This year, The Kalamazoo Promise -- a program where anonymous donors put college education within the reach of every child in Kalamazoo Public Schools -- is celebrating a decade and the fact it has handed out nearly 4,000 scholarships in the past 10 years.

Because of the Kalamazoo Promise, graduates of Kalamazoo Public Schools can count on full-tuition scholarships to any community college, public university or, new this year, a select group of private colleges in Michigan.

The Kalamazoo Promise is the initiative that sparked a national movement.

Today, more than four dozen communities around the country have sought community transformation through free tuition strategies modeled at some level on the Kalamazoo effort. Most recently, President Barack Obama launched an initiative promoting free tuition for community colleges.

“We knew at the outset that The Promise was a gift that would change lives,” said Von Washington Jr., The Kalamazoo Promise executive director for community relations, in a prepared statement. “What we've learned over the past decade is that it's a gift that can transform a community, but only to the extent that the community steps forward to make sure The Promise is kept for everyone.

“In our city, that has meant changing our culture, knocking down barriers and raising expectations. We’ve really just begun, but we’ve accomplished so much already that the 10-year anniversary is a milestone we need to mark and leverage as we set the stage for the next 10 years.”

Planning is under way for events and programs that celebrate The Kalamazoo Promise and commitment to ensure even more young people take full advantage of the offer.

The year-long celebration will focus on the theme “The Promise We Keep.”

To mark the 10-year anniversary of The Kalamazoo Promise, a series of community-wide and national events also are planned, including a formal November anniversary celebration.

The events include:

  • A series of community conversations throughout the year, beginning in March, to identify and overcome college barriers for The Kalamazoo Promise-eligible young people who have not yet tapped that opportunity.
  • An August community-wide celebration in downtown Kalamazoo.
  • A 2015 PromiseNet conference in Kalamazoo in November to gather representatives from some 50 communities across the nation that have adopted free college tuition strategies to transform their communities.
  • A formal 10th anniversary celebration in mid-November marking 10 years since the evening Kalamazoo Public Schools board meeting at which The Kalamazoo Promise was announced.
  • Continuation of the celebration into 2016, with activities such as an April educator celebration to mark the importance of district teachers' efforts preparing The Kalamazoo Promise students for college.

First disclosed in 2005, news of the community’s good fortune spread rapidly nationwide.

Then-Superintendent Dr. Janice Brown was beaming and students and families were giddy as they were interviewed on Good Morning America and The Today Show as well as featured on the pages of The New York Times, USA Today,and The Wall Street Journal.

Since its announcement, The Kalamazoo Promise has paid out more than $60 million in scholarship awards, with the first group of students earning four-year degrees in 2010.

Kalamazoo Promise students have earned nearly 1,000 degrees and post-secondary credentials.

Under terms of The Kalamazoo Promise, students who spend their kindergarten through 12th-grade years attending and graduating from Kalamazoo Public Schools are eligible for scholarships that cover 100 percent of tuition and fees at the Michigan public college or university of their choice.

The covered amount at 15 private colleges is based on the average tuition and fees for the College of Literature, Science and Arts at The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

More From 98.7 WFGR