Chuck Licis-Masson, executive director of the Monroe County Education Foundation, joined Good Morning Keys on Keys Talk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about Take Stock in Children.
There will be 69 graduates of Take Stock in Children celebrating this week.
Licis-Masson said, “This is an exciting time of the year for us. It culminates the hard work that we do, but also the hard work that our kids do. It’s their perseverance, their grit, their passion towards the program and towards their higher education that reaches this moment where 69 of our students across the county including six high schools, we have the three county high schools as well as a graduate from the academy at the College of the Florida Keys, a graduate from Somerset Island prep and a graduate from St Mary’s Basilica school as well. So we have six schools we’re representing and we’re going to give away $2 million worth of scholarships on Saturday. Every dollar we raise is matched by Florida Prepaid through the Florida Prepaid College Foundation, so it doubles our fundraising efforts, and we purchased these special scholarships for our students. They’re two plus two, which what that means is that 60 hours are college hours, and then 60 hours are university hours. And if you remember, you need 120 credit hours to earn a bachelor’s degree. We provide those hours, and we also provide two year dormitory plans for many of our students attending universities. Out of the 69 students, 43 are going directly to university, and they are accessing those two year dormitory scholarships to help with housing for two years.”
The public is encouraged to cheer on the Take Stock graduates.
Licis-Masson said, “We’ll be at Marathon High School in the performing arts center, 11 o’clock is processional. It is about an hour ceremony. We have several guest speakers. We have students who speak, and then we also hand out the medallions and scholarships at the end of the ceremony. So it lasts about an hour, hour and a half in Marathon 11 o’clock and we would love for the public to join us. We have school board members who join us, and as well as the Monroe County Education Foundation Board members, elected officials and the family, friends and everyone involved in these kids join us as well, and the mentors, and it’s ceremonial, because our mentors, they’ve been working with these kids for some upward to six years. They’ve been following these students through middle school and high school, and on Saturday, this is a culminating event. They escort their student, their mentee, across the stage, they give them a hug, and the mentor peels off into the audience, and the student sits on stage, and they’re handing off the student to the next level of education that is college, and then career.”
Mentors are the life blood of Take Stock in Children.
Licis-Masson said, “We have several who step up and want to do it. They really are passionate about the program. They enjoy it. It only takes 30 minutes out of your week during the school year. So one day a week, for about 30 minutes, you meet with your student during lunch or during an elective period on school campus. And you’re not an Uber or an ATM or a tutor, you’re more or less a confidant, someone who has good listening skills. And you help them develop self advocacy skills and find solutions to challenges and get them ready for college, and you work in succession with the college readiness coach we have in all of our schools as well who work directly with the students. Our grads will receive a Take Stock medallion, which they’ll wear at their high school graduations and represent Take Stock in Children at those ceremonies.”
Do alums ever come back to the Take Stock graduation?
Licis-Masson said, “Yes, we do. And we have the start of an alumni association. Michael Stern, he’s a chiropractor in Key West, and he’s the President of the Alumni Association. We have alums also in Marathon. And we have alums up in Coral Shores, in the Upper Keys, and they will attend. Dr Christina Belotti, she’s a teacher at Marathon High School, she usually attends, and she’s from our first Take Stock graduating class in 2001. She’s a great supporter of Take Stock in Children. And we have a couple of teachers as well in Coral Shores who normally attend.”
Take Stock in Children is always looking ahead.
Licis-Masson said, “While we are graduating 69 students, we are also looking ahead to the ‘26, ‘27 school year, and the application process will begin in early August, and that will be online as well. There are academic guidelines that the student must meet, and income guidelines that the household parent must meet as well. That starts August 1, and we will start the process all over again. I want to shout out to the Keys Weekly. You’ll see our advertisement in the Keys Weekly edition this week, and you can see all of our students and mentors who are graduating on Saturday. So take a look at that, and we hope to see you on Saturday at 11 o’clock at Marathon.”
For more information, click here: https://monroecountyedfound.com/about-take-stock