Community, education leaders have been working toward this for over a decade
-
Osceola Prosper, a free tuition plan for county graduates, is part of why Osceola County's college-attending rate for graduating seniors is 4th in Florida. FILE PHOTO
The film "Field of Dreams" coined the phrase: "If you build it, he will come."
Two years ago, it was Osceola County that built a bridge to a college education for its graduates. Enough of them have crossed that bridge to enable the county to celebrate a milestone: after many years of having the lowest percentage of high school graduates move on to college in Central Florida, Osceola County students now rank fourth in the entire state of Florida for college attendance.
For the first time, at 63%, Osceola County’s college-attending rate has surpassed the state average (54%), as well as that of Orange County (57%), and Seminole County (59%), officials with Valencia said this week.
“This shows the power of a community coming together around a common goal and committing to partnership and collaboration,” said Kathleen Plinske, president of Valencia College. “Osceola County has been working on increasing access to education for more than a decade, and I am so proud what has been made possible for our youth. This, in turn, is an investment in our community’s future.”
Plinske, when she was the campus president of Valencia's Osceola campus, then those of Lake Nona and Poinciana when they opened, was on the ground floor of a movement to increase Osceola County's college-attending graduate counts a decade ago. In 2010, according to the Florida Department of Education the percentage of Osceola County high school graduates who enrolled in college was at 40%, ranking 61st of Florida's 67 counties. Plinske began working with Osceola County School District leadership and community members to bring attention to this, and launched the “Got College?” program, an effort to improve access to college for Osceola County residents, be it through better access to transportation, financial aid and awareness of available academic programs. High schools began hosting signing ceremonies for college-bound seniors, much like those for athletes signing college scholarships.
It worked in the short term; the percentage of Osceola County high school graduates enrolling in a collegiate program increased from to 48.6% in 2015, moving Osceola County up to 27th in the state.
Those gains held steady until the COVID-19 pandemic hit. After schools closed for nearly a month in March 2020, then opened strictly for remote learning for the rest of the year, then offered remote and hybrid learning for the 2020-21 school year with masks mandated for those attending in person, it had a negative effect. The gains from "Got College" were wiped out, nearly returning to the 2010 lows of the period.
What then came was a lifeline, or, in this case, a bridge built.
Using federal COVID-19 recovery dollars, the County Commission in 2022 approved Osceola Prosper. Commissioners voted to use the county’s federal pandemic recovery funds to guarantee that every member of the Class of '22 in the county could attend Valencia College's Osceola or Poinciana campus, or Osceola Technical College, for free.
Yandell Fret, a Liberty High School 2022 senior who said traditional college wasn’t on his horizon due to the cost — until commissioners came to his school, and the rest of the county's public high school, to break the news. “Now it’s free, I’m going to go,” he said, noting he can enroll in a auto mechanic program and get certified at no cost. “I know I can make a career out of it, and one day have my own shop.
“I hadn’t even looked into it. Money was the barrier. This was a big deal (at Liberty). Everybody was going crazy when they heard the news.”
Grants and other funding were used to extend the program to the Class of 2023. "We heard from many students from the Class of '23, 'What about us?' So we were able to extend it," said Commissioner Brandon Arrington.
After 2,485 county students took advantage of it in 2022, and 2,278 more in 2023, the county apportioned $8.3 million of its budget to again afford the program to the Class of 2024; the funds should cover the costs of 2,100 students, county documents say.
“I am extraordinarily grateful to our Osceola County Commissioners for their visionary leadership and willingness to invest in Osceola Prosper, a program that is truly the only one of its kind,” Plinske said. “It is a powerful strategic investment in economic development that will attract employers and industry looking to find skilled talent – the results are already clearly starting to pay off.”
Dr. Mark Shanoff came on board as the Osceola schools' superintendent in July, and inherits a school system that has structure like Osceola Prosper, and education visionaries like Plinske helping bolster post-high school efforts.
"I'm immensely proud to witness the tremendous increase in our college-going rate. This achievement speaks volumes about the dedication of our students and parents, the support and guidance given by our teachers and staff, and the incredible collaboration with the Osceola County Board of County Commissioners for Osceola Prosper and Valencia College," he said. "It reflects our collective commitment to preparing our youth for the opportunities and challenges of tomorrow. This milestone not only transforms individual lives but also strengthens the fabric of Osceola County, driving progress and prosperity for generations to come."
