Nearly 800 fifth graders from Skagit and Whatcom Counties will be visiting WWU on Oct. 27, where they will get to see the inside of college classrooms and laboratories. More than 400 Western students have agreed to mentor the kids as part of Compass to Campus,
a program established by the State Legislature in hopes of increasing the number of low-income students, students of color and first-generation college students that advance to higher education.
According to Cyndie Shepard, volunteer director of the program, "Kids who are mentored or who have a significant adult in their lives have a better chance of success."
When I returned to school at the University of Washington a couple of years ago I was lucky enough to get a professor who shared my passion for educational access and achievement.
Dr. Tom Halverson co-founded a similar program,the College Access Project, which works with fourth thru eighth graders in the Seattle/Everett area.
Research indicates that students who have the hardest time getting into college come from families that have trouble processing college prep information. Parents who struggled in school themselves and have little or no experience with post secondary education aren't as equipped to help their children access the information they need to maximize their children's opportunities. Let's be honest, making sense of all of the paperwork our children bring home is tough even for educated parents. Imagine what it would be like for someone who may have felt marginalized by the education system, who does not speak English or who doesn't understand some of the college-level language that is frequently used in college preparatory and application materials.
Both programs, Compass to Campus and the College Access Project, are hoping to change that. With kids dropping out of school as early as elementary school it can never be too early to plant a seed on the importance of education.