2008 Woodie Awards
Summer at 7 a.m.!
Sun and studying at college--not the average high school students summer.
Karina Mc Cabe
Issue date: 4/15/05 Section: Life & Times
- Page 1 of 1
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
The select group of students who will attend the Upward Bound program on campus are aiming to be first generation college students, and they hail from high schools in Orange and Seminole county. With only sixty-five positions available, this entirely government-sponsored program is highly competitive, but for those academically motivated students who are selected, they are provided with amazing opportunities to get a head start on their next year in high school.
The program accepts students immediately upon graduation from eighth grade, while students entering their junior year are the oldest admitted into the program. If they choose to continue the program, these students remain until the summer following twelfth grade, at which point they fulfill the "bridge" component of the program. Here, they take two college courses through Holt, and thus the program works to prepare them for their transition to college life.
The programs director, Mr. Dave Plotkin, is a recent graduate of the University of Central Florida, and he is highly involved in community activities. In particular, he gained significant distinction earlier in the year by competing for a prestigious place in the Guinness Book of Records with a non-stop, 110 hours on air as a DJ for the Rollins radio station, WPRK.
He encourages this same spirit of vitality in the teachers he employs, because he believes that this will encourage students to learn better. According to Plotkin, he hires "teachers that are really dynamic and know how to get outside the classroom...our English teachers try to do dynamic things, like putting on a play...basically, things that are a lot of fun." Considering how the students are involved in activities with the program from 7a.m.-11p.m. for an astounding six weeks, one would hope for their sake that the teachers are engaging in their subject areas.
Speaking of subjects, one of the predominant aims of the program is to ensure that the students become well-versed in academic courses that they will be taking in the upcoming school-year, including math, science, foreign language, and English. In addition, the students have the option of taking either an SAT prep course or one entitled "college bound," in which they learn what courses to take in high school in order to ensure that they remain on the college track, but the course also covers college life beyond the academics. Finally, the students must choose one course from dance, radio broadcasting, art, or a science "challenge" course.
The program doesn't entirely focus on academics, however, as they are also encouraged to participate in afternoon athletics as well as on field trips that include bowling, ice-skating, and a trip outside of the city. An interesting aspect of this program, though, is that the students will be living on campus in the Hamilton Holt dorms rather than simply attending a day program. So, they truly will be getting a "head start" on experiencing college life while most of us will be resting up for the fall.