CCC’s Upward Bound Approved for Federal Funding
Clatsop Community College
1653 Jerome, Astoria OR 97103
For immediate release
Contact: Janet Miltenberger (503) 325-2747
CCC’s Upward Bound Approved for Federal Funding
The Upward Bound Program at Clatsop Community College received good news
this week that it is approved for federal funding from the U.S. Department
of Education to operate for another four years. The Upward Bound program,
which started at CCC in 1992, provides fundamental support to participants
in preparation for entry to college. The program provides opportunities
for high school students to succeed in their pre-college performance and
ultimately in their higher education pursuits.
Through CCC’s Upward Bound Program, identified high school students
from Astoria, Seaside and Warrenton high schools participate in classes
and meetings throughout the school year and summer to learn about career
and educational options, including field trips to other college campuses
throughout the state. The program focuses on students from families who
meet a federal income limit and whose parents do not have baccalaureate
degrees—students most likely to need help getting through the college
process.
Students who participate in Upward Bound are three times more likely to
go on to college as those from the same background who don’t participant
in the program.
“Those are the kids who get left behind a lot,” said Abby Bandurraga,
who has worked for the CCC Upward Bound program for the past five years,
and was also an Upward Bound student herself. “It makes a huge difference
in what their options are and how their lives will turn out. I can absolutely
relate to where the students are coming from—it was a lifeline for
me.”
A new aspect of the Upward Bound program, starting this fall, will be the
recruitment of qualifying ninth graders. The new grant rules also place
additional emphasis on serving students identified as at risk not to graduate
from high school.
While there are approximately 800 Upward Bound programs held through institutions
nationwide, CCC’s program stands out because of its project-based
learning structure.
“Our summer program has kids out in the community,” said Upward
Bound Program Assistant Janet Miltenberger. “We have a group working
on compiling data for an area that will be returned to a wetland. Last
year
a group worked on interpretive signs for the Cathedral Tree Trail. This
year a group is working on building a bilingual English/Spanish book on
safety tips for people who are new to the community. Also new this year,
we have students working on the beginning stages for a redevelopment plan
for Shively Park.”
Upward Bound programs are 100 percent federally funded. The grants for
Upward Bound programs must be renewed every four years, and the application
process is very competitive. It is an open competition between existing
Upward Bound programs nationwide and new programs applying for funds. If
a new program gets funded, an existing one doesn’t, and a large number
of existing programs lost funding in this reapplication period.
One area looked at in the grant approval process is whether or not an individual
program has goals that are ambitious and attainable. One goal of the CCC
Upward Bound program for the coming years is for 63 percent of its students
to pass state tests in both math and reading.
Staff members at CCC’s Upward Bound program were thrilled to learn
today that they will continue to receive funding to operate for the next
four years.
“I’m happy overall because for the last 16 years, we’ve
helped over 60 kids per year with really intensive services,” Bandurraga
said. “For kids that desperately need it, we’re here to give
them the help they need. And in the next four years, that’s over
200 more kids we’ll be helping.”
Image #1 - Upward Bound student, Jimmy Bechtel, testing water quality
Image #2 - Upward Bound Students take a break from wetlands project:
Jonathan Rivera Ruiz, Jimmy Bechtel, Cela Sibley, Paula McCargish,
and Jarrod Caballero