More than $11 million in scholarships went to 2022 graduates
Every year, San Bernardino City Unified School District high schools assist seniors in preparing portfolios that will help them apply for and obtain college scholarships.
For most of this year’s seniors, that task is complete and soon they will begin participating in mock interviews to practice for the real scholarship interviews coming later in the school year.
In addition, the two nonprofit organizations that coordinate and fund scholarships specifically for San Bernardino City Unified School District students — San Bernardino Community Scholarship Association and Making Hope Happen Foundation — have begun coordinating with high school scholarship counselors for the next scholarship application window.
Last year, those efforts paid off, as the district’s graduating seniors received a total of more than $11 million in scholarships and grants, including adult students from Inland Career Education Center and students from the district’s alternative high schools.
Indian Springs High School’s 2022 graduates received a combined total of $3,125,000 in scholarships and grants, including more than $360,000 in military scholarships and enlistment bonuses, according to a news release.
Cajon High School’s 583 graduates, which included International Baccalaureate students, received $1,950,999 in scholarships and grants, with $440,000 coming from military scholarships and enlistment bonuses. Arroyo Valley High School, which also has International Baccalaureate students, had 555 graduates, with 70.6% of them receiving scholarships and grants totaling $1,459,690.
With 327 graduates in 2022, San Gorgonio High School secured $2,046,734 in scholarships, including $619,200 in military scholarships and enlistment bonuses.
All of Middle College High School’s 59 graduates received scholarships, totaling $900,000.
Of Pacific High School’s 239 graduates in 2022, 162 earned $800,278 in scholarships, including military scholarships and enlistment bonuses, and 78 of the 232 San Bernardino High School graduates received $694,412.
The district’s continuation high schools also had scholarship recipients, with 20 San Andreas High School and 19 Sierra High School graduates receiving $13,050 and $26,618, respectively.
Seven of Inland Career Education Center’s 109 adult high school diploma and GED graduates received a combined $14,819 in scholarships.
San Bernardino Community Scholarship Association members were responsible for 313 graduates in San Bernardino City Unified School District’s class of 2022 receiving a total of 364 scholarships totaling $283,447, according to the news release.
“The Scholarship Association awards scholarships only to SBCUSD graduates. Charter school and private school students are not eligible for these scholarships,” Blythe Anderson, longtime Scholarship Association member and former San Bernardino City Unified School District high school counselor, said in the news release. “Many of our board members are former district employees or scholarship recipients, so it’s important to us that we support students in our schools.”
To create a scholarship or donate to one of the many existing scholarships managed by the San Bernardino Community Scholarship Association, contact Susan Zavala at susan. zavala@sbcusd.k12.ca.us.
For information about Making Hope Happen Foundation or to donate to it, go to makinghope.org/.