Hartford Chapter
Hartford The Hartford Chapter of Say Yes to Education began in October 1990, when 76 fifth grade students from the Annie Fisher Elementary School visited the University of Hartford and received the same promise of assistance that George Weiss had made to the Belmont students three years earlier in Philadelphia. George Weiss, along with local sponsors Mort and Irma Handel, and John Berman and his late wife Beverly, pledged to pay post-secondary school tuition for every student in the class. The University of Hartford gift was linked with what is now called the Hartford Scholars Program, which provides half tuition at the University of Hartford for Hartford public school graduates. Over the course of 15 years, the Hartford Chapter developed and implemented a number of successful support programs. The services it provided included:

  • Helping students and families navigate the school system, including working with families, mentors, and school staff to keep students on track;
  • Monitoring students' academic and personal progress and intervening when necessary;
  • Directing education services during the annual University of Hartford summer program;
  • Mentoring students in programs that engaged high school faculty and senior students;
  • Organizing recreational, social, and educational trips;
  • Arranging college and post-secondary school visits and providing assistance with the admission process;
  • Organizing overnight retreats that focused on growth and development issues, including human sexuality, respect and responsibility within relationships, and conflict resolution within school and the workplace;
  • Providing after-school tutoring, summer educational opportunities, individual student support services, and recognition of student achievement through events such as the Champions for Children awards banquet;
  • Organizing home visits.


Among the most significant results of the students' participation in Say Yes has been the positive transformation brought about in students' attitudes toward their educational and social responsibilities.


Successes

79 percent of the 76 Say Yes students in the Hartford Chapter have received a high school diploma or GED. As of 2007, 70 percent of high school graduates affiliated with the program had completed a post-secondary education. These students attended 24 universities and colleges, three junior colleges, two community colleges and five vocational schools. The students received 20 bachelor's degrees, seven associate's degrees, 11 trade certificates, and four master's degrees. The success of the Say Yes Hartford Chapter can be demonstrated in many ways, from the stories of individual students who developed the inner resources necessary to persevere with challenging classroom situations to the inspiring stories of parents who had previously been uninvolved in their children's schooling, but went on to recognize education's importance and its potential to dramatically change their children's lives.