The message is simple. “Live in our city, attend our schools and we’ll send you to college with a $20,000 scholarship.”

That’s the motto for the Pittsburgh Promise, a program that offers scholarships to Pittsburgh Public School students who meet certain requirements. In two years, the stakes will be even higher when the amount of the scholarship is raised to $40,000.

PROMISE TEAM—From left: Franco Harris, Saleem Ghubril, Sandra N. Danoff, Edie Shapira, Grant Oliphant, Anne Lewis, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, Cindy Shapira, David Shapira and David J. Malone.

To date, 1,690 scholarships have been awarded with another 750 expected from the recent batch of graduates. Local leaders delivered this and more during a report to the community July 1 at the O'Reilly Theater.

“There are amazing stories about the impact of the Promise,” said former Pittsburgh Steeler Franco Harris.

The Prom. Whereas the child can’t wait for the prom, and looks forward to it as being one of the greatest days in their lives, the parent in many cases hates to see that day come and is glad when it’s all over.

Why? Because of the bitter sweet knowledge that your child will be leaving you for college or going out on their own, but the real reason is the cost.

PERRY—IMANI IRVING-TAIT, RAGHIB DOLPHIN

When the parent is thinking “what college are you going to and how will it be paid for?” the kid cannot think beyond, The Prom. While the parent is trying to get things together for college, such as cost, quality of education, who provides what, SAT tests, what kinds of scholarships, grants and loans are available and are these loans subsidized or unsubsidized, the child very seldom has time to talk to anyone because they are caught up in something far more important, The Prom. They have to get the opinion of their friends on the hundreds of dresses they are looking at online, and at the malls while making sure they don’t show up with the same dresses. Oh my God, that would be a disaster.

No matter how old you are, and regardless if your prom was this year or 50 years ago, I want you to stop for a moment and think about how romantic or stressful the night was for you. Did that particular day go by smoothly, or was it a headache? Was it one of the best days of your life, or a day you would love to forget? If you could turn back the hands of time, would you do it all over again, and what would you do differently?