Highline is applying for a grant that will help some Mt. Rainier High School students get a boost in their education.
The college has applied for the TRiO Upward Bound grant of $1.43 million, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Education.
The Federal TRiO programs are a series of eight programs that seek to help students navigate obstacles that most individuals may not encounter. TRIO helps students who come from low-income families, first generation college students, veterans, and students with disabilities.
The name TRiO originates from the three original programs, Talent Search, Student Support Services, and the one Highline is aiming for, Upward Bound.
The Upward Bound grant would help Highline provide access to resources to Mt. Rainier High School students who are first-generation and low-income, in particular “our first-gen, low-income and BIPOC students,” said Ay Saechao, Highline dean of Student Support and Funding Services.
“Upward Bound services and resources included but are not limited to: academic advising, professional mentorship and coaching, college and career exploration and planning, study skills and metacognitive skill development, tutoring, and college campus visits,” Saechao said.
“The TRiO Upward Bound program is a great opportunity to build a college access pipeline for our Mt. Rainier High School first-generation and low-income students to the college of their choice. This includes Highline College and universities across the state and country,” he said.
“Currently a TRiO Upward Bound program does not exist at Mt. Rainier. If awarded, this would be the beginning of the program,” Saechao said.
“The program will have a full-time director, program assistant and adviser, tutors and summer instructors to serve 60 students throughout their time at Mt. Rainier High School. When it comes to educational equity, nothing can substitute this level of meaningful, intentional, structured, and intensive level of support, guidance, and resource,” he said.
Students in the program will each get their own adviser, “who will build a strong relationship with, receive professional mentorship and guidance, and provide academic and holistic support to ensure barriers are removed and a road map is developed and implemented for each of them,” Saechao said. “It’s like having your own life, academic, career, and college coach through your high school years. They will support students, advocate for them, cheer them on, hold them accountable to their goals and their potential. In addition the host of resources and services provided with the students will match this level of support which includes tutoring, college campus visits across the state, Upward Bound community activities, and much more.”
Mt. Rainier was chosen after discussions with the Highline School District, which is not affiliated with the college.
“Highline College has worked closely with Highline Public Schools, and it was identified that Mt. Rainier had the need for the Upward Bound program,” Saechao said. “There are many students at Mt. Rainier who would be eligible for the program.”
The process of developing a plan for a grant like this doesn’t happen overnight. The process isn’t just time consuming, it’s also highly competitive, he said.
“It’s a very long and complicated grant, being over 80 pages with narratives and attachments. It also requires a high level of collaboration between the college, the local school district, and our community partners,” Saechao said.
“The committee that led the effort met 12 months in advance in preparation to submit the best grant possible, and I believe we did that. Hopefully the readers of the grant agree. Lastly, it’s a very competitive grant, requiring that we score a perfect (or near perfect) score to be awarded,” he said.
Highline expects to hear whether the college has won the grant later this summer.