Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation Awards $21,000 Grant to i.am College Track’s Academic Summer Advance Program
Los Angeles, CA–February 20, 2015–i.am College Track, a college completion program that empowers students from underserved communities to reach their dream of a college degree, announced that it has been awarded a grant for $21,000 from the Los Angeles Dodges Foundation to support its Academic Summer Advancement Program.
The Academic Summer Advancement Program (ASAP) helps prepare incoming ninth graders for the rigors of high school and the College Track program, ensuring that they complete high school, enroll in, and graduate from a 4-year college. The five-week summer program serves as a bridge from middle school to high school. Students receive academic support in math and English, learn effective study skills, and participate in college tours and extracurricular activities including community service.
“The ASAP program begins the building of a strong foundation and the sense of community we need for our students to achieve their goal of college graduation. It’s an extraordinary time of discovery. It will be the first time our students step on a college campus, learn what a scholarship is or meet an admissions officer. We teach our students the skills necessary to succeed in high school, college, and beyond,” said Silvestre Vallejo, Site Director for i.am College Track.
During the summer of 2014, the ASAP program served 55 students. All students participated in a rigorous application process to gain a place in College Track Boyle Heights.
“We are excited to invest in i.am College Track’s Academic Summer Advancement Program,” announced Nichol Whiteman, Executive Director of the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation.
“i.am College Track’s ten years of support for students starting from the summer before ninth grade through college graduation makes a difference, not only in the lives of students but in the lives of their families, schools, peers, and neighborhoods. They are setting the groundwork so that college is an expectation, not an exception which brings positive change to the lives and communities that support the LA Dodgers,” said Whiteman.
For 17 years, College Track has demonstrated a tremendous record of success. More than 94 percent of seniors are admitted to four-year colleges, with 57 percent graduating in six or more years. Eighty-four percent of students are first generation college students.
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About i.am College Track
i.am College Track in the Los Angeles community of Boyle Heights is a national college completion program that empowers students from underserved communities to graduate from college. From the summer before ninth grade through college graduation, our 10-year program removes barriers that prevent students from earning their college degree by providing them with comprehensive academic support, leadership training, financial and college advising, and scholarships. We teach them the skills necessary to succeed in college and beyond.
College Track was founded in 1997. We currently serve over 2,000 high school and college students in East Palo Alto, Oakland, San Francisco, New Orleans, Colorado, Los Angeles, and Sacramento. Today, 94% of our high school seniors have been accepted to four-year colleges and our college graduation rate is 2.5 times the national average for low-income students. For more information visit www.collegetrack.org and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
About Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation
The Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation is the official team charity of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Its primary focus is to support cornerstone programs in Sports + Recreation, Education + Literacy and Health + Wellness benefitting children and families in need throughout the greater Los Angeles region. By leveraging strategic partnerships, the mission is to harness the power of the Dodger brand and the passion our fans have for Los Angeles into a vehicle for positive change in under-served communities.