COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — Starting today, Pikes Peak State College welcomes 50 of the 221 District 2 graduates who are attending the college tuition-free through the D2 Promise Program.
The program allows students who graduate from District 2 high schools to attend Pikes Peak State College at no cost. Now permanently funded, the program is open to all District 2 high school graduates.
This educational opportunity was made possible through significant community investment. Various foundations contributed funding, and last year, residents in the school district voted to increase property taxes to support the initiative.
The D2 Promise covers up to 60 credit hours, and students have up to three years to either earn their associate's degree or complete those credit hours.
"It's bringing permission to dream for low-income students who never imagined that college could be in their future. All of a sudden, there's a pathway, and it's a paid pathway. It's a paved pathway. It's a well-lit pathway that can take them to whatever future they can imagine," Lance Bolton said.
If the student gets scholarships, they can save money.
"They can have that money. So they don't have to work full-time, and they can concentrate on going to college and being successful in college. And so it's a partnership that's really changing outcomes for our students and our families, our entire community here," Dr. Wendy Birhanzel said.
More than 850 students have benefited from the Promise Program since its launch in 2020.
"None of us ever thought we'd have the money for college, and we didn't think college was in the cards for us. This program provided help to not just one of us, but to all of us," Hayden Peebles said.
The percentage of students remaining in the program has nearly doubled, from 47% in 2020 to 74% today.
Pikes Peak State College will host additional events in August and throughout the fall to enroll more high school graduates in the Promise Program.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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