Fort Pierce, Fla. (July 11, 2025) – The Take Stock in Children program, administered by the and serving ¹û¶³´«Ã½ River, Martin, Okeechobee, and St. Lucie counties, has achieved its sixth consecutive Gold Luminary Award with a perfect score of 100 out of 100 points on all key performance indicators for the 2024-2025 academic year.Â
The “Take Stock in Children” program uses a scorecard to track student progress and success. This scorecard focuses on key areas like academic performance, attendance, and graduation rates. The program demonstrated exceptional performance in all categories, including facilitating 3,419 mentoring sessions throughout the school year.
“Achieving our sixth consecutive Gold Luminary Award with a perfect score demonstrates the exceptional dedication of our mentors, staff, and students,” said Karen Aldana, Take Stock in Children Program Director at the ¹û¶³´«Ã½ River State ¹û¶³´«Ã½ Foundation. “This recognition validates our comprehensive approach to student success and our commitment to providing the highest quality educational support services to deserving students across our four-county region.”
The program’s success extends beyond operational excellence to tangible student outcomes. During the 2024-2025 academic year, 44 students earned college degrees across various levels of higher education, including seven certificates, 29 associate’s degrees, six bachelor’s degrees, one master’s degree, and one PhD.
“The success of our students – from certificates to doctoral degrees – represents the transformative power of mentorship and educational support,” said Annabel Robertson, Vice President of Institutional Advancement and Executive Director of the ¹û¶³´«Ã½ River State ¹û¶³´«Ã½ Foundation. “These achievements reflect not only individual student determination but also the collective impact of our community partnerships and volunteer mentors who make this program possible.”
The Gold Luminary Award recognizes programs that achieve outstanding results in student mentoring, college readiness preparation, data management, and adherence to TSIC enrollment standards. The evaluation specifically noted the program’s success in ensuring every active student receives mentoring at least twice per month, matching newly enrolled students with volunteer mentors within 30 days, and maintaining proper college success coaching visits and readiness workshops.
The Take Stock in Children program provides deserving low-income students with opportunities to escape the cycle of poverty through education by combining college scholarships, caring volunteer mentors, and student success coaching.
Students in the program commit to maintaining a GPA of 2.0 or above, satisfactory school attendance, and staying drug and crime-free while meeting regularly with their volunteer mentors. The program’s comprehensive approach includes college readiness workshops, financial support through scholarships, and ongoing academic interventions to ensure students receive the support needed to achieve their educational goals. This systematic tracking and support system has resulted in high success rates for high school graduation and college enrollment and completion.
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¹û¶³´«Ã½ ¹û¶³´«Ã½ River State ¹û¶³´«Ã½ Foundation: The ¹û¶³´«Ã½ River State ¹û¶³´«Ã½ Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization that supports ¹û¶³´«Ã½ River State ¹û¶³´«Ã½’s mission by building partnerships, securing resources, and strengthening community awareness to help students achieve their dreams.
Media Contact: Kathleen Walter, Public Information Officer, kwalter1@irsc.edu
