U.S. Department of Education funds Lyon College's Upward Bound programs for another four years

September 10, 2007

Both Upward Bound programs at Lyon College will continue flying high for another four years following the awarding of a pair of grants from the U.S. Department of Education that commit over $600,000 to the first year of the combined two new contracts.

The APPLE Project and the Upward Bound Math and Science program have each been re-funded through the next four-year funding cycle, and an element of these new grants is that the programs will now focus on Arkansas students.

On Thursday, U.S. Senators Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor and U.S. Representatives Marion Berry, Vic Snyder, and John Boozman announced that six Arkansas colleges and universities have been awarded
Upward Bound grants totaling nearly $1.8 million.

The other schools funded include Arkansas Tech University, Philander Smith College, the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith.

“The program at Lyon College goes beyond the normal summer program,” Berry said. “It provides disadvantaged students with opportunities beyond the classroom to cultivate their interest in the math and science fields. Any investment in children is an investment in our nation's future, which is why I'm proud to have helped secure funding for such a worthwhile cause.”

Previously, the students at Lyon in Upward Bound came from a five-state region, including Texas, New Mexico, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Arkansas. Lyon's program now aims exclusively at students from 23 target schools in Arkansas located in the north and central part of the state, and in the Mississippi Delta. Some are local, but others are as far away as West Memphis and Blytheville.

The APPLE Project - Accelerated Program of Personalized Learning and Enrichment - is now in its 40th year at Lyon. It works with eligible high school students who have the academic potential and desire to succeed in postsecondary education. The goal of this program is to increase the number of high school graduates from disadvantaged backgrounds who enter college and persist to become college graduates.

APPLE serves students in Independence, Jackson, Stone and Sharp counties with target schools that include Batesville, Cave City, Cedar Ridge, Midland, Mountain View, Newport, Southside and Tuckerman.

APPLE Project students make a long-term commitment from their entry into the program in the 9th or 10th grade through their summer of graduation from high school to weekly school-year attendance for tutoring, mentoring, and enrichment and to the six-week summer program of college-preparatory and college-credit classes.

During the school year, APPLE participants receive assistance in improving their study and test-taking skills, in managing their time and stress, in building healthy relationships with peers and others, and in exploring career interests and setting goals. For juniors and seniors, the Project also offers an ACT preparation course and assists students with registration fees. During the summer, students attend classes, participate in educational and cultural field trips, and experience residence hall life.

Kim Boehm serves as the APPLE Project director. She graduated from Harding University in 2002 with a master's degree in Education, and from Lyon College in 1992 with a B.A. in English. Before coming to work with the APPLE Project she taught English, Spanish, and speech at a local high school.

Elaine Severs, director of the Upward Bound Math-Science program at Lyon, graduated from Harding University in 2005, with a master's degree in education, and from Lyon College in 1984 with a bachelor of arts in history.

She said this November will begin UBMS's 17th year at Lyon. The program's purpose is to help students strengthen their academic skills and obtain the motivation and confidence they need to successfully enter college and complete a degree in a math or a science field.

Students selected for the program must qualify as a member of a low-income family or come from a family where neither parent has completed a college degree. Two-thirds of program participants must be both low-income and potential first-generation college students.

They spend two and a half hours each morning in their research groups, where they learn to do hands-on research in the laboratory and sometimes in the field, Severs said. There are about ten students in each group and, under the direction of the Research Mentor, they work together to carry out the experiments and calculations, and prepare a final technical report of their work and their conclusions.

At the end of the Summer Session, they present their findings to the entire UBMS group, usually with a PowerPoint presentation. Near the end of the summer, Lyon College President Dr. Walter Roettger visits each research group to talk with the students about their work.

In addition to their research, the students also take classes in ACT Reading and English, English Literature, ACT Math and a choice class selected from French, art or history.

Dr. David Pace is the program's curriculum coordinator, and Lyon College math and science faculty mentor the majority of Lyon's student research groups.

The research groups led by Lyon faculty this summer included Dr. Pace in chemistry/forensics, Dr. Floyd Beckford in environmental science, Dr. Stuart Hutton in physics, and Dr. Mark Schram in aquatic biology. Two additional groups, Math and Physics/Engineering, were lead by area high school teachers.

The area high school teachers who worked with UBMS this summer are Ginny Starzy, who mentored a math research group on Pythagoras, and Alan Smith, who led the physics and engineering group. Ginny has worked with UBMS the past two summers and teaches eighth grade math at Southside. Alan teaches at Cedar Ridge and has worked with UBMS since 1997.

Dr. Bruce Johnston, Lyon's vice president for Student Affairs and dean of the students, said the college is proud to serve this region of the state with quality programs that help educate and inspire area youth in their desire to pursue post-secondary education.

“Kim Boehm and Elaine Severs have fashioned wonderful records of success in preparing high school students for the academic and co-curricular challenges found in college,” he said. “Lyon is delighted to have these two exceptional women directing our Upward Bound programs. They and their staffs provide diligence, tremendous interpersonal skills, genuine concern and the inspiration as role models of success.”

For more information on the Upward Bound Math-Science program at Lyon, contact Severs at (870) 793-1783, or by e-mail at: esevers@lyon.edu.

For more information on the APPLE Project, contact Boehm at: kboehm@lyon.edu, or at (870) 698-4263.