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Growing Applicant Pool Swells Need for Funding of DuBois Scholarships

SHIRLEY SATTERFIELD
Quarry Street
W.E.B. DuBois Scholars Institute Committee

Growing Applicant Pool Swells Need for Funding of DuBois Scholarships

To the Editor:

The W.E.B. DuBois Scholars Institute was founded in the summer of 1988 with the aim of solving some of society’s most intractable problems such as poverty, urban decay, and dysfunctional family structures, not by attacking problems but rather by strengthening the solutions. Since its inception, developing a cadre of knowledgeable leaders and students with a sense of community purpose has been the major focus of the W.E.B. DuBois Scholars Institute. The Institute provides training to equip participants with the skills and confidence to function as change agents in their schools, local communities, and the society at a large. Since 1996, more than 1200 participants in the Institute acquired knowledge that sharpened their skills in community service, business, leadership, science technology, and scholarship.

Housed at Princeton University and with many years of support from the Princeton Regional Schools and other community partnerships, the Institute works with high achieving high school and middle school students who demonstrate an interest in changing conditions associated with poverty and socio-economic disparities. They are trained to become dynamic community oriented leaders.

The Institute serves the educational needs of families. There are two types of families that are helped, both full of hope and promise. The first type of family is struggling to gain educational opportunities for their children that will challenge and equip them for high achievement, rising above minimal expectations, to reach the top level of professional development and leadership. The second type of family is seeking to pass forward the legacy of high achievement to their children who often find themselves ethnically isolated and subtly discouraged in educational contexts that are challenging but lack vital supportive elements.

The popularity of the W.E.B. DuBois Scholars Institute is growing steadily among parents, students, and teachers all across the region and the nation. The applicant pool of students has increased by approximately 55 percent in 2009 with more than 150 highly qualified applicants competing for 80 slots. (The approximate cost of each slot is $6,000/student for the summer.)

While the Institute (www.webduboisscholars.org) is prepared to serve more students this summer, and will be accepting applications in the weeks ahead, more funding will be needed. Those wishing to support the Institute’s mission in helping hundreds of students navigate that distance between hope and success may send their “adopt a student” contribution of any amount to W.E.B. DuBois Scholars Institute, Princeton DuBois Scholars Fund, Princeton Regional Schools, Office of Human Resources, 25 Valley Road, Princeton 08540. Contributions will help fund deserving students this summer in their studies at Princeton University, serving as an educational bridge that connects promise to fulfillment, through rigorous academic preparation and character formation, for the next generation. The future is now.

SHIRLEY SATTERFIELD
Quarry Street
W.E.B. DuBois Scholars Institute Committee

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