About Us
History
Project Leadership believes that education is the most important issue in Grant County today, much as it was in 2000 when this organization was originally founded through a generous investment from the Lilly Endowment. Today, Project Leadership continues to partner with the community to increase the educational attainment of youths and adults. It has done so through career, literacy and volunteer efforts as it works to achieve its ultimate goal – for community members to have the academic excellence and employment skills they need to be productive performers in school and at work.
Because of funding support from local partners, the Community Foundation and Project Leadership created a new position in 2007 for a team member who was given this assignment: Recruit and sign up eligible local 7th- and 8th-grade students to become Twenty-first Century Scholars. The 21st Century program is one in which students pledge to remain crime-free, drug-free and maintain at least a C average throughout high school. Staying true to this commitment delivers a high return: free tuition to an accredited Indiana public college or university. The decision to hire a community scholarship liaison for Grant County was precipitated by a candid look at Grant County’s Twenty-first Century figures. About 50 percent of Grant County’s 7th and 8th graders met the income guidelines and were eligible to sign up for the program. However, research showed that only 16 percent of local youths were taking advantage of the program. Hundreds of students were missing a life-changing opportunity: Make a pledge. Keep it for four years. Receive a free college education.
Linda Lowe was hired as Project Leadership’s Community Scholarship Liaison in the spring through the generous support of our funding partners. In her short time with Project Leadership, Linda’s recruiting efforts have been extremely successful. Consider: In February of 2007, 16 percent of Grant County’s 7th and 8th graders who were eligible for the program were signed up to be Twenty-first Century Scholars. By July – three months after Linda was hired -- the numbers had doubled to 38 percent by the time the summer recruitment deadline ended. As a result, this year, there are 260 Grant County freshmen enrolled in the program.
As Linda Lowe gained momentum in our county’s Twenty-first Century enrollment numbers, she turned her attention to another need that school administrators and educators have identified for these Twenty-first Century Scholars. That need is mentoring. In late summer and early fall, Project Leadership entered a partnership with each of the county’s five public school systems to recruit community mentors for 260 Twenty-first Century 9th graders who are entering their first year of fulfilling their pledge. The weekly time commitment is minimal: one hour spent encouraging a 9th-grade student at his or her school each week during a study hall, lunch or before or after school.
The mentoring program launched in October. For the first time in Grant County’s history, these scholars are being provided with consistent encouragement to help them attain their goals. About 40 percent or 100 of the 9th-grade scholars are participating in the mentoring program.
The mentors are community volunteers whose life experiences range from teaching to working in the business sector. All live in Grant County and have a vested interest in its future. All have received two hours of training before beginning their mentorships and have completed applications and interviews with the Project Leadership office as well as criminal background checks through the Grant County Sheriff’s Department. All have committed to meeting up to one hour, one day a week for one school year with a high school freshman. Because this program is a school-based mentoring program, all mentor-mentee sessions are conducted on school grounds during study hall, lunch or after/before school.
Mentors began meeting with their mentees in the last half of October. Throughout the year, they will submit monthly reports to Project Leadership who will track their progress. The report asks for goals, progress on goals, numbers of times met, activities, successes and challenges. December 2007 reports continue to be filed by mentors, but Project Leadership estimates that from October through December, about 325 hours were spent with students and more than 400 sessions were conducted with Grant County students.