Sixth Grade

The PEAK Program sponsors sixth grade early college awareness activities that reach more than 400 students in all three Newark City School middle school buildings. Outreach at this grade level focuses on expanding college knowledge and exploring career interests. The two main activities are:

Kids2College. Every sixth grader is introduced to basic college vocabulary, what it takes to be college-ready and what types of careers are associated with what types of educational levels. These concepts are introduced through the Kids2College program, a national 6-lesson plan curriculum made available by the philanthropic arm of Sallie Mae.

Campus Visit. The capstone activity of the Kids2College curriculum is an actual campus visit. Every 6th grader will be given the opportunity to tour campus, hear an admissions presentation and eat lunch in the dining hall at one of eight local universities: Central Ohio Technical College, Capital University, Denison University, Mount Vernon Nazarene University, Ohio Dominican University, The Ohio State University at Newark, Otterbein University and Kenyon College.

Since 1992 The Sallie Mae Fund has provided college access programs and school systems materials for the Kids2College program free of charge. A Call to College received a $1,000 implementation grant from the organization to reproduce the curriculum in workbook form for every 6th grader, in addition to a $22,500 Great Lakes College Access Investment grant through the Ohio College Access Network to expand staffing and cover campus visit costs for the first year of the outreach.