- IN THIS ISSUE:
Summer Programs
Bring Diverse Audience
to Campus
Each summer, hundreds of middle and high school students from dozens of public and private schools walk onto the UCLA campus, many for the first time. Wherever they’re from, they’re at UCLA for the same reason—to get a jump start on their next academic year and college.
These students are drawn to campus by UCLA Extension’s Summer Programs for 7th-12th Grade Students—and their own motivation to succeed academically. They give up some of their summer vacation, but in return they learn skills that help them throughout high school and college.
The UCLA Extension program is unique in bringing students onto the campus of one of the nation’s top universities for intensive study in subjects ranging from creative writing to psychology to pre-calculus. Although some courses meet less often, core academic courses meet for four hours each weekday for a month.
That takes a commitment from students—and their parents. As far as getting to UCLA every day, one group of students has an advantage: children of UCLA faculty and staff. For years, the UCLA Extension program has been a favorite with UCLA community members, for obvious reasons.
“What drew us to the program at first was that it seemed like a good high school-college experience for our daughter,” said Boyne Chin, a program analyst with the UCLA College Information Services Department. “The program seemed to be a nice mix, giving her a taste of independence, with a balance of comfort for me as a parent.” However, said Chin, it was the quality of the program’s teachers that really swayed him. Chin’s daughter, Mahal, enrolled last summer in the program’s algebra and expository writing courses. “We were very happy with the program,” said Chin. “The courses were challenging, and it was a new experience. We got out of it just what we wanted. We’re definitely considering enrolling again this summer.”
Extension’s Summer Programs for 7th-12th Grade Students attract students from the broader community as well. Last summer the program hosted 19 students from Inner City Education Foundation (ICEF) public charter schools in South Los Angeles. The ICEF Scholars Program provided tuition and transportation for the 10th, 11th, and 12th graders. According to Karen Ellis, director of the ICEF Scholars Program, ICEF chose the UCLA Extension program because it offers something unique: the UCLA experience. “The experience of being on that campus provides what a community college can’t,” she explained. “And we were quite impressed with the teachers who staff the summer programs.”
The fast-paced, rigorous program tested some of the ICEF students, but, said Ellis, “they hung in there and learned a lot.” The program’s value became clear when students returned to school: ICEF students who had taken the summer program’s pre-calculus courses performed much better in their math classes than students who had not. “It was immediately apparent,” said Ellis. “The program,” she said, “did exactly what we wanted it to.”
Enrollment for the 2009 Summer Programs for 7th-12th Grade Students is underway now. Learn more.