Future Grads Get a Boost to Attend San Diego State
BY DENISE T. WARD
Staff Writer
Michael and Monica Ellis are graduates of the Sweetwater Union High School District, who attended Bonita Vista and Hilltop high schools.
They went on to become successful owners of dietary supplement company Metabolife. The Ellis’ are one of three major benefactors who want to ensure other Sweetwater students have that chance.
The Ellis Foundation’s contribution of $500,000, along with a $500,000 by Carol and William Stensrud of the Stensrud Foundation and a $100,000 contribution from an anonymous donor will make it possible for Sweetwater district graduates to attend San Diego State University. William Stensrud is a local venture capitalist.
Initiated in 2000, the Compact for Success program is a partnership between the Sweetwater district and SDSU that guarantees admission for every student in Sweetwater’s classes of 2006, 2007 and 2008. The students have to meet certain academic standards to be eligible, and those with the greatest financial need will receive Compact scholarships.
Starting in the seventh-grade and continuing though high school graduation, the Compact program establishes high academic expectations and backs up those expectations with support services from both the district and SDSU.
Early preparation and intervention programs, including tutoring, parental involvement and college visits, are in place to make sure students are supported every step of the way.
Sweetwater Superintendent Ed Brand said the program satisfies the needs of the district and SDSU. It also helps the district because numerous students have a desire to attend college but may fall off-track academically. The program helps SDSU, he said, in that the university stresses a need for better-prepared students and a more diverse student body.
“A third component as to why we needed this program is that many students can’t afford to attend college,” Brand said. “We didn’t want that to be a barrier, so we thought it would be good to find some benefactors.”
The Ellis Foundation’s contribution will sponsor students in the class of 2006, this year’s eighth-graders. The Stensruds will sponsor the class of 2007, and the anonymous contribution will sponsor the class of 2008.
The Sweetwater district is about 70 percent Latino, 15 percent white, 10 percent Filipino/Asian Americans and 5 percent African American. Brand said 75 percent of the students attend college, but about 40 percent of those enroll in community college.
The district has secured more than $1 million to date for the program. Efforts are under way to raise another $1.5 million for the graduating classes of 2009 and 2010.
