Whistle Stop Tour To Tout Higher Ed

11/8/02

DENTON — Texas Woman's University will help kick-off a campaign for higher education awareness during the Nov. 14 Whistle Stop Bus Tour that will begin at Denton High School and then continue to Arlington High School in Arlington and Polytechnic High School in Fort Worth. Other institutions participating in the Whistle Stop Tour include the University of Texas-Arlington, Tarrant County College and Tarleton State University.

The tour will begin when the bus arrives at Denton High School, 1007 Fulton St., at 8:20 a.m. Representatives from the higher education institutions, including TWU Chancellor Dr. Ann Stuart, will meet with high school students at 9 a.m. in the school's auditorium to discuss the benefits of continuing their education after high school. University recruiters also will be on hand.

The event launches the College for Texans campaign in the Metroplex, which was authorized by the Texas Legislature last year and is directed by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

All Denton High School students will be able to register for a chance to win a $500 scholarship, underwritten by Texas Bank, and a back pack filled with college memorabilia from the participating institutions. Additionally, 9th and 10th graders can register for a chance to win a second $500 scholarship, also underwritten by Texas Bank.

The tour's second stop is Arlington High School, 818 W. Park Row Dr., for an 11 a.m. rally, where again, representatives from the participating universities and colleges will promote the benefits of higher education. The last stop of the day will be Polytechnic High School, 1300 Conner Ave., at 2 p.m. with a similar rally.

The goal of the Whistle Stop Tour is to generate greater public awareness of secondary and higher education institutions in the Denton/Tarrant area.

Ten TWU students will participate in a similar event on Nov. 12 beginning at 8 a.m. in the Dallas Independent School District. The TWU students, along with students from other Dallas-area colleges and universities, will visit four DISD schools to discuss the benefits of a college education and how to prepare for college.

The schools they will visit are: Woodrow Wilson High School, J.L. Long Middle School, Eduardo Mata Elementary School and Mt. Auburn Elementary School.

After the kick off events, College for Texans will continue to motivate primary and secondary students to prepare and aim for college; inspire parents, relatives, teachers, counselors and others to support each child's aspirations to prepare for and enroll in post-secondary education; and ensure that colleges and universities reach out to embrace those students.

College for Texans will reach families in the Metroplex and across Texas via television, radio, newspapers, the Internet and through a network of community partners that will sponsor higher education awareness programs. This broad outreach approach is designed to give all Texans, especially families without any higher education experience, information about the value of higher education, the preparation needed to participate and succeed in college, and how to find financial aid or otherwise pay for college.

“Our challenge is to ensure that people from all groups and in all regions of the state know that higher education is possible for them, and that they should pursue it,” said Texas Higher Education Commissioner Don Brown.

The campaign is a key strategy identified in the state's Closing the Gaps by 2015 education plan, which was adopted by the Coordinating Board in October 2002.

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Photo Op: The media is invited to cover the Whistle Stop Tour on Nov. 14 and the Nov. 12 event.

For Further Information Contact:

Roy Kron
Director of News and Information
Tel: (940) 898-3456
e-mail: rkron@twu.edu