PROJECT CATCH-UP: AN EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM FOR SOCIALLY
DISADVANTAGED THIRTEEN AND FOURTEEN YEAR OLDS
EVELYN
P.
MASON
Western
Washington
Shte
College
“It
is a fact
of
life, a fact that scientists, educators and ordinary citizens now
are comprehending more than ever before that the American public school system is,
almost by definition, an agency of discrimination [Powledge,
1967,
p.
71.’’
It
per-
petuates, rather than helps to change the status quo (Deutsch,
1963).
For example,
in one school district in Northwest Washington State
27%
of the primary school
population
is
from American Indian ethnic background. Until recently it was
a
rare occasion for one of these young people to complete high school and even now
only
3
or
4%
manage
to
do
so.
This same circumstance is
fast
becoming character-
istic of the growing Mexican-American population. Recognition of the essentially
hopeless outlook these young people face was the stimulus for the initiation
of
Project Catch-Up,’ an educational program for area representative culturally dis-
advantaged junior high students.
During the summers of
1966
and
1967
one hundred
13
and
14
year old students
from American Indian, Mexican and Caucasian2 backgrounds were enrolled in
a
6-week residence program of academic remediation and acceleration and general cul-
tural enrichment. The primary intent of the Project has been to demonstrate the
effectiveness
of
able public school personnel in effecting a decrease in the expected
high school dropout rate for those participating in the program, but secondarily to
develop curricular innovations which would generalize to other public school situa-
tions. The unique aspects of the program have been the focus on the junior high
age level which
is
different from most nationally funded Upward Bound programs
designed for the student who is about to graduate from high school and the high
percentage of participants from American Indian backgrounds.
A
detailed report
of the progress made during the first summer has been reported (Mason,
1968).
This
is
a summary of the
1967
summer program and the follow-up evaluation of the
1966
and
1967
participant groups.
METHOD
Participants
A similar selection procedure waa followed for the
1967
participant group. From the
200
nomina-
tions from junior high schools,
100
students were selected who best met the criteria of teacher judg-
ment
of
good academic potential, achievement below expected ability, evidence of socio-economic
deprivation and absence
of
serious emotional difficulties.
Of
those selected,
50
were randomly assigned
to
the participant group and
50
to
a
control group. Of the participant group,
47
completed the pro-
gram. One Indian
boy
just went home to the reservation; one Caucasian girl w&~ withdrawn after
two weeks because of parental concern about her friendship with
a
Mexican boy, and one Mexican
girl was asked to leave the program because of serious psychiatric problems with
a
referral made to
a
local mental health clinic. Those completing the program included
21
American Indians,
9
Mexican-
Americans and
17
Caucasians.
sw7
Again, with the exception
of
the Project Director who is
a
member
of
the Psychology Department
at Western Washington State College, all staff members were drawn from local school districts
or
able
college students. In addition to the Director and Co-Director a number of the
1966
staff
returned
including two art instructors, one language arts instructor, three counselors and two junior counselors.
The new staff was drawn from different schools in the area in an attempt to further extend the effects
1Project Catch-Vp was financed from June,
1966
to July,
1968
in the main by
a
(100,000
grant
‘Caucasian
as
it is used in this context refers to, those students who could not be identified with
from the Rockefeller Foundation and in part by Western Washington State College.
either the disadvantaged American-Indian
or
Mexican-American groups.
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