Lynn kids to get early feel for college

LYNN – Three dozen Lynn middle school students next week will get a chance to experience college and learn leadership skills as part of a unique collaboration between the North Shore Education Consortium, Endicott College and the Lynn Public Schools.The students will participate in the Learning and Leadership Lynn Pilot Program from July 12-30, staying in Endicott’s Brindle Hall as they devote 75 hours to learning, interactive activities and project-based collaborative study. They will learn more about science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) in the college’s classrooms, science labs and the Halle Library, in addition to other buildings on the campus.”I think it is an extremely exciting program,” Superintendent of Schools Catherine Latham said. “We are really fortunate to have been able to get this through. It gives our students a chance to experience college, to be educated in the STEM subjects and to experience top-level science labs and science experiments as well as recreational programs. The facility at Endicott is just absolutely beautiful. It is a beautiful setting with an excellent educational opportunity for our kids.”Andrea Lapey, director of external grants for the Lynn Schools, said the other 18 communities in the NEC did not think they would be able to raise the funds to send their students and it was Latham’s initiative that spurred the board to vote in favor of the Lynn Public Schools Program for the pilot year.”This is a perfect example of providing resources for students who wouldn’t have had them any other way,” Lapey said. “These kids really had never had it occur to them that they are leadership material, but they are and this program is going to create our future leaders in Lynn. They’re little stars, each one of them.”Not only will students have access to Endicott’s state-of-the-art facilities, but they will also be able to go to the beach to learn about the environment and complete specialized projects, such as extracting DNA from a strawberry.”These kids don’t know how lucky they are, but they will when they arrive on the campus,” Lapey said. “They will be very happy. It’s not just academics, there is a recreation component and there is leadership training.”Gordon College will aide in developing the students’ leadership skills so they may remain positive role models as they enter into high school. Other goals of the program include enhancing the development of creative and critical thinking skills in both STEM subjects and the visual and performing arts, increasing student engagement in life-long learning and offering the opportunity to all students who qualified for the program regardless of their ability to pay.Latham said each of the students will be attending the program free of charge and will be provided with the items necessary for dorm life. These items include a large canvas duffel bag with the program logo and the child’s name embroidered on it, bedding, sheets, towels, pillowcases and T-shirts with the program logo. They will also receive a “gull card,” the same card college students use with a “charge” of $5 on it.”The card is for printouts in the library, vending machines and they also have their meals charged to the card,” Lapey said. “Each time they go to the café, a meal is debited from the card. It teaches them money management skills.”Endicott librarians will work with the students to develop “lifelong learning skills.” Each child is required to arrive on campus with a public library card, which works at the college, as well as at the Lynn Public Library and other NOBLENET libraries on the North Shore. Funds for the program have been provided through Title I and other sponsors.”We have had some funding from Eastern Bank, Essex County Community Foundation, the Lynn Business Educational Foundation is sponsoring a student and the Lynn Teachers Union is going to provide some funds,” Lapey said. “It’s not just the physical location. It’s the partnership and the contributions from pe