ACT Awards to Help At-Risk Students

September 3, 2003

IOWA CITY, Iowa—Six high school and university programs that are focused on helping at-risk students have won the annual ACT Awards.

The ACT Awards are designed to benefit programs that aim to help middle and high school students reach their career and educational goals. The awards target programs that work with students whose circumstances and environments could keep them from continuing their education or career training.

Winners receive awards in the form of ACT programs, services, consultation and resources. Each year, ACT offers four to six awards valued at $6,000 to $8,000 each, totaling $50,000.

ACT Awards Program Recipients for 2003-04

Community Partnership Initiative
University of California Office of the President, Oakland, CA

The University of California Community Partnership Initiative has established Academic Centers of Excellence in 10 churches serving low-income and educationally disadvantaged high school students in the Los Angeles and Oakland areas. This program emphasizes test preparation skills and mastery of writing, reading, science, and math using EXPLORE and PLAN, and provides career planning resources using DISCOVER. Goals include improving academic achievement, college attendance, and career development.

Hamilton High School: Preparing Students for the Future
Alexander Hamilton High School, Milwaukee, WI

Hamilton High School uses EXPLORE and PLAN results to assist with course placement, track students' academic development, and set postsecondary goals. The school uses WorkKeys with students who are at risk of dropping out to document and advance employability skills, implement career planning activities, and develop postsecondary and career goals. School staff serve as mentors, monitoring academic progress and meeting with employers and students for feedback. This program seeks to motivate students to stay in school, obtain a high school diploma, and pursue postsecondary education.

After-School Saturday Program
Governors State University, University Park, IL

The After-School Saturday Program at Governors State University serves 50 eighth-grade students in three low-income south suburban Chicago communities. This project uses EXPLORE and DISCOVER to help eighth graders identify career choices, plan high school programs that will prepare them for college, and learn test-taking skills to prepare for the ACT Assessment. Program coordinators work with teachers and counselors to monitor students' academic progress and to help them select high school courses.

Closing the Gap: Improving Test Performance of Middle and High School Students
Oral Roberts University, Tulsa, OK

Closing the Gap is a comprehensive program that uses elements of EXPLORE, PLAN, and the ACT Assessment to reach students and teachers in selected middle and high schools. It focuses on developing mathematics skills and applying these skills to everyday life situations. This program uses ACTive Prep to provide test preparation to high school juniors and seniors. ACT field staff also work with teachers and counselors to use EXPLORE and PLAN results to improve instruction.

College Resource Library
Franklin Towne Charter High School, Philadelphia, PA

One of the goals of Franklin Towne Charter High School is to provide postsecondary and career information and resources to low-income urban students. The school uses EXPLORE results to assist with course placement and curriculum planning and PLAN results to track academic development and set educational goals. Students use the DISCOVER program as part of the counseling department's career planning and exploration program. Teachers plan lessons that involve students using material from the College Resource Library.

Saturday College — ACT and Career Prep
University of Illinois–Chicago, School of Public Health, Chicago, IL

This program provides career exploration; academic enrichment in math, physical science, and language arts; and test preparation to middle and high school students interested in the health professions. Beginning in middle school, students use DISCOVER and EXPLORE in career and educational planning. High school students use PLAN to assess their academic strengths and weaknesses, WorkKeys to identify job skills, and ACTive Prep to develop test preparation skills.

Many of the award winners have already begun implementing services and programs from the awards for use during the 2003-2004 school year.