The Kalamazoo Promise, a scholarship program for graduates of Kalamazoo Public Schools (KPS) in Michigan, has expanded to support students attending four-year, historically Black colleges and universities.
Established in 2005, The Kalamazoo Promise program provides scholarships covering up to 100 percent of tuition and mandatory fees for KPS graduates attending one of 60 postsecondary educational institutions in the state of Michigan. To be eligible for the scholarship, students must have attended a KPS system school for at least the entirety of their high school education (grades 9 through 12). The tuition benefit is based on the length of continuous attendance and residency in the school district; students who spent the entirety of their K-12 education in KPS schools are eligible for a 100 percent benefit.
Now the scholarship program has been extended to cover the cost of attending any HBCU in the nation. The initiative will not retroactively cover KPS graduates currently attending HBCUs for prior semesters, but beginning in the Fall 2027 semester, the program will cover future semesters at HBCUs for eligible KPS alumni.
“Over our 20-year history, The Kalamazoo Promise has always been about opening doors for our students and expanding it to include HBCUs widens that promise in a meaningful way,” said Von Washington Jr., CEO of The Kalamazoo Promise. “These institutions have a long legacy of lifting up scholars and leaders, and now more Kalamazoo Public Schools graduates can choose a path that feels like home without worrying about the cost.”
