Education Foundation of Collier County: A chance for success

Ryan Ayala, 17, is preparing to enter his senior year of high school.

He has a lot on his mind, from trying to figure out what classes he’ll need to ensure he gets into Bible college to studying for the SATs.

But Ryan, an incoming senior at Immokalee High School, has one less thing to worry about thanks to the Education Foundation of Collier County: his college tuition.

“I am one of the first students to graduate from Immokalee High School,” Ryan said during the Take Stock in Children year-end celebration in April. “Take Stock kept me on track, it kept me focused, it has given me a chance for the future.”

Take Stock in Children helps students from low-income families receive scholarships to college. Students are identified in the seventh grade, paired with a mentor and must stay drug-free and keep an average grade point average, said Susan McManus, president of the Education Foundation.

“The school folks say (these students) have potential and with a mentor they have the opportunity to see who they can become,” McManus said. “They are just good kids, performing at an average level.”

About 166 students were enrolled in the program this year, McManus said. Of the 166, 18 graduated and are attending college next year, thanks to a scholarship awarded to them, she said.

With a $5,000 private donation, the foundation can apply for matching state money that will then lock four years of tuition at a state school. McManus said the scholarship generally pays for two years of community college tuition and two years of state university tuition.

“Many of our students start at Edison and then go to a four-year college,” she said.

Ryan said he already knows what he’ll be doing when he graduates in 2007. Thanks to Take Stock, he plans to attend a Florida Bible school, and eventually enter a seminary to become a pastor.

Ryan’s mother, Kathy Ayala, said the program has helped her son stay focused on his studies.

“He’s been an inspiration for the other children,” she said.

Like most of the Take Stock students, Ryan has been with his mentor, Lynn Bartlett, for all seven of the years he’s been in the program.

“He hasn’t changed a bit,” Bartlett said. “He’s still focused and determined.”

While many of the mentors are teachers or school administrators, some are just community members looking to help out, McManus said. But becoming a mentor isn’t a quick process, as those interested in being mentors must live and work in Collier County for two years.

Each fall the program has about 50 new mentors, enough to match up with the nearly 50 new students each year.

“We find it takes a few weeks for the student and mentor to develop a relationship,” McManus said. “Just about the time the mentor is ready to throw in the towel, the kids open up. Kids are shy, and lots of mentors are shy.

“Typically I think you just need to be a good listener to be a good mentor.”

Linda Morton, a mentor and student advocate for the Naples area, said she felt immediately connected with her student, Jessica Garcia, a 2006 Lely High School graduate. A mentor for the past six years, Jessica was Morton’s first student she mentored.

“I enjoy being around kids and my children were older, so this was something I could do to help,” Morton said.

As the student advocate for the Naples area, Morton oversees about 100 students and mentors at all of the schools in Collier County except for those in Immokalee.

Next year’s class will be the first one to graduate Immokalee students, McManus said.

When the foundation first started the Take Stock program, the main focus was on East Naples, McManus said. After a few years, the Immokalee Foundation approached the foundation for help and McManus said the foundation answered the call, placing a student advocate in the school and bringing Immokalee students into the program.

While many of the Collier County public schools are represented, McManus said there are students in every school who are eligible.

“Almost every school in our county has kids that are eligible for this,” she said. “It’s a huge program and it’s a very good program.”

Those interested in becoming a mentor, or donating to the scholarship fund, are encouraged to call the Education Foundation of Collier County at (239) 643-4755.