|  | Saint Paul Middle School Student Wins "Young Scholars" Award Worth up to $300,000
10/30/2006 4:22 PM | | Tho Bui (right, in the yellow shirt), an eighth grade student at Washington Technology Middle School in Saint Paul, has won the prestigious national “Young Scholars” award from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation. |
Saint Paul, Minn. — Tho Bui, an eighth grade student at Washington
Technology Middle School in Saint Paul, has won the prestigious
national “Young Scholars” award from the Jack Kent Cooke (JKC)
Foundation. This year 750 students from across the country
applied, and Bui was one of 63 students selected from the highly
competitive pool.
Through the “Young Scholars” program, the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation
selects high achieving youth with financial need and provides them with
individualized educational opportunities and support that will enable
them to develop their talents and abilities through high school and as
far as a doctoral degree. Depending on Bui’s individual goals,
the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation may support him for 15 years with a
potential investment of up to $300,000.
Bui learned of the award through his participation in the Breakthrough
Saint Paul program, which is a challenging academic enrichment program
for highly motivated, under-resourced middle school students in the
Saint Paul Public Schools. Carl Phillips, a staff member at
Breakthrough, guided Bui and his family through the 30 page application.
“This is exactly the kind of Breakthrough opportunity we look to create
for our students,” said Breakthrough Saint Paul Director Jeff
Ochs. “This incredible award will put Tho on a completely new
trajectory and allow him to achieve many of his ambitious goals.
We are thrilled for him and his family.”
As a Young Scholar, Bui will work with a designated JKC Foundation
educational advisor to develop and follow an Individualized Learning
Plan. "This is a great opportunity," Bui said. "I'd like to take
full advantage of it. I plan to study mathematics in college, and
so this will give me an excellent start." Bui also said he hopes
to travel and study in Asia, possibly in Japan or Korea.
Through the program, Bui will receive a unique combination of the necessary support and guidance required to:
- evaluate the suitability of his high school environment
- select and attend summer academic or enrichment programs
- supplement his schooling with online courses
- obtain computers, software, or other learning technology
- improve his musical, artistic, scientific, mathematical, or other skills
- benefit from the nationwide network of Young Scholars
- explore his career goals
- select the college best suited to his talents and ambitions.
In return for this support, the Foundation expects Bui to participate
in summer enrichment opportunities, try his best in all academic and
personal endeavors, be strong in character and leadership, be concerned
about his community, show progress in all academic work, and maintain a
good disciplinary record. Every year, Bui’s performance will be
reevaluated by his educational advisor.
Jack Kent Cooke Foundation
The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation is a private, independent foundation
established in 2000 by the estate of Jack Kent Cooke to help young
people of exceptional promise reach their full potential through
education. Mr. Cooke was a businessman and philanthropist who owned
such professional sports teams as the Los Angeles Lakers and the
Washington Redskins as well as the Chrysler Building in New York City.
When he died in 1997, he left most of his fortune to establish the
Foundation. Besides the Young Scholars Program, the Foundation's
programs for outstanding students with financial need also include full
scholarships for students attending graduate and professional school as
well as scholarships for students from community colleges who want to
earn four-year degrees.
Breakthrough Saint Paul
Breakthrough Saint Paul is a tuition-free, year-round, academic
enrichment program for highly motivated, under-resourced middle school
students in the Saint Paul Public Schools. All of the classes at
Breakthrough are designed and taught by talented, diverse high school
and college students interested in exploring careers in
education. A team of professional mentor teachers and a dedicated
staff train the young teachers and oversee the entire process.
“This is a program where students teach students and everybody learns,”
said Breakthrough Saint Paul Director Jeff Ochs.
Breakthrough Saint Paul is a member of the Breakthrough Collaborative,
a national organization with programs in 26 locations throughout the
U.S. that put high-potential, low-income middle school students on the
path to college and their high school and college age teachers on the
path to careers in education. There are currently two Breakthrough
programs in Minnesota. Mounds Park Academy hosts the Breakthrough
Saint Paul program in partnership with Saint Paul Public Schools, and
The Blake School hosts LearningWorks at Blake, a Breakthrough program
in partnership with Minneapolis Public Schools. For more
information on the Breakthrough Collaborative, please visit:
www.breakthroughcollaborative.org.
Mounds Park Academy
Mounds Park Academy (MPA) is a PreK-12 independent school serving
approximately 700 Twin Cities-area students, drawing most heavily from
east metro communities such as North Oaks, Woodbury, Stillwater
and Saint Paul. The school, located in Maplewood, has
experienced steady growth since its founding in 1982. One of the
Twin Cities’ leading college preparatory schools, Mounds Park is also
known for its commitment to and its students’ excellence in the areas
of foreign language, drama, band, orchestra, fine art, debate and
speech. It began one of the first fully integrated laptop
programs in Minnesota and continues the tradition of leading the way in
technology. For more information, please visit
www.moundsparkacademy.org.
Saint Paul Public Schools
Saint Paul Public Schools offer a world of opportunity for a
multicultural population of more than 41,000 students from
pre-kindergarten through grade 12. The school district also
provides close to 200 unique schools and programs. In addition to
school-age children, these programs serve the youngest of learners from
birth to age 5 and adults who are learning English or getting an adult
diploma or G.E.D. Saint Paul Public Schools is also a national
pioneer in special education, Arts Programs and Early Childhood Family
Education.
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