Ninth-graders prepare early to succeed in college

July 20, 2010 - 2:15 PDT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA ADVISORY

WINONA, MN (July 20, 2010) - Twenty-five 9th-graders from Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis and Tucson, Ariz., will get a head start on college success this summer, thanks to a first-of-its-kind program offered by Saint Mary's University of Minnesota.

From July 24-August 7, the university's Countdown to College academic camp will provide these students (and teachers from their home schools) with activities that will help them prepare for successful college experiences. Countdown to College will boost students' skills, confidence, and knowledge of how to negotiate the social and academic world of college.

Countdown to College offers free classes, recreation, field trips, and room and board. Saint Mary's plans to welcome back the same students for four consecutive summers. Each year a new group of 9th graders will be selected to participate in the Countdown to College experience, resulting in a total camp population of 100 9th- through 12th-graders by the fourth summer.

"To our knowledge, this is the first program in the nation that offers four consecutive years of early immersion in the college experience," said Dr. Jane Anderson, dean of the School of Education for Saint Mary's University, who helped develop the program.

Countdown to College highlights

Countdown to College seeks to break down the barriers to higher education by exposing youth directly to the college experience for two weeks each summer for four straight years. The first summer, each day will be filled with college orientation and classes in reading, writing, grammar, vocabulary, math and leadership. Their schedules will also include supervised study halls, academic contests, sports, recreation, and field trips. Other college preparation subjects, such as science, will be added in subsequent years.

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One of the most distinctive aspects of the program is that it includes a teacher or staff representative from each of the participating students' schools. They will co-teach the classes alongside Saint Mary's instructors. This will help prepare the university instructors to work with an increasingly diverse population of college students. In turn, the visiting teachers learn how to set their students up for success in college and how to help create a community of support around the students.

The participants in Countdown to College attend schools in the Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Chicago and Tucson metropolitan areas. Preference is given to graduates of Saint Mary's middle school partners in the NativityMiguel Network of Jesuit and Christian Brothers' schools, which are located in those cities.

Profile of a student attending Countdown to College

Countdown to College participant NiaPearl Minor-Clark was born in Chicago. Living with her supportive mother, she moved often due to unsafe neighborhoods and job situations. At one point she stayed with a sister when her mother lost her income and had to live in a homeless shelter. Her mother always stressed the importance of education, and NiaPearl graduated as valedictorian from Chicago's San Miguel Middle School (Gary Comer Campus). "I will try to do my best wherever I go because I hope to be a chemical engineer one day," Minor-Clark said.

About Saint Mary's University of Minnesota

Saint Mary's University of Minnesota is a private, Lasallian Catholic institution offering comprehensive undergraduate and graduate programs. About 1,400 students are enrolled in the residential undergraduate College at the Winona campus, established in 1912. Approximately 4,300 students are enrolled in the Schools of Graduate and Professional Programs, which offers certificate, bachelor degree completion, master degree and specialist and doctoral programs. The university delivers education to its adult learners through campuses in Minneapolis, Winona and Nairobi, Kenya; centers in Apple Valley, Rochester, Minnetonka and Oakdale; and at numerous other locations in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Jamaica. Saint Mary's is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association, www.ncahlc.org.

Contact

Goff & Howard
https://www.catholic.org
MN, 55101 US
Jennifer Hellman - , 651-292-8062

Keywords

higher education, diversity, college preparation, first-generation

Category

Catholic Schools & Religious Education

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