KALAMAZOO (WKZO) — It was a small gathering of a few dozen who met out on the edge of town to unveil the first of many new signs heralding Kalamazoo as the home of The Promise.
They will be installed all around the perimeter of the city in the coming weeks.
Many of the people in attendance were there ten years ago when then Supt. Janice Brown announced, to the utter astonishment of everyone that the money had been secured from donors to guarantee free college tuition for every Graduate of Kalamazoo Public Schools.
All they had to do was to get a college to accept them.
Ten years later Dr. Brown says its success has exceeded her expectations in so may ways that she could never have anticipated.
She says one of the most rewarding achievements is the way it has improved the lives of the Promise Scholars.
She says while there has been a lot of success, its also become clear there is more work to do, beginning with those high school grads who are still eligible, but have not yet taken advantage of the opportunity.
Brown says she has heard from a number who have gone on to graduate that they feel beholden to the community. She says it will be their contributions to Kalamazoo in the future that she looks forward to over the next ten to twenty years that will be the real gift, and the fulfillment of the Promise.
A community celebration of the tenth anniversary of the scholarship program will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. tomorrow afternoon in Bronson Park.
