ARLINGTON – On a dreary January day, a bright future is being forged for students in North Texas.
"You do your work, you do your part, your commitment, and you get admitted to UNT," said Arlington ISD Superintendent Marcelo Cavazos before hundreds of excited high schoolers.
Juniors, like Tiara Lewis, who rank in the top-20 percent in their class will now be guaranteed admission into the Mean Green family. It's all thanks to the Eagle Advantage program, which rewards the district's top-performing students and takes away the guessing game of "will they be accepted?"
"I now have that security," Lewis said, proudly. "I know I have a school that's looking at me, and I have security that I'm going to a college in 2016."
The Eagle Advantage program gives Lewis' family a jumpstart on planning for her and her twin's academic futures.
"There are scholarship opportunities, financial aid," Lewis said. "It's stress off my parents."
For the inaugural year, top seniors will also be grand-fathered into the program.
The president of the University of North Texas said he's here to help.
"The program, specifically, is going to help ease the anxiety of application and allow a longer planning cycle," Neal Smatresk said.
Arlington ISD's superintendent said this is the start of a rewarding relationship.
"[It] gives [students] a tangible realization to their dreams," Cavazos said.
The University of North Texas will provide counseling support, so that students transition into college seamlessly.
It's a new way of helping teenagers who are excelling in high school continue on the path to success.
"A portion of our students that are high-performing don't even apply to college," Cavazos said. "For whatever reason, for whatever barrier that exists, they don't even apply to go to college, even though they have the grades and the performance that will get them accepted."
The highest-performing Arlington students will now be accepted, and UNT says this is just the beginning. Around a dozen other school districts in North Texas will join Arlington and soon sign on to the Eagle Advantage program.
