UCAP is a school that provides a critical need for middle school students at risk of dropping out. 80% of the schools students live in poverty and 51% reside in households where English is not the primary language. The schools programs allow students to complete three grades in two years allowing the student to head into high school on time.
Everyone that I have had an opportunity to meet at the school has shown an extreme amount of energy and devotion to the students attending UCAP. They really care!
I would recommend that you call to arrange a visit to see this for yourself as well as to see the expansion of the school, which will include a new gymnasium, art studio and science lab.
This school for middle school students at risk of dropping out is so unique. First, it tackles one of the most difficult issues in education head on. Second, it is effective and finally, it is an efficiently run non-profit. Funds are channeled directly into programs that enable these kids to beat the odds!
Unique school that takes at-risk youth who have stayed behind in middle or elementary school and works with them to get them to complete 2 grade levels in 1 year or 3 levels in 2! Amazing teachers and administration that care about each child, they take the time to help students to get back on grade to continue their high school years with same age peers. UCAP works hard to allow students to gain the opportunity to graduate with their peers helps to reduce high school drop out rates!
I first became aware of UCAP years ago. Their mission is to help kids that are in danger of flunking out of school. These children for many different reasons had been held back for one or two grades and thus were highly likely to drop out. At UCAP these kids can make up the lost ground and graduate from high school with their peers. They have an 75% chance of graduating from high school which is far higher than their peers who have not gone to UCAP. This mission appealed to me because the children were being given a second chance just like I had been given a second chance by a kindly man who accepted me into his school when I had been asked to leave my prior school. Everyone deserves a second chance!
The first time I walked into UCAP, the poise and confidence of my student host told me this was a good, safe place, a place where youngsters who'd repeated an elementary grade could accelerate, could catch up. My host was proud of her school; she had expectations ("I want to go to college and law school."). I taught 8th grade for 15 years; I believe Middle school is the last chance for kids to develop strong skills and intellectual curiosity not only for the challenges of high school, but also for life. If they can't find success, if they don't "belong," if they don't have aspirations for the future, they can easily fall through the cracks in another school, and never go on to earn that high school diploma. What are the job prospects for a young adult who has no diploma? UCAP's remarkable teachers and staff pull them up and give kids that second chance. UCAP provides them a future.