Barbara Worth takes a trip to UCLA

From Article: College Pathways a guiding light for Barbara Worth Junior High in Brawley

BRAWLEY — Some 600 Barbara Worth Junior High students are gearing up for their third annual trip to a major California university as part of the school’s College/Career Pathways Program.

The group, which consists of Gifted and Talented Education program students, honor students and students in the College/Career Pathway elective course, is fundraising to meet its goal of $20,000 in order to bus the students to University of California, Los Angeles “to experience visiting the university and promote going to college,” Barbara Worth Principal Luis Panduro said.

“We do a lot of fundraisers throughout the school year. We just had a spaghetti fundraiser in February and we’ve got a big spring carnival coming up on Holy Thursday. All proceeds go to this trip. The whole year leads up to it,” Panduro said.

The College/Career Pathways Program is geared toward students who are a year behind grade-level standards. The program provides academic support to the students, mainly in mathematics or English/language arts.

Not only are students strengthening their academic skills but also exploring careers and obtaining college-oriented information, such as requirements for the California State University, University of California and independent university systems, Graciela Gonzalez-Duran, the Barbara Worth Junior High counselor in charge of the program, said.

The program is brand new. “We drew up the plans in December and put them into effect this last January,” Panduro said. “Right now we only have the renewable energies pathway, but very soon we are going to include a robotics class.”

The renewable energies pathway educates students to learn about green technologies at an early age.

“By the time they are seniors they are certified and able to install and maintain these technologies,” Panduro said.

The same is in the works for robotics, where the goal is to help students get certified in computer animation design.

The trip to UCLA will fill 10 charter buses and will consist of three administrators, 28 teachers and 30 parents to chaperone the 600 students.