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Student Spotlight
2015
Noah Allen The Dinoff School for the Gifted Griffin, GA Noah Allen, a high school junior, started out in life with an all too common life situation for a child in a low-‐income, urban, minority family: living in a single parent household, in a difficult neighborhood and attending an under-‐performing public school. Disadvantaged but determined, Noah’s mother, Kia, worked to give her children the best she could provide, but moving to an address zoned for a top-‐performing public school was not an option for her. The ability to choose the best school for her child (as middle and upper income families are able to do) was out of financial reach. However, when the Tax Credit Scholarships were created, possibilities became reality. Upon being awarded a scholarship from AAA Scholarship Foundation, Kia searched for a school that would be the best fit for her children, something that she had never done before. After exploring the options in her area, she applied for her children to attend The Dinoff School for the Gifted and all were accepted into the challenging program. Noah had been an average student in his public school, but was not challenged in his classes and his mother knew he needed a different setting to thrive educationally. The Dinoff School has been able to provide the engaging and challenging environment Noah needed, enabling him to reach his full potential. Noah has risen as a leader in school and at home. He spends his evenings not only doing his own homework but also helping his sisters with theirs and taking care of them while his mother works to provide for their family. He strives to not only ensure he succeeds, but that his sisters do as well. Participating in the Tax Credit Scholarship Program is not without its own set of new challenges for families like Noah’s. Unlike public schools, many private schools do not provide transportation. Kia often has to leave for work before the children go to school, but through the generosity of family friends and church members, Noah and the girls are able to get to/from school daily. “Education is Noah’s ticket to future success,” says Lesley Dinoff. “He is hungry for knowledge and searches out every opportunity to learn.” This is clearly illustrated by the fact that he went from being an average student to scoring over 1850 on his SAT this year. “He will be applying to Ivy League colleges because AAA Scholarship Foundation gave him access to achieve learning he never would have had otherwise.” When Noah isn’t studying, you can find him helping to make his community better. With his sights on Columbia University, he has a vision for himself that he didn’t have a few short years ago. Not only does he volunteer at the local food pantry and soup kitchen, but also at the senior center. Walking with the residents and hearing their life lessons provides Noah with a perspective he otherwise would not have had. Noah says, “When I do eventually become 2
AAA Scholarship – 2015 Student Spotlight: Noah Allen
successful in my endeavors, I plan to give as much back to my community as possible, just as I was given this scholarship.” At The Dinoff School for the Gifted, they focus on the whole child, educational and socialization. It is the only school of its kind in Georgia that focuses on providing individualized and challenging instruction to highly intellectual, creative and artistic students. Without the AAA Scholarship program, students like Noah and his sisters would not be able to attend this life-‐changing school. In 2015, an astonishing feat happened: the entire statewide $58 million program cap for fundraising was not only reached in the first day, but all pledges were pro-‐rated to 60 percent because there was so many donation applications. Next year is Noah’s last year on the AAA scholarship – but without additional funding, his sisters’ scholarships will not be renewed. “Noah is a shining example of what our state can do for its future,” says Dinoff. “He will have options and choices that he never would have had without the AAA scholarship. Giving families access to educational opportunity will only reward us as a community, state and nation as we will see with Noah as he becomes an adult, able to not only survive, but thrive.” About The Dinoff School for the Gifted Located in Griffin, Ga., The Dinoff School for the Gifted provides individualized and challenging educational programs for gifted and talented students in grades K-‐12. The school currently is the only school in Georgia that is accredited as a School with a Special Purpose: Gifted Education, and serves 38 students – four of whom are on the AAA Scholarship program. The annual tuition is $10,000. The Dinoff School uses the ITBS, KTEA, and CogAT to assess student achievement and motivation. While acceleration is one of the cornerstones of exemplary gifted education practices, with more research supporting this intervention than any other in the literature on gifted individuals, gifted learners must also be given stimulating educational experiences appropriate to their level of ability if they are to realize their full potential. About AAA Scholarship Foundation The typical AAA Scholarship student is an ethnic minority living with a struggling single parent/caregiver in a high crime community. The average household income of families accepted to receive scholarships is $23,559 for a family of four. Many children are either below grade level, failing at their previous school or both when they receive a scholarship. Parents, who find their children in these circumstances and care about their future, look for viable options. They seek an atmosphere that challenges their child to reverse inadequate learning and/or social patterns and the potential lifelong negative impact. They wish to change their child's learning environment, acquaintances, and the unfortunate predictable outcomes associated with school failure. AAA Scholarships are funded in Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia and Pennsylvania by corporations that redirect a portion of their state tax liability to the AAA Scholarship Foundation in exchange for a tax credit (dollar for dollar in Alabama, Arizona, Florida and Georgia and up to 90 percent in Pennsylvania). The AAA Scholarship Foundation is one of the only approved Scholarship 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organizations exclusively serving qualifying low-‐income, disabled and/or displaced students through these Scholarship Tax Credit programs. AAA Scholarship Foundation provides your company with the convenience and efficiency of a single-‐solution for participating in multiple state tax credit scholarship programs. For more information or to learn how your corporation can participate in the program, visit www.AAAScholarships.org, or contact Kerri Vaughan at kerri@aaascholarships.org or 888 707-‐2465 ext. 730.