Upward Bound

The GateWay Community College Upward Bound program was founded in 1999 and is one of the TRiO programs funded by the U.S. Department of Education. Program offerings include academic, personal and social support to high school students through their entrance into college. We currently partner with Camelback and North high schools in Phoenix.

Program Benefits

Once accepted into this program, you will receive benefits including:

  • Individual advisement sessions to create a personalized success plan.
  • After school tutoring and enrichment sessions twice a week at the high school.
  • ACT/SAT information.
  • Career exploration and personal enrichment workshops.
  • Financial aid and scholarship information.
  • Participation in cultural, social and career-oriented field trips.
  • Assistance in improving academic skills through classes in math, science, English, and foreign language during the six-week summer program on campus.
  • Assistance with college entrance requirements.
  • Learn to develop interpersonal communication skills by meeting new people.
  • Earn stipends during the academic year ($40 month) and summer program ($60).
  • Participation in the Parent Institute to assist parents with college preparatory information and the financial aid process.

Program Locations

Washington Campus
Camelback High School
North High School

Community Service

Community Service hours are important for scholarship applications and giving back to the world at large. You may have an opportunity to participate in various community service activities at agencies throughout Maricopa County.

Summer Orientation

The Summer Program kicks off with an orientation for the students and parents. Each year in May, the schedule, rules and curriculum are discussed and questions are answered.

Parent Institute

Preparing for college is a family event and this is a special time for the parents to learn, discuss and share their feelings and ideas with the presenters and with each other. This is a time for parents and guardians to come to GateWay to take workshops on what is scheduled for their son or daughter in the coming years or months. This takes place in the Spring.

Tutoring

During the academic year, you participate in after-school tutoring twice a week. This includes tutoring in math, science, and English, as well as homework assistance.

Structured tutoring includes:

  • AIMS preparation
  • ACT/SAT preparation
  • Academic Skill Building

Enrichments

You also participate in after school enrichment sessions once a week. These include a combination of discussions, critical thinking, guest speakers, and lectures. Enrichment topics may include:

  • Financial Aid Awareness
  • The College Application Process
  • ACT/SAT Information
  • Career Search
  • Test Taking
  • Study Skills
  • Time Management
  • Respect
  • Scholarship Writing
  • Goal Setting
  • Understanding Diversity

Events & Culture

You attend a cultural enrichment event each semester, held in the evening or on Saturdays. Examples of event locations include:

  • The Arizona Science Center
  • Annual Phoenix College Fair
  • Theater performances at the Orpheum & Gammage Auditorium
  • College Campus Tours
  • The Heard Museum

Stipends

After a three-month probation period, you are evaluated based on attendance and participation. Once you are admitted as a full-time Upward Bound student you will have the ability to receive $40 a month, depending on your attendance. See "Policies" for regulations.

Summer students also may receive $60 for participation in the program upon maintaining an excellent attendance record and earning at least a "C" average in all courses.

Summer

The Summer Program lasts six weeks at GateWay from the end of May to the beginning of July. Classes are Monday - Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. You receive lunch and passes for public transportation.

Curriculum

You take mathematics classes up to calculus, science up to physics, English composition, literature and foreign language. The summer program is designed to give you a college experience by being on campus for six weeks and visiting other campuses in and out of state.

College Visitation Trip

You tour a state university, receiving a "college experience" in visiting the dorms and eating in the cafeteria. We also visit area cultural sights.

The trip changes each year, and within a four-year cycle, all AZ state universities are visited. Trips to California are scheduled to visit out of state colleges.

Credit

Students from North and Camelback high schools receive a 0.5 high school elective credit for passing with a "C" average or better in all areas for each Summer Program they participate in. If you attend all four summers you will have a total of two elective credits.

Eligibility

This program is funded by the U.S. Department of Education and follows its eligibility requirements. Those who meet the following criteria may be considered as a participant after applying.

  • Students from North or Camelback High Schools recruited as freshmen or sophomores.
  • Must be a first generation college student (parent/guardian has not attained a four-year college degree), or meet low income requirements (defined by the federal government standards).
  • Be a citizen or permanent resident of the U.S.
  • Be a student in need of academic support in high school and have the potential for academic success in college.
  • Be between the ages of 13-19.
  • Have the motivation to attend college or an equivalent post-secondary educational institution.

How to Apply

Contact the Upward Bound office at (602) 286-8201 or your counselor at Camelback or North high school.

This program runs all year and is free to the students selected. Activities are brought to the high school throughout the academic year and are held after school Monday - Thursday.

Expectations

We believe our students have endless potential and outstanding abilities. Our goal is to help students in setting and meeting high expectations, meaning:

  • Assuming and believing our students are smart, interesting, inherently valuable and capable of graduating from college and growing up to be important and successful human beings.
  • Challenging our students to go beyond their current levels of thinking, learning and self-definition.
  • Teaching and expecting students to learn at a college level.
  • Challenge ourselves to find new resources and ways of teaching.
  • Examining our own attitudes to make sure we place no limits on any group or individual.
  • Demanding that students respect themselves, each other and us; that their behavior demonstrates kindness and tolerance of cultural, age-based, and gender-related differences.
  • Never assuming or behaving as if poorly performing students cannot or will not ever achieve academic and personal success.
  • Realizing that a lack of information and access to resources may sometimes discourage our students, resulting in a lack of motivation or apathy which we must help them overcome.
  • Knowing that traditional definitions of intelligence are limited, and that students who appear to perform badly in school may have gifts and talents no one ever noticed.
  • Helping students discover their gifts and talents.
  • Never getting mad at students for not knowing what we are teaching them. If students could already behave and achieve at a college level, they wouldn't need this program.

Upward Bound is sponsored by GateWay Community College and is 100% Federally Funded through the U.S. Department of Education, TRiO Programs, totaling $312,463.