BMCC AWARDED $975,000 FEDERAL GRANT FOR UPWARD BOUND
Program will assist local high school students in college preparation
Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) has been awarded a five-year, $975,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The award will help fund Upward Bound, a program that assists high school students in preparing for and graduating from college.
The Upward Bound program is designed to provide the skills and motivation necessary for students to complete their high school education and to go on to college and earn their bachelor’s degree.
Specifically, the program encourages those from low-income backgrounds to become the first in their family to graduate college. Students are selected for the program based on need, and should have completed eighth grade but not yet entered the twelfth grade.
BMCC will provide services to 75 high school students from five local high schools: East Side Community High School, High School for Economics and Finance, High School for Environmental Studies, High School for Humanities, and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis High School.
BMCC President Antonio PÉrez says Upward Bound is another tool in the college’s efforts to assist the city high schools in preparing its students for college level work.
“It has long been our philosophy as a community college to provide educational services where most needed,” Dr. PÉrez says. “Likewise, it is part of our mission to make higher education accessible. I can think of no better way to do that than through the Upward Bound program, which supports students who may be the first in their family to attend college.”
BMCC will recruit ninth graders from the schools beginning in September. The students will be involved in cultural enrichment and academic programs at the college on Saturdays beginning in November. Next summer, students will participate in an intense, six-week summer program at BMCC.
The Upward Bound program provides high school students with instruction in college preparatory courses, academic and career counseling, tutoring, exposure to college and university cultural events, and educational programs for students with limited proficiency in English.
