4Message from Dr. Hoffman

April 2008

By now, I am sure you have heard about the new scholarship available to graduating seniors from Fonda-Fultonville High School. It is a tremendous opportunity, and I am thrilled to be able to be the first person to be able to offer these scholarships to our students.

I would like to take a moment to discuss the program, and why it has been set up in the manner in which it is currently designed. A lot of thought and planning went into ensuring it would be fair, unbiased, and beneficial to our young men and women as they move beyond high school.

We took two steps to minimize the chance that family relationships, friendships or other “connections” might influence the awards. First, the program is a “blind” process. No student or parent name appears on the scholarship application. Instead, each application will be tracked by a number, not a name. Only when the recipients are chosen will the names be re-connected with the application. Second, no district residents will participate in the selection process. Instead, Dr. Geoffrey Davis, HFM BOCES District Superintendent, and Dr. Lorraine Hohenforst, HFM BOCES Assistant Superintendent, will be joining me to review the applications and select the scholarship recipients. Again, our goal is to ensure that every applicant is treated fairly and that no one, regardless of his or her relationship within the community or school, gains an unfair advantage.

The size and number of grants also received a lot of deliberation. The scholarship will match the cost of tuition and fees necessary for a student to earn an Associate’s degree from Fulton-Montgomery Community College. Why? Two reasons. Students in need (one of the requirements for receiving the scholarship) will be free to complete work on a degree without worrying about additional school-related expenses except textbooks. The other reason is our belief that all students need post-secondary training. Research demonstrates that an Associate’s degree carries the same “weight” in the hiring process that a high school diploma carried just a generation ago. By providing our students access to an Associate’s degree, we keep them competitive in the job market of the 21st Century.

Finally, this program will impact many students. This year, we will award approximately 15 scholarships valued at $7000 per student. We plan to use only the interest on the fund for scholarships each year, and not touch the original principal. In that way, this generous endowment will provide current and future students with an opportunity for higher education, even if finances in his or her family make paying for college impossible.

This process has already begun, and students have flocked to request applications. If you are a parent of students in our school, I encourage you to urge your children to take advantage of this program when they are ready to complete high school. The rules and expectations for the scholarship are available by clicking this link. Please take a moment to discuss this with your children, and contact the school if you have any questions about the program.

Dr. James Hoffman
Superintendent

view last month's message on MRSA

<back