Programs Supported by Early Academic Outreach
The mission of the Office of Early Academic Outreach at The University of Arizona is to increase the number of ethnic minority, low-income, and first-generation college-bound students who are eligible to enter a degree program at a university. This mission is accomplished by providing services to students in elementary, middle and high schools throughout southern Arizona. Some of the programs and services offered by Early Academic Outreach include:
Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA)
Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement is an intensive and ongoing college-preparation program designed for ethnic minority, low-income, and first-generation college-bound students in targeted school districts throughout the country. In southern Arizona, MESA meetings include hands-on activities related to math, engineering, and science; college-preparation workshops to help build strong academic skills, learn about college, and explore various careers; and individual academic guidance and student evaluation. MESA meetings are held at 40 different high schools and middle schools in the southern Arizona region. More than 1100 students participate in southern Arizona MESA activities each year.
Parent Outreach and Information
Throughout the year, the Office of Early Academic Outreach holds parent programs focused on providing information about preparing students for college. Past events have included College Knowledge for Parents and African American Family College Planning Day. In addition, parents of MESA students receive newsletters and postcards updating them on college deadlines and requirements as well as various outreach events.
College Academy for Parents
Since 2004, the College Academy for Parents has served parents of elementary students in the Sunnyside Unified School District. This initiative is designed to help parents understand current and future academic expectations, improve communication with schools, and increase their involvement in order to prepare students for a college education. The program, offered in Spanish and English, consists of 12 two-hour workshops in Spanish and English and two campus visits.
Gaining Early Awareness & Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP)
The Tucson GEAR UP Project is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education in partnership with The University of Arizona, Pima Community College District, Sunnyside Unified School District, Tucson Unified School District, The Aurora Foundation, Competitive Engineering, KB Home Tucson, Inc., Principal Tutoring, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, and Tucson Medical Center.
The project began during the 2005-06 academic year with students in sixth grade in 14 middle schools and will continue to serve these students through high school. Project middle schools include Apollo, Challenger, Chaparral, Lauffer, Sierra, Hohokam, Mansfeld, Maxwell, Pistor, Roskruge, Safford, Utterback, Valencia, and Wakefield. Beginning in 2008-09, the five high schools involved with the project will be Desert View, Sunnyside, Cholla, Pueblo, and Tucson High.
College coaches work at each school and offer a variety of free programs and services to students and their families. Activities include career exploration opportunities, college knowledge workshops, tutoring, educational field trips, campus visits and tours, summer enrichment activities, Math through Mariachi, and Voices of GEAR UP.
The Tucson GEAR UP Project
University Services Annex, B114
220 West Sixth Street
P.O. Box 210300
Tucson, AZ 85721-0300.
(520) 626-4640
Fax: (520) 626-4620
Industry Partnerships and Mentoring Programs
Southern Arizona industries work as partners with the Early Academic Outreach staff in a number of valuable ways, including providing engineers and other professionals to serve as mentors in the schools and funding programs and events such as MESA Day and the Engineering is Fun poster contest. Notably, the Tucson office of Raytheon supports the Adopt-a-School engineer program which won an award from the National Science Foundation. In addition, members of local area industries serve on the Arizona MESA Industry Advisory Board, which makes recommendations and decisions about issues related to MESA at the statewide level.
School Districts
The Office of Early Academic Outreach works primarily with the following southern Arizona school districts: