Governor Jay Nixon, on Tuesday, made stops at three northern Missouri high schools to congratulate the schools on achieving the state's A+ Schools designation. The Governor also encouraged students at Albany, Cainsville, and Northeast Nodaway to take advantage of the A+ Schools program, which offers two years of free tuition and academic fees at Missouri's community colleges.

Under the A+ program, Missouri students can earn a scholarship to cover the cost of tuition and academic fees for two years at any public two-year community college or technical school in the state. To be eligible for the program, students must meet academic achievement, conduct and attendance requirements, and perform fifty hours of tutoring or mentoring service.

Since 1997, almost 125,000 Missouri students have qualified for A+ scholarships, and more than 50,000 have taken advantage of those financial incentives for at least one semester. In total, Missouri students have received more than $250,000,000 in A+ scholarships since 1997. Three hundred and ninety-eight public high schools in Missouri are A+ certified. The three high schools visited by the Governor on Tuesday are among more than 35 statewide that earned the designation in April.