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By Jason Lewis<\/p>\n
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One hundred percent of the 6th through 12th grade students who participate in the USC Leslie and William McMorrow Neighborhood Academic Initiative (USC McMorrow NAI) go on to college after they graduate from high school, with most of them attending USC.\u00a0 USC McMorrow NAI scholars have also gone on to attend UCLA, UC Berkeley, Stanford, Harvard, and many more prestigious universities. This rigorous college access and success program is operated by USC Educational Partnerships in the division of University Relations. \u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n
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Nearly 1,000 students from various areas of Los Angeles are in this program, with the southern area including Foshay Learning Center, Dorsey High School, Crenshaw High School, Audubon Middle School, and Barack Obama Global Preparation Academy. <\/p>\n
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The high school students attend Saturday workshops on USC\u2019s campus where they become accustomed to college life.
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There is a special feeling to have a program like this impact Los Angeles\u2019 Black communities.\u00a0 Historically USC has been the de facto home school of South Los Angeles, in large part because of the success of the football program.\u00a0 It has always been a big deal when somebody from the neighborhood made it to USC.\u00a0 Kim Thomas-Barrios, associate senior vice president of USC Educational Partnerships and the director of USC McMorrow NAI, grew up in Leimert Park and she is a USC graduate.<\/p>\n
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\u201cGrowing up we watched USC and UCLA football and basketball along with my dad,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cOnce my sister and I started USC in 1979, it was jubilation.\u00a0 Not just in our family but also in our neighborhood.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The USC McMorrow NAI was founded in 1991 and the majority of the program\u2019s graduates become first-generation college students. <\/p>\n
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The high school students in the program attend early morning weekday classes before their regular school day begins.\u00a0 All of the students in the program participate in Saturday classes focused on a wide range of subjects (English, math, and science) to provide academic enrichment, SAT prep, and personal development programming.\u00a0 The Saturday classes give students the rigorous academic immersion they need to compete on a national level.\u00a0 This program prepares the students for college academics and also makes them better high school students.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe have seen our students get better at their soft skills, like finishing their homework, turning in their homework and test taking skills,\u201d Thomas-Barrios said.\u00a0 \u201cThey get better at all of that because they\u2019re doing a lot of it.\u00a0 We test them every Saturday, so they\u2019re used to the cadence of being in an exam mode and way of thinking all of the time.\u00a0 We see that they get better at that.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Many college freshmen have a culture shock when their first year begins, but students who go through the USC McMorrow NAI program will have less of an adjustment period, which will allow them to do well their first semester or quarter in college. <\/p>\n
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\u201cWhen they start college, they are familiar of the cadence of college,\u201d Thomas-Barrios said.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s no bell ringing, or people telling you where to go.\u00a0 You have to do this on your own.\u00a0 This program teaches them how to be an undergrad.\u201d<\/p>\n
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A program like this works best when there is buy-in from the parents.\u00a0 Some of the parents did not attend college, and for parents who did attend college, the admission process is different today.\u00a0 That can make it difficult for them to lead their children to higher education.\u00a0 The USC McMorrow NAI requires a commitment from the parents to attend workshops so that they have the information that they need to guide their children through this process.<\/p>\n
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The USC McMorrow NAI requires a commitment from the parents to attend workshops so that they have the information that they need to guide their children through this process.
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\u201cThe parents have a clearer understanding of their role along their child\u2019s path to college,\u201d Thomas-Barrios said.\u00a0 \u201cThey understand where they can support their kids.\u00a0 They learn how they can ensure that their child has the space and the time to be able to accomplish what they need to accomplish.\u201d<\/p>\n
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