Upward Bound
Upward Bound is a federally funded educational program within the United States. The program is one of a cluster of programs now referred to as TRiO, all of which owe their existence to the federal Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 (the War on Poverty Program) and the Higher Education Act of 1965. Upward Bound programs are implemented and monitored by the United States Department of Education. The goal of Upward Bound is to provide certain categories of high school students better opportunities for attending college. The categories of greatest concern are those with low income, those with parents who did not attend college,[1] and those living in rural areas. The program works through individual grants, each of which covers a restricted geographic area and provides services to approximately 59,000 [2] students annually. The program focuses on academic and nonacademic resources and activities like visits to museums or tutoring for school work. Students are encouraged to be involved in Upward Bound for the entire academic year and a 6-week long summer program.[3] Many students who are also granted access into the Upward Bound program are labeled as first generation college students, who are students that are the first in their family to attend college. This program is set in place for students who come from low income families as well as underrepresented schools and gives them an opportunity to excel in college.[4]
For other uses, see Upward Bound (disambiguation).Formation
History[edit]
The program was launched in the summer of 1965 after the passage of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 (The Federal War on Poverty) during President Lyndon B. Johnson's administration, and was transferred to the Department of Education after the enactment of the Higher Education Act of 1965. The idea of Upward Bound came from Stan Salett, a civil rights organizer, national education policy advisor and one of the creators of the Head Start Program. The experimental program was established as the country’s first federal program to prepare low income students for college with the goal of helping high school students go from poverty to the middle class through higher education. In 1965, 17 Regular Upward Bound programs enrolled 2,601 participants. Since 1964 more than 2 million students have participated in Regular Upward Bound and 964 programs are funded with more than 80,000 students participating. Then in 1990, Upward Bound added an additional program called the Upward Bound Math-Science Program. It specializes in math and science skills for TRiO eligible students to improve their performance and motivation to pursue postsecondary enrollment.[5] The 2017-18 annual data collected by the Department of Education on the Upward Bound Program reveals that currently, 84,934 participants were in the program and being served, this number includes the 13,392 who are in the Upward Bound Math-Science Program.[6]
Upward Bound Math-Science Program[edit]
In 1990, Upward Bound added an additional program called the Upward Bound Math-Science Program. It specializes in math and science skills for TRiO eligible students to improve their performance and motivation to pursue postsecondary enrollment.[5] The Upward Bound Math-Science program (UBMS) was created for students to have the opportunity to excel in the areas of math and science. Upward Bound Math-Science helps strengthen students' math and science skills, particularly those who come from areas that are underdeveloped. UBMS is a program that was put in place by the federal government and was there to provide not so fortunate children with the opportunity to gain knowledge from mathematicians as well as scientists who have experience in these fields. Students are in this program for 6 weeks and have coursework in mathematics and laboratory science, as well as literature. This program provides students with hands-on experience in labs and with fieldwork. The application process for UBMS is identical to that for Upward Bound, however the programs differ in that UBMS is more geared towards students who are interested in the fields of science and technology. UBMS increased the odds of a student taking a science course by raising the percentage from 78-88% in chemistry and from 43-58% in physics. UMBS has increased the likelihood that children will achieve more in math and science and increase that drive to further their interests in college. UBMS has also raised GPAs in math classes for African-Americans as well as Hispanics.[14]