STEP UP, a trail-blazing CSP program to provide college scholarships and educational enrichment to low-income students, is at a crucial halfway point.
This fall, the 32 students in STEP UP started seventh grade at Heritage Middle School in East Cleveland, a milestone that marks the beginning of the second half of an intensified college prep process.
STEP UP (Steering Talented and Engaged Pupils Towards Undergraduate Programs) started in 2003 in East Cleveland’s five elementary schools. The idea was to offer after-school, weekend and summer enrichment activities to students from first through twelfth grades to encourage academic achievement and to whet their interest in college.
The first STEP UP class had 35 students, and as students moved or dropped out, others were added to the program. Now that the students are in seventh grade, new students will no longer join the program if STEP UP students move from the district. Eighteen of the original 35 students remain with STEP UP. (More)