Board Member Betty Burney and Butler Alumni Group
Launch A.C.T. Mentoring and Scholarship Program
Jacksonville - Duval County School Board member Betty Burney, District 5, and members of the Eugene J. Butler Alumni Association recently announced the launching of the new Achieving College Together (ACT) Mentoring and Scholarship Program.
“This program gives our young people an opportunity to level the playing field,” said Board member Burney. “It is our hope that all young people will attend college, and we are thankful for the faith-based institutions and colleges that have volunteered to mentor these students.”
The ACT program, expected to begin in the fall of 2010, will team at-risk and disadvantaged youth attending Eugene Butler Middle School and William M. Raines High School with students from Edward Waters College (EWC), who will serves as mentors.
The program is only open to students in grades seventh through ninth from low-to-moderate-income households.
ACT will provide positive role models to teens, engage college students in assisting teens with making good decisions and making choices on where to go to college, as well as providing annual scholarships to high school graduates who have participated in the mentoring program for at least two years.
Melvin Crosby, president of the Butler Alumni Association, spoke to the crowd regarding the purpose of the program. Crosby, a 1969 graduate of Eugene Butler, then introduced Sylvia Johnson, principal of Eugene Butler Middle School, to explain the program and its importance to the students of Butler.
Principal Johnson gave a heartfelt thank you to the Alumni Association for partnering with her school. She also thanked the faculty, staff and students of EWC, and representatives from the New Town Success Zone for their partnerships as well.
George Maxey, principal of William M. Raines High School, echoed Ms. Johnson’s sentiment of appreciation for the ACT program. Maxey also spoke of the importance of creating a college-going culture throughout the district. He announced that more than 50 percent of the 2010 graduating class of Raines has been accepted into a college or university. Of those seniors, 45 of them received full-ride scholarships to various colleges and university across the United States.
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