Grant renewed for Upward Bound Math & Science
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The U.S. Department of Education has renewed funding for Northwest Missouri State University’s Upward Bound Math and Science program that will allow the college-readiness initiative to continue through 2022.
UBMS will receive $335,715 for the 2017-2018 academic year and roughly $1.77 million over the grant’s five-year term.
Back in June, the department renewed a similar grant that re-funded the university’s Upward Bound program, which like Upward Bound Math and Science is administered by Northwest’s TRIO office and intended to create college preparation opportunities for lower-income high school students.
The earlier Upward Bound allocation, also covering the next five years, included $368,829 for the current academic year and will total $1.84 million.
“The process to secure awards continues to be extremely competitive, with Northwest being one of four programs in Missouri to be awarded in the first slate,” said Northwest TRIO Program Director Cassie Tavorn.
“The strength of our programs lies within the support and commitment of Northwest’s administration, faculty, staff, students and community leaders.”
At Northwest, UBMS centers on a six-week summer learning camp for income-eligible students in grades nine through 11.
In addition to offering classroom and field activities based on mathematics, science and technology, the experience is meant to expose participants to campus life and ease anxieties about post-secondary education felt by young people often seeking to become the first members of their families to attend college.
During the UBMS camp, students live in a campus residence hall and receive instruction from college and high school faculty members.
Launched at Northwest in 1992, UBMS serves about 70 students each year from selected communities in Missouri, Iowa and Kansas.
The current list of client schools includes: Clarinda (Iowa) High School, South Page High School (College Springs, Iowa), Turner High School (Kansas City, Kansas), Central High School (St. Joseph), Lafayette High School (St. Joseph), Benton High School (St. Joseph), Northeast High School (Kansas City), Lincoln College Prep (Kansas City), North Andrew R-VI High School (Rosendale), North Nodaway R-VI High School and Worth County R-III High School (Grant City).
Besides Upward Bound and Upward Bound Math and Science, Northwest’s TRIO office also administers Student Support Services. All three programs have the stated goal of helping students “overcome class, social and cultural academic barriers to accessing and succeeding in higher education.”
Student Services is geared toward college students and provides academic support in such areas as reading, writing, mathematics, time management, test taking and motivation.
TRIO was founded in 1964 under the Economic Opportunity Act signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson.
Today, more than 1,000 colleges, universities and community entities host over 2,700 TRIO programs serving nearly 800,000 students nationwide.
The Northwest TRIO website is located at www.nwmissouri.edu/trio.
For more information about Upward Bound Math and Science at Northwest, call 660-562-1538, email Assistant Director Tanya Riley at [email protected] or go to www.nwmissouri.edu/dept/ubms.
