Record number of WSHS seniors receive Adams scholarships
Date: 1/31/2012
Feb. 1, 2012By Debbie Gardner
debbieg@thereminder.comWEST SPRINGFIELD — For some, it made a difference in their choice of schools. For others, it meant they could plan to attend college.
A total of 85 seniors at West Springfield High School received the John and Abigail Adams scholarship this year, the highest number to date to receive this award, which offers recipients four years of free tuition to any Massachusetts state college.
“Originally I wasn’t even going to school, I was going straight into the Coast Guard [after graduation],” Mike Bonafilia said. “Now, I’m going to a community college and then I’m entering the Coast Guard.”
The scholarships, which are awarded by the state’s Department of Education, are based on a student’s performance on the 10th grade Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) tests. To qualify, a student must score in the advanced category in either the mathematics or the English language arts section of the test and proficient or advanced in the second subject’s exam. The student’s MCAS scores must also rank in the top 25 percent of their school district to be considered for the scholarship.
“I think it’s so awesome,” Samantha Gil, who was accepted at both a state and private college, said. “It’s such an honor to receive [free] tuition to a state school.”
According to West Springfield High School Principal Michael Richard, 29 percent of this year’s graduating class qualified for the Adams scholarship.
“We, as a school continue to push for excellence from all our students and I think that the increasing number of students qualifying for the John and Abigail Adams Scholarship is indicative of our success,” Richard said.
Since 2008, the number of scholarship recipients has climbed from 60 to this year’s high of 85.
West Springfield Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Russell Johnston said he, too, was “pleased to see the growth in our Adams scholarship recipients” and attributed the increase to “the preparation the students receive in middle school and the continued growth they experience in the high school.”
Recipient Megan Banks said she saw the Adams scholarship as welcome aid to her continued success post high school.
“It’s a great opportunity. I’m a first generation college goer and I’m paying for it myself,” said Banks, who was accepted at both Westfield State University (WSU) and Western New England University. The scholarship convinced her to pursue a criminal justice major at WSU.
“It’s going to save me $4,000 a year,” she observed.
Norberto Lopez Jr., who admitted he “wasn’t even sure [he] was going to be able to go to college,” said the scholarship will not only allow him explore architecture or the medical field as a potential career; it’s also relieved his concern about going into debt to get an education.
“I’m always hearing stories of people who are still paying off student loans. Some teachers I talk to say they are still paying off student loans,” he said.
