UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Part of the Penn State College of Education’s mission is to make education equally accessible to all, and a recent donation to the school will help make that a reality.
Nancy Arnold, a Penn State alumna who currently serves on the Lancaster General Health Foundation’s board of trustees and the Dean of Education Development Council, has established an annual scholarship program to cover tuition costs for students participating in the Summer College Opportunity Program, also known as SCOPE, for the next five years, beginning with the program that concluded this academic year.
“We are deeply grateful for Nancy’s contributions to our future educators and, most importantly, her unwavering commitment to ensuring SCOPE remains accessible to students,” said Brenda Martinez, director of the Office of Education and Social Equity in the College of Education, which organizes and administers SCOPE. “SCOPE is a fantastic program, and her efforts have helped our students fully understand the benefits of a career in education, especially at Penn State’s College of Education.”
Arnold, who began her career as a teacher, said she wants to help students reach their full potential by removing potential barriers for those who would benefit most from the program.
“Students are doing well in class, they’re working, but they also have to worry about the financial burden, and that’s a disadvantage,” Arnold said. “I want to do whatever I can to help people achieve their goals, to make it less of a disadvantage so they can focus on being a student.”
Each July, SCOPE invites high school students from diverse backgrounds entering 11th grade who are interested in careers in education to the University Park campus for an intensive, one-month college credit course. The program is designed to develop their research, writing, reading, listening and speaking skills by having them choose a current issue in education as their subject of study.
Students begin by writing a research proposal on a chosen issue, then explore positions and solutions surrounding the issue through resources such as the Pattee and Paterno Libraries. They complete their project by developing a solution or further clarifying their understanding of the problem.
At the end of the program, students invite friends, family, faculty, staff, and the public to the university to give a final research presentation and answer any questions about their research from the attendees.
Arnold said he believes SCOPE is a way for the College of Education to change the education industry by laying the foundation for more people from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds to enter the profession.
“When you look at the lack of diversity in classrooms, I think this issue is really important,” Arnold said, “and I think the SCOPE program is an outreach to that issue. I think we should probably all have had a program like this to get potential students from underserved and underrepresented backgrounds, get them interested in education, invite them to campus and get the skills that this program fosters.”
Faculty members in the School of Education can see firsthand the potential the program has within the department. Kaela Fuentes-Packnick joined SCOPE in the summer of 2004. She went on to earn her bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in the School of Education and is now the department’s associate director for alumni relations.
“She’s amazing. She’s a special person in her own right,” Arnold said. “Kaela came to speak at a council meeting and I was blown away and impressed with her and the program. And at the meeting afterwards, I said, [Director of Development and Alumni Relations] Steve Wilson, I want to contribute too. This is a small program, so I think it’s easy to cut back, but it has a huge outreach to the schools that students go to and the people that they come into contact with.”
SCOPE hosted its first cohort in 2002. This previous session had 16 participants, and research topics included underfunding of public schools, learning disabilities, and the shortcomings of standardized testing.
Schools interested in receiving information about SCOPE can contact the College of Education’s Office of Educational and Social Equity by email at OESE-COE@psu.edu.
Penn State Philanthropy
Donors like Nancy Arnold advance the University’s historic land-grant mission of service and instruction. Through philanthropy, alumni and friends help students join the Penn State family and prepare them for lifelong success. They also advance research, outreach and economic development to foster our shared strength and readiness for the future, and increase the University’s impact on families, patients and communities across the state and around the world. Learn more at raise.psu.edu.