More than 50 Battle Creek Central High School students will continue their academic studies through the summer as participants in Kellogg Community College’s Upward Bound Summer Academy program, which begins Monday.
The Upward Bound program is a federally funded pre-college initiative designed to prepare first-generation and/or low-income high school students for success beyond high school. The program’s Summer Academy – which this year includes 54 students entering 10th through 12th grades in the fall – will be based on KCC’s North Avenue campus in Battle Creek through July 26.
The Summer Academy features classroom instruction Mondays through Thursdays, with Fridays reserved for volunteerism or field trips to culturally significant sites in the region. As part of the program, each participant is equipped with school supplies – including paper, writing utensils, school bags, flash drives and more – free of charge throughout the summer.
Applicants begin their participation in the program during their freshman year of high school and must maintain a 2.5 or higher GPA to continue.
“Our main goal for every Upward Bound student is to give them the skills and tools necessary to graduate high school and go into post-secondary education,” said Grindl Williams, director of the Upward Bound program at KCC.
Each of the seniors who graduates the program moves on to a two- or four-year college or university, Williams said, which is a testament to the value of giving them the opportunity to study subjects through the summer that they will be learning in the fall in high school.
“They all have a jump start,” Williams said. “They’re all ahead of their peers when they start high school classes in the fall, and that’s a major bonus.”
The Upward Bound program has been running since 1982 at KCC, making this the 31st year. The program also includes tutoring every Tuesday and Thursday and monthly field trips during the academic year, as well as a Bridge Component that provides select students with free textbooks and tuition for up to six credits at KCC after high school graduation.
For more information about the Upward Bound program at KCC, visit www.kellogg.edu/studentservices/upward.html or contact Director Grindl Williams at 269-965-3931 ext. 2401 or williamsg@kellogg.edu.
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