Academics
The purpose of Urban Scholars is to provide talented urban students with the academic skills and the motivation to achieve at the limits of their potential. Our overarching goal is to enable our students to assume positions of leadership and achievement in society. To this end, our academic program is governed by the following core goals:
- To a graduating Urban Scholar, critical thinking is a habit of mind that is both creative and analytical.
- A graduating Urban Scholar expresses his or her thinking effectively in both written and oral form.
- Competency, confidence and resourcefulness in academic settings and beyond are hallmarks of every graduating Urban Scholar.
- A graduating Urban Scholar respects human dignity, accepts responsibility for his/her actions and exercises his/her rights and responsibilities as a citizen.
Middle School
Specifically, the Middle School Component of Urban Scholars focuses on developing students' core science and math skills to prepare them to take advantage of advanced study in those areas in high school, college and beyond.
Sample middle school courses:
Students make MCAS self-help booklet
The MCAS test is on everyone's mind, especially the minds of students and educators. So Urban Scholars middle schoolers decided to help their classmates out by creating a booklet, complete with sample questions and solutions and test preparation tips. While researching and writing the booklet, the students strengthened their own understanding of what they needed to master in order to succeed on the eighth grade MCAS math test. The booklets will be distributed to students home schools and to other UMass Boston pre-collegiate programs.
Annual Science Fair
Our academic calendar includes a winter term when middle school students divide up into teams and compete in the annual science fair. Students work with facilitators with expertise in various science fields to come up with research questions, develop hypotheses, design experiments, collect data, analyze results, and present it all in the science fair judged by guest experts. Recent projects have explored the anatomy of cats through dissection, inquired about the properties of light using kaleidoscopes, developed and raced solar cars, and dissected cow eyeballs to learn more about the anatomy and mechanics of vision.
High School
The High School Component, on the other hand, has development of reading, writing and critical thinking skills at the center of its curriculum.
Sample high school courses:
Critical Thinking!
Within the first two terms of joining Urban Scholars, students are required to take a critical thinking course. The course can take on many forms, but the emphasis is on students developing the ability to look critically at the world around them and hone their skills in asking questions, analyzing information and drawing conclusions.
A recent critical thinking class emphasized understanding the Greek roots of democracy and examining current American government and society in light of such historical knowledge.
Another critical thinking class took a more philosophical approach and focused on the foundations of logic and constructing sound arguments, as well as identifying weak ones.
SAT Prep
Urban Scholars in their junior and senior years focus even more closely on preparation for college by taking an SAT I preparation class during junior year, mixing in at least one university course, and participating in a senior research seminar class which emphasizes integrating reading, research and writing along the model of a college seminar.
Research Classes
A recent senior research seminar focused on exploring "the banality of evil" by delving into the lives of people who committed atrocities during the Holocaust and the Rwandan genocide.
Another recent senior-level course examined the writing and art of people in exile from their native lands, whether due to emigration or forced exile.
Summer Institute
During the Summer Institute, however, students of all ages are required to take a balance of courses to expand their skill and knowledge base in a wide range of disciplines.
Calendar
Extra-curricular Activities Idle, Urban Scholars is not. Below you'll find a term-by-term overview of a typical calendar year. During each term we emphasize academics and college preparation (of course!), but we also include a variety of activities, events and trips that provide students with opportunities to explore career paths and develop leadership and teamwork skills.
Field Trips
Throughout each term, at least once a month or once a week during the Summer Institute, interested students and staff take field trips to local destinations and events such as an Alvin Ailey dance troupe performance, the New England Aquarium, Shakespeare in the Boston Common, the Blue Man Group, the Museum of Fine Arts, a local technology festival like Girls Get Connected, and, of course, roller skating, bowling, hiking and skiing.
Term Descriptions:
Fall
Late September through mid- December (12 weeks)
- Urban Scholars classes, such as Critical Thinking and a Reading & Writing class for high schoolers and an integrated Science and Math class for middle schoolers
Senior Seminar
- Seniors polish their college essays, complete and send off 5-7 applications and begin interviewing at colleges
Junior Seminar
- Juniors visit local colleges and host college admissions representatives
College Courses
- Some juniors and seniors are enrolled in a UMass Boston course (see College Courses)
Career Symposium
- Hosted by all Pre-Collegiate Programs
Winter
Early January through mid February (6 weeks)
New student recruits arrive
Urban Scholars classes
- Such as Critical Thinking and a Reading & Writing class for high schoolers and an integrated Science and Math class for middle schoolers
Senior Seminar
- Seniors polish their college essays, complete and send off 5-7 applications and begin interviewing at colleges
Urban Scholars High School Classes
- Mini-term workshops
Annual Urban Scholars Student Conference
- Students create, organize and put on a conference for fellow students from their home schools, other pre-collegiate programs, and more.
Middle School Science Fair
- Middle school classes meet on Saturday morning from 9am-1pm
Parent Gala
Senior Seminar
- Financial aid and scholarship applications go out
Field trips
- Cross country skiing, downhill skiing, and snow tubing
Spring
End of February through mid May (12 weeks)
- Urban Scholars classes, such as a senior research seminar for those about to go to college, SAT preparation for the juniors and a Reading & Writing class offered in conjunction with the John F. Kennedy Library on a seminar topic such as civil rights or the space race
Middle School Classes
- Integrated Math and Science Courses
College Courses
- Many juniors and seniors take UMass Boston courses (See College Courses)
Senior Seminar
- Acceptance letters arrive and financial aid packages are evaluated; the seniors have tough decisions to make!
Junior Seminar
- Juniors plan and take the big college trip (Atlanta, New York, Washington D.C. and North Carolina have been recent destinations), other students are invited; juniors take the SAT I and other appropriate tests
Job Shadow Day
- Students visit a work site and "shadow" an employee for several hours, observing and assisting them with their work, when appropriate.
Summer Institute
End of June through early August
- 9:00 – 5:00 Monday through Thursday and
- 9:00 – 1:30 Fridays with optional afternoon field trips
New student recruits arrive
Urban Scholars Classes
- Reading & writing, critical thinking, math, a variety of sciences and a variety of electives such as foreign languages, film studies, creative writing and theatre are offered to middle and high school students
Internships and other opportunities
- Many juniors and seniors participate in other summer programs such as Summer Search, American Foreign Study or other college prep programs that allow them to live on-campus. Other juniors and seniors participate in internships with local employers. Still others take one or more UMass Boston courses.
Senior Seminar
- A new crop of seniors begins to make a top-ten list of colleges, write their college essay and request applications
Junior Seminar
- A new batch of juniors begins to explore career options and begin intense college preparation
More fun activities
- Big summer events include Cultural Day, Workshop Presentations, a trip to UMass Amherst and Six Flags, and the annual hiking trip. Check out our Photo Gallery
College Advising
College advising plays a critical role in the Urban Scholars Program. The goal continues to be one of ensuring that students have maximum choice in the selection of an appropriately challenging college or university and that they have sufficient financial aid to attend the college of their choice. Throughout the year, the seniors work individually, as well as in small group, to complete the college admission and financial aid application process.
Choosing College
Students spend the summer prior to their senior year in a weekly college-advising seminar. The focus of this seminar is self-assessment, research, decision-making, and writing of their college essay. In the fall, the focus shifts to selecting and applying to post-secondary institutions. Each senior meets individually and in small groups with the College Advisor to choose schools and complete the financial aid application process.
Financial Aid and Scholarships
All students receive financial aid through federal, state, and institutional sources. Several seniors receive private scholarships paying for their entire college education. The senior that received the most financial aid this year received over $150,000 for four years with an option to earn a Masters degree.
College Application Process
To prepare juniors for the college application process, the College Advisor held a monthly workshop during the spring and fall terms and once a week during the Summer Institute. The workshop began by focusing on developing in students a purpose about their education and its link to career access. Subsequent sessions focused on self-assessment, post-secondary education, and finding a match between a college and the student's needs and interests.
Tutoring
Tutors are an integral part of the Urban Scholars program. Most often a tutorial is one-on-one, occasionally tutors hold group study meetings.
All students are encouraged to take advantage of the knowledge and skills the tutors have to offer. Students taking a university course are required to meet with a tutor once a week.
Tutors are available to work with students everyday after school. During the summer, tutors work with students throughout the day offering tutorials, special workshops and cultural activities.
Advanced Tutorials
Tutors have also served as teachers instructing students in a particular subject area a student wishes to learn more about. For example, a recent graduate was taught calculus by a tutor because it was not offered at his high school and he wanted to learn advanced math for his college degree program.
Academic Standing
All students may sign up for tutorials, but students are required to meet with tutors if they are placed on probation or suspension.
A high school student will be placed on academic probation if, by the end of a school term, his/her GPA is below a 3.0 and/or the student received a grade lower then a C.
College Courses
After completion of the High School Curriculum, many students take a university course here at UMass Boston. All students are expected to take at least one university course prior to their graduation from the program.
Students are excused from participating in regular Urban Scholar classes when taking a university course. However, all students are required to meet weekly with the Tutor Supervisor in order to keep Urban Scholars abreast of their progress.
Some of the courses that Urban Scholar students have taken are:
- Pre-Calculus
- Calculus
- Nutrition
- World History
- Intermediate Spanish II
- Introduction to Psychology
- Introduction to Sociology
- Greek Mythology
