Eighth graders sign for early state funds commitment
Olympia — Over 33,000 — 91 percent — of last year’s eighth-grade students signed up for the College Bound Scholarship program by the June 30 deadline. This cohort, the graduating class of 2019, is the largest since the program’s inception in 2007, the Washington Student Achievement Council said Monday in a statement.
This year, 110 school districts had sign-up rates of 92 percent or higher. Of these, 77 school districts, including Grand Coulee Dam, saw 100 percent of their eligible students sign up for the scholarships.
Since 2007, the total number of students the College Bound program has reached has increased 14 times over, from 15,000 to almost 215,000 today, including 33,147 students in the class of 2019 (this year’s ninth-graders).
College Bound helps the state’s low-income students reach higher levels of educational attainment, the agency says, noting that College Bound students are graduating from high school at rates over 15 percentage points higher than their peers from low-income families who did not sign up.
The College Bound Scholarship, in combination with other state aid, covers tuition at public college rates. Eligible students sign up in middle school, no later than June 30 of their eighth-grade year, to receive an early commitment of state funding.
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