Latest news with #UpwardBound
San Francisco Chronicle
12-06-2025
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
Low-income, first-generation students could lose vital college resource under Trump's budget cuts
Mission High School graduating senior Mariana Aguilar, the daughter of working-class Colombian immigrants, had always wanted to make her parents proud by becoming one of the first in their family to go to college. But she doesn't know whether she'd have been able to earn a spot at San Jose State University — where she'll enroll with a full scholarship this fall –—without the help of her college access counselor, Alexis Lopez. 'Alexis just changed my life,' Aguilar said last week after she celebrated alongside 44 other high school seniors from low-income families who participated in a program that provides intensive coaching for disadvantaged teens to become first-generation college students. But hers might be the last class to benefit from Upward Bound. The Trump administration's proposed 2026 budget slashes all $1.2 billion for a suite of college access programs for low-income, first-generation college students called TRIO, which includes Upward Bound. Congress is still negotiating the budget, which the Senate has not yet passed. The budget would also cut from social safety nets like Medicaid and the federal food stamps program while spending on border security, deportations and tax cuts. The Trump administration's budget document, submitted May 2 by White House budget director, Russell Vought, states college access programs are 'a relic of the past' and that it's 'engaging in woke ideology with federal taxpayer subsidies.' 'Today, the pendulum has swung and access to college is not the obstacle it was for students of limited means,' stated Vought's budget document. It added that colleges and universities 'should be using their own resources' to recruit students. The TRIO programs were created in the 1960s as part of a federal 'war on poverty.' While inequality in college attainment has slightly decreased since 1970, it persists, according to an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data by Pell Institute researchers. In 2022, students from families in the lowest-earning quarter were almost four times less likely to earn a bachelor's degree by age 24 than those from the highest-earning quarter, according to the analysis. A Pew Research Center report on 2019 data also found that children of college-educated parents are far more likely to graduate from college. About 70% of adults aged 22 to 59 with at least one parent who has a bachelor's degree or more have obtained a bachelor's degree as well, compared to only 26% of their peers who do not have a college-educated parent. In San Francisco, the nonprofit Japanese Community Youth Council receives $2.6 million annually to pay for about 25 staff who help 3,000-odd students at 13 SFUSD schools a year through Upward Bound and another TRIO program, Talent Search, that casts a wider net. Federal rules stipulate that two-thirds of those students must come from families that make less than 150% of the federal poverty level, about $48,000 for a family of four. 'The outcome of the elimination of these programs is the already staggering racial wealth gap in this country is going to continue to widen,' said the nonprofit's executive director, Jon Osaki. 'Those who have less access, less means, to pursue higher education, are going to fall further behind in this country.' The programs have historically had bipartisan support. Both Republicans and Democrats voiced support at recent congressional hearings, including Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican who chairs the Senate appropriations committee. 'I have seen the lives of countless first-generation and low income students … who often face barriers to accessing a college education changed by the TRIO program,' Collins said, questioning why Trump's budget eliminated it. Education secretary Linda McMahon said in response that the department had no way to hold the program administrators accountable based on whether they were effective or not. Collins said the government could reform the programs, not abolish them. Kimberly Jones, president of the Washington-based nonprofit Council for Opportunity in Education that has been active in lobbying Congress to keep funding TRIO, said that the programs are effective. Upward Bound students are more than twice as likely to earn a bachelor's degree by age 24 than students from the lowest earning quarter of families, according to the council. 'These tools are invaluable as many first-generation college students go on to become the first homeowners in their families, the first to work in 'white-collar' industries, and many other firsts throughout their lifetimes,' Jones said. Aguilar, the Mission High School graduating senior, said that her family was forced to move to the East Bay in her junior year when her mom, who works as a nanny, could no longer afford to live in San Francisco. Thrust into a new school in a new city where she knew no one, she fell into a severe depression, she said. Her mom transferred her back to Mission High midway through junior year, where Lopez, the adviser, quickly connected with her. Lopez arranged for Aguilar to go on a field trip to San Jose State University. They decided that the school and its big business program would be perfect for her. Lopez helped her apply for scholarships that would give her a full ride. 'Without her, I don't know what I'd be doing now,' she said. Balboa High School graduating senior Caryn Dea, the child of blue-collar Chinese immigrants, said that she's always wanted to go to college but didn't know how. Her parents, who didn't attend college, worked long hours. 'Throughout applying for college, I was scared,' Dea said. Her dream school, which she visited through an Upward Bound trip to Southern California colleges, was UCLA. 'But I found myself thinking I wouldn't get in anywhere.' Her Upward Bound adviser, Karen Coreas Diaz, frequently reassured her, saying, 'You got this,' Dea remembered, and helped her with her essays. 'She's been the best support system I've had,' Dea said. She will be attending UCLA, where she hopes to study human biology or a healthcare field. Coreas Diaz said that mentoring the Upward Bound students felt like healing her own 'inner child.' The child of Salvadoran immigrants who didn't go to college, Coreas Diaz said she struggled in high school as well, eventually enrolling in community college because her grades weren't good enough before ultimately transferring to UC Berkeley. But unlike her students, she didn't have a mentor. 'Supporting you felt like taking care of a younger version of myself,' Coreas Diaz said to her students during a tearful speech at the graduation ceremony. Unlike students with wealthy parents, her students cannot afford pricey private college counseling. Her work, she said, gives them the same advantages: help with essays, deadlines and college application. Jackie Lam, associate director of JCYC's Upward Bound program, said students with low-income parents who didn't attend college often lack access to crucial information. They may not be aware, for example, that they can apply to Stanford University and possibly get a full ride if their parents make less than six figures, he said. More than 80% of the high schoolers in JCYC's program who graduate high school enrolled in college every year, Lam said, with the exception of 2020, when they came close. 'Being a teenager is hard because you feel lost,' said Halima Cherif, a graduating senior from San Francisco International High School who participated in Upward Bound. She credited her adviser, Atokena Abe, with helping her get into her dream college, UC Berkeley, where she hopes to study biology or psychology. 'When students aren't guided, most won't have the ability or courage to go to college, work hard and have their dreams and goals,' she said. 'And more importantly, to get a job to help themselves and contribute to the people of this country.'
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
This Tohono O'odham linguist is fighting to keep indigenous languages alive in Arizona
A Tohono O'odham girl growing up in the 1950s spent her formative years helping her farmworker family pick cotton in the fields in central Arizona. With a thirst for learning but few books at home, Ofelia Zepeda would play make-believe school with her siblings using discarded textbooks during the summer breaks when she wasn't working the fields. Years later, Zepeda would become a renowned poet and linguist, and one of the world's foremost experts on the Tohono O'odham language. Now a member of the University of Arizona's faculty, she works to advocate for disappearing and endangered indigenous languages. At 71 years old, Zepeda is a regents professor in the linguistics department, the highest faculty rank at the University of Arizona. She wrote the world's first grammar book on the Tohono O'odham language and has published several poetry books in O'odham and English. She is also the director of the American Indian Language Development Institute and has been a member of the UNESCO Decade of Indigenous Languages International Task Force. Zepeda grew up speaking only O'odham, which was originally a spoken language and was deeply connected to her indigenous culture. 'That's what language can do for you,' she told The Arizona Republic in April. But she didn't live on a reservation, a detail which she said surprises many people. 'My family's not from any community within the O'odham Nation. And that's why my background has to start with the town of Stanfield,' Zepeda said, sitting in her office at the University of Arizona among the well-manicured lawns and palm trees that swayed in the breeze on campus, miles away from the cotton fields where she grew up. Zepeda recalled the poverty she experienced growing up in the 1950s in Stanfield, a farming community in Pinal County near Casa Grande. Cotton was picked manually back then, a task she would often help with. "I didn't think that much of it, you know. Sometimes you sort of worked and helped, and then a lot of times you just played," she said. She was seven or eight years old when she began attending Stanfield Elementary School. Zepeda liked school and learning, and was supported by teachers who saw something special in her. "In the school system, there is always one teacher who for some reason they find something in you and make it their mission to nurture it, to support you," she said. When she was older, a high school counselor submitted her and her cousin's names to Upward Bound, a federally funded program that supports low-income, first-generation, high school students as they prepare for college. She was accepted, and after she completed the program, she attended community college before being accepted to the University of Arizona. Once at UA, she was studying sociology, but all she wanted to do was read O'odham books. She would scour the library for books written in her native tongue. 'I would check them out and try and figure out how to read them,' Zepeda said. But she couldn't figure them out. 'It's challenging to try and teach yourself. And it's better to have a teacher. So that was it. That's all I wanted to do. I wanted to read and write.' Looking for someone to teach her, Zepeda met world-renowned linguist Kenneth Hale. Hale was knowledgeable in the O'odham language and had helped create one of the O'odham writing systems with Tohono O'odham linguist Albert Alvarez. Zepeda began studying with Hale and helped him lead a small class teaching other O'odham students. After learning the basics of linguistics from Hale, she excelled and in 1984 she obtained her Ph.D. in linguistics and went on to win a MacArthur Fellowship in 1999 for her work as a poet, linguist, and cultural preservationist. MacArthur fellows are 'extraordinarily' creative and have a 'track record of excellence' in their fields. Despite Zepeda's success, she remains humble about all she has accomplished. 'When there's so few of us, you're bound to be one of the people that benefits from these (federal programs) for targeted populations,' she said. "Over the years, I've appreciated the benefits that I have been offered, and I've tried to use them the best way that I can." Amy Fountain, an associate professor of practice, met Zepeda in the early 1990s when she was in her first year of graduate studies in linguistics. Zepeda was a hero to her, and in the decades since she first assisted in Zepeda's class, Fountain has seen firsthand Zepeda's work around indigenous language revitalization, language teaching, and language policy. 'She's the only scholar I know of her level of accomplishment who is universally respected, admired, and beloved,' Fountain said. She added Zepeda's way of teaching is 'humble and warm and sweet, but incredibly wise.' Zepeda is also working to bring awareness of the state of indigenous languages to the forefront. Part of this effort came to fruition in 2022 with the creation of the Native American Language Resource Center. 'This is the first time the federal government has put forth funding just for Native American languages,' Zepeda said, recalling her initial reaction to the resource center. Zepeda highlighted how indigenous languages hold knowledge that has helped society, like plant knowledge, which has impacted science and modern medicine, as well as the way people view nature and the environment, she said. 'All languages are part of all of us that are part of humanity, and so they should be acknowledged and supported,' she said. 'The notion of supporting a language is very foreign, especially in the U.S., and that's a very, very hard mindset to change, but we keep working on it.' Reach the reporter at The Republic's coverage of southern Arizona is funded, in part, with a grant from Report for America. Support Arizona news coverage with a tax-deductible donation at This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Tohono O'odham linguist, poet fights to keep the language alive
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump plan to cut programs that get poor kids into college makes no sense
Calling a 61-year-old federally funded project 'a relic of the past' is insulting, not because I'm just a few years older than the Upward Bound program that continues to provide a vital service in guiding low-income students into college. Clearly, the Trump administration's effort to eliminate Upward Bound, Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate and other programs known by the acronym of TRIO, to trim 15% from federal education spending to allow for generous tax cuts to billionaires is not only short-sighted but also dumb. How can they justify erasing programs that help get poor students into college, where they will move up the economic ladder and bring their families along with them? They can't. But Russell T. Vought, executive director of the president's Office of Management and Budget, gave it a try. Opinion 'TRIO and GEAR UP are a relic of the past when financial incentives were needed to motivate Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) to engage with low-income students and increase access,' Vought said in a May 2 letter to Sen. Susan Collins in which he outlined President Donald Trump's recommendations on discretionary spending for 2026. 'Today, the pendulum has swung and access to college is not the obstacle it was for students of limited means,' said Vought, who added that institutions of higher education should fund those programs rather than engaging in woke ideology with federal taxpayer subsidies.' There are seven TRIO programs, each designed to identify and provide services for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds. They range from Veterans Upward Bound to Educational Opportunity Centers to Educational Talent Search. I wish some of them had been in place when I was graduating from Delano High School, where I never had a counselor point me toward college or explain how to fill out college applications. Christopher Navas, an 18-year-old student at Riverdale High, is more fortunate. The Fresno State-bound Navas, who plans to major in mechanical engineering, is the second-youngest of seven children of a farm irrigation manager and a merchandiser. 'I'm so grateful that I took the risk to join ETS (Fresno State Educational Talent Search) because this simple program that was supposed to motivate students to pursue a higher education impacted my life significantly,' said Navas at Wednesday's ceremony honoring 23 TRIO graduates at his school. Navas said he was ambivalent about college until a summer program in his sophomore year introduced him to college majors and helped him establish relationships with college staff. A trip to Disneyland remains a highlight. Once in the program, Navas became more active in school, joining the baseball team and clubs and getting 'out of his comfort zone.' Olga Núñez, director of the Educational Talent Search at Fresno State, said 94% of the 680 high school students with 62% of all California students. The program gets $370,000 of federal funds for a staff of two counselors, an administrative assistant and Núñez. When money is available, student assistants are hired. The return on investment is impressive: 91% graduate with the requirements to get into college (vs. a 45.3% state average); and 91% graduate from high school (vs. 52.7% average at Riverdale High, 48.5% at Mendota High). 'They need to want to go to college,' said Núñez, who stressed her team can't promote students to go to Fresno State. 'Maybe they don't know where, or what major, but we want to increase high school graduation rates and college enrollment rates.' This TRIO program is critical because sometimes working-class parents with no college experience don't know how to prepare their children for college. Any help parents can get is sorely needed. According to the Sacramento-based Public Policy Institute of California, high school students from the San Joaquín Valley are less likely to attend and graduate from college than their counterparts in the rest of the state. Only 26% of ninth graders in the region are on a path to earn a bachelor's degree (vs. 35% statewide), and only 57% of high school graduates attend public or nonprofit colleges (vs. 65% statewide). Núñez was among those notified earlier this month about the Trump administration's desire to cut funding. TRIO programs are required to submit annual progress reports to remain eligible for 5-year grants. Núñez is preparing to submit another grant for the cycle starting in the 2026-27 school year. A May 7 webinar organized by the Council for Opportunity in Education ran out of space after organizers were flooded by more than 5,000 requests. A follow-up session is scheduled for May 22 for TRIO educators. Organizers want to remain nonpartisan because the TRIO program has gotten support from both Republicans and Democrats. Of more than 200 representatives who have signed a letter of support for TRIO for the 2026 fiscal year, only 63 are Democrats. The Fresno State TRIO programs are among 3,500 at more than 1,000 colleges and universities in the country. They help 870,000 students through individualized counseling, advising and other services. The letter explains why TRIO works: 'Since their inception in 1964, TRIO programs have produced over 6 million college graduates. Research demonstrates that college graduates have lower rates of unemployment, pay more in federal taxes, and earn a million dollars more throughout their working lives than non-college graduates.' What is so difficult to understand that eliminating TRIO funding is bad for the country? It seems like Trump and his advisors need some education.
Black America Web
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Black America Web
The Damage Donald Trump Is Doing Is Worse Than You Think
Here's the thing: We've seen all the news about Donald Trump's tariffs and how they're killing our economy. We know that the trade war is hamstringing our exports as much as our imports, and we know our farmers have been calling it a crisis since day one. We've also seen the news about the agreement that might end that trade war. Presidential Grifting: Donald Trump Will Accept $400 Million Luxury Jet From Qatari Royal Family To Use As Air Force One, X Blinks In Corruption Of course, while the devil will be in the details, Trump wants us to praise him for ending a crisis he started. The truth is that's just the tip of the iceberg because for every MAGA announcement that dominates the 24-hour news cycle and sparks national outrage, there are countless others that don't. We know it's bad. But it's actually way worse than we think. The Damage Donald Trump Is Doing Is Worse Than You Think was originally published on 1. Trump has fired thousands of federal workers. Source:Getty For example, I know you've heard about the massive government layoffs led by Trump and Elon Musk. But did you know that they were firing 80,000 employees from the VA? 2. He's threatened to cut Harvard's grants for crucial medical research. Source:Getty You've probably heard about Trump's widely publicized feud with Harvard. But did you know that he's putting critical medical research at risk by freezing $2.2 billion in Harvard's grants all because he thinks they're 'too woke?' 3. He wants to reverse some police reform agreements. Source:Getty We knew that Trump had stopped all Department of Justice civil rights investigations and police reform agreements, including the agreements in Louisville, KY, and Minneapolis, MN, reached following the murders of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. But did you know he was actively working to reverse that progress? 4. Trump may eliminate vital TRIO programs for students. Source:Getty You probably heard about Trump's plans to cancel federal funding for NPR and PBS because, apparently, programming like Sesame Street is a left wing conspiracy. But did you know he was eliminating the country's TRIO programs that have been making college a reality for students across the nation since 1964? That's Upward Bound, Upward Bound Math-Science, Talent Search, Educational Opportunity Centers, Student Support Services, Veterans Upward Bound, the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program, 3,500 programs and millions of students. Trump wants to get rid of all of it and it's barely made a headline. 5. Major flight delays have been caused by Trump's administration. Source:Getty Have you heard about the major flight delays plaguing the country right now? That's because air traffic controllers are fed up with chronic understaffing, outdated equipment and more are walking off the job because the Trump administration refuses to do anything despite his campaign pledge to fix it. In fact, earlier this month, that disgust and frustration caused at least 20% of air traffic controllers at Newark International Airport to quit because of the situation and now major airlines like United are cutting their flights. 6. Trump will begin garnishing wages of individuals who owe money on student loans. Source:Getty Did you hear about how Trump announced he's going to start garnishing the wages of the 5.3 million Americans who owe money on their student loans? 7. He's cutting critical funding for mental health services in schools, too. Source:Getty How about the fact that he's cutting $1 billion in grants used to improve mental health services in our schools? 8. Food assistance programs will be cut under the Trump Administration. Source:Getty Would it surprise you that Trump is cutting roughly $1 billion from food assistance programs that help keep most of the local food banks in America afloat? That's at the same time those food banks are needed the most since, with skyrocketing inflation, even folks making six-figure salaries can't make ends meet and Americans are actually financing groceries with a new surge in 'buy now, pay later' loans. Of course, it may actually be safer for folks not to buy groceries these days because, with Trump and the MAGA boys dismantling our nation's food safety infrastructure, the odds of that food making them sick are higher than ever. 9. Nearly 15,000 USDA workers have quit since Trump took office. Source:Getty Oh you didn't hear about this? Well, it turns out that at least 15,000 USDA employees, including hundreds of food inspectors, have quit since Trump took office. Furthermore, the top FDA official overseeing drug and food safety inspections across the nation resigned this month. Apparently he was fed up with the neverending Trump cuts and White House officials who cared little about protecting the nation's food supply. 10. Trump will withdraw the Biden Administration's salmonella safety initiative. Source:Getty But that's not the worst of it. Salmonella causes 1.35 million infections in America every year. But, in April, the Trump Administration announced it was withdrawing the Biden Administration initiative to limit salmonella in America's poultry products. 11. Trump administration won't push for milk to be tested for pathogens. Source:Getty They also announced they wouldn't be testing milk for pathogens or quality anymore. I'd make a 'Make America Healthy Again' joke here, but it's not funny. Can you imagine anything more important than making sure the milk our kids drink is safe? Neither can I. But if that's not making the front page, then can you imagine what is? But that's the point, isn't it? Trump and MAGA are shoving everything they can think of down our throats, the more ridiculous the better, because they're betting on the belief that we can only pay attention to so much. They know that while our outrage over his illegal ICE raids spark nationwide protests, as they should, they can dismantle food safety, gut public education and make a mockery over free speech without anyone even noticing. 12. What's next? Source:Getty That's why, while most Americans are scared to death, Project 2025 architect Paul Dans is thrilled beyond his 'wildest dreams.' Meanwhile the Trump Trade War is a complete failure and Trump fired the head of FEMA while denying disaster relief to tornado survivors…and hurricane season is just around the corner.
Yahoo
22-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
NWSCC Upward Bound 17-year-old to earn college degree before high school diploma
PHIL CAMPBELL, Ala. (WHNT) — This 17-year-old first-generation college student plans to graduate college with her associate's degree before receiving her high school diploma. According to Northwest Shoals Community College, Mary Elizabeth Fisher will graduate with an Associate in Science degree days before she walks at her graduation from Phil Campbell High School. Fisher is the Valedictorian of her high school class, is a first-generation college student and has excelled while participating in Dual Enrollment and the Upward Bound Phil Campbell Project. Sherry Campbell, the project Manager of Upward Bound, said Fisher's story is a great example of how determination and access to education opportunities can change lives. 'We are so proud of her achievements and can't wait to see all that she accomplishes in the future,' Campbell said. 'She has earned numerous accolades, including the American Chemical Society Award, and is a member of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society at NWSCC. As Vice President of her senior class, she has been involved in multiple organizations such as Future Business Leaders of America, National Honor Society and the Grass and Roots Project—a program she founded to provide companionship to elderly residents in assisted living homes,' NWSCC said. Fisher is also a multi-sport athlete, playing Varsity volleyball, basketball and golf. She also earned the highest GPA award for her athletic participation. 'Her service efforts have been recognized at the state level, securing 2nd Place in the FBLA State Competition for her Service Project. She has dedicated time to various volunteer organizations, including Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) and Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) as well as numerous community outreach programs.' NWSCC Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
