Norwich Free Academy and New London High School have long-standing rivalries on athletic fields, and now the two schools will be competing in a different competition with 14 other school districts, and the prize is $10,000 for one winning district.

Concerned that 16% fewer high school seniors completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid during the COVID-19-upended 2019-20 school year, Gov. Ned Lamont in December announced a competition for school districts to boost the number of seniors who complete FAFSA applications.

FAFSA forms are sent to any colleges that students apply to and help in determining financial aid packages.

The competition was open to the 21 school districts in which fewer than 50% of seniors completed the FAFSA forms last year. Sixteen applied for the competition, and the state accepted all of them, said Chris Soto, director of innovations and partnerships for the state Department of Education. Soto, a former New London state representative, helped devise the FAFSA Completion Challenge.

Several of the 16 competing school districts have multiple high schools, and the contest will focus on the schools where last year's FAFSA completion rate was below 50%, he said. Last year, 47.8% of NFA seniors completed the forms, and 46.9% of New London High School seniors completed the forms. At New London school district's Science and Technology Magnet High School of Southeastern Connecticut, 78.9% of seniors completed FAFSA forms last year.

New London and NFA are the only school districts in southeastern Connecticut enrolled in the contest.

Soto knows well the rivalry between the Whalers and Wildcats and was thrilled when both New London and NFA invoked the friendly rivalry to motivate their students to complete the FAFSA forms. "We were really excited to see the friendly competition that two districts were taking on," he said. "That speaks to what we're trying to do. Yes, it's a competition, but districts can collaborate and learn from one another."

“We are also in contact with New London High School to host an NFA vs. New London FAFSA Challenge Week in early February,” the NFA contest entry form to the state said.

The state Department of Education provided each of the 16 participating districts with a $3,000 seed grant to start the competition. Additional assistance grants could be added based on enrollment, Soto said.

The competition runs through June 30, and in September, Lamont will announce two winning districts and two runners-up with the highest percentage increase in completed FAFSA forms. The top winning district will receive a $10,000 prize.

Kelsey Klaeson, NFA Counseling Department chairwoman, said NFA had started to examine data on the number of students filling out the financial aid forms long before the state competition was announced. NFA launched a "What's Next for Me?" campaign in the fall of 2019 to encourage seniors to plan for their future. The school invited financial aid officials from colleges to run a workshop and help students understand and fill out the complex forms.

“Unfortunately, it stopped on March 13, the last day of (in-person) school,” Klaeson said, “so we were really never able to complete the campaign.”

NFA will use a small portion of its seed money for a marketing campaign and will use $1,500 to provide three $500 scholarships to be awarded in a drawing for all NFA seniors who complete the forms. NFA has 556 seniors in the Class of 2021. The school also will offer weekly $10 gift cards as incentives.

New London Superintendent Cynthia Ritchie said, like NFA, New London Public Schools will seek assistance from its community partners in the contest. The district is “committed to assisting, guiding, and supporting our students to continue their educational journeys beyond high school," she said.

Ritchie said New London will use $2,000 of its seed money to give scholarships through the Connecticut Higher Education Trust as an incentive for the 265 seniors at New London High School. Any New London senior who completes the FAFSA application during the contest timeline will be entered into the drawing.

“If our goal is to assist children with getting to college, this is yet one more way to directly support them,” Ritchie said.

c.bessette@theday.com