News

The WVACHE website has a fresh new look and new interactive resources to support college-access efforts in the Mountain State.

This new website provides a streamlined set of menu options and several valuable new resources, including a calendar, an enhanced contact form and an Ideas That Work section highlighting low- and no-cost activities that have proven effective at encouraging more students to aspire to and prepare for college.

While we will be migrating content into the site over the next few days, we also want your input! We welcome you to submit a potential addition to the online calendar. Add your contact information to our mailing list, if you’re not already receiving our mailings and email. Suggest an addition to our showcase of Ideas That Work. Or just ask a question or send us a comment via our online form.

Thanks for visiting the newly redesigned WVACHE website!

The West Virginia Access Center for Higher Education, Inc. recognized outstanding educators from West Virginia high schools during the 14th Annual Conference of the Ohio Appalachian Center for Higher Education and the Appalachian Higher Education Network, of which the WVACHE is a member.

The 2007 Wayne F. White Outstanding Educator of the Year Awards were presented during a luncheon at Belmont Technical College in St. Clairsville, Ohio. The awards recognize school personnel who have made an extra effort to encourage and assist students to go to college. They may have made a positive difference in a variety of ways, e.g., increasing the college-going rate, taking a special interest in students, or developing excellent relationships with college representatives and/or businesses.

David Wayne, guidance counselor at Clay County High School, was named Wayne F. White Outstanding Counselor of the Year. He was honored for his diligent work to help students realize their dreams for their future.

“David Wayne helps with scholarship applications and financial aid packages well beyond the scope of the regular school day,” noted Cindy Willis, associate superintendent of Clay County Schools, in her letter of nomination. “One can often find him there continuing his work into the late hours of the night. He has devoted his entire life to career counseling and advising students and has made our students’ future his own.”

Doug Martin, a teacher at Mingo Career and Technical Center, was named the Wayne F. White Outstanding Teacher of the Year for inspiring, encouraging and equipping his students to achieve in and beyond his classroom. In the words of former student Michael J. Brown, “He teaches us on a college level so we will be prepared for entering college and know what to expect.”

“With Mr. Martin’s encouragement I believe that anything is possible because I have won several art scholarships from some of the biggest art schools in America,” said Brady Fields, another former student. “If I had not taken Mr. Martin’s class, I can’t imagine what direction my life would have taken.”

“In my last year of high school, everything changed. The kid that everyone believed would never get a scholarship because of his low grades in core classes finished with three scholarships,” said another former student, Michael Barry. “It was my dream to be able to go to school, but I never thought I actually had a chance to have that dream become a reality.”

The WVACHE’s Outstanding Educator award was renamed in memory of Wayne White, a founding member of the WVACHE board of directors who passed away unexpectedly in 2004. During his 40-year career in public education, including ten years as executive director of the Ohio program on which the WVACHE is modeled, Mr. White demonstrated, and inspired in others, a commitment to helping students attain a better quality of life through higher education.

The WVACHE was established in 1998 with the mission of encouraging and inspiring more West Virginia students to attend post-secondary education. The center relies upon grants and private donations and is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.

The WVACHE pursues its mission by awarding two-year Access Project grants on a competitive basis to high schools and vocational schools in the Mountain State. These Access Projects implement activities that encourage all students to consider college, by helping them overcome barriers to post-secondary education. Based on pre-intervention levels, data from the most recently completed two-year grant period, nearly 500 more students enrolled in college for fall 2007 than would have without the implementation of the WVACHE Access Project.

For more information about the WVACHE or to support the program, please contact Sarita A. Rhonemus, WVACHE Executive Director, at 304-327-4096 or sarhonemus@wvache.org.

The West Virginia Access Center for Higher Education, Inc. has awarded Access Project grants to 14 high schools and technical centers throughout the Mountain State to encourage more students to go to college.

Established in 1998 to encourage and inspire more West Virginia students to attain post-secondary education, the WVACHE pursues its mission by awarding two-year Access Project grants on a competitive basis to high schools and vocational schools. These Access Projects implement a proven model program of activities that encourage all students to consider and prepare for college (whether a two- or four-year degree program), explore careers, and find financial aid to help them pursue higher education. Typical components of a successful WVACHE Access Project include, but are not limited to, field trips to campuses and businesses; career-interest assessments; college and career fairs; ACT/SAT preparation assistance; peer speakers; and financial-aid information.

In comparison to pre-intervention levels, data from the most recently completed two-year grant period indicate that nearly 500 additional students enrolled in college for fall 2007 than would have without the implementation of the 14 WVACHE Access Projects funded in 2007-08.

Access Project grantees for the 2007-08 academic year include Berkeley Springs High School (Morgan County), Buckhannon Upshur High School (Upshur County), Cameron High School (Marshall County), James Monroe High School (Monroe County), John Marshall High School (Marshall County), Mid-Ohio Valley Technical Institute (Pleasants County), Mineral County Technical Center, Musselman High School (Berkeley County), Nicholas County High School, Pendleton County High School, Petersburg High School (Grant County), Roane County High School, Roane-Jackson Technical Center (Roane County), and Valley High School (Wetzel County).

“Congratulations to all of these schools on their successful Access Project proposals,” said Ms. Sarita A. Rhonemus, WVACHE executive director. “We look forward to working with them to help more of their students realize that they can go to college.”

For more information about the WVACHE or to support the program, please contact Sarita A. Rhonemus, WVACHE Executive Director, at 304-327-4096 or sarhonemus@wvache.org.

Eligible businesses and individuals can once again support a worthy cause encouraging more students in the Mountain State to go to college and lower their West Virginia state tax bill at the same time.

Through the Neighborhood Investment Program (NIP), an initiative of the West Virginia Development Office, the WVACHE is able to offer state tax credits to businesses and individuals that make eligible cash contributions to its college-access program. A not-for-profit organization established in 1998, the WVACHE awards grants on a competitive basis to high schools throughout West Virginia for projects that encourage students to aspire to, prepare for and pursue higher education. The 13 high schools funded in the most recent grant cycle have increased their college-going rates by an average of 57 percent since launching their WVACHE Access Projects.

Donors to the WVACHE may be able to earn up to 50 percent of the contributed amount in the form of state tax credits. These credits may be used to reduce certain West Virginia taxes, including the Corporate Net Income Tax, the Business Franchise tax and the Personal Income Tax.

Unlike a tax deduction, which reduces the amount of total income on which taxes are based, a tax credit is used to reduce total tax liability. Generally, a tax credit is worth substantially more than a tax deduction.

Contributions to eligible organizations can be made in the form of cash or check. The minimum eligible donation is $500; the maximum is $200,000. The deadline to contribute or pledge a tax-credit-eligible donation to the WVACHE is March 15, 2008.

The following primary limitations apply to the use of NIP tax credits:

• The amount of credit allowable must be taken within a five-year period, beginning with the tax year in which the donation is made;

• A donor may receive no more than $100,000 annually in NIP tax credits; and

• A donor cannot use NIP tax credit to reduce total tax liability on any one tax by more than 50 percent annually.

For more details about the NIP tax credit or making an eligible contribution to the WVACHE, please contact WVACHE Executive Director Sarita A. Rhonemus before March 15, 2008. Donations received or pledged after that date will still be welcomed but may not be eligible for a NIP tax credit.