Charlottesville Scholarship to request $150K from city to create endowment for adult education 

There are nearly three dozen people in Charlottesville whose hopes and dreams are being assisted by a long-running program started with initial seed money from the City Council. 

“The Charlottesville Scholarship Program has been around for about 20 years,” said Ella Jordan, a member of the organization’s Board of Directors,” Jordan said. “We provide financial support and mentoring to high school seniors and adults in our community who are pursuing post-secondary education either at the college level or through vocational training.”

Jordan made her comments at Council’s February 20, 2024 meeting. There have been 188 scholarships made to date, and 89 recipients have earned a degree or certificate. But helping cover the cost of tuition is just part of the program. 

“We provide ongoing one to one support to every scholar through our volunteer navigation program,” Jordan said. 

Jordan said scholarship recipients can also attend vocational schools because certificates for trades can add to a person’s earning potential over a lifetime. 

Charlie Rogers, the chair of the Charlottesville Scholarship program’s board, said city investment has been crucial to the program’s success. 

“Back in 2001, you seeded this program with $250,000,” Rogers said. “We’ve taken that $250,000 and have grown it to $1.1 million in our endowment.”

There are currently 35 enrolled participants. The city selects about a dozen people each year. 

“And another thing is, a lot of these kids, they are first-generation college students, so they are the first in their family to ever go to college,” Rogers said. 

Rogers said he was able to go to college because of a similar program where he grew up. He said that has created generational change with his own children college-bound. 

To be eligible, participants have to be city residents or a direct relative of a city employee. However, there is one exception in the form of a subset of the program named for the late Preston Coiner. After his death in 2012, his family established a scholarship in his name which is open to Albemarle High School students as well. 

“And it has its own endowment so it is not mixed with the other endowment and we provide it to one student every four years,” Rogers said. “We’ve had two students who have gone through the program so far. One has graduated from the University of Lynchburg and one from the University of Virginia.” 

Applicants to this program have to write an original essay on local history. 

At the end of the presentation, Jordan and Rogers asked Council for additional funding to support an endowment dedicated to adult vocational training. 

“We know that the city has gotten involved with CATEC and what we would like to be able to do is implement the same thing for these kids for adults where we could have an offering where they could have a scholarship to get through vocational training or recertifications,” Rogers said. “Our ask will be to you just like you did in 2001, where you helped us with $250,000 to start this for kids, is to help us start this for adults as well.” 

Councilor Brian Pinkston asked if there was a specific amount of money requested. Rogers said they’d like to start with $150,000. 

“Their cost is less than the kids so or $150,000 if we could replicate what we did for the kids we may be able to help as many as 100 to 200 within the next five to ten years to get into their secondary education,” Rogers said. 

Mayor Juandiego Wade said he would support that investment and mentioned he has worked as a navigator in the program. He’s also served on the Board of Directors, a torch passed to Councilor Natalie Oschrin. 

“But I am still part of it because it’s probably two or three day that go by where I don’t reach out or they reach out to me, my probably dozen or so navigators, a couple dozen, students that I’ve had in the past that reach out to me for guidance,” Wade said. 

A formal request has not been made for the upcoming budget according to Afton Schneider, the city’s director of communications and public engagement. 

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