Press Release – August 2013 Milwaukee County UW Cooperative

Press Release – August 2013
Milwaukee County UW Cooperative Extension awarded $79,398 for Pilot Pre-College
Institute with UW Colleges Two-Year Institutions
Milwaukee County UW Cooperative Extension has been awarded $79,398 from the UWExtension Program Innovation Fund to collaborate with four UW Colleges and UW Help on a
pilot Pre-College Institute for Milwaukee Middle and High School 4-H youth.
UW College partners and Milwaukee County UW Cooperative Extension’s 4-H Youth
Development educators and County Director, Eloisa Gómez, initiated a UW Extension PreCollege Institute that will bring four UW Colleges and other UW System resources under one
roof in Milwaukee to enhance and supply services to middle and high school youth who are
engaged in youth development programs from the Milwaukee office. The Institute will connect
UW Richland, Rock, Washington and Waukesha Colleges to approximately 250 middle and high
school students, many of whom come from traditionally underserved populations and are from
Milwaukee’s central city north and south sides. The Pre-College Institute is designed to connect youth to UW Colleges and other UW resources
to introduce the youth and their parents to the college environment on several layers including
academics, campus life, and financial considerations that all have a significant impact on a
family to support a youth’s decision to attend UW post-secondary institutions. According to Greg Hutchins, Associate Vice Chancellor for University of WisconsinExtension,“UW-Extension has been bringing educational programs into Milwaukee
neighborhoods for decades, and now we’re thrilled to provide this new level of pre-college
experience for Milwaukee youth. The UW Colleges are very committed to helping students gain
admission and achieve success in college, and with the addition of UW Help to this effort,
students will find that access to all of the UW’s universities will become more obtainable. This
pre-college institute is going to provide a pathway from Milwaukee neighborhoods to UW
Colleges and Universities and beyond.”
The Pre-College Institute has the capacity to become an innovative model to introduce youth in
the Milwaukee County 4-H Youth Development programs to UW Colleges with a two-fold goal:
support youth academically throughout middle and high school through pertinent and existing
services; The Milwaukee office offers UWC a greater likelihood to maintain connections to
these youth and their families throughout middle and high school so that UW Colleges or other
UW post-secondary institutions are more seriously considered upon their graduation, thereby
increasing the number of students entering the institutions.
For more information contact Eloisa Gómez, Director, Milwaukee County Cooperative Extension
at 414-256-4600 or [email protected] or Greg Hutchins, Associate Vice Chancellor
for University of Wisconsin-Extension at 608-262-6151 or [email protected]
UW
Extension
Precollege
Institute
(PI)
Community
Advisory
Council
Approximately
12‐15
individuals
will
serve
on
the
Precollege
Institute
Community
Advisory
Council
(PICAC).
The
makeup
of
community
members
will
reflect
a
cross
section
of
the
Milwaukee
community
involved
in
education
issues.
Membership
will
include
several
members
of
the
UW
Extension
Precollege
Institute
(PI)
Steering
Committee,
parents,
organizational
representatives
and
2‐4
youth
ambassadors.
The
Community
Advisory
Council
will
meet
three
times
by
the
end
of
summer,
2014.
Their
responsibilities
will
include:
•
•
•
•
•
Providing
guidance
and
feedback
to
the
UW
Extension
Precollege
Program
steering
committee
and
their
respective
institutions
serving
on
the
steering
committee
and/or
subcommittees,
if
any
so
choose
Proposing
new
ideas
and
other
supportive
actions
to
further
the
goal
of
the
Precollege
Institute
Attending
at
least
one
PI
event
Assisting
in
fund
development
(potentially)
Membership
recruitment
will
occur
between
October
8
through
October
17th.
Persons
selected
will
be
notified
by
October
22nd.
The
first
PICAC
meeting
will
occur
sometime
in
mid
November
and
two
more
by
July,
2014.
The
following
is
a
summary
of
the
UW
Extension
Precollege
Institute
as
submitted
to
the
UW
Extension
Innovation
Program
Fund
in
July,
2013:
PROJECT
ABSTRACT:
The
project
goal
is
to
effectively
expand
access
and
increase
coordination
of
services
to
middle
and
high
school
students
involved
in
4‐H
Youth
Development
(YD)
programs
in
the
Milwaukee
UW
Cooperative
Extension
office.
Four
UW
College
(UWC)
partners,
UW
Help
and
Milwaukee
County
4‐H
YD
and
County
Director
have
initiated
a
UW
Extension
Pre‐College
Institute
Program.
A
key
project
component
will
be
to
bring
UWCs
and
other
UW
System
resources
under
one
roof
in
Milwaukee
to
enhance
and
supplement
services
this
population
already
engages
in
multi‐encounter
(sometimes
multi‐year)
services
from
the
office.
The
Institute
will
connect
UWC
/UW
System
to
approximately
250
middle
and
high
school
students
each
year,
many
of
whom
come
from
traditionally
underserved
populations
and
are
from
central
city
north
and
south
sides.
The
strategic
layering
of
UWC
resources
to
current
programming
can
have
a
significant
impact
on
a
youth’s
decision
to
attend
UW
post‐secondary
institutions
and
their
ability
to
obtain
well‐paying
jobs.