Of the St. Louis American
Recent research shows that “A” students from low-income backgrounds enroll in college at about the same rate as “D” students from more privileged families. Counteracting this alarming trend is the mission of College Bound, a unique year-long program that prepares local students for the rigors of academia beyond high school.
“We focus on clearing obstacles for students and providing them with resources so they can prepare for college,” College Bound executive director Lisa Orden Zarin said.
Recently a day-long orientation for the 36 high school juniors enrolled in the program. Held at the Herbert Hoover Boys’ & Girls’ Club, this year’s participants are students at University City High School and Clyde Miller Academy. About 60 incoming freshmen will join College Bound in the fall.
Harlan Hodge facilitated this first meeting where the youth got the opportunity to become acquainted with those that will help guide them through their upcoming college preparatory process, including college entrance exams and applications.
“It was amazing,” Hodge said of the first meeting. “We challenged students with activities to determine their own commitment to personal excellence and dedication to stay focused and get things done.
Getting things done is exactly what these teens must do in order to make it beyond high school. Tiffany Dash is a junior at Clyde Miller and has high hopes of becoming a pediatrician. Dash was excited because she felt the program could point her in the direction of resources to help make her dream a reality.
“Right now my family isn’t in any position to pay for college,” Dash said. “I’m really looking forward to them (College Bound) helping me to look into some other options.”
Dash’s plight is very common among many low-income students who are highly motivated and talented, but lack the social and financial resources necessary to get a leg up on the stiff competition.
“Students of privilege have so many resources beyond their schools and their parents are able to provide numerous networking opportunities,” Zarin said. She added that the program is specially crafted to give less advantaged students access to some of those same opportunities like test preparation for college entrance exams and information about scholarships and financial aid.
“We provide a year-round curriculum that includes tutors as well as ACT preparation,” Zarin said. She added that College Bound students are also given the inside track on activities that will help to round out their high school experience and make their college applications attractive to admissions officers.
“Community service is a huge component for us because it gives you power and it is good for college experience,” Zarin said. “That’s something low-income students don’t get to experience very often – serving others.”
Unlike many low income families, Zarin knows that applying to college is a complex and often dizzying process that begins years in advance. That’s why College Bound utilizes the “village” approach by working with educators, businesses, cultural and financial partners to help support motivated students.
The program is provided to students free of charge. To be eligible for the free program, students must demonstrate financial need, the ability to excel academically and the capacity to persist even in the face of obstacles blocking the road to higher education. Local professionals and volunteers mentor the students through the remainder of their high school experience and the college application process.
Once students are successfully admitted into college, they are committed to serving the local community by returning during breaks to assist the next generation of College Bound students.
“I think it’ll give me a chance to get a head start to be prepared for college,” Misha Foster said of the College Bound Program. Foster is a junior at Clyde Miller and hopes to become an emergency room surgeon.
It will take a lot of work to achieve her goal, but Hodge – along with the other dedicated staff of College Bound – believes that with a double heaping of support coupled with hard work, determination and a commitment to excellence, anything is possible.
“College Bound is a program that empowers the relationships that students have with each other,” Hodge said adding that it is important for youth, particularly those from low-income backgrounds to, “Nurture supportive and accountable relationships, recognize the value in others and see each other as a resource.”
One of the first lessons College Bound students learn is that excellence is an outgrowth of execution. The fact that the curriculum was created with the idea that every young person has the ability to achieve and succeed contributes to the prosperity of the program. And it is from this positive standpoint that the program is able to have deep and meaningful impact on participants.
In addition to the generous support of area businesses and individual donors, the College Bound program is made possible through several community and business partnerships with Kaplan Test Prep, Washington University Admissions Office, University of Missouri-St. Louis Office of Multicultural Affairs, Herbert Hoover Boys’ & Girls’ club and Habitat for Humanity. And while they are proud of the arsenal of resources they have amassed for students, Zarin is careful to acknowledge the hard work and support of educators and counselors of both participating high schools.
“We don’t want to discount anyone,” Zarin said. “We operate from a place of humility. We don’t have all the answers, but we have some of the responses. We focus on outcomes and doing everything it takes to serve young people.”