By Patrice Quintero
High school students from economically disadvantaged areas in the West got a chance to act as journalists last summer in a journalism class organized by the School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
This year marked the first time the course, taught by Associate Professor Ray Chavez, was offered under two University of Colorado programs, the Pre-Collegiate Development Program (PCDP) and Upward Bound. Seven students were enrolled in the PCDP course while 14 Native Americans participated in the Upward Bound course.
Chavez is director of the School's Office of Student Diversity. Students in the PCDP came from high schools in the Denver-Boulder area. The American Indian students in the Upward Bound program came from several areas outside the state, including South Dakota, Oregon, Arizona, New Mexico and Washington state.
Students are selected for the course based on a track record of serious academic commitment. Many students return summer after summer.
Along with daily assignments, each class produced its own newspaper, Cultural Currents. Under the direction of Chavez, and assisted by members of the CU-Boulder Multi Ethnic Media Organization, the high school journalists wrote news, feature and sports stories, and took photographs that were showcased in the eight-page editions.
The summer program was introduced in 1993 but not offered in 1996 when funds ran out. With a $5,000 grant from the Gannett Foundation, the program was restored, expanded and additionally offered under the Upward Bound program.
Of the students participating in the PCDP on the Boulder campus since the program's inception, 87 percent have continued their education and been admitted to CU. Overall, more than 90 percent of PCDP students go on to a college career, according to Chavez.
Under the Upward Bound program, more than 70 percent of participants who complete the program have enrolled in a variety of colleges and universities, he said.
