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August 10
2010
SHS
Sophomores Complete Program at Dartmouth
Students take classes, absorb community, connect with
college students
Six Schenectady
High School sophomores recently completed a two-week Summer
Enrichment at Dartmouth (SEAD), a program that expands
educational opportunities by welcoming the high school students
to the Dartmouth community, offering summer college preparation
courses and activities, connecting the teens with Dartmouth
students, and offering an on-going network of support.
Students
selected for the SEAD program are a diverse group drawn from
different communities. Schenectady High School is one of
eight partner schools in the country. The others are in
New Hampshire, Massachusetts, South Carolina and West Virginia.
Potential partners are nominated or apply to be a SEAD partner
school all or which are identified as under-resourced schools.
A maximum of six students are drawn from each of five
communities to make a SEAD class of 30.
Among the 30
selected who attended the two week program from July 17-31 are
Schenectady High School students Michael Baily, Kailinn
Bevihymer, Kirk Fray, Andrews Jimenez, Kassandra Rojas and Asia
Williams. The students had to meet certain criteria and
requirements and then apply to be selected as a SEAD Scholar.
Each had to write answers about personal characteristics,
academic interests, hobbies, teachers and challenging
situations.
The SEAD
program takes place on the Dartmouth College campus in Hanover,
New Hampshire. Dartmouth runs a fourth term during the
summer in which all of the college sophomores are required to
attend. Therefore, SEAD students experience a
vibrant college community and have the opportunity to work
closely with the students. The Dartmouth sophomores are
paired with SEAD students and serve as mentors for planning
meals and daily activities. The program encourages
academic preparedness and personal growth through specially
designed courses, year-round mentoring and extensive
interactions with successful college students.
In the fall or
winter, SEAD students return to Hanover for the SEAD fall or
winter reunion weekend. This provides an opportunity for
the students to reconnect with their mentors and one another as
well as serve as be reminded of the focused, motivated work the
students completed during the summer. The get-together
also helps prepare the students for the upcoming summer at
Dartmouth.
The program,
which began in 2001, was designed for pre-college students from
under-resourced urban and rural high schools. Initially,
10 students were invited from three communities in New
Hampshire, Boston and Philadelphia.
After a
successful summer, the program was expanded to include a second
year with a focus on leadership and research skills and third
year with focus on preparation for the college application
process. Students who completed the first year were
invited back to Dartmouth for the second and then third year.
When the SEAD
program began in 2001, only five members of the class aspired to
attend college. After three years with SEAD, all 19
members applied to college.
SEAD is the
result of a collaboration between the William Jewett Tucker
Foundation, Dartmouth's center for community outreach and the
college's Department of Education.
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