The Okaloosa Public Schools Foundation, Inc. hosted its annual Take Stock in Children (TSIC) Student Awards Ceremony and Reception on Thursday, May 5, 2022, at the Niceville Community Center. The event celebrated the upcoming graduation of fourteen seniors from across the district who have truly benefitted from the one-on-one mentoring and college success planning they have received throughout high school. The two-year college scholarships these students are receiving as part of the program will allow them to continue their education.
Caneisaya Matthews, a 2013 graduate of Choctawhatchee High School and former Take Stock Scholar, was the keynote speaker. She inspired the students, parents, teachers, mentors, and administrators in attendance with her story and advice. She will begin her final year as a Medical Student at Florida State University in the Fall and attributes her success to her mother’s support and the opportunities she received thanks to the Take Stock In Children scholarship she earned.
The Take Stock program in Okaloosa County is scheduled to grow next year as the fourteen (14) graduates make way for seventeen (17) incoming freshmen students, giving the district a total of sixty (60) Take Stock Scholars for 2022-2023.
The Foundation's goal is to increase that number to 100 students in the next five years.
The application window to apply for the Take Stock in Children scholarship program opens in February each year.
Students are selected for the program based on an application and meeting standard criteria, including a minimum 2.5 GPA, qualify for free or reduced lunch, and are currently in 8th-10th grades. Once students are accepted into the program, they are assigned a mentor who works with them once a week until they graduate from high school. Take Stock provides these scholarships thanks to corporate and individual donations and grants. Each donation is matched through the Florida Prepaid Program. Please visit the Okaloosa Public Schools Foundation website if you are interested in contributing to Take Stock In Children or Mentoring a scholarship student!