Out-Of-State ​“Promise” Expansion Suggested

As New Haven Promise sends a third class of students to Connecticut colleges with scholarships, organizers faced a question: Why exclude kids who head out-of-state for college?

The question arose at a recent meeting of the Citywide Parent Leadership Team at Wilbur Cross High School.

Parents at the meeting heard an update from Patricia Melton, director of New Haven Promise, the city’s college scholarship program that’s funded by Yale and the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven.

In its third year, Promise is about to hand out scholarships to 168 students heading into their freshman year in college, Melton announced. To qualify, students have to meet a 3.0 GPA, do 40 hours of community service, stay out of trouble, and maintain a 90 percent attendance rate. (This year, the group also includes 20 kids who got in under ​“Passport to Promise,” a new, competitive pilot program for kids with GPAs between 2.5 and 2.99. )

Applications are at an all-time high, Melton announced: Of the roughly 1,000 New Haven high school seniors in the Class of 2013, 486 applied to the program. That’s up from 352 last year and 369 in 2011. (The number of applicants dropped slightly between 2011 and 2012 because Promise moved the applications online, she said.)

Promise offers up to free tuition at public, in-state 2- and 4‑year colleges and universities and up to $2,500 a year in tuition at not-for-profit colleges.

To get the money, kids must attend college in Connecticut. That means kids who would otherwise qualify must turn down the money if they’d like to attend college somewhere else. Of the 486 who applied this year, 202 qualified, and 168 accepted the money. Another 34 qualified but did not accept the scholarship — a sign that they may have left the state.

Parent activist Tim Holahan listened to the figures. Then he asked Melton a question.

“Why limit students to Connecticut” for college?

If the point is to encourage all New Haven public school graduates to go to college, it doesn’t make sense to restrict the money to in-state institutions, he argued. Connecticut colleges don’t have it all, he added: For example, the state has no historically black college or university.

Melton acknowledged the concern. Melton said she ​“absolutely” plans to research the issue and present it to the Promise board for discussion.

Melton noted that Hartford’s Promise, which plans to launch in 2016, pledges to offer money to kids who attend both in-state and out-of-state colleges. She said New Haven Promise has already expanded by creating the Passport to Promise program last year, and ​“we will continue to look at policy changes across the board.”

“Everything is on the table,” she said.

One of the five Promise board members, Mayor John DeStefano, frowned on the idea of extending scholarships to out-of-state kids.

“One of the goals of Promise is to keep kids in-state,” he said in a written statement Monday. ​“Promise is a benefit, not an entitlement. Keeping our talent local makes the most sense and is best for the future of New Haven.”

The amount of scholarships is being phased in. This year, students get scholarships worth up to 75 percent of tuition. How much money they get depends on how many years they have attended New Haven public schools (including charters and traditional public schools). Scholarships start at 48 percent of tuition for kids who attended only high school in New Haven; students who attended from kindergarten get 75 percent.

Promise is handing out $650,000 this year — including the payments for the Class of 2011, 2012 and 2013 — Melton announced. The current high school seniors will be the first class who qualify for scholarships worth up to 100 percent of tuition. See the image below for more stats on Promise’s first three years.