Eleven years ago an ambitious program was born to help low-income Denver Public Schools students pay for higher education. In that time, the story of the Denver Scholarship Foundation has been one of increasing success. Thousands of low-income high school graduates have been able to subsidize educations. Students now have the chance to choose from 31 Colorado technical and community colleges and universities. In the last school year, 75 percent of the program’s recipients either remained enrolled in college or had graduated.

We mention it because the program’s longtime chief executive, Nate Easley, is moving on. It’s time to stop and reflect on what this program has meant, and why it works.

The Denver Scholarship Foundation was set up in 2006 after John Hickenlooper – then Denver’s mayor – made it a priority to give low-income students and students from families that hadn’t gone to college a fighting chance. Denver oilman Tim Marquez and his wife, Bernadette, donated $50 million to get things going. DPS partnered with the fund to cover its administration, ensuring that future donations would go to students. In 2016, the scholarship fund helped more than 5,000 students go to college.

Read more at The Denver Post.