For 18-year-old David Minney, the steppingstone into a private university is the Say Yes to Education Program.
“It provided more incentive to continue my education,” said Minney.
Minney is one of 80 students at Syracuse University and among 1,000 Syracuse high-school graduates in college throughout the Northeast, thanks to Say Yes to Education Program. Say Yes is a non-profit organization started in 1987 in Philadelphia. Its goal is to help urban students finish high school and go to college. The program is funded with a combination of individual donations, corporate support and tax dollars.
In Syracuse, the program’s funding includes received $15 million from the national foundation and another $15 million from individual donors and corporations. It just received a $5-million donation from SRC Inc., a research and development company in Syracuse. The city’s proposed budget included $1 million for Say Yes and, at the federal level, a $500,000 grant has been approved by a Senate committee and is awaiting full Senate approval.
The program, say supporters, is an investment in the next generation. And it is changing who goes to college.
“When you think about Say Yes, you think about an entire community coming together to embrace its children,” said Rachael Gazdick, executive director of the Syracuse University Say Yes to Education chapter.
Nationally, four cities have the Say Yes program in one or two of their schools. But Syracuse’s program is the only one to include an entire school district. All 34 Syracuse city schools are in Say Yes. Syracuse University has a partnership with the city and the program.
In the Say Yes program, students get individualized tutoring. They go to after-school and summer programs for educational support outside of the classroom. After high school graduation, Say Yes offers full scholarships to 100 participating colleges and universities throughout the Northeast. Say Yes pays for tuition, fees and books.
The program is limited to families with incomes no higher than $75,000 a year, but program officials say they look at exceptions case-by-case. To be eligible, a student must live in the city of Syracuse and be enrolled in a Syracuse City School District school for 10th, 11th and 12th grades. The student must graduate by or after June 2009. The high-school graduate has a year to enroll as a full-time student in a participating Say Yes college or university.
Say Yes, according to supporters, is changing who gets to go to college by giving urban students educational advantages they often don’t have. “It’s not about putting the care in front of them and expecting them to go to college,” said Susan Dutch, director of communications for Say Yes Syracuse. “It starts in kindergarten and continues to make sure the kids stay on track.”
For example, Camyrn Cartwright is a fourth-grader at Seymour Dual Language Academy and has been in the Say Yes to Education program since first grade. Camyrn says her favorite subjects are math and science.
“When I grow up I want to be a teacher,” said Camryn.
At Barnes and Nobel bookstore on Erie Boulevard in late April, Camryn and other Say Yes students showed off some of their talents and skills at their own book-signing. The students worked together to write three stories that were then illustrated by Syracuse University illustration majors and published into books.
Camyrn has always been interested in school, said her grandmother Eileen Sakway. But with Say Yes’ support, Camyrn is an even better student, she said. “She’s a sponge for learning,” said Sakway. “She comes home and is excited about what she’s doing.”
Success stories like Cartwright are one of the reasons that National Grid, the Central New York power company, is a major sponsor of Say Yes, said the company’s president.
“We believe that making an investment in children is making an investment in communities and the future,” said Bob Keller, president of National Grid in an interview. Well-educated children have a better chance of becoming well-employed adults who need fewer tax-supported services and who strengthen the local economy, said Keller.
For his part, SU student David Minney graduated from Fowler High School in 2009 after a year in Say Yes. After he graduates from SU, he said, he wants to stay in Central New York doing social work, giving back to the community that is helping him pursue his career.
“I believe in the program Say Yes,” said Minney. “It’s trying to change the community.”
(Melanie Kendall is a senior with dual majors in broadcast digital journalism and political science.)
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