Charter School Funders Promise $200 Million for Detroit Student Scholarships

Kids who graduate from Thompson’s University Prep High Schools, and whose families earn less than $65,000 a year, will be eligible for the scholarships.

Jake Neher/WDET
Jake Neher/WDES

Detroit charter school philanthropist Bob Thompson is putting up $200 million of his own money to inspire colleges to do more to help poor students succeed in college.

Crain’s senior reporter Sherri Welch joins Detroit Today with Stephen Henderson to talk about her exclusive in this week’s edition of the newsmagazine.

Kids who graduate from Thompson’s University Prep High Schools, and whose families earn less than $65,000 a year, will be eligible for scholarships funded by Thompson. This is an expansion of an existing program, and Thompson hopes it will prove a model for other efforts.

“These families can’t qualify for the same kinds of student aid as low-income students, but the cost of higher education has not been going down, it’s going up,” Welch says.

Click on the player above to hear the full conversation with Sherri Welch about the Thompson family’s scholarship fund.

Author

  • Dynamic and diverse voices. News, politics, community and the issues that define our region. Hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Stephen Henderson, Detroit Today brings you fresh and perceptive views weekdays at 9 am and 7 pm.