Steward Announces Student Leadership Program and $10,000 Impact Scholarships for Upper School Students

Both programs are the first of their kind among Richmond-area independent schools.
Steward has launched two new initiatives giving Upper School students more opportunities for academic and leadership advancement. 

The first is a new Impact Scholars program, providing two $10,000 merit scholarships for tuition in Steward’s Upper School, awarded to two eighth grade students. The second is a new Leadership Program, a small, highly selective program for students in grades 9-11, providing hands-on leadership education opportunities within the Richmond community. These programs are the first of their kind among Richmond-area independent schools.

“The Impact Scholars initiative recognizes past and future accomplishments of our most outstanding students,” Head of School Dan Frank said. “The Leadership Program will challenge and nurture these bright minds to make a greater impact not only on themselves, but on our school community. With collaboration among their peers, faculty advisors, and leaders from business and community-based organizations, the Leadership Program will help to guide their growth to adulthood, where they can make a positive difference in their communities and our broader world.”

Both initiatives support the priorities set forth in Steward’s strategic plan, Compass 2022, which focuses on meaningful community partnerships and complex and creative academic excellence. Learn more about engagement opportunities in the Upper School in this graphic.

Impact Scholars will be chosen based on character and leadership, as well as community service, academic excellence, and extracurriculars. Applications for the scholarship are open through February 15; two student recipients will be announced in Spring 2021. Impact Scholars will automatically earn spots in the new Leadership Program, along with the Debbie Robson Merit Scholars. 

In the fall of 2021, applications for the Leadership Program will open to other Steward freshmen, and those who best demonstrate academic excellence and community leadership will be prioritized for acceptance. 

At the end of their junior year, students in the Leadership Program will earn a Leadership Endorsement certificate of completion, enabling them to apply what they have learned to their senior year of leadership at Steward, as well as on college applications. The program includes two years of course work in leadership studies and then an independent capstone project during the junior year.

The Leadership Program is in addition to Steward’s Entrepreneurship Studies Program, established in 2017 to provide Upper School students with increased opportunities for entrepreneurship education through academic studies, hands-on learning, and skill building throughout metro Richmond.

The Impact Scholars program is the third component of a robust merit program that already includes:

  • Debbie Robson Merit Scholarship, providing four years of full Upper School tuition to a rising ninth grader who is new to Steward.
  • Merit Grants for new Upper School students, which provide up to $5,000 each per year for students entering Steward for the first time in grades 9-11. 

A core part of the Steward mission is to celebrate a diversity of talents, abilities, and cultures among the student body, providing a rich and well-rounded private school experience. Steward has long been a local and statewide leader in offering merit scholarships to high school students. 
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