ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell University educators are introducing 12 local fifth-grade students (six from Beverly J. Martin and six from Enfield elementary schools) to a world where games are serious and math, science and technology are fun. As part of the Ithaca Youth Bureau's three-week College Discovery Program, the students performed chemistry and physics experiments arranged by the Cornell Center for Materials Research (CCMR) and explored virtual computer worlds in classes at the Cornell Theory Center (CTC).

The College Discovery Program, launched this year, is a long-term, intensive mentoring program designed to reduce school achievement gaps and increase access to a college education for Ithaca-area low-income and minority students -- two groups that have historical patterns of underachievement. Students selected for the program are those seen as having the potential to go to college but facing obstacles to that goal. They are nominated for the program by their teachers.

"Our goal is to follow these students through middle school and high school all the way to college," said Kim Olsen, who coordinates the program for the Youth Bureau. "We hope to get additional funding and expand to more students next year, but in any case we intend to keep our commitment to this group." 

Students first spent a week conducting experiments that ranged from making a plastic clay similar to Silly Putty to learn about polymerization to setting things on fire to understand the physics of combustion. The second week included camping and visiting the zoo, aimed more at developing the social interaction of the group than at teaching science. In the third week, the students explored virtual worlds in CTC's SciCentr/SciFair program. Virtual worlds are Internet sites through which visitors can move in three dimensions, either by using the computer screen as a window to view their surroundings or by inserting symbols called avatars that can move through the world, interacting with other visitors. CTC has created a virtual science museum in this setting. 

The fifth-graders spent time in virtual worlds created by their counselors, Isaac Robinovitz '05 and Rhea Chakraborty '07. They were given virtual houses they could decorate for themselves, scanning the campus for real-life examples of tessellations (mosaic patterns created by sunlight in spaces like Sage Chapel and the Beck Center atrium) and using digital images of the tessellations they found as decorations. 

"The College Discovery Program has all the hallmarks of a program that can make a real difference in a young person's life," said Gary Stewart, assistant director of community relations for Cornell. "The statistics documenting the need for this initiative are sobering, and it will take highly coordinated, collaborative efforts to affect positive change. Cornell is pleased to be part of a team to meet that end."

Statistics from the New York State Education Department for the Ithaca High School Class of 2002 show that while 87 percent of Ithaca High School students who were not economically disadvantaged graduated on time, only 49 percent of students eligible for free or reduced lunch did the same. While the overall graduation rate was 84 percent, only 54 percent of African-American students graduated on time. African-American and Latino students are underrepresented in honors and advanced placement classes at Ithaca High School (12.9 percent) compared with white students (52.1 percent).

The College Discovery Program will focus on both the academic and social needs of youth and create a culture of achievement for students in grades five through eight. In addition, the program will work to eliminate barriers that exist in the school setting, improve the school climate for all students, and train parents and caregivers to effectively advocate for their children.

The program is funded by the Ithaca Youth Bureau. Cornell's participation is supported by outreach funds from CCMR and CTC.