Media Advisory: East Middle School Students Set to Receive Awards for Academic Achievements/May 16, 2002

What:

Photo and news opportunity as students, parents, educators, higher education officials and local business leaders gather to honor 72 students from East Middle School. The evening ceremony will be a celebration of the students’ academic performance. Activities include dinner, remarks from Oklahoma State Regent Carl Renfro and presentation of Oklahoma Scholars certificates. Oklahoma Scholars is a recognition program sponsored through a partnership between the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education and ACT Inc., to acknowledge students who score in the top five percent of students taking ACT’s EXPLORE test. The EXPLORE test is designed to help eighth-grade students with academic preparation for college and career interest development. The event is sponsored by Pioneer Bank and Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP), a federal program created to develop students’ potential and help students, as well as their families, better prepare for college.

Who:

Eighth-grade students and their parents.

When:

6:30 p.m., Tuesday, May 21, 2002 – the awards presentation will begin around 7 p.m. Where: Ponca City High School Commons, 927 N. 5th Street

Why:

To recognize student achievement and to encourage students in their future studies. In addition, the evening will help students and their parents become aware of the importance of planning for college. This is especially important for first-generation college students — students who come from families with no higher education experience.

Speakers:

Carl Renfro, Oklahoma State Regent for Higher Education; Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board, Pioneer Bank and Trust, Ponca City
Dolores Mize, Oklahoma GEAR UP State Director and Assistant Vice Chancellor and Director of State System Advancement, Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education
Craig Myers, Board Member, Ponca City Board of Education; Senior Vice President, Pioneer Bank and Trust, Ponca City
Dwain West, Senior Specialist in Natural Gas and Liquids Technology, Conoco
Bill White, Superintendent, Ponca City Public Schools
Linda Powers, Director of Secondary Education, Ponca City Public Schools
Sharon Scroggins, Principal, Ponca City East Middle School
Elaine Thomas, Counselor, Ponca City East Middle School.

The U.S. Department of Education awarded Oklahoma with a state GEAR UP grant totaling $20.5 million in August 1999. The grant has been matched by more than $25 million from state and partner resources. With funds totaling $45.5 million, GEAR UP receives 45 percent of total funding from the federal government and 55 percent from other organizations.