This article was originally published in Indy mirror.
IPS wants to ensure that more of its students are exposed to college earlier.
That’s why district officials expect every IPS The student takes at least one university visit each of his or her three years at college.
“A lot of research shows that if a school-age child is able to access or enter a college campus, then there is a significant increase in the feeling that this is a feasible option,” a said Lori Hart, IPS. Counseling Coordinator for K-8 elementary and secondary schools.
IPS hopes to achieve this through a new IPS Middle School College Campus Tour Program.
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More than 200 local students Henry W. Longfellow 28 Medical and STEM Middle School visited the IUPUI campus on April 19 as part of a pilot of the program. Students were able to participate in hands-on activities, such as creating their own zine with staff from the Herron School of Art & Design or reviewing organ dissections with interns from the pathology lab.
Longfellow student Melissa Austin was among a dozen eighth-graders who praised the club’s upbeat remix of “Pump Up The Jam,” from music and arts technology department assistant instructor, Michael Reynolds.
Hart said the students were chosen from the activities, which also included a question-and-answer session with School of Education students, based on the professional interests they expressed to their teachers before the visit .
The visit arrives as IPS reorganizes his college experience within the district Build Back Strongerreconfiguration plan and while the State is grappling with stagnant college attendance rates.
Indiana hit its lowest college attendance rate in a generation in 2020, with only 53% of high school graduates choosing to go straight to college, according to data from the Indiana Commission for Higher Education. Since then, the rate has remained stable.
Monica Medina, associate clinical professor at IUPUI’s school of education, said waiting until high school is often too late to introduce students to college experiences, especially for students who will be the first in their family to complete their studies beyond high school.
“Introducing them to the opportunities and different options available to them can help them think about what they are doing in high school and the importance of high school,” Medina said.
More than 1,000 middle school students are expected to participate in the college visit pilot program this spring. Longfellow, Northwest, William Penn and Clarence Farrington schools are included in the spring pilot. The program is expected to expand to all other IPS middle schools next year and comes as the district shifts to a middle school model for grades six through eight this fall as part of Rebuilding Stronger.
IPS has budgeted $25,200 for the program over the next school year, according to A press release. This includes funding for more than 80 field trips, reaching more than 5,200…
