UC Riverside is expecting visitors from campus high school students to improve the degree of graduation in the internal empire

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On a recent rainy day, several dozens of students sat in the Riverside classroom in the UC, planning their way to the university.

They were not last year at high school, but seventh grade students who are starting the application process for joining university. They are part of a university program called a high school initiative, which aims to have internal empire students think of higher education long before they take their first AP class or send an application.

With a four -year grade of universities, which is approximately half of Average of 35%The internal empire remains behind students for students’ professional jobs, which limits the economic perspectives of the youngest residents in the region. In an effort to raise this border, teachers are trying to ensure that the claim visualizes their potential for university education and professional career.

Students from Riverside secondary schools discussed how to write rehearsals to admission to the university, have toured the university campus and learned about the standards of admission to the universities in California.

“I like something you can do in high school and that you can do more in high school,” says the 13 -year -old Simone Reed, seventh grade at Villegas High School, who wants to specialize in business. “I want to start early to have more opportunities.”

Joy Spencer, Dean in UC Riverside’s education, said he had introduced the program this year to reach students who are not considering attending university or do not know how to prepare for it. The intermediate degrees are where the children are classified to see who will go to the university and who not, “he said.

The initiative aims to change this model. With an annual budget of $ 15,200, the program, which has started, has reached 500 students so far, including more than 300, who have participated in management visits to the UC Riverside campus.

“Our first goal is to generate debate throughout the Internal Empire to access the university and the success that can be obtained,” Spencer said. “First of all, too many young people do not even think that visiting the university is an opportunity for them. This is our guilt as adults and teachers. We continue to produce the same winners and losers in education and we need to break this cycle. “

The average school initiative is open to Riverside and San Bernardino students, and the unified school districts of Yurupa, the Moreno Valley, Al, Al, Riverside are among the first participants. All students from the internal empire can participate, but in the first days of the program, administrators give priority to students who are lagging behind in class.

“Some of the students are very pronounced, but they somehow ignore their school environment,” Spencer said. “Others may have average performance but high aspirations.”

The program is not just an introduction to the preparation of the university. Program administrators plan to follow students throughout their academic career, meeting them during high school and high school and during the transition to the university. They will also monitor the university registration of students who participate in a related summer program called Steam Academy, which increases exposure to fields of science, technology, education, art and mathematics.

“This period of the high school is a decisive period to prepare for the university,” says Elizabeth Benisa, coordinator of the high school initiative.

Then students begin to explore their academic potential and the advisers begin to direct them to classes that meet the minimum requirements for completing the high school or to encourage them to meet the highest standard needed to enter and distinction at the university.

The key to it is The requirements AGAcademic standards for the campus of the University of California and the University of California in California. They describe in detail the types of courses that say university acceptance and how many loans students need in every discipline. According to the place where they live and the secondary school they attend, the seventh grade students have different knowledge of these standards.

“We have our seventh grade students here and none of them knew what the requirements of AG were,” Benia said. “But in the more rich schools there are students who already (work) meet the requirements of AG.”

For example, he said, many high schools have foreign language opportunities. Taking this early variant, in the seventh or eighth grade, can pave the way to advanced high school language classes, which improve the average students’ qualifications and allow them to receive loans to the university.

Some students may be one step ahead due to their family history, told the group of French Calvin, director of the University Early Academic Extension Program. During the campus seminar, he asked the seventh grade students to raise their hands if they speak a second language. Several replied that they speak Spanish, Portuguese or other languages ​​at home.

“If you speak a second language, you become more commercialized because the world is getting smaller,” Calvin said.

The students who attended the campus event said they were clearly listening to the academic results and promised to work to increase their average grades.

“Personally, I think I have to concentrate more on my average grades,” said Dike Ockake, 12. “Then when I decided, I could find a job to save for the university.”

Economic problems are of great importance to many students, especially for those who expect to be the first of their family to attend university. The initiative offers instructions on how to complete the financial assistance forms and the scholarship advice. Students can return to the program later in high school to seek help for this process, Benia said.

“My family had no resources to go to the university,” says the 12 -year -old Jeremiah Stinson, who wants to study business administration and play university football. “I think I have to start saving money to pay this. I have to focus on a scholarship. The debts continue forever. I don’t want to deal with that. “

Interestingly, the seventh grade students also talked about personal discipline and almost universally admitted that they need to reduce the use of electronic devices and pay attention to the school.

“I also have to get rid of all my devices because I spend a lot of time on social networks,” says Tatum Tobios, an ambitious fashion designer who prefers Victorian Gothic styles and plans to go to the art school.

His teammates nodded. How will they reduce their Tiktok and Instagram habits?

Some of their decisions: “Eliminate applications”, “Block”, “Give them my mother”, “hide them from yourself.”

This article was originally published by CalmattersS