Student U. goal is to raise the bar in Durham Schools

BY KELLY HINCHCLIFFE

Three college students with a dream and a knack for raising money hope to replace academic ambivalence with educational ambition in scores of Durham middle school students over the next few years.

Duke Junior Amanda Dorsey and senior Daniel Kimberg and UNC senior Mary Williams collaborated in early 2006 witht he vision "to break the cycle of low expectations in Durham Public Schools," according to their literature.

And so Student U. was born. It is a partnership of local college students, Durham Public Schools and Durham Academy.

Organizers held a kickoff breakfast at Durham Academy's lower school Friday morning.

The new program aims to inspire Durham middle school students to take education into their own hands and to motivate high school and college students to pursue careers in education.

Student U. has two main programs, both structured on a "students-teaching-students" model. The first is a summer program in which 40 Durham middle school students attend a free, six week academic summer program taught by 16 Triangle area high school and college students.

The second, the school year program, helps sustain the learning through monthly mentoring, tutoring, and college preparation sessions, also led by the high school and college students.

The college students are $2,000 away from reaching their $100,000 goal for year one. But they still need to raise $150,000 for year two and $200,000 for year three of the program. They plan to expand and enroll 80 students taught by 32 teachers in year two and 120 students taught by 48 teachers in year three.

The program is funded entirely by tax-deductible contributions.

Rising sixth-graders who already have applied will be interviewed next month and chosen to participate based on desire and financial and academic need. They also had to submit a lengthy application and answer questions, such as: "Write about what you would do on a Magical Day - when you could be anybody you wanted to be, go anywhere you wanted to go, or do anything you wanted to do."

Durham Public Schools Superintendent Carl Harris, the keynote speaker at Friday's fundraising breakfast, urged community members to support the new program.

"What you are about to embark on will make a difference in the life of a child," he said. "I welcome the collaboration, and I give you my full support."

© Copyright by The Durham Herald Company. Original copyright 2004. Copyright renewed 2007. All rights reserved. All material on heraldsun.com is protected by U.S. and international copyright laws and may not be reproduced or redistributed in any medium except as provided in the site's Terms of Use.