Four Denver Public Schools students have been offered full-ride scholarships by the Boettcher Foundation.
The foundation annually awards 40 scholarships, this year choosing from more than 1,300 applicants.
The Boettcher, which covers tuition, fees and books for eight semesters or 12 quarters any Colorado four-year college or university. The gift includes a $2,800 annual living stipend to help cover the cost of room and board.
In 2010 and 2009, one DPS student received a Boettcher.
“This is a very strong year for DPS,” said Katy Craig, who directs the scholarship program.
Two of the offers went to students at John F. Kennedy High School. The others went to students at East High School and Denver School of the Arts.
It has been 20 years since Kennedy has had two students receive a Boettcher in the same year. The 2011 recipients are Alyssa Kasperson and Richard Maez. The last Kennedy student to receive the scholarship was Annie Guo, in 2002.
Elliot Mamet is the East winner. The DSA winner is Charla (Aubrey) Rhodes.
All four students will be recognized for this achievement by the Board of Education during its regular meeting on Thursday.
The merit-based scholarship was begun in 1952 by Claude Boettcher. It was modeled after the Rhodes Scholarship Program, but with the intent to encourage Colorado’s brightest students to attend college within the state.
