Bright Futures Fund continued...

"Identifying students who need support early in their school
years and intervening often will ensure more children and their
families understand the lifelong health, social and economic
benefits of completing high school and post-secondary education,"
McGifford said. "Tackling barriers to education is critical to
success, creating positive effects for families over generations."

"Inner-city, Aboriginal and immigrant students are among those
who will benefit from supports that allow them to stay in school,
complete Grade 12 and attend college or university," Bjornson
said.

The May 22 announcement was held at Wellington School, which works with Career Trek, a successful community-based program that has worked with children, families and the education community to motivate students to stay in school and develop career goals.
Programs such as Career Trek will be eligible for greater
support under Bright Futures.

"The Bright Futures announcement is good news for programs
like Career Trek, which provided me with the inspiration and
clarity I needed to complete my education and further my career
goals. Now I am pleased to work with the program to support
students who face many of the same challenges," said Fairy Wong,
a Career Trek mentor who graduated from Wellington School.

The Bright Futures fund will support several pilot projects
similar to Career Trek in the upcoming year. Career Trek has a
very high student completion rate. Fifty per cent of high-school
graduates from the first four years Career Trek was available
went directly from high school to post-secondary education. All
current Career Trek staff are post-secondary students and nearly
half of them completed the Career Trek program.