Project REWARDS

OPINION: “I was awarded $2.00 for TOPS, a dollar a semester”

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Karriem Bennet, senior at Warren Easton High School in New Orleans, reads her letter at a campaign rally protesting cuts to Louisiana’s merit scholarship program, TOPS, on April 4, 2017, at the Peoples Health New Orleans Jazz Market.
 

House Education ChairRep. Nancy Landry109 S. College RoadLafayette, LA 70503.Dear Rep. Nancy Landry,

I support one of the Cowen Institute’s recommendations of Instituting a Sliding Scale. If legislators want to ensure all students can remain eligible for the program, regardless of income, I recommend that the state create a means-tested sliding scale that offers students scholarship support based on their family income. All students, regardless of family income, could still qualify for TOPS, but the amount of the award would vary — students coming from families with lower incomes would receive larger rewards than students from families with higher incomes.When Mr. Patrick Taylor conceived the plan in 1988 and the state implemented it as Act 789, TOPS guaranteed access to college for low- and moderate-income students based on their academic achievements, and not on their ability to pay. In 1997, the governor enacted Act 1375 and Act 287 — removing the income cap. I personally believe the income cap was removed to assist the wealthier citizens of Louisiana. The wealthier citizens did not qualify for Pell Grant assistance, so their friends in the legislature gave them some assistance.According to a U.S. News & World Report “Best States” list in February 2017, Louisiana is the worst state in the country according to a new analysis based on health care, education, infrastructure, crime and other quality-of-life measures. The TOPS program afforded college-age students the ability to stay home or at least in the state to attend college. The state should be thrilled that we are staying home and attending state schools. If TOPS is going to give us $2.00 a semester, then we can go to schools out of the state. If we have to take out loans to attend college we might as well leave the worst-rated state and experience one of the better 49 states.I consider myself to be a fair person; this is why I prefer the instituting of a sliding scale for TOPS. Yes, TOPS started with an income cap, I would qualify under the income cap. I just believe that if we want to make the state a better place for ALL to live, we need to allow financial assistance to ALL that meet the academic criteria. We have to keep our brightest and driven commodities, the youth, in the state. “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” — Nelson Mandela. Let’s use TOPS to help us to change Louisiana’s ranking from worst state to best state.Sincerely,Karriem A. BennettWarren Easton Charter High School

Malcolm Jenkins maintains strong commitment to New Orleans' youth

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Malcolm Jenkins' last trip to New Orleans was in the aftermath of violence.He stood at a podium to deliver a tribute for Will Smith at the funeral of his former New Orleans Saints teammate, Ohio State brother and good friend. It was moving. It was heartfelt. It was somber.The tragic ending is one more reason why Jenkins hasn't surrendered on his mission for The Malcolm Jenkins Foundation in New Orleans."Violence and crime happen every single day (in New Orleans)," Jenkins told me earlier this week. "Sometimes it takes those highly visible figures or something to make some realize what's happening every single day. It's really affecting our youth. It's not just adults dealing with this. It's our teenagers. "A lot of it is because they don't know they have other options. They've never seen any other options or any other ways to do things." Jenkins started the charity in 2010 while with the Saints to help supply New Orleans' youth with an avenue away from potential crime and violence. He wanted a route for those who wouldn't have dreamed about college to receive the necessary skills to make it there.

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Former Saints safety Malcolm Jenkins celebrates with teammates after
his strip of former Cowboys receiver Roy Williams on Thanksgiving Day 2010.

Jenkins will give another speech in New Orleans at Dillard on Thursday evening. This one will be more about hope and triumph. This one will be a victory speech over crime and violence.Through the foundation's Project REWARDS program and in collaboration with College Track New Orleans, Jenkins will award a round of scholarships for the fifth consecutive year to a selection of graduating seniors. It's the third round of scholarships doled out since Jenkins signed with Philadelphia in 2014."Obviously when I left New Orleans, I wanted to make sure everything stayed in tact," Jenkins said. "I don't see that changing. We started in New Orleans because we saw that there was a need. Just because I leave doesn't mean that the need leaves. So it's important for us to stay in the community and continue to help."It's a city that I love and that's supported me. I just try to do my part to give back."Someone like Troy Simon is exactly why Jenkins continues his efforts in earnest.Simon also will be a keynote speaker with Jenkins at Thursday's event. Simon was a member of the first group to receive a scholarship in 2012.Simon himself sometimes wonders how he's advanced this far.He didn't learn to read until he was an early teenager. As First Lady Michelle Obama described, Simon "would regularly cut school because the other students would tease him. When he did attend, he'd shove desks, start fights -- anything to get him out of class." Simon didn't want others knowing he couldn't read.Why does the First Lady know Simon's story?  Read full article>>>