Mulberry Middle School gets its students thinking about college

MULBERRY — Annaka Brace always liked science, but she didn't want to go to college.

It didn't interest Annaka, a 12-year-old seventh-grader at Mulberry Middle. She thought she would become a cosmetologist instead.

But a visit to the University of South Florida through the College for Every Student program put her on a new track to becoming a chemist.

"I realized that going to college may open up more opportunities for me," she said.

That's the goal for the program that is in its fifth year at Mulberry Middle, which received a School of Distinction recognition this week from the College for Every Student nonprofit organization.

Mulberry Middle is one of 33 schools in the United States and Ireland to receive the honor. And it's the fourth time it has been recognized.

The organization is partnered with programs in 200 K-12 schools in 30 states and Ireland. The programs are aimed at exposing students to college who are from low socioeconomic families or who would be the first generation in their families to go to college.

The organization also is partnered with about 200 colleges that waive application fees and offer scholarships to students involved in College for Every Student programs.

"Students are told they need to go to college, but then they get there and there's no funding available to them," Principal Cynthia Cangelose said. "This opens up a lot of opportunities for them."

Schools are recognized for fulfilling criteria in three core practices: mentoring, leadership through service and pathways to college and career.

There are 75 students enrolled in an elective class and they have lunch meetings with about 35 other students who are in the program, but couldn't fit it into their class schedules.

They also meet with mentors from Mulberry High, which also has the College for Every Student program, and students from colleges including Florida Southern College.

Each year, the middle-schoolers participate in service projects from the planning and implementation phases, to a reflection phase where they figure out what was successful and what they could've done better.

They've conducted canned food drives and posted inspirational quotes throughout their school during testing time to keep their peers motivated. They've also participated in Relay for Life and created "college knowledge" cards they distributed to students from other schools.

Mulberry Middle and Mulberry High are the only schools in the Polk County School District with the College for Every Student Program.

Kelly Larrow, who teaches gifted students at Mulberry Middle and leads the college program, suspects the Mulberry schools were selected for the program because of its strong feeder pattern.

One of three in state

Mulberry Middle is one of three schools in the state to be recognized as exemplary. Booker High in Sarasota and Largo Middle were also honored.

"These Florida schools are global models," CFES president and CEO Rick Dalton said in a statement. "They are successfully creating a culture of college and career readiness, and are helping their students develop the essential skills they need to succeed in the 21st century workforce."

The third component to the program, in addition to mentoring and service projects, is exposure to colleges and careers.

The students visit at least two colleges a year, and a student who is in the program for three years is expected to have visited colleges of different sizes and demographics.

They participate in the University of South Florida's Engineering Expo and the University of Florida's Junior Science, Engineering and Humanities Symposium, among other visits to colleges including Rollins College and local schools such as Florida Polytechnic University and Florida Southern College.

"They get to view dorms and on-campus eateries, and learn that they get to pick their own class schedules," Larrow said.

"It blows their minds when they realize they can pick the times of their classes and don't have to go to class until noon if they don't want to," Cangelose added. "The exposure gets them excited about going to college and having this own little world."

Larrow told of a college visit during which a migrant student asked multiple times whether the bed and mattress came with the dorm room.

Larrow recalled asking the student why he was so concerned about it.

"He said he's never had a bed to sleep on," Larrow said. "If a kid gets excited about college because there's a bed to sleep on, I'm glad I was able to expose him to that and show him this opportunity."

Mulberry Middle expects to have 30 or 40 migrant students to enroll in the school in October, when their families return from out of state based on the crop season. Some of those students will be integrated into the program.

Students who entered the program with different mindsets all share something in common: They've upped their goals.

Daniel Omundson, 12, a seventh-grader in the program for his second year, didn't want to go to college until he started researching Florida State University for a project he did as part of the program comparing two universities.

He said he's always liked FSU football, but didn't think about going to college there until he realized he wants to study sociology and stay in Florida.

Sydney Wingate, 12, also a seventh-grader in her second year, said she knew she wanted to go to college, but didn't have an idea of what she'd like to study until she had the opportunity to meet with a nursing student during a visit to the University of South Florida.

And Ashton Bowling, 13, an eighth-grader who has been in the program all three years, knew he wanted to go to college, but planned on only getting a bachelor's degree until he realized he could push himself to get into a collegiate high school program that will allow him to earn college credits and put him a faster track to earning a master's degree one day.

"(The program) made me really think about what opportunities are out there for me," Bowling said.

Funding needed

The program needs money, though.

It was funded through a grant the first three years, Cangelose said, but struggled last year to get the funds it needed to run sufficiently.

This year, the College for Every Student organization has offered to match the funds the school is able to raise for its program.

"Five thousand dollars lets it be an awesome program," Larrow said. "We really need the money for charter buses for college trips and tours."

Cangelose added the school is "not just looking for someone to come in and drop money.

"FedEx comes in once a week and teaches the kids robotics and code writing, and what it's like to be an employee," she said. "The community gives so much to us, we want to give back to the community. We want the students to have that exposure because we want to supply the community with good employees.

"The students are getting quality experiences in this program."

Madison Fantozzi can be reached at madison.fantozzi@theledger.com or 863-401-6971. Follow her on Twitter @madisonfantozzi.