Bourbon’s A+ Participation Up From 2017

Through January, 46 percent of Bourbon’s senior class were participating in the A+ scholarship program with another five students edging closer to eligibility.

That percentage — presented by A+ Coordinator Chris Scheel at the board’s January meeting — is up from 35.4 percent in 2017 when 23 of the 65 graduates were awarded the scholarship.

If all five of the students met the requirements in 2018, it would boost eligibility to 53.3 percent.

Scheel reported that 58.7 percent of freshmen, 52.1 percent of sophomores and 52.3 percent of juniors are eligible to enroll in the A+ program based on grade point average (GPA) and attendance following the first semester.

The A+ program awards scholarships to attend two-year community college or a technical school after high school. The program began at Bourbon in 2007 and to be eligible, students must graduate with at least a 2.5 GPA; maintain 95 percent attendance rate for four years; perform 50 hours of unpaid tutoring or mentoring for young students; be good citizens and achieve proficient or advanced on the Algebra I end-of-course exam.

The percentage of Bourbon graduates who have attended either a two-year or four-year college following high school has fluctuated between a low of 44.6 percent in 2015 to a high of 54.2 percent in 2012.

A+ required a higher math score in 2015, which dropped Bourbon’s graduates attending a two-year college to 21.5 percent, the lowest number since 2008. In 2016, the state dropped the higher math requirement and substituted the COMPASS test, which boosted two-year attendance to 29.5 percent.

Students’ progress is tracked by Scheel, who checks attendance, discipline and GPA; coordinates with faculty to ensure tutoring is completed and monitors grades in math.