Grant Summary
$25,000 over 12 months. In 2006-2007, Drew University partnered with Union Settlement Association to offer a group of middle and high school students a program aimed at introducing them to the realities of the college experience, including the benefits, challenges, pressures, and opportunities of being a college student and a college graduate. Activities included tutoring by Drew undergraduates for the middle school students, a visit of the Drew campus, and workshops with Drew faculty and Union Settlement staff. The program culminated in "Summer College," a week-long residency on the Drew Campus centered on an academic curriculum consisting of a wide range of classes designed to strengthen students' skills in particular areas (e.g. writing) and to introduce them to subjects and approaches to subjects which they probably have not encountered before (e.g. Arabic, computer science, and biology field work). Students also attended information sessions and evening activities on campus. Follow-up assessments of the program indicate that it was largely successful, and Drew and Union Settlement have renewed their partnership for a further year. The program will retain the same basic components, but with the following changes: (1) Drew faculty and students will conduct additional sessions (e.g. a creative writing workshop) at Cascades High School, from which the high school students in the program are drawn; (2) High school students will get the full residential experience while the middle school students will only have one night and one day on the Drew campus; and (3) High school students will be expected to produce several assignments and / or participate in a group program or workshop, and to serve as guides and mentors to the middle school students when they are on campus together.