NORWALK, CT - Students in Norwalk Community College’s Connecticut Collegiate Awareness and Preparation (ConnCAP) program have a lot to celebrate.
All 15 students who graduated from high school in June 2011 have entered college, and in recognition of the program’s impact, prominent donors have stepped forward to provide needed funding.
ConnCAP provides academic support and life planning for students who aspire to be first in their families to earn a college degree.
From 9 to 10 a.m. Saturday, December 3, parents and students will gather in the NCC East Campus PepsiCo Theater to thank Dick Whitcomb of the Richard and Barbara Whitcomb Foundation, Ray Hodil of The Community Fund of Darien, and Deputy Police Chief Thomas Kulhawik of the Norwalk Police Activities League.
Also there to celebrate the program’s success will be NCC’s President David L. Levinson, Ph.D., Norwalk Superintendent of Schools Susan Marks, Ph.D., Norwalk Education Foundation Executive Director Lauren Rosato, Senator Bob Duff and State Representatives Terri Wood (Darien) and Bruce Morris (Norwalk).
Students enter the ConnCAP program after 8th grade and remain until they graduate from high school. Comprised of both a 6-week summer program and a Saturday program during the school year, ConnCAP includes enrichment classes, tutoring, homework help, test prep, college trips and, for juniors and seniors, college-level courses, all held on the NCC campus.
Two-thirds of the June 2011 graduates saw their high school grades go up significantly while in the program. In summer 2010, 59% of ConnCAP students who were tested were placed in college level math vs. 28% of all entering NCC freshmen. One parent of a graduate notes, “With the help of the ConnCAP family, I'm proud to say that she (my daughter) is now a very confident young lady who knows that in order for her to make her dreams come true it takes hard work, dedication, respecting others, and education.”
NCC’s ConnCAP program serves more than 50 income-eligible high school students from Norwalk.
