02/07/2007

Record-Eagle/Tyler Sipe
Northport first-graders recite a song for music teacher Carol Bachmeyer. Students graduating from Northport Public Schools may be able to receive college tuition under a proposed plan called the Northport Promise.

Northport's plan to draw students? Free tuition

By Christine Finger

cfinger@record-eagle.com

NORTHPORT — A group of Northport residents hope a localized version of the Kalamazoo Promise will boost dwindling enrollment in Leelanau County's smallest public school district.

The initiative, dubbed the Northport Promise, would pay college tuition for students who graduate from Northport Public School and attend any public post-secondary school in Michigan.

Sally Viskochil, an Omena resident and longtime supporter of Northport schools, is leading a steering committee that recently formed to promote the effort. The idea emerged last fall when she and several other community members started talking about the challenges facing the district.

Northport's enrollment for 2006-2007 is 153 students, down from 309 students 10 years ago. Projections show those numbers will continue to fall, prompting talk of closing the school and moving students to nearby districts.

Viskochil said the tuition guarantee is a way to take control and quell those dismal forecasts.

"The projections are based on the status quo,” she said. "If the status quo changes, then that changes.”

Ruth Steele Walker, a member of the steering committee, said the education she received in Northport proved bigger isn't always better when it comes to schools.

"Small is a really wonderful experience,” she said. "You get a very warm, supportive community.”

The group envisions a program similar to the Kalamazoo Promise, which pays four years of tuition and fees at one of Michigan's 44 public colleges for high school graduates who attended Kalamazoo Public Schools. A sliding scale determines tuition coverage for Kalamazoo graduates who spent a portion of their school years in the district.

Steering committee members are working to set criteria for the Northport program, determine how much money is needed to pay for it, and develop a plan for fundraising.

"Our plan is to start this with the next school year,” Viskochil said.

The Kalamazoo tuition guarantee is funded by an anonymous donation announced in late 2005.

Viskochil anticipated that the Northport Promise could draw financial support from throughout the community, rather than from a single philanthropist.

"I'm seeing it coming from everywhere,” she said. "We see this as trying to get everyone involved.”

Superintendent Ty Wessell said the effort reflects community members' willingness to do whatever it takes to help their school survive. The district's board approved a resolution supporting the steering group's work.

"I think there's lots of enthusiastic support for this and a hope that it could be positive for our district,” he said.

Organizers point to the success of the Kalamazoo Promise, which is credited for drawing about 1,000 new students this year to that district and boosting college enrollment among graduates. It inspired similar initiatives in other Michigan communities, including Jackson, Southfield, Flint and Holland.

Wessell said Northport faces the additional challenge of providing affordable housing and job opportunities to attract families with students. School leaders are in the process of taking a community survey to help develop a long-term plan for the district's future.

"We have done quite a study on achievement and enrollment projections,” he said. "Part of that will involve the impact of the Northport Promise and other initiatives.”

Plans for the Northport Promise will be among seven community projects featured on Feb. 14 at the Northport-Omena Summit. The event is scheduled for 5 p.m. at the Northport school auditorium.

For more information about donating funds toward the Northport Promise, call the Leelanau Township Foundation at (231) 386-9000.