The Center for Minority Educational Affairs stands to receive $4 million in state, federal and university funds to expand efforts to promote college preparation among disadvantaged District students, thanks to a federal grant awarded to the District of Columbia.
On Wednesday morning, D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams announced a $4.6 million federal grant funded through the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs. With matching funds provided by the District of Columbia and five participating universities, the total funding for the effort will reach nearly $40 million.
The final planning and distribution of that money has yet to be determined, but $4 million is a likely estimate of Georgetown’s share, said Tom Bullock, director of Georgetown’s Educational Community Involvement Program.
Since 1995, the CMEA has funded ECIP, which brings District students to Georgetown for college preparation training. Since the program’s inception, 150 children from Ron Brown Middle School have received instruction, guidance and tutoring during summer vacations and Saturday afternoons from professors from Georgetown and other universities, as well as from 50 GU student tutors.
According to Bullock, ECIP boasts a 96 percent college matriculation rate for its participants. Currently, the matriculation rate for D.C. public schools is around 60 percent.
“Getting students involved at an early age and exposing them to college and to what it means to be successful is the goal,” Bullock said.
The program will expand to 230 Ron Brown students next September, said Bullock.
Carlos Price, now a sophomore at IDEA Charter High School, became involved with ECIP as a seventh-grader at Brown. Price said his experiences at GU have helped his Spanish, math and writing skills. In addition, this past summer he traveled to Belize with his fellow ECIP students to study biology and genetics.
Price said he “definitely” plans to attend college after he graduates.
Bullock stressed the importance of exposing students like Price to a college setting. “Most students haven’t set foot on a college campus,” he said. “We want to show people what college is all about.”
