This is the sixth year that ELL students from Jupiter Middle have had the opportunity to visit the PBSC Palm Beach Gardens campus. The purpose of the tour is to allow students to visit colleges they may consider attending, while also offering them insight into potential career paths.
“This was the first exposure to higher education for many of the youth,” said Revetta Lowe, the Assistant Principal at Jupiter Middle. “This experience solidified the possibility to attend college in a safe and supportive environment and reaffirmed the reality of achieving success by seeing and interacting with bilingual staff.”
The visit included an Interactive STEM activity in a biotechnology program in which the students carried out a laboratory experiment to extract DNA from a fruit, with the help of a professor. Another group of students worked with an engineering professor to learn how to make scale models of car engine parts.
“Not only did the students have fun doing the activity, but they were also learning at the same time,” said Julio Vega Ortiz, the ESOL School Counselor at Jupiter Middle. “This unique opportunity allows eighth grade ELL students to be exposed to the scenarios and real experiences of a university student.”
Following the educational activities, the students continued on a tour of the whole campus, then to a conference room where they participated in a trivia game about Spanish language and culture, led by Dr. Emmanuel Alvarado, a professor of Spanish at PBSC.
“Our hope is that through this experience, students can develop and improve on those subjects that are necessary to be able to do dual enrollment and perhaps start university at an early age,” Vega Ortiz said. “This provides motivation toward a world of great opportunities for our ELL students.”
