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During the academic year the students attend weekly tutoring
sessions and assistance with homework. In addition to the
tutoring, the program provides the students with a number of
opportunities to visit colleges and universities throughout the
area. As an incentive, the group provides the students with a
monthly stipend and treats them to trips and other educational
and cultural activities.
In the Toledo area, the Lourdes College Upward Bound Program
targets Waite and Woodward High Schools, where tutoring is
provided on site. In addition, the students are provided
assistance with completing college applications and can receive
fee waivers for college entry exams.
The program had fifty students active in the program during the
school year, and there are currently thirty-five participants in
the summer program. The students in the summer program are bused
in daily from their high schools and attend classes that include
science, math, English, Spanish, and computer science Monday
through Thursday.
On the days they have classes, the students participate in some
sort of cultural or recreational activity at the end of the
day. Each Friday the group goes on a special trip to
destinations ranging from colleges, museums, to Cedar Point, in
Sandusky.
All of the classes are held at Lourdes College. The students
exhibit a tremendous amount of dedication by getting up everyday
to be at the college from 8:45 a.m. until 3:15 p.m. Students
who are juniors and seniors are eligible to pursue a work study
program either on campus or in the community, where they work
regular jobs and are compensated.
The summer program not only allows students to keep their
academic skills sharp over the summer, it also allows them to
become accustomed to being on a college campus. The summer
program lasts six weeks and culminates with a special trip; this
year the students will be visiting Nashville, Tennessee.
The statistics show that the program is achieving the goals it
has set out to accomplish. The program has seen 110 of the
students it has served graduate from high school. In 2007,
eleven of the seventeen students (64.7%), who graduated went on
to college. This year thirteen of fourteen seniors (92.8%)
enrolled in the program graduated from high school.
As an instructor for the summer program for seven of the past
nine years, I have personally seen the commitment that the
students display. The most impressive component of their
dedication is the initiative that they show in their own
success.
I
commend the staff and the students for all of their hard work;
it is quite visibly paying off. |
