"College for Kids" program gives underprivileged kids hope

--Patricia Carlberg

College for some is a long drive on the expressway, an extremely dense location or even a virtual classroom. For others it’s a dream.

Fortunately this dream has become reality for many kids, with the help of Metropolitan State University which has hosted the “College for Kids” program on campus. This program gives students the opportunity to experience college in a university environment.

In May, a group of Dayton ’s Bluff Elementary students were visited by a coordinator who spoke to them about college and their career options. Students described their ideal jobs like becoming doctors and lawyers. They recognized how important college is and gave estimates for the cost. Eyes popped out of their head when they learned college can be affordable and that anyone can go to college.

After the visit, the students were prepared to see what college is like for themselves. Upon arriving at Metropolitan States’ Grand Hall, they were escorted to a registration counter to confirm their classes and receive their own personal student ID badges and proceeded to take two classes designed for their grade level.

Upon entering an art class the students experimented with perspective art by arranging buttons and shapes in order to understand depth and patterns.

“Mine represents my neighborhood back home, the red button is my home and straight across from is the store,” said one student. Another student responded by saying, “Is that big blue button supposed to be our school?” The students could hardly believe that you could take art in college nonetheless create their own masterpieces.

Examples of classes that we taught included: Learning to Learn, Biological Control, Check it out at your library, Japanese Calligraphy, Algebra, Drawing, Native Americans in Minnesota and Hmong Literacy. There are also several staff members from the school that have taught classes including Pauline Danforth, a reference librarian, and Ria Newhouse, an assistant professor.

Once students have completed their classes they are given a diploma by either President William Bradshaw or William Lowe, Provost/Vice president of Academics Affairs. Katie Smith, a current recruiting staff for the “College for Kids” stated “I enjoy it when everything runs smoothly and when the kids are enthusiastic and excited about the classes.”

Students, staff or faculty members of Metropolitan State University can get involved in “College for Kids” by contacting Evelyn Roloff, at the center for Community-Based Learning at 651-793-1291. Recruitment for the next session will begin in August and start in full swing in October. Volunteers can expect to teach 4th through 6th graders from several local elementary schools in St. Paul including Eastern Heights, John A. Johnson or Dayton’s Bluff.