Program Encourages Middle School Students To Develop College Interest
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Jennifer [email protected]
Kosciusko Leadership Academy graduates Karen Bober, Stacey Lohse and Erin Rowland have written a White Paper for KLA titled "Building College Dreams Before They're Teens."
Bober is a quality engineer for Zimmer, Lohse is a risk manager for Bowen Center, and Rowland is an attorney for the law office of Joanne M. Kolbe.[[In-content Ad]]KLA consists of employees who have been identified by their employers as future leaders. Graduates are required to research issues relevant to the community, and then write papers on their results.
They graduated with 21 other KLA students May 3. A ceremony was held at Tippecanoe Country Club, Leesburg, where the graduates received plaques for their leadership work.
The group began researching information for their paper in November. They presented their White Paper with the other graduates April 24 at the Zimmer Training Center for an event called Project Proud.
Rowland said the group chose the topic, elementary students and college, because they had an interest in helping children.
"We wanted to identify children's needs in the community, and our group had an interest in helping them," Rowland said.
Lohse said she grew up in Warsaw, and the research helped her learn more about the community.
"Being a part of KLA was a wonderful opportunity to make connections in the community, meet other upcoming leaders, and learn how to help our community meet educational goals," Lohse said.
Through their research, the group found that in the 2005-2006 school year, only 68.6 percent of Warsaw Community High School graduates were pursuing a college education, according to statistics from the Indiana Department of Education. This was 6.2 percent lower than the state average, and more than 10 percent lower than Warsaw Community School's percentage in 2000.
The group also found in 2000 that only 14.9 percent of the Kosciusko County population more than 25 years old had a bachelor's degree or higher. That was 4.5 percent lower than the the state average, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The group felt the data indicated there was a need to build college dreams in elementary age students.
In order to improve these statistics, the group's mission was to develop a program that would expose and inspire lower socio-economic elementary students to the possibility of higher education. Other goals were to motivate local students to attend college, and market colleges and universities to local elementary students.
The targeted grades for the program were determined through discussions with Warsaw Community Schools Superintendent Dr. Robert Haworth, as well as research into other elementary school student-focused mentoring programs.
The target population for the program would include third- and fourth-grade elementary students at Madison Elementary.
The group selected Madison as its target group for the program because the school has one of the higher rates of free and reduced lunches for students than any other school in the Warsaw school system.
The program will be conducted during the school day in the participating classrooms for two hours once a week for six weeks each semester.
In the fall semester, the mentors will be in the fourth-grade classrooms for the six weeks leading up to ISTEP.
In the spring semester the mentors will be in the third-grade classrooms for six weeks beginning in April and ending in May.
The mentors will focus on exposing the children to the possibilities of a college education, combined with tutoring and mentoring for the two hours they are in the classroom each week.
Grace College students initially would be recruited to serve as mentors. The college students would discuss their college experience, financial obligations of a college education, discuss areas of study available at college, and a field trip to the mentor's college would be included each semester.
"We would hope to focus on encouraging students to stay in the community and attend colleges such as IPFW and Ivy Tech," Bober said.
The program could expand and be offered at the Boys and Girls Club, Baker's Youth Club and the North Webster Community Center, she said.
The group hopes to implement the program next fall and work with Grace College in developing and training student mentors.
Kosciusko Leadership Academy graduates Karen Bober, Stacey Lohse and Erin Rowland have written a White Paper for KLA titled "Building College Dreams Before They're Teens."
Bober is a quality engineer for Zimmer, Lohse is a risk manager for Bowen Center, and Rowland is an attorney for the law office of Joanne M. Kolbe.[[In-content Ad]]KLA consists of employees who have been identified by their employers as future leaders. Graduates are required to research issues relevant to the community, and then write papers on their results.
They graduated with 21 other KLA students May 3. A ceremony was held at Tippecanoe Country Club, Leesburg, where the graduates received plaques for their leadership work.
The group began researching information for their paper in November. They presented their White Paper with the other graduates April 24 at the Zimmer Training Center for an event called Project Proud.
Rowland said the group chose the topic, elementary students and college, because they had an interest in helping children.
"We wanted to identify children's needs in the community, and our group had an interest in helping them," Rowland said.
Lohse said she grew up in Warsaw, and the research helped her learn more about the community.
"Being a part of KLA was a wonderful opportunity to make connections in the community, meet other upcoming leaders, and learn how to help our community meet educational goals," Lohse said.
Through their research, the group found that in the 2005-2006 school year, only 68.6 percent of Warsaw Community High School graduates were pursuing a college education, according to statistics from the Indiana Department of Education. This was 6.2 percent lower than the state average, and more than 10 percent lower than Warsaw Community School's percentage in 2000.
The group also found in 2000 that only 14.9 percent of the Kosciusko County population more than 25 years old had a bachelor's degree or higher. That was 4.5 percent lower than the the state average, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The group felt the data indicated there was a need to build college dreams in elementary age students.
In order to improve these statistics, the group's mission was to develop a program that would expose and inspire lower socio-economic elementary students to the possibility of higher education. Other goals were to motivate local students to attend college, and market colleges and universities to local elementary students.
The targeted grades for the program were determined through discussions with Warsaw Community Schools Superintendent Dr. Robert Haworth, as well as research into other elementary school student-focused mentoring programs.
The target population for the program would include third- and fourth-grade elementary students at Madison Elementary.
The group selected Madison as its target group for the program because the school has one of the higher rates of free and reduced lunches for students than any other school in the Warsaw school system.
The program will be conducted during the school day in the participating classrooms for two hours once a week for six weeks each semester.
In the fall semester, the mentors will be in the fourth-grade classrooms for the six weeks leading up to ISTEP.
In the spring semester the mentors will be in the third-grade classrooms for six weeks beginning in April and ending in May.
The mentors will focus on exposing the children to the possibilities of a college education, combined with tutoring and mentoring for the two hours they are in the classroom each week.
Grace College students initially would be recruited to serve as mentors. The college students would discuss their college experience, financial obligations of a college education, discuss areas of study available at college, and a field trip to the mentor's college would be included each semester.
"We would hope to focus on encouraging students to stay in the community and attend colleges such as IPFW and Ivy Tech," Bober said.
The program could expand and be offered at the Boys and Girls Club, Baker's Youth Club and the North Webster Community Center, she said.
The group hopes to implement the program next fall and work with Grace College in developing and training student mentors.
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