Federal grant helps low-income students access higher education at Kellogg Community College
Kellogg Community College has received a nearly $2.1-million grant to support programming for low-income students for the next five years.
The grant, awarded by the U.S. Department of Education, will provide $417,067 annually over five years toward the college's Upward Bound program, a pre-college initiative to prepare first-generation and/or low-income high school students for success after high school.
The grant funding will support KCC's three full-time Upward Bound employees, serving at least 82 students from Battle Creek Central High School each year, primarily through a summer academy on campus.
“Our main goal for every Upward Bound student is to give them the skills and tools necessary to graduate high school and go into post-secondary education,” Grindl Williams, Upward Bound program director at KCC, said in a release. “This grant will enable the program to continue providing Upward Bound students the kind of accessible, high-quality education KCC is known for while giving them a jump start as they head into their high school classes this fall.”
The program’s summer academy, which began June 13 and includes 50 students entering ninth through 12th grades in the fall, features classroom instruction Monday through Thursday, with Fridays reserved for “excursions” to culturally significant sites in the region.
As part of the program, each participant is given school supplies at no cost throughout the summer, as well as breakfast and lunch daily onsite. Applicants begin their participation in the program during their freshman year of high school and must maintain a 2.5 GPA or higher to continue.
High school seniors who graduate from the program move on to a two- or four-year college or university, Williams said.
KCC Vice President for Student and Community Services Kay Keck described KCC’s Upward Bound program as “a premier program in the state” and said the award validates the positive work accomplished since it began operating on campus in 1982.
“The success of Upward Bound programming at reaching low-income and first-generation students to prepare them for education and their future careers is undeniable,” Keck said in the release. “Kellogg Community College’s Upward Bound program, under the guidance of Director (Grindl) Williams, has improved the lives of thousands of local students with positive results that will be seen in the communities the College serves for generations to come.”
KCC's Upward Bound program has served approximately 3,000 students since 1982, according to KCC Vice President for Strategy, Relations and Communications Eric Greene.
For more information about the Upward Bound program, visit kellogg.edu/upward.
Contact reporter Greyson Steele at gsteele@battlecreekenquirer.com or 269-501-5661. Follow him on Twitter: G_SteeleBC
This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: Kellogg Community College's Upward Bound program receives $2.1M grant
