Life after high school presents a lengthy list of unknowns for many 9th-12th grade students. The question "Should I go to college," is one of the most common. When the correlating answer is yes, then "Where and how will I pay for it," surely follow.
To help ease the financial stress of college for students at Poplar Bluff R-1, Barbie Hon said she goes out of her way to ensure all students and parents are aware of the benefits associated with the A+ Program, a state-funded scholarship available to all public school students in Missouri.
"I try to convince everyone who is eligible to do it because you never know what may happen," said Hon, who is the district's A+ scholarship coordinator. "I've had kids and parents call me after graduation and say 'Hey, can I still get that scholarship?' Nope, it has to be done by graduation."
The A+ Scholarship provides funds to eligible graduates of A+ designated high schools who choose to attend a participating Missouri public community college, vocational/technical school, or certain private two-year vocational/technical schools.
Many public four-year universities recognize the A+ Scholarship, Hon added, but may award monies under a different name because the funds won't be coming from the state. It is also to be noted, A+ funds may not be used to pursue degrees or certificates in theology or divinity.
"A lot of parents don't know that other schools will recognize that you're an A+ student," Hon said. "That's why even students looking to go straight to a four-year university should still do it."
Hon said during the 2016-17 school year, 129 seniors were on track to earn the scholarship and by semester, 12 seniors had graduated meeting all requirements.
"A+ is also such a good option for kids who don't know what they want to do, or who do know and want to go to a community college to get their basics out of the way," Hon said.
The road to receiving the A+ Scholarship begins freshman year with an informative letter listing all requirements which need to be met by graduation. Hon said many times, this letter gets overlooked but having a signed copy on file is the first step to earning free money.
The second is maintaining a non-weighted grade point average of 6.5/11 or higher through graduation.
The third is maintaining a cumulative four-year attendance rate of 95 percent or higher.
"I'll have parents call because they see the yearly attendance has fallen below 95 percent, but it's important to remember we're talking cumulative, or the average for all four years," she said.
The fourth requirement, instituted in 2015, requires achieving a proficient or advanced on the Algebra 1 End-of-Course exam, or earning a score of 17 on the math portion of the ACT.
The fifth is to perform 50 hours of unpaid tutoring and mentoring, of which 25 percent may include job shadowing.
"They can start working on the tutoring aspect the day they start their freshman year," Hon said.
In the past, students were restricted to tutoring during either first or eighth hours during the academic year or in the summer, but as of 2016-17, tutoring is available all hours of the school day because of the high school's close proximity to Oak Grove Elementary and the recently relocated Graduation Center, now temporarily housed at the Technical Career Center.
Hon said it is a requirement all tutoring takes place within the school district. Students must tutor those in lower grades unless other arrangements are necessary or they are assigned to the Graduation Center. Volunteering after school at the Boys and Girls Club is acceptable because all the students are from Poplar Bluff, she added.
The sixth requirement is to maintain a record of good citizenship and avoid the unlawful use of drugs and alcohol. Hon said she thinks this requirement is rather vague, so a limit of 10 days for in or out of school suspension was added for clarity.
"Ten days is the automatic suspension for alcohol or drugs, which means you're already out of the scholarship," she said. "I've seen students lose the scholarship for going to (in-school suspension) for tardies."
The seventh requirement is to realize tuition reimbursement will be made available only after the student has made a good faith effort to secure all available federal post-secondary student financial aid not requiring repayment, such as the Pell Grant. In effect, all students must file the Federal Application For Student Aid, or FAFSA, prior to graduation.
Finally, all qualifying students must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
"At the end of junior year, I run a report of all the upcoming seniors who already meet the requirements and all they have left to do is the tutoring," Hon said. "I end up with about 150, it varies every year, but this many students are meeting the requirements and some don't even realize it."
Hon said since she became the A+ coordinator in 2010, an appeal process has been implemented for students to appeal either the attendance or citizenship requirements.
"If you made a bad choice one year, but you've been an angel ever since, go in and talk to the appeal committee," Hon said. "Or if you had perfect attendance and then something happened one year to change that, talk to them. I've had a few very legitimate appeals, so it never hurts to ask."
Upon earning the A+ Scholarship, students will receive financial incentives until the earliest of the following occurs: 48 months from their date of graduation as printed on their high school transcript, receipt of an associate's degree, or completion of 105 percent of the hours required for the program in which they are enrolled.
"Typically, if we start school when we're supposed to in August, students who graduate at semester in December can use this scholarship in the spring," Hon said.
After graduation, the student must maintain a GPA of 2.5/4 in order to continue receiving A+ financial assistance.
Hon said specific procedures vary by school, but that at Poplar Bluff, if a qualifying student shows interest in earning the scholarship, she will make sure all opportunities are available.
"I just know that I would be mad if nobody let me know about it," Hon said, "and I had a very irresponsible son, so I understand and I'll help them in anyway I can."