College Scholarships Presented to Six Kindergartners at Riley Elementary School

During the Tuesday (Feb. 11) Leon County School Board meeting, Riley Elementary School leaders, Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce executives and participating local businesses awarded 1-Year Florida Prepaid College Scholarships to six Riley Elementary kindergartners.

Riley school leaders selected the students based on financial need, academics and teacher input. Recipients will be paired with individual mentors to help them along their academic journey.

The businesses and individuals who donated toward the scholarships are: Carroll and Company CPAs, Kessler Construction, MillCreek Financial, The Moore Agency, the Mullin Family, and Sparkle Boutique.

The businesses and their representatives who donated toward the scholarships are part of the Tallahassee Chamber’s Classroom Connections Program, a partnership between the Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce, World Class Schools, and Leon County Schools that allows the business community to support students and teachers during the first years of elementary school by adopting a kindergarten or 1st grade classroom.

The scholarships initiative grew out of the six Riley partner businesses’ and donors’ desire to make a lasting impact on the students they mentor each month through Classroom Connections, and to break the cycle of poverty through higher education.

Riley Elementary sits at the center of the state’s poorest zip code, 32304, and is among the 150 highest-poverty Florida zip codes where students can qualify for Path to Prosperity Scholarships through the Florida Prepaid College Foundation and the Florida Chamber Foundation.

Each of the Riley Classroom Connections sponsors contributed money to the Foundation for Leon County Schools, and the Florida Prepaid College Foundation matched the donations 1:1.