Chuck Licis-Masson, the executive director for Take Stock in Children, joined Good Morning Keys on KeysTalk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about the program.
Take Stock in Children is a mentorship scholarship program for low income and at risk students in Monroe County.
Licis-Masson said, “It is a statewide program. There are 45 different programs throughout the state of Florida. Monroe County is one of those programs. So we serve our students from Key Largo School down into Key West, so the entirety of the Keys. Our students have to meet income eligibility requirements based on their parents income taxes, there are thresholds. The application is going to be available in August. But I believe we’re up to about $70,000 for a family of four. They cannot earn more than that. We do have more information on our eligibility requirements for income on our website, but they have to meet that eligibility requirement. Then also academically, our students have to have a 2.0 grade point average to be considered a Take Stock applicant. They have to have A’s, B’s and C’s in their classes, good behavior, good attendance, and be willing to meet with a mentor once a week and that’s the other component once they come into the program. We have a cadre of volunteer mentors, a whole team of mentors from Key Largo to Key West. They meet with their mentee we call them their students for about 30 to 45 minutes one day a week during the school year during the school day. So the mentor goes on campus, typically during the student’s lunch period and you meet with them for as I said for about a half hour 45 minutes. Our mentors, they’re not tutors, they are not ATM machines or Uber drivers. What they are they are caring adults who will help the students learn how to be a self advocate and learn those important life skills of navigating school, college and career, how to ask the right questions, find the right answers, and to basically support them emotionally and guide them through that process.”
Mentors work in conjunction with a success coach.
Licis-Masson said, “I have four coaches throughout the Keys. They work with the mentors and the students and they are the ones who monitor the students academic progress, their behavior, making sure that they’re making the right decisions and doing well in their classes, and supporting mentors as well as if the mentors have any concerns or need some guidance, the coaches are right there with them on campus to help them through that process. So it’s a mentorship program with a scholarship opportunity and that opportunity when the student graduates and they successfully complete the program, meaning that if they’ve met their mentor, they maintained their grades that 2.5 minimum grade point average, A’s, B’s and C’s good attendance and good behavior, once they graduate high school, then they’ll have access to a two plus two scholarship, a Florida prepaid scholarships that’d be purchased. The Monroe County Education Foundation is our lead agency and we fundraise and purchase these scholarships through the Florida Prepaid College Foundation and a student has access to that and that covers 60 hours of the college and 60 hours of university, so a full 120. So they can do the Two Plus Two route, two years at Florida Keys Community College, which is now the College of the Florida Keys, or Valencia College or any of the 28 state colleges across the state of Florida and then transfer to one of the 12 state universities. We also give them pathways if they are admitted directly to University of Florida for example, they can go directly to UF and if they are in UF and need help with housing, we also have two year dormitory plans that we purchased for our students who are eligible to earn one of those as well. So it helps with two years of housing. So to recap, it’s a mentorship program scholarship opportunity and we provide them college and career pathways to earn a degree and begin a career from being a low income family to now being a successful student and wage earner in the state of Florida or beyond.”
The income requirements were raised recently in Monroe County since the cost of living is so high.
Licis-Masson said, “If you live here, you know how expensive living in this county is compared to the other 66 counties in the state of Florida. Now, I know the other counties they have concerns about insurance rates, they’re insurance and flood insurance is high as well. Probably not as high, not comparable to Monroe County. I think our premiums are much, much higher. But there’s that cost of living down here, the food costs are higher in Monroe County, the fuel prices are higher in Monroe County. All of the costs of day to day life are higher here in Monroe County. What we did is we went to Florida Prepaid College Foundation, and they’re the ones that govern the income caps, and the reason being is when we purchase a scholarship it’s state matched. So every dollar that we raise in Monroe County is matched by Florida Prepaid College Foundation. So 50% state funded, and they govern that income cap, you cannot have a student who is not economically eligible, receive one of those state funded scholarships. It’s privately and publicly funded. So we went to them and said, look, you’re using a broad brush approach to the income caps across the state of Florida, a family living in County Y or Z in central and northern Florida is not comparable to one living in Monroe County with regard to rent, food, all the necessities and what it costs to live. So we convinced them and they agreed that we now use the HUD levels, and we’re about I think it’s between a medium and low income. So it’s a formula that we’ve agreed upon and it is used now across the states. So they realize that, hey, this might be something worth looking into. So the HUD value of the HUD caps are different for each county. If you go on to the Housing and Urban Development website for the state of Florida, now each county can use their HUD numbers, as opposed to the free and reduced lunch, which was about 180% of the federal poverty level is really low. The free reduced lunch levels were tremendously low. A family of four couldn’t earn, I think under free and reduced lunch, about 40,000, which you cannot raise, you can’t live down here with two children, two parents working with two children on $40,000 in Monroe County, I don’t think that’s possible.”
Technical and trade schools are also supported by Take Stock in Children.
Licis-Masson said, “It varies from class to class, like this year, our seniors, we had 65 Seniors graduate and 40% of our students went to university, 60% enrolled in a two year college. Usually it’s about 50/50 and we’re seeing a little bit of a difference in that. I think what’s helpful is, I’m a product of a two plus two, I went to a state college for two years, earned an associate’s and then transferred to a state university. It allows you to have your general education courses done, you’re in a smaller environment, you’re not one student amongst 80,000 students at University of Central Florida, for example, trying to navigate the campus and choose classes and you’re in classes of 200 kids in a in a seminar class, you know, for English 101, for example, or college algebra. A college gives it more, it’s a nice stepping stone from high school to university and it’s a good transition. The challenge with colleges though is they don’t have housing. So a lot of us think about our students when they leave Monroe County and they can stay here and they go to the college of the Florida Keys, which is a great institution and a good stepping stone into a springboard into university but if you’re going to the mainland, you have limited housing options. In order to use the two year dormitory, they have to have an on campus housing complex as approved by Florida Prepaid and there are only currently I believe, two or three colleges with with dormitories. Of course, the College of Florida Keys has a dormitory. I believe Indian River has one because they have a huge athletic program for diving and for other sports and they built dormitories for students coming from across the country for those programs. Then Florida Southwestern College, which is the formerly Edison College in Fort Myers, they have dormitory access as well. So what was interesting is this past May at my graduation, I announced where the students are going to college and I kept saying Florida SouthWestern, over and over for a lot of students in a row. I had to stop for a moment and explain you know, you’re hearing this a lot. This is why because the students have dormitory options at Florida Southwestern so they can leave Monroe, go to a college and still have housing.”
The partnership with Monroe County School District is very important.
Licis-Masson said, “We couldn’t do this without the partnership with the school district in Monroe County, public schools. With the law change last year, we have seven Basilica students. So now we’re also serving private schools, we have the Basilica school in Key West. So the students who are eligible for our program at the Basilica School can apply as well. So it’s the partnership with the schools, the teachers, the administration, that make it all possible, we couldn’t do this on our own. We serve under the umbrella of the school district and the schools and we’re just another part of those programs to support our students. We’re supporting our students who would otherwise have a hard time moving forward, and finding the pathway to college and career and the workshops that we provide, help them with their success in college. Then they can articulate that into into their careers. So we’re very thankful to the school district and thankful to our community for our mentors as well. That’s the other thing, we couldn’t do this without mentors. We had 340 students in the program last year, that means 340 mentors. We’re looking at expanding again this year. I have a goal of about 360 students in the program from Key Largo to Key West and that means we’re going to need mentors. So we need mentors who are willing to give 30 to 45 minutes, one day a week during the school year, it’s not a heavy lift. In fact, my mentors say it’s the most enjoyable 30 minutes of their week, when they get to listen and just talk about other things. It’s a window into the world of adolescents as well for many of our mentors to see where they are, their perspectives, their viewpoints, and mentors, I think learn as much and get more out of it in some cases than the mentees. So I appeal to anyone who’s listening, if they’re interested in working with a student, it’s not a huge ask, but just 30 minutes a week during the school year, and commit to one year. I can guarantee you if you do the one year, you will follow that student all the way through graduation, and you’ll love it so much.”
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