Education
Free college education could reduce poverty
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By SAM INGLOT
Capital News Service
LANSING—High school students in some of Michigan’s most impoverished communities may soon have access to free college tuition. “Education is the closest thing we have to a silver bullet when it comes to escaping the cycle of poverty,” said Brandy Johnson, executive director of Michigan College Access Network, a key group responsible for the program. In what are called “Promise Zones,” the Michigan College Access Network is fostering public and private partnerships to create scholarships for any student who graduates from a high school in a designated zone, Johnson said. The program has three steps, said Chuck Wilbur, a consultant with Public Policy Associates, which works with Michigan College Access Network. Wilbur was also a senior policy advisor for former Gov. Jennifer Granholm.