PEOPLE summer programs underway

Sleeping in is not in the cards for more than 350 middle school students from Madison and Wisconsin tribal school districts who are serious about earning admission to the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Instead, the Precollege Enrichment Opportunity Program for Learning Excellence (PEOPLE) offers 27 summer morning workshops designed to explore college degree and career options ranging from engineering and medicine to law and business.

Early exposure to potential college majors and career options is a key goal of the middle school PEOPLE program, said PEOPLE director Jacqueline DeWalt. Workshops will be held across campus through July 1.

Soon-to-be ninth graders, or students who have just completed middle school, stay all day preparing to accelerate their success in high school with sessions in study skills, math, and science.

And summer is just the beginning — students meet for tutoring and enrichment throughout the school year to accelerate their grades in core subject area, including English, history, math, science, and world language, along with building their leadership and community service profile.

“It’s a highly competitive program and student’s essentially sacrifice much of their free time during the summer and academic year for serious development and preparation for college from now until they graduate from high school,” DeWalt says. “In exchange, students not only graduate from high school but they are prepared to gain admission into higher education and successfully matriculate through completion of an undergraduate degree. I haven’t had a student or parent yet who’s said the sacrifice wasn’t well worth it.”

Students live in campus dormitories with roommates, are responsible for attending daily classes and evening enrichment activities, eat in the cafeteria and taste the discipline needed to handle college and life away from their parents. For those in their final year of training — high-school juniors — the six-week summer session includes internships and working on the college application required to be accepted at UW–Madison.

“There are people who think this is an entitlement program. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s a tremendous opportunity to go to college, at a top university — but you will work — and work very hard — for a PEOPLE scholarship,” says Jerrod Walker, who graduated with a degree in English in May.

Completing the PEOPLE program doesn’t guarantee admission to UW–Madison, DeWalt says, but the majority of students who’ve fully participated throughout their pre-college years will find they are ready to apply and will be accepted.

The high school graduation rate for students participating in the pre-college PEOPLE program is 100 percent, DeWalt says. One of the nation’s largest and most successful pipeline programs, PEOPLE can also boast that 95 percent of its students enroll in higher education, 70 percent enter UW–Madison or other UW System campuses, and the remaining 30 percent attend other universities and colleges.

The number of PEOPLE students who complete their degree at UW–Madison is 76 percent. In May, 51 PEOPLE college scholars earned their undergraduate degrees, some while continuing to grow beyond UW–Madison through study abroad in France, China and Costa Rica.

This year, Joshua Hargrove became the first PEOPLE scholar to graduate from the UW Law School and Van Ann Tran became the first PEOPLE scholar to enter into the UW Medical School.

Now celebrating its 11th year of helping to prepare students for admission to and successful graduation from UW–Madison, the PEOPLE program will officially welcome its 2011 incoming freshman class of 86 students on July 29 at the close of the annual summer program.

“PEOPLE scholars complete four to six years of getting their heads and hearts ready for college,” DeWalt says. “That’s already longer than many Americans spend on their entire college career. So you tell me — does it sound like they’re serious about education?”