U.S. Department of Education awards Daytona State $1.4 million for Upward Bound program with Mainland High School

Program will help underserved and first generation 9-12th graders transition to college.

DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. (October 13, 2022) – Daytona State College has received $1.4 million to launch an Upward Bound program with Mainland High School that will help underserved and first-generation 9th through 12th graders transition from high school to college.

The program will support up to 60 Mainland High School students annually. Activities will take place during the school year and a special Summer Academy. The Academy includes a residential experience in the recently opened Student Residence Hall on the Daytona Beach Campus.

“Upward Bound was created specifically to give support and experiences to high school students with a variety of disadvantaged situations such as homelessness, low income, disabilities, and those in families who have never been able to attend college,” said Tom LoBasso, President of Daytona State College. “Our mission is to give everyone the opportunity to get an education and better themselves and their future. Upward Bound does exactly that.”

The program begins this Fall and runs for five years. Students will be selected based on an application process to determine eligibility. Students participating in the program will benefit from a range of services, including classroom instruction, ACT preparation, career research, academic and career planning, tutoring, financial aid advising, and cultural enrichment and events designed to develop self-esteem and self-awareness. Students who meet participant requirements can receive a monthly stipend and will experience life on the college campus during the Summer Academy. 

“We’re excited to be working with Daytona State to provide students from our underserved communities with an opportunity to experience college life in ways they might not otherwise be able to do,” said Mainland High Principal Joseph Castelli. “Our students are excited, motivated and willing to learn, and the Upward Bound program greatly increases their chances to succeed in college and beyond.”

Upward Bound provides instruction in math, laboratory science, composition, literature and foreign language. It was the first of three federal grants created in the 1960s focused on educational opportunities for disadvantaged students. Talent Search focuses on students in 6th through 12th grade and Student Support Services assists students already in college. The programs are now subsets of the overall federal TRiO program and Daytona State manages efforts with all three programs. 

The DSC Upward Bound program is funded by the Department of Education (90% at $1,437,685) and Daytona State College (10% at $154,435).

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Offering more than 100 certificate, associate and bachelor’s degree programs, Daytona State College is the leader in education and workforce training needs of Volusia and Flagler counties and beyond for more than 60 years. The College enrolls approximately 25,000 students a year at its seven campuses, with graduates serving in critical fields including healthcare, emergency services and public safety, business, education, hospitality, engineering, technology, digital media, and more.

Daytona State has been recognized as a leader in higher education numerous times, consistently by U.S. News & World Report, which ranks the College among the Top Tier Best Online Bachelor’s Programs. The U.S. Department of Education’s College Affordability and Transparency Center has ranked DSC among the top 50 most affordable public four-year institutions in the country, with less than half the tuition of the national average. Community College Week, a leading publication in higher education, annually continues to feature the college in its list of Top 100 Associate Degree Producers. And U.S. News & World Report has ranked DSC among its Top Online Bachelor’s Programs for Veterans multiple times.