Program Services
After-School Tutoring
Upward Bound students have the opportunity to participate in tutoring sessions throughout the school week virtually or in-person at local libraries in the City of Anaheim. All UB participants attending the tutoring sessions are held to strict tutoring Policies and Procedures. UB students are encouraged to review the guidelines for the tutoring sessions in order to make the most out of each session.
Academic Advising
Advising is key with our Upward Bound participants. Advisement occurs weekly or monthly depending on the individual student needs. Depending on the situation, advisement can be done on a more frequent basis. Students meet with the Director or Assistant Director either during one of their classes (via a summons/call slip), lunch, after school or at the local library. During our advisement, students are provided with assistance or follow-up in the following area of advisement by either the Director or Assistant Director throughout their time in the program:
- class/course planning/academic assistance
- college/major/career exploration
- personal advisement
- extracurricular activity advising
- college admissions and financial aid assistance
- college decision making (with parent involvement)
- developing a personal education plan (PEP) for participants in a designated grade level including transcript evaluation
- social/personal/academic intervention as well as resource referral
- discussions with parents and students regarding attendance and academic performance
Saturday Sessions
Saturday Session normally takes place monthly on the UC Irvine campus. Students are bused from all three high school sites in the and dropped off at the Upward Bound offices at UC Irvine. Saturday Session is an important component of the UB program; all participants are required to attend. The session is designed to provide supplemental workshops sessions centered around a variety of topics including, but not limited to: college writing, math enrichment, study skills development, time management, college preparation, career planning/exploration, and mentoring. Furthermore, students have opportunities to work on homework with tutor assistance, review college applications, scholarship essays/short answers, check college portals with advisor assistance, as well as prepare for college-related testing with UB staff assistance.
Summer Program
Parent Meetings
Experience and research suggest that when parents and other adults show an interest in and support a student’s education, the student’s chances for academic success are greatly increased. Parent involvement and participation educational activities can often be a motivator for the student. Interest and support can raise his/her academic achievement, improve attitudes and performance, and foster better communication.
Parents are encouraged to attend parent meetings if at all possible. They are held monthly during the academic year, September through May, virtually as well as at the Anaheim Central Library’s downstairs meeting rooms. The meetings are broken-up into two sessions: English and Spanish.
The goal of our parent meetings is to support the academic and social policies of UCI’s Upward Bound program as well as to provide greater detail of services and experiences not always readily available through the program. Students are not typically allowed to attend the meetings unless they need to translate for their parent/guardian(s). This allows parents to speak freely about their student or situation.
College Writing and Math Prep
Upward Bound students are asked and expected to complete a series of College Preparatory Writing Assignments (CPWAs) during the academic year. These assignments provide further writing preparation for Upward Bound students in order for them to be at college-level writing. During the academic year, students are given topics to write drafts and final revisions. Topics range from general interest stories and reflection to research. UCI’s Writing Instructor provides feedback to the students and grades them based on their grade level/ability, often visiting with the students during the monthly Saturday Sessions.
Similarly, prospective college students will be expected to meet college-level math skills even if they are not focusing on a STEM field. Upward Bound students will meet with our UB Math Instructor to prepare for real-world math regardless of major. Class assignments provide a foundation for students in understanding how to approach/understand math in research, statistics, and everyday life.
