A new branch of the “Promise” financial program was announced in Bridgeport, Conn. on Oct. 8 and will be available for the current senior class in the public school district.
The program was modeled off the ones in New Haven, Hartford and Waterbury, that provide “financial assistance to [students who] attend a partner Connecticut-based college or university,” according to UConn Today.
“We’re funding it initially with $1.5 million and it will be up and running,” Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim said in an interview with The Daily Campus. “In other words, we’ll be able to designate or take the first steps for the students starting in 2026, so we’re really excited about it.”
The starting funds were designated by the city over a three-year period and partnered universities have contributed to the program, providing tuition forgiveness or reduction, Ganim said.
“The University of New Haven has pledged a 50% tuition discount for all students entering through the Bridgeport Promise Program, while the University of Connecticut has committed to providing a minimum of $5,000 in scholarship support each year to every student enrolled through the initiative,” according to a press release from the Bridgeport Public School District.
Students who are Bridgeport residents, have attended Bridgeport Public Schools continuously from grades 9-12, have a 90% or higher attendance rate, a cumulative 3.0 or higher weighted GPA by graduation, a good disciplinary record and been accepted into a two-year or four-year accredited college or university are eligible for this program, according to the Bridgeport Promise website.
This program was introduced initially around the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and was put on hold, according to Ganim.
Following the height of the pandemic, leaders of this program met with former Waterbury Mayor Neil O’Leary to mimic the Bridgeport program off the preexisting one in Waterbury to grant students the funding to pursue higher education.
“There’s a lot of issues, but this helps reduce — not eliminating completely — but the financial burden or obstacle for a young person who wants to go on and get a degree,” Ganim said. “A lot of us that have worked on this, looking at something that’s going to live generationally.”
The program was created in collaboration with the Bridgeport Board of Education and Bridgeport Superintendent Dr. Royce Avery.
“It’s a partnership between a lot of entities…with [Dr. Avery] steering us right in all the ways in primary secondary education, the contribution and commitment to higher ed through this program level the playing field has been a pleasure,” Ganim said.
Now that the project is operational and entering its inaugural year, Ganim has started to set his long-term goals for the program.
“The plan, in other words, is to make it so that every university or college in Connecticut is participating in a way to allow choice for graduating recipients,” Ganim said.
After expanding that goal, Ganim emphasized the collaborative effort behind the initiative.
“Helping people help each other in this way, in this form,” Ganim said. “It’s through government and nonprofits coming together and creating an endowment that supports the elimination of financial burden.”
Looking ahead, Ganim said the initiative is designed to create lasting change across communities, not just in the city of Bridgeport.
“It’s one of those things you look back on over generations and see every student that it’s touched … over years and years, the return benefit of what they’ll be able to do in a positive way, not only for themselves, their families, but the communities they live in,” Ganim said.