Date:
5/15/2007
Contact: Wendel Sloan at 505.562.2253
PORTALES—The Upward Bound Program at Eastern New Mexico University in Portales has been re-funded for five years. The University has received notification from the Department of Education that the grant proposal was approved to receive $348,146 for each year, totaling over $1.7 million dollars. Susan Cramp, director of the Upward Bound Program at Eastern, said, “The program, now in its fortieth year at ENMU-Portales, has assisted about 3,000 to 4,000 area high school students."
Upward Bound is one of the TRiO programs, funded by the Department of Education. The TRiO programs were originally established by the federal government in 1965 to ensure equal educational opportunity for all Americans, regardless of race, ethnic background or economic circumstance. In many communities, the TRiO programs are some of the only ones available that help students overcome the class, social, academic and cultural barriers to higher education, said Ms. Cramp.
Upward Bound provides fundamental support to participants in their preparation for college entrance. The program provides opportunities for participants to succeed in their pre-college performance and, ultimately, in their higher education pursuits. Upward Bound serves high school students from low-income families and/or high school students from families in which neither parent holds a bachelor's degree. The goal of Upward Bound is to increase the rate at which participants complete secondary education and enroll in and graduate from institutions of postsecondary education (U.S. Department of Education).
According to Ms. Cramp, all Upward Bound projects must provide instruction in math, laboratory science, composition, literature, and foreign language. Students, who take the six-week summer academic component on local college campuses, may obtain college credit while still in high school. Upward bound also organizes tours of college campuses throughout the state and surrounding states. “A typical Upward Bound student, if involved from ninth to twelth grade, will visit 15 or more campuses,” according to Ms. Cramp.
Upward Bound services continue all year; students participate in bi-weekly Saturday meetings, tutoring throughout the school year, and other conferences, workshops, community service projects and trips.
Effective, Sept. 1, the ENMU Upward Bound program will recruit and serve eligible freshman and sophomore level students at Clovis, Texico, Portales, Dora, Elida, Floyd and Melrose. A student can remain in the program until they graduate from high school.
For more information, or to refer a student to Upward Bound at Eastern, call Ms. Cramp at 505.562.2452, or e-mail susan.cramp@enmu.edu.