September 29, 2011

High school students defy expectations through Stanford College Prep tutoring experience

By Robin Migdol, originally published on 8/2/11 in the Stanford University News

Not many high school students can boast that they’ve already lived in a Stanford University residence hall for three weeks by the time they reach their sophomore year. Or that they have their own Stanford undergraduate mentor devoted to helping them navigate the complex world of college applications.

But for teens participating in Stanford College Prep (SCP) it’s all part of their high school experience.

Similar in mission to East Palo Alto Stanford Academy, which helps seventh- and eighth-graders prepare for high school, Stanford College Prep (SCP) aims to get students in the ninth to 12th grades eligible for and accepted to college, through school-year tutoring and workshops and a summer residential program at Stanford. “It’s about getting them to that next step,” said SCP Director Edgar Chavez. “We work with these kids in their teens, and we get to see them really grow in three or four summers.”

SCP began in 1981 as Stanford’s branch of Upward Bound, a federally funded college preparatory program with branches at dozens of universities, each providing academic support and mentoring for rural, low-income or first-generation high school students.

In 2008, Stanford Upward Bound became Stanford College Prep, relying on grants and donations through the Haas Center for Public Service instead of federal funding. Last summer the program began limiting its service to students at East Palo Alto Academy High School (instead of multiple local high schools). These changes allowed SCP to exercise more freedom with its curriculum, utilize different methods for assessing the program’s success and develop a more intimate relationship with one school, according to Damali Robertson, Haas Center external relations coordinator, writing in the Haas Center’s summer 2008 newsletter.

To read the full story click here.

Filed under: College,Government

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