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Writer's pictureStand Up Blue Valley

How are Blue Valley students REALLY doing when it comes to college readiness?

Updated: Nov 17, 2021

Over 74% of Blue Valley graduates in the Class of 2022 will qualify for **academic merit scholarships** to The University of Kansas, based on KU’s recently-updated Admissions website. Almost 40% of those BV graduates will be eligible for KU’s TOP-TIER “Chancellor Scholarship” of $20,000 over four years.

As we continue to bust the ridiculous false narrative that Blue Valley Schools has a large number of graduates unprepared for college, SUBV volunteers compared school district GPA data for the Class of 2022 to scholarships offered by KU for in-state students graduating high school next year. We also followed up with a phone call to KU to confirm our findings.

Of the 1852 BV students projected to graduate in May 2022, 1377 will qualify for thousands of dollars in scholarships over a 4-year period at KU. These scholarships are based on the cumulative GPA an in-state student earns during high school after 6 semesters. You read this right: nearly THREE QUARTERS of the Blue Valley Class of 2022 can expect to be eligible for academic merit scholarships to KU. Wow! https://admissions.ku.edu/afford/scholarships

These KU scholarship eligibility numbers reflect EVERY Blue Valley student graduating next year. Those who came to BV from another district just a year or two ago are counted. Those with learning differences. Those who don’t plan to attend college. And students receiving special education services are included (our district has an above-average number of students qualifying for SPED). As a public school district, Blue Valley accepts any K-12 resident of the district into its classrooms - even mid-year. And yet - 74% of the Class of 2022 can attend KU on an academic merit scholarship. That’s an impressive statistic and it should make our community proud.

Of course, there are five other state universities, one municipal university, nineteen community colleges, and six technical colleges in the Kansas Regents system - where Blue Valley grads can expect scholarship awards for academic merit, too. We’re using KU as an example, because its scholarship model is very straightforward. (Kansas State University has a similar merit scholarship program based on GPA, for example, but other factors are also considered.)

The Blue Valley School Board candidates we’ve endorsed recognize the academic excellence of our district and will continue building on it. We do NOT need a School Board that paints our district as under-performing - seeking to tear apart what’s clearly working and starting all over again. Blue Valley Schools is doing a LOT of things right. Let’s celebrate that and work to improve on it.

Plan to vote in the Nov. 2 School Board election - by mail (www.ksvotes.org for mail ballot), early in person (www.standupbluevalley.org for details) or on Election Day at your designated polling location.


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