Aldo Mendoza works on his project during Salsa09.

Nearly 40 Latino students from Cedar Shoals and Clarke Central high schools in Athens will make presentations Thursday, June 18 in an event culminating the four-week Summer Academy for Language, Science, and Aspirations hosted by the Center for Latino Achievement and Success in Education (CLASE).

The rising 9th and 10th graders have been focusing on applied science and academic English development, as well as learning about colleges and how to prepare for college. The program is based on the highly successful CLASE Steps to College program implemented with great success in Gwinnett County over the past few years.

Students participate in classes and workshops at the College of Education on the UGA campus four days a week from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., and take a variety of field trips on and off campus. Classes involve morning reading and lecture, academic English development, afternoon laboratories and project-based technology and language support.

L-R: Eder Villegas, Ana Sherer, and Raul Padilla listen to instructions on how to collect macroinvertebrates from a Clarke County water quality researcher at Dudley Park in Clarke County.

The theme of their academic work has been “Water is Life,” a science-based curriculum focusing on the engineering, ecological, social and political issues involved in water management and conservation.

The field trips have focused on local water and sewage treatment plants, streams, lakes and aquaculture. Other field trips included visits to various UGA units, Georgia Gwinnett College, Gainesville State College and others.

A combination of UGA faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, and Clarke County School teachers served as instructors. The program is directed by Paula Mellom, an associate research scientist with CLASE.

Participant costs are covered by CLASE, through a grant from the UGA Office of the Vice President for Public Service & Outreach, and by the Clarke County School District English For Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and Migrant Education.

The student presentations and graduation ceremony will be held 9 a.m.-noon on Thursday, June 18th in Room 170 of the Miller Learning Center on the UGA campus.

For more information, visit:www.coe.uga.edu/clase/

© 2006 University of Georgia