Bounders Build Bridges to College

Published on Sat, Jul 5, 2014 (6:15 p.m.)

Submitted by Dawson College Bound

Dawson College Bounders -- high-achieving, diverse middle schoolers from public and private schools throughout Southern Nevada -- will be wrapping up four weeks of intensive summer learning at an open house and closing ceremony on Friday, July 11. An expected audience of 400 family members will be visiting the classrooms, labs, and studios in which Bounders have worked during their summer "vacation," engaging in courses such as Engineering Explorations, Debate, The Actor's Studio, Advanced Genetics, 3D Animation, Cities 2100, and Bienvenue en France. UNLV Honors College dean, Dr. Marta Meana, will address Bounders and their families following the open house, after which time Bounders will be awarded medals and letterman's letters.

Funded with more than a half-million dollars annually by the G.B. Henderson Foundation, Dawson College Bound currently assists 160 local youth in building a bridge to acceptance at elite colleges. There is no charge to Bounders to participate. Bounders represent schools including Bridger, Knudson, Hyde Park, Coral Academy, Tarkanian, Cadwallader, Las Vegas Day School, Agassi, Rogich, Escobedo, Faiss, Omar Haikal, Doral Academy, Cashman, Connections Academy, Mack Lyon, Sylvestri and many more -- over 40 local institutions. The number of Bounders served will continue to grow as new cadres of students are added each year.

Bounders participate each June and July in a Summer Summit -- a progressive mix of core and elective classes, peppered with camp-style summer fun including water days. Core coursework includes book club, graphing calculator mathematics, blogging, and teambuilding. Bounders also engage in high school prep, SAT prep, and social survival skills experiences to prepare them for the critical non-academic aspects of succeeding in high school.

Hosted annually at the Alexander Dawson School at Rainbow Mountain, the Summer Summit is followed by a year of academic and social gatherings structured to build on the foundations put in place this summer. Bounder graduates will also be provided assistance in applying to elite private, magnet and boarding schools as a first step towards reaching their ultimate college goals, with the first cadre of graduates submitting their applications this fall.