The Siskiyous Upward Bound program – which prepares students to pursue and succeed in their college education – saw its largest group ever enrolled in the summer academy in 2018, with a total of 70 students.

The Siskiyous Upward Bound program – which prepares students to pursue and succeed in their college education – saw its largest group ever enrolled in the summer academy in 2018, with a total of 70 students.

The Siskiyous Upward Bound program was established in 1995 and has been evolving and thriving ever since. The summer academy is comprised of three “camps;” one for students who will be entering their freshman year of high school, one for students entering grades 10 through 12, and a “summer bridge” program for graduated seniors.

“It’s kind of like a summer school ice cream sandwich,” said Director of Upward Bound Programming Stephanie Wroten, describing the back to back camp and academic activities that the students participate in during the summer academy.

In addition to the fun summer camp activities, students entering 10th through 12th grades take a college course, allowing them to earn college credit. In 2010, a work experience component was added to the summer program, so that students can develop valuable vocational skills while working at a local business. The Siskiyou Humane Society, Berryvale, and Solano’s Alpine Hardware all participate.

“We made the decision to put the students out in the community because we’re trying to connect them with potential careers, and give them tangible, real life experience. It lets them decide what careers they might be interested in,” Wroten explained.

She credits the program’s success to the inclusive and accepting atmosphere of Upward Bound itself and the students who participate. And because students enjoy the program, they are in turn recruiting new students, she said. Upward Bound staff also make an effort to communicate with students as much as possible throughout the regular school year. Hosting Saturday events like tutoring sessions also helps students stay in touch.

It’s a student driven program, Wroten said. Kids see their older siblings go on to college, or see their friends participating in Upward Bound, and it motivates them. There is a like-minded, academically focused attitude between the students in the program and “it really is about the students being their own community,” she reflected. When students begin Upward Bound in eighth grade, only about six percent will drop from the program year to year.

Siskiyous Upward Bound serves students in a variety of ways throughout the academic year, with tutoring services, college tours, cultural activities, visiting the students at their schools and helping them with ACT and SAT prep. UB staff visit high school around the county in a rotation that’s based on the number of UB students at the school and the traveling distance.

UB staff visit high schools in Weed, Dunsmuir, Mount Shasta, Tulelake, Butte Valley, Happy Camp, Etna and Yreka, as well as Golden Eagle Charter School. In addition to monthly staff visits, outlying schools like Tulelake and Happy Camp high schools are assigned a UB representative to be on hand full time during school hours.

Wroten said that Siskiyous Upward Bound has seen countless students go on to college success after participating in the program. Some are now in their third year at UCLA, while others are attending Chico State University, Sacramento State University, Humboldt State University, and Iowa’s Clarke University. Fifty percent of graduating seniors enrolled in Upward Bound will attend College of the Siskiyous first, Wroten noted.

The Siskiyous Upward Bound program is the longest running in the county, and by attending the summer program for three years, students will earn a minimum of 9 units toward their college degree – nearly a whole semester’s worth of credit.

To learn more about Siskiyous Upward Bound, students can talk to their high school counselor or email upwardbound@siskiyous.edu.