In-Person Upward Bound Summer Program Returns With Adjustments

Upward Bound returns to in-person programming at SUNY Plattsburgh this summer after COVID forced the program to go virtual last year.

While students will return to campus, they won’t be staying in the residence halls as they usually do during the summer program.

Director Brian Post said they’ll be bringing between 150 and 165 high school students to campus July 5-Aug. 5 for day classes and activities. Students will be divided into two-day-per-week sessions depending on their home school district. Upward Bound at SUNY Plattsburgh serves students in 15 high schools in Clinton, Essex and Franklin counties.

“We are excited to be offering in-person again this summer,” Post said. “The real mission this summer is to reconnect with students and recreate our community that we have all been so missing.”

 He said the biggest challenged faced this year “is transportation for our students from districts further out,” he said. “But luckily, I have secured busing from all of the districts that are in the counties a distance away.”

Upward Bound, part of the federally funded TRIO initiative, is an educational opportunity high school students who have the potential to continue their education beyond high school. Students attend year round, receiving academic enrichment, counseling and leadership opportunities through graduation. Ninety-three percent of Upward Bound alumni go on to college; 59 percent graduate, compared to 21 percent nationally.

Targeted for students from lower-income homes whose parents are not four-year college graduates, Upward Bound encourages participants to attend education beyond high school. The summer program gives students a taste of the college experience.

While this year’s experience won’t include staying in the residence halls, it still includes the a variety of course offerings, including those from science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields, art, literature, health and fitness, and foreign languages, among others.

Students will be able to participate in social events and activities. COVID protocols will be enforced. Students and family members eligible to be vaccinated against COVID-19 are encouraged to do so prior to the start of the program. Students and staff members will be required to wear masks and maintain social distances. Full-time professional staff members will be fully vaccinated. SUNY Plattsburgh classrooms and other campus spaces will be cleaned and disinfected regularly, according to Post.

“As things continue to open up, we hope to be able to offer more opportunities as they arise,” Post said. “We’re slowly getting back to normal.”

Students will be divided into two-day-per-week sessions depending on their home school district from July 5 through Aug. 5. An Upward Bound orientation meeting will be held for all new students, their parents and guardians Saturday, June 5 from 9 to 11 a.m. in E. Glenn Giltz Auditorium, Hawkins Hall.

For more information, call 518-564-2030, email ubplattsburgh.org or visit https://www.plattsburgh.edu/about/offices-divisions/student-affairs/upward-bound/index.html.