It Could Be U Recruitment Kicks Off
Well, we’ve begun recruiting for the first full class of It Could Be U: Intensive Mentoring & College Readiness Program. 25 students. 10 middle school and 15 high school students will start off working with our Media Proteges (program alumni) as they go through the Media Xperiments on-line curriculum – making a series of six media media mash ups for which they must show mastery of key concepts such as the scientific method, consumers vs producers and cultural capital. Below is a video on the scientific method written, shot and edited by some of our Media Proteges. In fact, our Media Proteges are spearheading this entire program – making the fliers, going out into neighborhoods, visiting schools, mentoring students themselves and documenting the entire process.
The media mash up topics take the students through a broad range of fields and once students complete them, they choose a field of study and are paired with a University of Texas at Austin graduate student in that same field. The student then signs a contract with the grad student and their parents to work out an educational plan and portfolio within that field. It is my belief that as we have with our past students, we can make a significant difference in these students’ lives by focusing on engagement.
We watch and listen to our students in order to help them discover what truly motivates them. Then, we build a team (the student, parent and grad student) to set goals and a plan to reach them. We do not focus on test taking techniques or academic drills. We expose students to what their dreams and aspirations look like in the real world and help them make tangible products that move them further towards their goals. Yet we are confident that we will boost their academic performance. In fact, our expressly stated goal is to raise their standardized test scores by 5 points or more over the course of the year. I am confident that we can do this and as we have done with 2 previous classes of Media Proteges have these students become leaders and integral parts of taking this program to the next level.
