Companies donate $15,000 to Danbury 'Scholars' program

Companies donate $15,000 to Danbury ‘Scholars’ program

The Danbury State Scholars Program has received $15,000 in donations from two area companies — $10,000 from GE Commercial Finance and $5,000 from Boehringer Ingelheim Corp. — for the creation of an academic enhancement lab at Danbury High School. The lab will help students who are taking more rigorous courses through the Connecticut State Scholars Program.

As part of that program, business leaders visit high school classrooms and encourage students to take more challenging courses. Students who do this are more successful in college and in the workplace than those who simply meet minimum graduation requirements. Yet studies by the U.S. Department of Education have shown that seven out of 10 students graduate from high school without completing the courses needed to succeed in college or the workplace.

The academic enhancement lab will be used by more than 500 ninth-grade students participating in the State Scholars program, many of whom are taking more rigorous courses for the first time and might need extra assistance with these harder classes.
The business community plays a vital role in the State Scholars initiative.

“GE Commercial Finance has been involved with State Scholars since its inception in Connecticut last year to facilitate students’ understanding that high school course work does matter to their future academic, career and business success,” says Elizabeth Goehring, the company’s manager of community relations.

Erin Arcario, corporate staffing manager at Boehringer Ingelheim, says, “We are supportive of efforts to improve the quality of education for Danbury students and to help continue the state’s history of having a strong, world-class workforce. This donation will further help Danbury’s educators to make their graduates be successful in high school, college and their future endeavors.”

The Danbury State Scholars Program and similar programs in the New Haven public schools and at Vinal Technical High School in Middletown are designed especially for the majority of students who may not have been working up to their potential but are now serious-minded about high school. The State Scholars programs would not be possible without business support and encouragement.

The programs were launched last year with a grant CBIA received from the Center for State Scholars. CBIA is one of just 12 state-wide business organizations nationwide selected by the center to start up a scholars program.

For more information about the Connecticut State Scholars Program, visit www.ctscholars.org. You can also send e-mail to CBIA’s Dayl Walker or call her at 860-244-1900.