New York-based Say Yes to Education has announced that Cleveland, Ohio will be its fourth community partner, joining Syracuse and Buffalo, New York and Guilford County, North Carolina. Say Yes is a leading national nonprofit organization that partners with communities around the goal of making a college degree affordable and attainable for every public high school graduate.
Through the Say Yes program, eligible graduates of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) and partnering charter schools will have access to scholarships at colleges and universities around the nation. Scholarships will begin with the high school graduating class of 2019. To date, almost US$90 million has been raised by the Cleveland community to support the scholarship fund for the next 25 years.
The City of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, CMSD, Cleveland Foundation, College Now Greater Cleveland and United Way of Greater Cleveland were the initial convening partners that worked with many to bring this program into their community.
Squire Patton Boggs played a key role in advising and working with long-time client CMSD throughout the proposal process. The team was led by Colin R. Jennings (Litigation), Marques P.D. Richeson (Litigation) and Molly McNally (Corporate), and included Frederick R. Nance (Litigation) W. Michael Hanna (K-12 Education), Richard D. Manoloff (Public & Infrastructure Finance), Elliot Golding (Data Privacy, Cybersecurity & Digital Assets), Emily R. Spivack (K-12 Education) and Dylan J. Yépez (Labor & Employment).