Close the Deal announces schools for 2014-15

Program encourages students to seek higher education

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Aug. 27, 2014) — Lt. Gov. Jerry Abramson today joined state and local business and education leaders to launch the third round of “Close the Deal,” a yearlong initiative that challenges high school seniors to pursue additional education after graduation.

Breathitt County, Ohio County, Livingston Central and Campbellsville Independent high schools are participating in this year’s program.

“More than ever, education is the key to being able to earn a sustainable income,” Abramson said. “A high school diploma is no longer enough.”

Abramson pointed to a new study of recent Kentucky high school graduates that indicates nearly 60 percent of students who did not attend postsecondary education entered Kentucky’s workforce, and earned less than $8,000 in the year following graduation.

The “No College = Low Wages” report by Kentucky Center for Education and Workforce Statistics (KCEWS) shows that even three years after graduation, of the students who entered the state’s workforce who did not attend college, only one in three were working full time.

Close the Deal provides resources and one-on-one counseling to high school counselors and administrators, and creates a partnership between the school system and local business community to help students see that education doesn’t end with a high school diploma.

Close the Deal has been successful in the past:

• Covington Independent more than doubled the number of seniors who committed to college, from 45 in the 2012-2013 school year to 108 in the 2013-2014 school year.
• Gallatin County High School has a 28 percent increase in the number of students who filed a FASFA from 2012-2013 to 2013-2014.
• Greenup County High School students submitted 256 college applications, and accepted 111 scholarships. Additionally, the school conducted an “Open the Deal” program for this year’s incoming freshman class.
• Logan County High School increased the number of college and career readiness from 62.4 percent in 2012-2013 to 100 percent in 2013-2014. In addition, students accepted $1.35 million in scholarships in 2013-2014.

The 2014 Close the Deal events will take place in October:

• Breathitt County, Oct. 7
• Ohio County, Oct. 15
• Campbellsville Independent, Oct. 24
• Livingston Central, Oct. 29