experience in attending or sending a child to college. Another hurdle is trying to get seventh and eighth graders to care about college at such a young age, she said.
“Inherently, developmentally, thinking long term is a bit of a challenge for middle schoolers. It’s not always easy getting them to see that connection right now,” Anderson said.
“College is still a bit elusive in terms of concept and understanding. In seventh or eighth grade, they don’t even know if they’re going to go to college. So sometimes I think it escapes them. We do the best we can as far as trying to figure out.”
In smaller, rural districts such as Edinburgh, getting families signed up is even more challenging because there is one counselor for both the middle and high school, but a higher percentage of students qualify. Traci Foltz, the counselor, said she notifies families three times each year.
The application is online and fewer families in the Edinburgh area have internet access or a computer at home, she said.
Doug Arnold, superintendent of Edinburgh Schools, has worked for 11 school districts during his career, big and small, urban and rural. Getting students enrolled in the program has been a challenge at each district, he said.
“The biggest problem is people just don’t take advantage of it. That’s a common issue, and I can’t put my finger on it. I haven’t come up with a perfect answer for it,” Arnold said. “(The program) is reasonable and in reach. So I’m elusive as to why kids — and their parents — wouldn’t take advantage of a free college education.”
The Indiana Commission for Higher Education tries to guide school districts to get the most students enrolled and suggests that they include information about the program in every piece of mail that gets sent out, especially to the targeted students, and especially at the beginning of the school year when parents are already filling out a ton of information, Martin said.
Ask local agencies and parent-teacher associations to help, she said.
“For most communities, if (the school) has community partners who are willing to step in and help, great. Those are the people the families know,” Martin said.
Have a staff member help fill out the application if a family doesn’t have access to the internet or a computer, she said.
Another obstacle they’ve come across is simple, but not easy to overcome: legitimizing the program to parents.
“To be honest, with a lot of parents, free college sounds too good to be true. So for us, it’s a combination of making sure our message stands out and letting parents know that we are a legitimate agency and the benefit is very real,” Martin said.
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Here is a look at how many eligible students are enrolled in the 21st Century Scholars program at the six public school districts in Johnson County:
Franklin; 145 eligible; 82 enrolled; 57 percent
Nineveh-Hensley-Jackson; 40 eligible; 21 enrolled; 53 percent
Center Grove; 119 eligible; 52 enrolled; 44 percent
Clark-Pleasant; 222 eligible; 90 enrolled; 41 percent
Greenwood; 102 eligible; 29 enrolled; 28 percent
Edinburgh; 52 eligible; 9 enrolled; 17 percent
Statewide; 45 percent
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Here is a look at how many 21st Century Scholars finish college on time compared to other college students
Graduate college on time:
21st Century Scholars; 30 percent
Low-income students without the scholarship; 24 percent
All Indiana college students; 39 percent
Graduate college after an extended period of time:
21st Century Scholars; 49 percent
Low-income students without scholarship; 41 percent
All Indiana college students; 59 percent
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21st Century Scholars
The statewide taxpayer-funded program through the Indiana Commission for Higher Education that provides low-income students up to four years of undergraduate tuition at a public Indiana college.
Requirements:
Students must maintain at least a 2.5 grade-point average while in high school and college
Students must complete certain tasks each year of high school to help them prepare for college
Families must qualify based on income. A family of two must make less than $30,451 to be eligible for the scholarship. A family of four must make less than $46,435. A family of six must make less than $62,419.
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