This week, 160 prospective students will see the Towers model dorm room and the George Sherman Union. They will also attend workshops and seminars in the Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, the College of Engineering and the African Studies Center. They will eat lunch at the Warren Towers Dining Hall where they can ask questions of current students.
These visitors will be easily distinguishable from the other college bound touring Boston University.
They are all in seventh grade.
College visits are just one aspect of the Gear Up in Boston program, a joint effort between the Boston Higher Education Partnership and Boston Public Schools. The Partnership is a consortium of 22 area colleges and universities that aims to improve higher education opportunities for Boston students. Eight middle schools have paired with Partnership-member colleges and universities in the 2-year-old program.
According to the Mayor’s Youth Survey of 1998, over 75 percent of Boston students plan to achieve more than a high school education. However, the odds seem to be stacked against many of them. Recent Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System test results project that without intervention, 60-70 percent of Boston students will not receive a high school diploma.
In addition, four out of five Boston students live in low-income households. Thus, tuition costs are a major challenge to many dreams. Gear Up in Boston is tackling the problems that hinder these students from making a college education a reality.
Over the next five years, $11.6 million from the government, non-profit community organizations and business will fund programs designed to motivate the 3,000 graduates of 2005 and 2006 to prepare for and enter college. Gear Up in Boston is currently reapplying for funding to extend the program to more students.
The program starts with seventh graders and follows them throughout high school in order to foster continuous progress. The efforts of Gear Up in Boston focus on increasing students’ educational expectations and academic performance, providing early-intervention services for academically at-risk students and educating families about college selection and financing options, said Gear Up Assistant Director Mike George. Although Gear Up in Boston oversees all the programs, each site is somewhat unique from the others.
“We allow the different sites as much leeway as possible,” George said.
Boston University has paired with Thomas Edison Middle School in Brighton, where teachers and work-study tutors run an after-school program for students at risk of failing standardized tests. The students work on math, language arts and homework for most of the time, with a well-deserved recreational period at the end. BU spokeswoman Ruth Shane said she hopes to incorporate after-school interest clubs for the kids into the program, but is still looking for student volunteers to run them.
Last summer BU ran an enrichment program at Edison, where around 50 seventh and eighth graders sharpened their academic skills and participated in career clubs that focused on areas such as theater, sports marketing and computers. Shane said upcoming events include an eighth grade visit to campus and the second year of the summer program.
A unique aspect of the program at Thomas Edison Middle School involves teaching organizational skills to students. Gear Up gave planners to the students, and teachers provide instructions on how to fill in homework assignments and upcoming tests. The students must have their parents sign the planners, which the teachers grade once a week.
According to George, the BU-Edison collaboration is making an impact on the middle schoolers.
“That partnership has shown the most progress of all our programs,” he said.
He noted the high participant retention rates and improved reading scores of students in the program.
Harvard University has a similar partnership with Grover Cleveland Middle School in Dorchester. After school, Harvard undergraduates work alongside teachers to provide both academic assistance and a wide variety of elective activities — including Tae Bo, cooking, architectural design and video production — to about 100 seventh and eighth graders.
During the school day, students from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education run a risk prevention program in which they provide mentoring and special attention to kids who need extra support. Students also visit Harvard to gain exposure to college life.
“We have a great working relationship with the school and that is incredibly valuable to us,” said Harvard spokeswoman Laura Foulke.
The present funding allows Gear Up to follow this year’s seventh and eighth graders through graduation. Over time, the program will adapt to the older students’ needs. George said there will be an increased focus on MCAS preparation, as students will not be able to receive a diploma without passing the test.
Gear Up will arrange more campus visits, provide extensive financing information and help the students understand how to apply to colleges. The program will also monitor the students’ extracurricular activities.
“We will make sure that if a student works, the job will be a learning experience,” George said.
“Being able to keep kids in school and engaged in academics for an increased amount of time is a very good thing,” Shane said.
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