University President Lee Bollinger joined 300 other college and university presidents in Washington yesterday to hear President Clinton announce his plans for an initiative to aid the education of disadvantaged students.
The High Hopes for College initiative, which he first announced during his State of the Union address last week, will allocate $140 million to encourage middle school students to continue their education after high school.
"The High Hopes initiative will enlist colleges and community groups to form partnerships with thousands of middle schools and give more than a million students both the information and the inspiration to seize the opportunity of college," Clinton s
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aid at the press conference.
Although Clinton's plan aims to provide underprivileged youths nationwide with better access to higher education, similar smaller scale programs already exist at the University.
"Everyone should know we have dozens of programs like this already," Bollinger said.
Among them is the King Chavez Parks Program, which brings 2,000 seventh graders to the University every spring to participate in campus activities.
"They're excellent programs (that are) worth expanding," Bollinger said.
The budget for High Hopes for College will be used to provide middle school and high school students with trained mentors and role models who will tutor students, help them choose challenging courses and assist them with college applications.
"The program will provide middle school children with partners in order to help them on the right track," said White House spokesperson Cara Gerhardt.
Bollinger said he hopes the initiative will add to the almost 75 college encouragement programs that already exist.
"I'm positive we will be able to take advantage of this program to support and expand our existing programs," Bollinger said.
The project focuses on middle schools where 50 percent of the students come from families with low income levels. If the middle school meets the initiative's qualifications, it will provide assistance to these students during middle and high school.
When implemented, High Hopes for College could reach as many as 3,000 middle schools for a total of more than one million students. After 1999, the program will be funded with an additional $70 million for the following two years.
"I said I wanted an America where everyone has a chance to work, where people have the chance to get ahead with that work, where people have the chance to live up to their God-given potential," Clinton said.
The money for the initiative will not be taken from funds allocated for other student aid programs.
High Hopes for College comes at a time when more attention is being placed on educating America's youth.
Federal funds have also upgraded initiatives such as HeadStart, a program that recruits college students nationwide to ensure that all eight-year-olds are literate.
"In every community in this country, there are children with an enormous ability, who just need a spark to go on to great things," Clinton said.
- Daily Staff Reporter Jennifer Yachnin contributed to this report.
02-05-98
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