The STAR Sponsorship Program, established in 1993 in Fort Worth, Texas, provides scholarships to low-income families to enhance children's education, having awarded nearly 3,100 scholarships worth over $3.5 million. The program emphasizes parental involvement and student accountability, aiming to improve academic achievement through school choice. Donors play a critical role in funding the initiative, which strives to build a stronger, more educated workforce for the community.

1. Please remember to turn up your volume. Thank you

2. STAR Sponsorship Program Children’s Scholarship Fund Fort Worth, Texas since1993 Education is the key to success. And the education our children receive in grades K-12 sets the stage for the rest of their lives. Former US Secretary of Education, Rod Paige

3. We believe the well-being of the entire community is enhanced when children are given a quality education that allows them to achieve to their utmost ability. S uccess T hrough A cademic R eadiness

4. Founded in 1993 by: Paul Greenwell Janet Carter Mark Walton Vision for giving parents a choice in children’s education Private donations have since provided for 650 scholarships worth almost $1 million for low-income families who want a strong foundation of quality education for their children. STAR

5. CSF was created in 1998 and sought programs such as STAR Sponsorship across the country to partner C hildren’s S cholarship F und with them by providing a 1:1 matching opportunity. STAR/CSF Fort Worth has since provided for nearly 3,100 scholarships worth over $3.5 million.

6. Select inner-city schools Merit-based honors program Annual Application Sponsor mentorship STAR Any private school in Tarrant County 90% attendance requirement K – 8 th Grade 25%, 50%, 75% scholarships CSF

7. Our STAR students emerge as natural leaders in the classroom. We believe our high expectations result in STAR performance from students and their parents.

8. STAR requires: Parent Involvement & Student Accountability STAR students are required to: Maintain Honor Roll Strive for perfect attendance and minimal tardiness Exhibit exemplary effort and behavior Write their sponsor throughout the school year

9. The Friedman Foundation compiled numerous studies all with the same result - better scores from students attending the schools of their parents’ choice. School Choice Fosters Greater Achievement

10. STAR Sponsorship is funded entirely by the generous donations from individuals, corporations, foundations and community partnerships. We are the only privately funded scholarship program in Tarrant County. Our Donors see an immediate return on their investment as our students emerge as leaders, academic achievers and with resolve to be hard working and successful in every endeavor.

11. Average Scholarship: $1,475 Average Tuition: $5,212 Average Family Contribution: $2,688 Average Family Income: $29,298 Our Sponsors provide only partial scholarships. Parents with an active role in their child’s education create a stronger educational foundation.

12. Parents who understand and appreciate our high academic and behavior standards are an integral part of our program.

13. XTO Energy is taking sponsorship to the corporate level. Currently funding 7 children, XTO believes supporting children and their parents in education is an easy decision. All of the students are worthy investments! - Holly Herrell, XTO Energy Sponsoring a child goes beyond an individual student’s academic achievements towards building a stronger, more educated workforce for our community.

14. Texas has the second highest percentage of its adult population lacking a high school diploma. The numbers are worse in our state’s biggest cities, including Fort Worth. One independent study found the graduation rate of the Fort Worth School District to be as low as 48.9%* *From The High Cost of Failing to Reform Public Education in Texas by Brian J. Gottlob Editorial Projects in Education Research Group

15. “ If even a small fraction of Texas’s 2,594,986 working age dropouts had graduated from high school, the increase in earning would be substantial.”* *From The High Cost of Failing to Reform Public Education in Texas by Brian J. Gottlob By investing in education, you are ensuring the future economic success of our community. Giving parents a choice. Giving children a chance.

16. Our Texas economy will not survive as a leader with an uneducated or undereducated workforce. Texas must be able to compete in a world market and it will take a systematic change in our current system of education to achieve that. Our Donors are changing that system one child at a time.

17. We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education. - Martin Luther King, Jr. Our Donors See the Impact They are Making Giving vouchers to parents is like magic. Giving students a sponsor gives them a sense of how valuable their education is. -Janet Carter STAR/CSF Board of Trustees Co-founder We make real and lasting changes in the lives and prospects of children in Fort Worth. -David Porter STAR/CSF Board of Trustees The STAR program has a bigger impact per dollar than any other program around. It is a blessing to be able to change lives so profoundly with seemingly such little effort. Our family gets more out of it than we could think possible. -Peter Philpott STAR/CSF Board of Trustees

18. Dreams Choices Opportunities Chance to influence generations

19. STAR/Children’s Scholarship Fund of Fort Worth has many success stories. Our graduates have gone on to universities and prestigious programs. Ly Hoang is attending the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science at The University of North Texas, combining her Junior and Senior year of high school with her Freshman and Sophomore year of college. She has a 4.0 average. Edward Ibarra is on a full four year scholarship attending The University of Dallas. Natasha Bui is attending Loyola University on a $23,000 scholarship studying Psychology. They all thank STAR/Children’s Scholarship Fund of Fort Worth and their individual sponsors for the opportunity.

20. Thank you to all of our donors. Please help us do more! Please help spread the word!

21. Thank You From STAR/CSF Fort Worth a 501c3 nonprofit organization If you ask what is the good of education, the answer is easy - that education makes good men and that good men act nobly. -Plato