Upward Bound grant funds student enrichment program

CCBC Dundalk received a new four-year Upward Bound grant to fund intensive academic support and enrichment (tutoring, after-school programs and a six-week summer program) for 50 students attending three area high schools – Dundalk, Patapsco and Sparrows Point. To qualify, students must meet stringent requirements: family incomes must meet federal low-income guidelines and students’ parents cannot have completed a four-year college degree. The most important requirement rests with the students – their potential to enter and graduate from a four-year college.

The Office of Post-Secondary Education TRIO programs at the U.S. Department of Education funds this grant of $220,000 per year plus yearly cost of living increases. The award supports the establishment of a cadre of tutors in English (literature and composition), foreign language, mathematics and science for the students as well as a coordinator who will meet with all 50 students individually on a weekly basis to track their progress. In the six-week summer program, students will continue to develop their academic skills as well as increase their cultural awareness and social skills. According to DeAnne Byerly, who is working with CCBC Dundalk to help set up the program, it will also feature a weeklong tour of colleges and universities during the summer. Once students become high school seniors, a bridge program will provide students the opportunity to make a smooth transition to college.

According to CCBC Dundalk President Gena Proulx, “The Upward Bound award is one of the most significant grants that CCBC Dundalk has received in terms of its potential to impact the Dundalk community. Its goal is not only to prepare underserved students for entrance to college but more importantly to prepare them for graduation from college.”

Byerly echoed Proulx’s words. “This program has succeeded nationally by nurturing students as people and getting them to think of a college education as a reasonable option,” she said. “The most successful Upward Bound programs have included cultural and social activities as well as academic enrichment to develop well-rounded people who seek college education as a natural educational progression.”

CCBC Dundalk’s Upward Bound program is expected to be operational in Spring 2004.