Middle and high school students are doing science experiments on a college campus. UT Arlington’s Science Ambassador program brings K-12 kids to campus to learn all about stem activities from college students. It helps them get a taste of college life.
"The more experiences they can feel, the better it’s going to be for their learning journey," said Todd Smith, a teacher who brought his students to campus last year.
UTA and Harmony School of Innovation are giving it a whirl. Harmony does a lot of work in the STEM field, and getting the students college-ready. They’re working together with UTA on each other's campuses to help students not just see themselves on campus, but make it happen.
"It helps more students to realize, hey, not only is college for me, but I can afford to go, we offer over $500 million in financial aid every year, you can’t easily find that on a website. But that's true," said Tamara Brown, Provost, University of Texas at Arlington.
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"Most of our students are coming from first-generation students, economically disadvantaged group of families. So I cannot emphasize more how they need help," said Servet Sayma, College Coordinator at the Harmony School of Innovation.
Counselors at Harmony School of Innovation said many of their graduates who went to college were coming back to campus for help with everything from registering for classes to managing stress. Having a school they work with will help them match new students with older ones who can guide them, and professors too.
"When those Harmony students come here, they already have a tribe. They already have a group of other harmony students that they can immediately plug into and feel a sense of belonging," said Brown.
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The partnership is already underway and it will help those students still in high school who are not considering college to get a taste of it, through visits like the Science Ambassador program. It's taking two separate school systems working together to ensure more students go to college, are supported, and walk away with a diploma
