Rowan County Crosby Scholars Community Partnership

Rowan County Crosby Scholars is a college access program through which public school students begin to prepare academically, financially, and personally for successful college admission as early as middle school. We are partnered with Goodwill Industries of Northwest North Carolina Inc. and modeled after the successful Crosby Scholars Community Partnership in Forsyth County, which graduates 100% of its seniors and sends 98% of its graduates on to access post-secondary education. Every public middle and high school student in Rowan County is eligible to join our program before 12th grade. Each year, students are encouraged to maintain at least a 2.0 GPA, attend a Crosby Academy workshop, complete and submit community service hours, follow school policies (i.e., no out-of-school suspensions), and commit to remaining drug/tobacco/alcohol free. High school students must also attend a college fair or visit four college campuses before graduation, and seniors must meet with 1:1 advisors throughout 12th grade to prepare for their next steps toward post-secondary plans. Students have the option of participating in additional college preparation meetings, which are led by staff or partner agencies. Students who complete all of the requirements each year automatically stay in the program as they progress through high school graduation. Enrollment in 2024 totaled 1,961 students in grades 6th-12th. Of those, 1,306 students received credit for attending one or more of our academy workshops. Community service hours were submitted by 1,198 of our students, who combined recorded over 5,379 hours of volunteer work. Our program provides college access training to parents, guardians, and volunteers so that each senior has a 1:1 advisor to meet with throughout the school year for assistance with the college process. In addition to the individual meetings, senior academy workshops were held to help with essay writing, college applications, standardized test taking, understanding financial aid, and general preparation for the freshman year of college. To date, the Rowan County Crosby Scholars program has graduated over 1,595 seniors.