BATTLE CREEK, Mich. — Kellogg Community College has announced that the college has received a nearly $2.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The grant will be used to support the Upward Bound program for the next five years.
The Upward Bound program is a pre-college initiative that prepares first-generation and/or low-income high school students for success after high school. Kellogg Community College’s North Avenue campus hosts the program’s Summer Academy for students entering grades 9-12. The Summer Academy has classroom instruction Mondays-Thursdays. On Fridays, the classes visit culturally significant sites in the region. Students are also provided free school supplies, as well as breakfast and lunch. The program is under the direction of Grindl Williams.
The grant will provide $417,067 in funding per year. It will support three full-time Upward Bound employees, serving at least 82 students per year from Battle Creek High School. This includes the Summer Academy.
“The success of Upward Bound programming at reaching low-income and first-generation students to prepare them for education and their future careers is undeniable,” said Kellogg Community College’s Vice President for Student and Community Services Kay Keck. “Kellogg Community College’s Upward Bound program, under the guidance of Director Williams, has improved the lives of thousands of local students with positive results that will be seen in the communities the College serves for generations to come.”
“Our main goal for every Upward Bound student is to give them the skills and tools necessary to graduate high school and go into post-secondary education,” said Williams. “This grant will enable the program to continue providing Upward Bound students the kind of accessible, high-quality education KCC is known for while giving them a jump start as they head into their high school classes this fall.”
More information on the Upward Bound program can be found on Kellogg Community College’s
