Promise Zone

Mission Statement

The Hazel Park Promise and College Access Network are committed to revitalizing the Hazel Park community by increasing its educational attainment and making it an attractive destination for families. We do this by offering a tuition-free path to an associate's degree to resident graduates of Hazel Park Schools and by recruiting and providing college and career preparatory programs to support all Hazel Park students.

The Promise Zone also coordinates the Hazel Park College Access Network, which uses the collective impact framework to align college access partners in the educational, governmental, nonprofit, and business communities.

What does my student receive? Click the links to learn more.

RESIDENT GRADS OF HAZEL PARK SCHOOLS

College Advisor - Our College Advisor works hard to assist each and every Hazel Park High School senior through the college exploration, admissions, and financial aid processes. The Promise Program is thrilled to be able to provide this service to students and encourages students of all ages and their parents to reach out to our College Adviser to begin planning for life after high school.
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College Success Coach - The Postsecondary Success Coach provides academic and personal support to Hazel Park Promise students enrolled in postsecondary education. The goal of Success Coaching is to increase semester-to-semester persistence.
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Community Mentoring Program - Mentoring program provides college bound graduates with a qualified Mentor to serve as a resource with sources of encouragement from the time students graduate from high school through their first year of college.
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Scholarship Details*- Last Dollar - a tuition-free pathway to obtain an Associate's Degree at Oakland Community College or Apprenticeship Certificate
(or its equivalent at a 4-year university. Must meet certain eligibility requirements).
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Summer Tuition Scholarship - Non-Community College students are welcome to take summer courses at Oakland Community College and transfer the credit back to their home institution and save money (up to 6 credits per summer).
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Junior & Senior College Scholarship - If you attend a 4-year institution, and have a need of dollars for tuition and mandatory fees, our current award is up to $1,000 per school year, $500 for the fall semester, and $500 for the winter semester, max of $2,000.
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Visit the Promise Zone Website for more details.

* State law imposes a residency requirement for publicly funded scholarships.
* A last-dollar scholarship is a form of student financial aid in which a student draws from other funding sources before being awarded the last-dollar scholarship.

NON-RESIDENT GRADS OF HAZEL PARK SCHOOLS

College Advisor - Our College Advisor works hard to assist each and every Hazel Park High School senior through the college exploration, admissions, and financial aid processes. The Promise Program is thrilled to be able to provide this service to students and encourages students of all ages and their parents to reach out to our College Adviser to begin planning for life after high school.
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College Success Coach - The Postsecondary Success Coach provides academic and personal support to Hazel Park Promise students enrolled in postsecondary education. The goal of Success Coaching is to increase semester-to-semester persistence.
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Community Mentoring Program - Mentoring program provides college bound graduates with a qualified Mentor to serve as a resource with sources of encouragement from the time students graduate from high school through their first year of college.
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Summer Tuition Scholarship* - Students are welcome to take summer courses at their in-district community college (up to 4 credits per summer).
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Visit the Promise Zone Website for more details.

* We strive to make our resources as equitable as possible. We are able to provide scholarships using privately fundraised resources.
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2021 College Success Handbook

Promise Zone 2022 Fundraising Dinner

The 9th Annual Hazel Park Promise Zone dinner will take place on Wednesday, March 9, from 5:30 to 8 pm., at the Regency Banquet Hall (25228 W. 12 Mile Road, Southfield).

Tickets cost $75.00 per person.

Click here -- tickets -- to order tickets.

The virtual event last year raised $25,000 last year compared to $21,000 the year before.

The goal this year is to raise $50,000.

The Hazel Park Promise Zone was founded in 2010 and began providing scholarships for Hazel Park High School’s Class of 2012.

How Does The Promise Zone Program Supports All HPS Students

College Advising

Our College Adviser works hard to assist each and every Hazel Park High School seniors through the college exploration, admissions, and financial aid processes. The Promise Program is thrilled to be able to provide this service to students and encourages students of all ages and their parents to reach out to our College Advisor to begin planning for life after high school.

College Advisor can help you with

Completing your (FAFSA) Free Application for Federal Student Aid
Identifying your future college or university
Scholarship Search

College Coaching

The Postsecondary Success Coach provides academic and personal support to Hazel Park Promise students enrolled in postsecondary education. The goal of Success Coaching is to increase semester-to-semester persistence, credit accumulation, and graduation rates for students.

What does success coaching provide students?

Delivers comprehensive, proactive coaching to Promise students enrolled and preparing to enroll in postsecondary education
Communicates with each student throughout the fall and winter semesters, via phone calls, text, email, and one-on-one communication.
Check-in with each student at least twice during the summer.
Reviews student progress data and plans for the upcoming semester.
Creates a resource guide with information on key resources at each institution where students are enrolled.

Promise Zone Scholarship

How does it work?

Students who attend OCC (and continuously reside in Oakland County) are guaranteed two years’ worth of full tuition and fees, either through Pell Grant funding or a Hazel Park Promise Scholarship (Promise funding is available for six years after high school graduation.
A student attending in-state, non-OCC, institution is eligible for up to $1,500 per semester for a total of $6,000. (If awarded Pell Grant dollars exceed $1,500 no Promise Zone money will be awarded. Pell grant dollars awarded in a given semester will be subtracted from that $1,500. Ex: if student receives $1,000 in Pell Grant, the Promise Zone will pay $500.)
A student must submit a Promise Zone scholarship application and inform the Promise Zone Executive Director which school he/she will be attending prior to course registration. The scholarship application opens in October of a student’s senior year and will be sent to all seniors via email.
A student’s FAFSA must be fully processed by a college or university in order for that student to receive Promise Zone funding. This includes any additional verification documentation which may be requested by the student’s college or university following initial FAFSA submission.
A student attending a school other than OCC must submit an electronic copy of his/her registration bill prior to the start of each semester. OCC will bill the Promise Zone directly. All scholarships are sent directly to the college or university.
All students must submit copies of their grades at the end of each semester in order to receive the following semester’s funding. The GPA requirement for continued funding is 2.0.
Eligibility for full scholarship, as described above, is as follows: entering district in 5th grade or earlier = 100% of award, 6th-8th = 90%, 9th = 75%, 10th = 50%, 11th = 30%, 12th = 20%