Northwest hosts Upward Bound program for 30th year
Longtime Upward Bound educator, Stacey Calfee, talks her students through a number of grammatical strategies to remember homophones and homonyms.
Even though the Northwest Missouri State University campus is vacant of the thousands of students that roam through the fall and spring semesters, the halls still abound with learning.
Upward Bound, a federally-funded program that assists students, grades nine through 12, in finishing high school and preparing them for the successful completion of a postsecondary education. The program has been sponsored by Northwest since 1986 and serves schools in Atchison, Gentry and Nodaway counties.
Nodaway-Holt educator Stacey Calfee, who has taught at Upward Bound for nearly a decade, says it’s a great program because the students who are in the classes, want to be there.
“When I first came to Upward Bound I thought it was going to be like a summer school program with hating every day of it,” Calfee said. “That has never been the case because those kids want to be there.”
This year the program includes nearly 70 students from King City, Maryville, Northeast Nodaway, Rock Port, Stanberry, Tarkio, and West Nodaway.
At the end of the six-week program will be an awards ceremony where students will be awarded on their success and growth. After that, the group will take a trip, going to Wisconsin Dells in July.
Students enter into the program as freshmen, with their first six-week program happening the summer after their freshman year.
“Those trips are fascinating,” Calfee said. “They go to places that many of those students may never have gone to otherwise.”
Between academic studies, college visits and special activities, students involved in Upward Bound get plenty of assistance through the school year. The program also includes a six-week on-campus summer residential program where students get tutorial assistance for improvement of skills through academic enrichment in English, science, writing, computers, math, social science, foreign language and financial literacy.
Students also get the chance to job shadow in businesses throughout the Maryville area to get to know the career field.
“Upward Bound prepares kids for college whose families aren’t familiar with all the requirements,” Calfee said. “Those are the same kids whose families might not have the means to afford college. But the kids leave this program with a great deal of information on financial aid and ACT prep, along with assistance in completing college entrance.”
To be eligible for the Upward Bound program, students must be first-generation college students, or should meet the federal income requirements. Services and activities are available to the student and their family at no cost.
Upward Bound is a federal grant program funded annually by the US Department of Education.
For more information visit nwmissouri.edu/trio/upwardbound.
