College Bound College Bound Participant Itzel Andres A Club member at our Mervin G. Morris Clubhouse in Redwood City since early 2007. Itzel has taken everyone by surprise this year. As an incoming junior, Itzel was not very proud of her grades and would avoid any talk about them when asked. She began her junior year with a 2.22 GPA. This past July, she enrolled in the Club's College Bound program. Since that time, much has changed. This past summer, Itzel attended College Bound's Jumpstart High School Prep Conference – a week-long conference preparing students for high school success. She then went on to earn a 3.65 GPA for her first semester. She currently has a 3.4 and is earning A's in Spanish, US History and Algebra II. During her individual case management sessions, Itzel talks about the changes she has been supported to make in herself and has expressed her gratitude for the numerous female role models at the Club. She now envisions herself graduating from high school and then college and looks forward to becoming a role model for others. Itzel aspires to become a pediatrician and hopes to attend UC Berkeley upon graduating from high school. This spring, she will be working with a college coach/ mentor and participating in College Bound's SAT prep class. We are extremely proud of Itzel and glad to have been able to help her discover her potential. College Bound Program Overview

College Bound Staff Running Workshops during inaugural jumpstart conference

Launched in July 2008, College Bound is an inititaitve that delivers intensive academic supportive services to high school students through a unique case-management-model program helping students stay on-track to graduate high school with a plan for future education. BGCP's College Bound students reside in our communities where nearly 70% of youth do not graduate high school and over 80% do not score proficient on state standardized tests. For the youth we serve, education represents the key to breaking the cycle of poverty, and completing high school with a plan for further education is essential. College Bound helps assure successful completion of high school with a plan for future education by bringing about a “college-going” culture shift.

College Bound starts working with 8th graders to plan for high school success by providing rising high school freshmen with front-end support needed for success in high school; exposing youth to opportunities for life's work choices to create in their minds a purpose for high school success; giving youth a competitively “cool” place to belong; and, assisting with identifying post-high school educational opportunities. Each year during the summer, College Bound staff host Jumpstart, a week-long high school preparation conference for incoming freshman.

Essential to College Bound's success is on-going support based on individual students' needs. College Bound staff and volunteers actively assess and respond to students' academic needs by providing weekly tutoring, working directly with students in the library one night each week, being available during lunch time once a week, and meeting one-on-one with students two to three times each week – basically fulfilling part of the parental supervision and support roles that many of our youth do not have either because parents are working multiple jobs to make ends meet, they're absent, they're not proficient in English, and/or they're caring for other children's needs.

The progress of each College Bound participant is monitored weekly. An On-Track Indicator report is reviewed and action plans are developed based on the individual needs of the student.

Article: Lauch of College Bound .

On-Track Indicator - 2/2009

College Bound Video