MPH names first recipient of its $2 million grant

MPH names first recipient of its $2 million grant

CNY Link, June 1, 2010
Tami S. Zimmerman

This fall, Krysten Robinson of Baldwinsville will be a ninth-grader at Manlius Pebble Hill in DeWitt.

She is the first recipient to earn a full scholarship based on a $2 million endowment grant recently awarded to MPH by the Colorado-based Malone Family Foundation. The grant will be used exclusively to provide scholarships to top students with financial need.

Director of Admissions Lynne Allard called Krysten last week to announce the good news.

“I was pretty surprised,” said Krysten, a student athlete and flute player at Durgee Middle School. “I had already thought I wasn’t going and when I found out I was accepted, I was shocked.”

And so was her mother, Allison Izzo.

“What more could a parent want? She’s delighted. We’re delighted. We couldn’t be any happier,” Izzo said. “We were trying to find a way to make it possible. There was no way we could afford it without [this scholarship].”

MPH is the first and only school in New York ever to receive this grant, said Head of School Baxter Ball. The school was one out of 10 in the nation selected to submit a proposal for this grant. Three out of the 10 schools, including MPH, were then chosen to receive this grant, which is awarded annually. Recipients, according to the foundation, are selected for various reasons, including the basis of their academic caliber; the quality of their staff, strong Advanced Placement and enrichment programs, attention to the individual student’s needs and financial strength and ability.

“They were very impressed with our commitment to diversity and the fact that we do not have just wealthy kids here,” Ball said. “Over half of our kids have some form of financial support and they saw diverse population – that’s who these scholarships are for. They wanted a school that is committed philosophically to promoting diversity to middle class kids, kids from varying backgrounds, to really make the community. They were looking for that and they saw it here.”

The $2 million is expected to support a minimum of seven students, and the number of scholarships will grow in succeeding years. The grant monies will be invested so the school can use the profit from the investment to fund the scholarships. The foundation anticipates the school to spend $100,000 per year, or 5 percent of the $2 million, Ball said.

“[The foundation] wants this to be a perpetual endowment so it will go on as long as the school goes on,” said Sue Gullo, director of communications.

To qualify, potential incoming students, grades seven through 12, must be in the top five percent of their class and have at least 30 percent financial need.

“These students will have to complete our financial aid information,” Allard said. “So the awards can range anywhere from a partial up to full need, and include our fees, if they qualify.”

MPH also offers Crosby scholarships and a merit scholarship program in addition to regular financial aid.

“We are very pleased that our academic excellence has received this national recognition, but even more pleased that, with this grant, we now will be able to bring even greater numbers of motivated and talented students into our school,” Ball said.

For more information, visit mph.net.