Forney ISD Students Receive Over $2.37 Billion in Scholarship Offers — And NBC 5 Took Notice

Forney ISD juniors and seniors have been awarded $2,378,851,988 in scholarship offers for the current academic year — totaling 46,376 scholarship awards across the district. That number caught the attention of NBC 5, whose education reporter Wayne Carter visited Forney ISD to cover the story firsthand.

What Carter found was a loud, celebratory event for high school seniors — and the potential for something life-changing. Through its partnership with VU Scholarships, funded by the Forney Education Foundation, Forney ISD is matching students with leftover scholarship money from colleges and universities across the country. The program costs students and the school nothing. Forney ISD shares transcripts and student information, colleges select the students they want, and assign a dollar amount.

NBC 5 spoke with Superintendent Dr. Justin Terry, who captured what this program means for students: "The greatest thing about it is it opens doors that, you know, our kids may not even known were there."

One senior, Drew Salton, was still processing the moment when NBC 5 caught up with him. With dreams of attending Texas Tech and eventually law school at UT Austin, he found himself with dozens of universities offering him scholarship money. "That's crazy. I'm still having trouble believing 59 universities are willing to give me 50k."

For students and families, that's exactly the point. While the total scholarship figure reflects offers from multiple schools, the average award per student comes to a realistic $50,000 — money that can meaningfully change the calculus of whether and where a student goes to college.

For the district, this milestone reflects what Forney ISD has been building toward. As Tina Spain, Director of Guidance and Social Services, put it: "Forney ISD is committed to opening as many doors as possible for our students, no matter which path they choose. We couldn't be more proud."

VU is grateful for the partnership of Forney ISD, Dr. Justin Terry, and the Forney Education Foundation. Without their trust, collaboration, and commitment to their students, none of this would be possible. Thank you for letting us be part of something this special.

Watch the NBC 5 segment

Carter in the Classroom — Forney ISD connects students with college scholarships

NBC 5 DFW · February 12, 2026