February 10, 1999		Grant from Thomas L. Conlan Education Foundation Will Aid Access Program Summer Effort Press Release from the Thomas L. Conlan Education Foundation Media Contact: Joseph D. Booth at (513) 763-4417
			Program at Oberlin College will help prepare students for post-secondary schooling OBERLIN, Ohio, February 10--The Thomas L. Conlan Education Foundation today awarded a grant of $55,645 to The Access Program to fund a pilot program in collaboration with Oberlin College designed to help prepare Lorain County youth for post-secondary education. The grant will fund a residential summer program that will provide eighth and ninth graders from Lorain County public schools with an opportunity to begin to focus on the transition from middle school to high school, and as an early step in preparing them for eventual post-secondary education in traditional colleges or technical schools. "The Access Program takes a unique approach to making post-high school education accessible to youth in Lorain County," said Thomas L. Conlan, Jr., a member of the Foundation's board of trustees. "Its advising and scholarship services, and programs that reach out to parents of potential college or technical school students, are particularly significant in a county that traditionally exhibits the lowest college matriculation rate of any Northeast Ohio county." The grant was presented to Nancy Dye, president of Oberlin College; Carol Hoffman, executive director of The Access Program, and Mark Blackman, director of the college's Bonner Scholars program and Summer Bridge programs. The Access Program was established in 1991 with the mission of "increasing the proportion of Lorain County residents who pursue education and/or training beyond the high school level." During the 1997-98 academic year, The Access Program reached nearly 3,000 students in 14 Lorain County school districts. It began providing last dollar scholarship assistance in 1994, and since that time, 83 of the 91 recipients of scholarships have continued progress toward a post-secondary degree. Four years ago, The Access Program identified a need for earlier outreach to students and families, and began a middle school mentoring program which helps students research education and career opportunities, practice for college admissions exams, and secure internships with local employers. The Thomas L. Conlan Education Foundation, based in Cincinnati, has provided grants to Ohio individuals, educational institutions and education-focused organizations since 1981. The Foundation's goal is to improve access to education for all Ohioans. The Foundation is named for the late Thomas L. Conlan, Sr., co-founder of the Foundation's predecessor, Student Loan Funding Corp. Mr. Conlan was an attorney and consumer advocate who for many years advocated for education access in Ohio and at the national level.