History of the Rosen Scholarship Program

Tangelo Park, a Central Florida neighborhood near International Drive, was once defined by rising crime and urban blight, until a grass roots movement started by community members changed the course of history. When the community asked for help, Harris Rosen stepped in.

Together with the Tangelo Park Civic Association, Tangelo Baptist Church, Tangelo Park Elementary School, and the Tangelo Park YMCA the Tangelo Park Program Inc. (TPP) was formed.

The program provides free preschool for every two-, three-, and four-year-old child living in Tangelo Park. And it provides college or vocational school scholarships, including tuition, room and board, and books, for every Dr. Phillips High School graduate.

Before the TPP, high school drop-out rates were at 25%. Over the decades with the assistance of the program, high school graduation rates soared to 100%. GPA rates rose to 3.0. Even secondary education graduation rates rose.

August 2017 saw the grand opening of the Rosen Preschool in Parramore welcoming two-, three-, and four-year-old children into 24 preschool classrooms—free of cost. What few know is that this is a second multi-million-dollar educational initiative that hopes to repeat the extraordinary success of the Tangelo Park Program in Parramore.

Just like in the Tangelo Park Program, students living in Parramore who graduate from Jones High School receive financial assistance for two or four-year college or vocational school education. Costs are covered by the Rosen Parramore PS8 Foundation.