UW-Madison Pre-College Prep Program Will Focus On Students Living In Madison And Milwaukee - WPR
Ross Terrell
June 6, 2017
The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s pre-college prep program will be refocused to reach students living in Madison and Milwaukee, the university announced Monday.
Starting at the beginning of the 2018-19 school year, students in Waukesha, Kenosha, Racine and other suburbs will no longer be eligible to apply.
About a year ago, a study found students in the Precollege Enrichment Opportunity Program for Learning Excellence, or PEOPLE program, were 37 percent less likely to graduate in four years compared to other students.
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The changes will allow students in Milwaukee and Madison to apply for the program starting in eighth grade. The program is currently open to Madison sixth graders and Milwaukee ninth graders.
Gail Ford, the program’s pre-college assistant director, said the single entry point is key to the program’s success.
“We know that the research says that the earlier you work with students the better,” she said. “But we had to pick the sweet spot that would allow balance between when our resources would allow us to work with students because we know we want to service them through hopefully degree completion.”
She said the program’s impact can be seen daily.
“I see the students that are here as a result of our program how hard they work to be able to stay at this campus, how much they deeply care about their college education and really want to live the full Badger experience,” Ford said.
Ford said they will also start offering after school tutoring services in Milwaukee that were previously only available in Madison.
The changes are scheduled to take place in fall 2018.
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