Education Foundation receives $60,000 through partnership between Gulf Coast and Community foundations
The Education Foundation of Sarasota County has received $60,000 in grants made possible through a partnership between the Gulf Coast Community Foundation and the Community Foundation of Sarasota County that it will use to expand the College & Career Center at Booker High School, the Education Foundation has announced.
The College & Career Center is a program “developed to provide students and their parents with free services to assist with planning for education beyond high school,” a news release notes. Among those are SAT/ACT testing preparation; instruction in resume and essay writing; help with research into colleges and completing college applications; and assistance in identifying scholarships and financial aid, the release points out.
“Our goal at the Education Foundation is to help create a college and career culture within our community,” explained Jennifer Vigne, president of the organization, in the release. “The enthusiasm and support for this program, along with all of the events we hosted in October as part of College Knowledge Month, underscores we are moving in the right direction.”
By 2020, 65 percent of all jobs in the U.S. economy will require postsecondary education and training beyond high school, according to an analysis by the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce, the release points out. “The same report indicates that if we maintain the current production rate in higher education, the U.S. will fall 5 million short of workers with postsecondary credentials needed by 2020,” the release adds.
“Preparing our youth for college and employment opportunities that can lead to career-path jobs is a priority for Gulf Coast,” said Mark Pritchett, president and CEO of Gulf Coast Community Foundation, in the release. “We are glad to see that this pilot is strategic, it’s research-based, and it complements education and workforce efforts that we already support.”
For more information on the Education Foundation of Sarasota County and its College & Career Readiness Initiative, visit EdFoundationSRQ.org or call 927-0965.