FRANKLIN
Franklin students involved in Upward Bound are exceeding the goals and required objectives of the program. The progress was presented to the school board at the meeting on Thursday night.

According to the Virginia Department of Education, six objectives must be met by the Upward Bound program:

• At least 85 percent of the participants in Upward Bound must maintain a grade point average of 2.5 or more on a four-point scale;

• At least 85 percent of the Upward Bound seniors must have achieved at the proficient level of SOL tests in Reading/Language Arts and Math;

• At least 85 percent of the participants will continue in school for the next academic year, at the next grade level or will have graduated from secondary school with a high school diploma;

• At least 50 percent of the participants will complete a rigorous high school program and graduate on or before expected graduation date;

• At least 85 percent of participants will enroll in a program of post-secondary education by the fall term immediately following high school graduation; and

At least 75 percent of participants who enroll in a program of postsecondary education will attain an associate’s degree or a bachelor’s degree within six years following graduation from high school.

Franklin students involved in the program surpassed all of these expectations, except for obtaining a degree because it has not been six years since they graduated from high school.

The students in this Upward Bound program are coming from Franklin, Southampton and Lakeland public schools.

Upward Bound is a program for students who are considered low income and are first generation college students, meaning that their parents or grandparents have not received a four-year degree.

Students can be recruited for this program in the eighth, ninth and tenth grade.

The school board members were more than pleased with the progress of Upward Bound.

“I think it’s great,” Will Councill said.

“Thank you for just a phenomenal job,” Bob Holt added.

As of right now, the grant that the program has received only allows for 50-55 students to participate in the program at a time.

Councill wanted to know what the school board could do to help the program receive more money in the next grant.

Director of Upward Bound Travis Parker said that all the school board can do for the program is continue to give the support that they have been.

School Board Chair Edna King said that she hopes the program gets more money and reassured Parker that Upward Bound will continue to have the school board’s support.