FLORENCE – The results are in for the first semester for Lincoln Grant Scholar House students, and the grades are good … very good.
Lincoln Grant Scholar House, which opened in Covington earlier this year, provides affordable housing and family services for 45 single parents enrolled in post-secondary education.
“The exciting thing is the high GPAs at the end of the first semester … most were from 3.6 to 3.9,” said Dawn Fogarty, vice president of the Northern Kentucky Community Action Center (NKCAC), which operates the facility.
Fogarty provided a progress report on the Lincoln Grant Scholar House at a meeting of the Florence Rotary Club on May 22. With the support of the City of Covington and the Kentucky Housing Corporation, NKAC renovated the former Lincoln Grant School at 824 Greenup Street into two- and three-bedroom apartments.
To be eligible to live there, an applicant must be a single parent with a child younger than 18, must meet federal low-income housing requirements and must be enrolled or seeking enrollment in post-secondary education. Residents must continue to be enrolled full time and maintain a GPA of 2.0 or higher to remain there until graduation.
Scholar house residents enrolled this spring in Beckfield College, Cincinnati State, Gateway Community & Technical College, God’s Bible College, Indiana Tech and Northern Kentucky University. More than 80% were homeless prior to moving in, according to Fogarty.
“That’s a pretty high rate,” Fogarty noted. “Some were moving from family member to family member.”
A two-year renovation project converted the old Lincoln Grant School, which originally served African American students, into an educational and family resource center. NKCAC provides not only academic advising, coaching and a library, but also a fitness center, technology center and theater.
The Carnegie will operate the center and provide summer productions for the entire community and programs for the children, according to Fogarty.
NKCAC does not offer child care for the 85 children living in the scholar house, but puts residents in touch with “high-quality day care providers,” Fogarty said. Currently, 26 families are on a waiting list for housing.
“Expansion is needed already,” Fogarty said. “There are a lot of people out there who need support.”
