Four Allen County-Scottsville High School juniors have been selected for the Kentucky Governor’s Scholars program this summer.
Taylor Carter, Taylor Beth Huff, and Jae
McReynolds recently learned of their selection. Olivia Harwood was selected as an alternate and will participate in the program if a selected GSP student cannot attend.
The Kentucky Governor’s Scholars Program (GSP) allows approximately 1,000
rising high school seniors to spend five weeks taking college-level class work
at selected Kentucky colleges and universities during the summer proceeding
their senior school year. College and university professors challenge the
students with rigorous course work designed to stimulate thinking, cultivate
ideas, and help students explore academic areas in line with student interest.
The students were
accepted for the state GSP after a lengthy process. First, the group was selected
as District Governor’s Scholars in January after completing GSP applications
packets late last year. Their application materials were then forwarded for
review by a GSP statewide
selection committee. The panel consists of college admission personnel, college
and high school teachers, and education leaders from different areas of the state.
Each committee member reads and scores only one of seven different sections.
The sections include academic achievement
which consists of ACT, PSAT, or SAT test score, grade point average, and
difficulty of class load. The Student Profile sections includes extracurricular activities, voluntary or paid
service, and honors and awards. The writing entry section of the application materials requires a 500-word essay.
A sixth section area is based on a teacher recommendation which must be completed
by a teacher who has had the student in class for a core academic subject in ninth,
10th, or 11th grade. The final section area is a based on a recommendation
from a community leader in a role not associated with the applicant's school.
The COVID-19 pandemic may necessitate a
change in plans for the traditional summer program. In a memo to participants
last week, GSP officials acknowledged that details will follow concerning this
year’s program.
“The circumstances facing our
world and the uncertainty of the foreseeable future force us to diligently work
with our host campuses and staff to create a plan to convene the 2020 class
prioritizing our first area of concern every year, the safety and well-being of
our scholars,” the memo explained. “At this time, we are planning on a summer
program taking place, with potential dates slightly different from those
originally announced and considering the possibility of shortening the
originally planned five weeks. This plan contemplates the last few days of June
and the month of July as the timeframe for the onsite GSP. Ultimately, any plan
will depend on other decisions and directives, including but not limited to the
Office of the Governor and our campuses. Towards the end of April, but most
likely in early May, we will be in touch with updates, but please keep checking
the GSP website, gsp.ky.gov, for official communication.”