The Tusculum College Upward Bound program was recently notified by Tennessee Congressmen Phil Roe that it will receive a renewed grant of $397,593 to serve students in Greene County Schools, Hawkins County, Unicoi County and David Crockett High School in Washington County.
In addition, a grant of $250,000 was also funded to the Tusculum College program to serve 50 students in Cocke and Hawkins counties.
Between the two grants, the programs will be able to serve 139 high school students.
Jeanne Stokes, director of the TRIO Programs, said the funds will be used for continuation of the Upward Bound program at Tusculum College.
“We were thrilled when we found that the grants had been funded,” said Stokes. “On the day we received notification, I had seen a former participant, a graduate from the 90s who said that participation in Upward Bound was her favorite part of high school. The program affects the lives of the students in East Tennessee.”
Upward Bound is an intensive college preparatory program. Its mission, to aid low-income students and students who are first-generation college attendees, has helped many to succeed in high school while also preparing for college.
For nearly 40 years, the Upward Bound program has operated on the Tusculum College campus, providing young people from regional families with an early introduction to college life and opportunities for travel, special activities and study in literature, composition, mathematics and science in the environment of a college campus.
Participants are first-generation college students, low-income individuals, individuals who are at high risk for academic failure or those who have a need for academic support in order to pursue successfully a program of education beyond high school.
The program includes academic tutoring, advice and assistance in secondary and postsecondary course selection, preparation for college entrance exams and completing the college admission applications, information on federal student financial aid and assistance completing financial aid applications.
In addition, the program provides guidance on and assistance in secondary school reentry, alternative education programs for secondary school dropouts that lead to the receipt of a regular secondary school diploma, entry into general educational development (GED) programs or entry into postsecondary education.
Other components include education or counseling services designed to improve the financial and economic literacy of students or the students’ parents, including financial planning for postsecondary education and instruction in mathematics through pre-calculus, laboratory science, foreign language, composition and literature.