Published: July 03, 2008 11:51 am            

Upward Bound prepares high school students for college

The kids at the Commerce Public Library probably don’t know it, but they’re helping regional high school students prepare for college.

The high school students are part of the Upward Bound program at Texas A&M University-Commerce. They help with crafts and story time at the library.

Eastin Jefferson, Target School counselor for Upward Bound, said getting the students to help in the library is about teaching them to give back to the community.

“We just try to let them know that not only are you given things, but you have to give back to the community,” Jefferson said. “It’s amazing how the students really enjoy the children. Some of them say, ‘You know, I wouldn’t mind being a teacher.’”

The students have also picked up litter along highways and helped at the Boys & Girls Club in Sulphur Springs.

These students are given a lot. Upward Bound is a college-based program that combines academic instruction, tutoring, college readiness skills and cultural awareness to provide participants a solid foundation for college success, according to Jefferson. The goal of Upward Bound is to increase rates at which low-income or possible first-generation college students actually enroll and graduate from institutions of higher learning.

The program provides academic and social services throughout the school year to each student in their home high school and weekly school meetings. In addition, students meet bi-weekly during each semester on the campus of A&M-Commerce.

“We have tutorials every week at their school and every other week we have a lunch visit and we talk to them,” Jefferson said. “We have our Saturday Academy program which is every other week. We have math and science and English and foreign language. We also have career and character development.”

Commerce, Bonham, Cooper, Denison, Greenville, Sherman and Sulphur Springs high schools are all served by the Upward Bound program.

During the summer, eligible students are also given the opportunity to participate in a five-week residential program and a one-week college tour. During July the students will be visiting Baylor University in Waco, the University of Texas at Austin, Texas State University in San Marcos and the University of Texas at San Antonio. They will also be visiting South Padre Island on their trip.

“In the past, we’ve taken them to Washington, D.C., or New York to see a play or the Empire State Building,” Jefferson said. “We’ve taken them to San Francisco and the Redwood Forest. We try to expose them to culture.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity and it’s all federally funded.”

The students in the summer program live in a residence hall on the A&M-Commerce campus and attend classes to improve their academic skills. Jefferson believes the experience prepares them to succeed in a college environment after they graduate from high school.

Upward Bound is for students entering the ninth through 11 grades, based on meeting the federal criteria, receiving a recommendation from a high school counselor or administrative staff or a referral from a community or civic leader.

Upcoming seniors also have the opportunity to participate in the Upward Bound summer internship program. Each participant who graduates from high school is rewarded with a scholarship, which includes tuition for six credit hours, books and room and board.

“You know how they say something’s too good to be true. Well, all they have to do is take advantage of this,” Jefferson said.

        

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