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APPLE Project/Upward Bound program receives grant
Lyon College’s APPLE Project/Upward Bound program has been awarded a
grant for $341,608 for 2003-04 by the U.S. Department of Education. The
project stands to receive the same amount each year for the next four
years, according to a grant award notification from the Department of
Education.
The grant was announced recently by the six members
of the Arkansas Congressional delegation, U.S. Senators Blanche Lincoln
and Mark Pryor and U.S. Representatives Marion Berry, Vic Snyder, Mike
Ross and John Boozman.
The grant will allow the program to continue to
serve low-income and potentially first-generation college students from
area high schools in four counties in north central Arkansas, according
to Kim Boehm, director of the APPLE Project. The counties served are
Independence, Jackson, Sharp and Stone.
“The APPLE Project staff and I are very pleased to
know that our work with area students will continue,” Boehm said. “Not
only will we be able to provide continuing services to our currently
enrolled students, but with the renewal of our grant award, we also will
have the necessary funding to serve as many as 100 new students in the
coming years. Furthermore, the continuation of our program increases
the likelihood of success at the postsecondary level for area students
who are traditionally under-represented in colleges and universities.”
The project serves 70 eligible students during the
academic year and 50 student during the summer. The project has served
more than 2,500 students since it began in 1967.
“The APPLE Project has a long history of success in
inspiring young people from this area to succeed,” said Dr. Bruce
Johnston, Lyon’s vice president for student life. “Lyon College is
delighted to host this outstanding program on our campus. Kim and her
staff do an exceptional job of helping students develop the skills and
confidence which supplement the educational preparation they receive in
the school systems in this area.”
The APPLE Project helps students pursue a
college-preparatory track in high school and prepares them for
successful entry and persistence in completing a post-secondary
educational program.
Through a comprehensive plan for a 24-week academic
session, a six-week residential summer session and a bridge component,
the project offers challenging instruction and supportive tutoring,
tuition-free college-credit courses for rising juniors and seniors, and
bridge scholarships for its graduates.
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Lyon's second freshmen orientation is July 18
Lyon will host a second summer orientation for this
year’s incoming freshmen Friday, July 18. Students will have an
opportunity to meet with mentors and learn about campus services
while parents attend informative meetings. Forty-eight students and
their families are expected to attend. Fifty-two students and their
families attended the first orientation that was held on June 13.
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Other important services offered by the project
include learning skills development; career counseling; academic
advisement; personal counseling; cultural, social and recreational
enrichment; fees and transportation for taking ACT/SAT/ or PLAN testing;
and assistance with college application fees.
The program also creates a climate that stresses
academic excellence as well as a sense of well-being and
self-confidence. Communication is also maintained with the student’s
family in order to help students make an easier transition to college
life.
The APPLE Project/Upward Bound program, part of the
federally funded TRIO program, is one of the oldest in the nation,
operating at Lyon College continuously since 1967 and maintaining a
record of college enrollment of more than 80 percent of its graduates.
“From 2000 to 2002, 100 percent of our project graduates have enrolled
in postsecondary education,” Boehm said.
Lyon College provides office space for APPLE
Project staff, classroom and laboratory space, group meeting space,
access to the resources of the Mabee-Simpson Library and college
physical education facilities, and use of the campus computer network.
Lyon faculty and staff serve as instructors, special lecturers and hosts
for special events. Project participants are admitted free of charge to
all college events that are available to regularly enrolled Lyon
students.
Boehm said eligible students entering the ninth
grade and above who are interested in the program may apply through
their school or directly to the program at Lyon. More information is
available on the Lyon Web site, www.lyon.edu. |
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