The John and Abigail Adams and Stanley Koplik
Award Programs
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Department of Higher Education offer tuition reductions/waivers to state colleges and universities to students who demonstrate high academic achievement while in high school. Information on each is below.
Quick Links:
Stanley Z. Koplik Certificate of Mastery Tuition Waiver
John and Abigail Adams Scholarship
Koplik/Adams Coordinator at WHS: email Ben Buffa at [email protected] or call him in the Office at 508-358-3706.
Attention Juniors and Seniors who are interested in State Colleges and Universities in Massachusetts, or plan to attend one: Koplik and Adams Scholarship Information:
Please be aware of this important point: Koplik letters and certificates will now be sent by email to the student. As such, please be sure to include a NON-SCHOOL affiliated email address for the student or there could be a delay in processing your scholarship.
The Koplik and Adams scholarships pay tuition for any Massachusetts
State College/University.
Eligible students can receive one scholarship or the other, but not both. For either scholarship, the dollar amount is the same (it usually amounts to $1,500-$2,000 off the tuition bill each year depending on which State College/University your child attends).
The Student Koplik application deadline for 2022 graduates will be June 1, 2022
Students will be allowed to retest in March 2022 to meet initial eligibility requirements.
Note: if you are hoping to use March 2022 MCAS scores, you will need to send those in with your application as soon as possible after the scores come out.
SAT Subject tests have been discontinued. AP exams are still an option, but not a requirement (students must score a 3 or better). Competitions, Prizes, Awards, Publications are still accepted (see examples noted on page 5 of the application).
Additional pathways to securing the Koplik scholarship as noted below (only ONE of each can be used):
Certification of Outstanding Achievement from department head
To meet the criteria for outstanding achievement in any of the content areas, a student must have done one (or more) of the following:
- 1. maintained a grade of B or better in courses the specified
- content area in grades 11 & 12; or
- 2. served in a mentoring capacity in courses the specified
- content area (through official recommendation of school
- personnel) in grade(s) 11 or 12; or
- 3. served in a tutoring capacity in courses in the specified
- content area (through official recommendation of school
- personnel) in grade(s) 11 or 12
-
Certification of family/community leadership from department head
To meet the criteria for Community/Family Leadership, a student must have completed one (or more) of the following:
-
1. Regular employment (10 hours per week or more) in a
- family-owned business in grade(s) 11 or 12;
- 2. Regular employment (10 hours per week or more) in a
- commercial business in grade(s) 11 or 12; or
- 3. Volunteering for Community Service (at least 25 hours
- beyond the school requirement) at an established
- community service/community leadership organization
- in grade(s) 11 or 12
Certification of completion of advanced course work
- To be eligible for certification of the completion of advanced coursework, ALL the following criteria must be met during high school (grades 9-12):
-
- Completed a course designated as “advanced” by the student’s high school
- Completed the course with a “B” or better
- Completed the course by June 30th of the student’s senior year
- The course MUST be in at least ONE of the content areas: Arts,
History/Social Science/Civics, Digital Learning, English/Language Arts, Foreign Languages,
Mathematics, Music, Science, Theatre Arts (including
Dance and Drama)
Please email WHS Koplik Coordinator, Ben Buffa - [email protected], with any questions.
John/Abigail Adams Scholarship
Students may also
earn a tuition waiver to state colleges and universities through the
Adams Scholarship program. They qualify by: having scores of Advanced and Proficient on grade 10 MCAS tests in English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics (at least one score must be Advanced) AND
- have combined scores on MCAS ELA and Mathematics tests that place them in the top 25 percent of students in the graduating class in their district.
Students are notified if they have won an Adams Scholarship in
the fall of their senior year.
**Below
are examples of competitions, prizes, awards, and publications that
may be used to substitute for one of the two required exams. Please
note that this is not intended to be an exclusive list.
Academic Decathlon Competition
American Invitational Mathematics Exam (AIME)
American Field Service Scholarship
Massachusetts Art Education Association: Art-All State
Boys State and Girls State
Business Professionals of America (BPA) Skills Development Award
Destination Imagination----either Massachusetts or National Recognition
Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) Skills Development Award
English-Speaking Union's National Shakespeare Competition
Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) Skills Development Award
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Award
Ford/AAA Automotive Technology Skills Development Award
Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) Skills Development Award
Future Farmers of America (FFA) Skills Development Award
Greater Boston Youth Symphony participation
High Schools That Work Award of Educational Achievement
Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, Massachusetts and National
International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO)Intel Science Talent Search – semi-finalist or finalist
Junior Engineering Technical Society (JETS) Competition – state finalist
Junior Achievement Award winners
Latin Certamen Competition – gold or silver medallist
Massachusetts Foreign Language Association (MAFLA) Essay Contest
Massachusetts Foreign Language Association (MAFLA) Past
President's Award Massachusetts Business Education Association Award
for Exemplary Achievement
Massachusetts or National History Day prizes for written papers, audio/visual presentations
Massachusetts Theater Guild competition finalist
Microsoft Certification Programs Computer Science
Massachusetts Music Educators Association: Music All State
National Arts Talent Search
National French Honor Society
National Language Exams – semi-finalist or finalist
National Merit Finalist
Publication in a literary magazine such as “The Concord Review”
Science Competitions, i.e., Science Olympiad individual honor award
Skills USA Skills Development Award
Regional Talent Search/Johns Hopkins University State Recognition
Shakespeare Competition – State finalist for outstanding performance
USAMO-USA Mathematical Olympiad
We the People – Competitions of the Center for Civic Education