When the founders of New Haven Promise announced the establishment of the program in 2010, they implemented a gradual introduction of the support. But now, as the first cohort of fully-funded scholars has landed on campus, the program is already seeing that the average student attending an in-state public institution has tuition and fees completely covered by federal aid and Promise support.

And a growing number of New Haven public school students — which includes two charter high schools — are both quailfying and accepting the scholarship. Both the University of Connecticut and Southern Connecticut State University already have more than 100 New Haven Promise Scholars on campus and programming has been developed to provide not just financial support, but also peer-based social support.

No Promise program in the nation can boast of the community engagement of New Haven Promise, as more than 11,000 people follow the social media accounts of Promise and the scholar celebration, held each August, draws more than 750 scholars, dignitaries, families and friends.

New Haven Promise also has developed a paid summer internship program which saw nearly 60 students land full-time positions, mostly in their fields of study, in the summer of 2015. At the scholarship celebration, Executive Director Patricia Melton vowed to have 100 positions in 2016.