NEWS RELEASE Pittsburgh Promise will remove Attendance and GPA Minimums for Pittsburgh Public Schools Class of 2021 PITTSBURGH, February 17, 2021 – The Pittsburgh Promise will eliminate the GPA minimum and attendance requirement for a Promise scholarship for the Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS) graduating class of 2021. This one-time easement of the scholarship requirements is intended to ensure that class of 2021 students can pursue post-secondary plans despite the significant challenges experienced by them during the pandemic. Class of 2021 students may use their four-year Promise scholarship anytime during the five years following high school graduation. Students will be required to meet residency and enrollment requirements for a Promise scholarship and other scholarship policies will not change. As per the current policies of The Pittsburgh Promise: Students with a GPA of 2.5 and above will be eligible to attend any Pell-eligible post-secondary program in Pennsylvania. Students with a GPA of 2.49 and below will be eligible for The Promise Extension Program. Students are required to use their extension scholarship at Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC). Those who complete a full year in the Extension Program (18 credits per year and maintain a 2.0 GPA) become fully Promise eligible and may enroll in any Pell-eligible post-secondary program in Pennsylvania in their second year. Executive Director Saleem Ghubril commented, “We have concluded that it will be nearly impossible to measure attendance for the class of 2021. We also believe that due to disparities in access to technology and ongoing hardships of COVID-19, some students’ grades will be detrimentally impacted. Our early data for 2020 students show that among Promise Scholars, freshman enrollment dropped by nearly 25%. We hope to mitigate declines in enrollment for the class of 2021 to the extent that we can. We encourage our students to keep pushing forward towards their post-secondary plans, and not let the circumstances of this year derail their future goals.” About The Pittsburgh Promise The Pittsburgh Promise promotes high educational aspirations among urban youth, funds scholarships for post-secondary access, and fuels a prepared and diverse regional workforce. To date, The Promise has invested more than $150 million in scholarships to send over 10,083 urban youth to a post-secondary institution. More than 3,447 Promise Scholars have graduated, and many are now working, and giving back, in the Pittsburgh region. Promise Alumni have added value to the region’s workforce at over 650 companies. Pittsburgh has the largest Promise program in the United States. For more information visit www.pittsburghpromise.org. ####
