Mission
The Boulé Scholars Program is a comprehensive effort that embraces the power of expectations and recognition to encourage students to realize that if they apply themselves they can achieve excellence. The hope is that this program will touch more students than just those in our program. Our goal is to engage students, cultivate their interests, ensure that their reading skills are at least at grade level and celebrate their success with appropriately scaled awards and scholarships.
Vision
The objectives of the Boulé Scholars Program are threefold:[/vc_column_text][mk_custom_list icon_color=”#3e85b7″ margin_bottom=”30″ align=”none”]
- To inspire Black boys and young men to enjoy education, to realize that they can excel academically,
- To raise their educational performance expectations and
- To heighten their ambitions.
Over time, we expect the Boulé Scholars Program to increase graduation rates – from elementary school, middle/junior high school, senior high school, college and graduate programs. If we are successful, we believe that a new pool of talent will be available that would otherwise be wasted.The goal of the scholars program is to promote, encourage and recognize academic achievement and a commitment to academic excellence among Black males. That goal is best achieved through personal engagement with youth through mentorship, counseling, progress reinforcement and other measures that cultivate personal development, self‐confidence, good character and the joy and satisfaction of acquiring knowledge.[/mk_custom_list][mk_divider style=”thin_solid” divider_width=”full_width” custom_width=”10″ align=”center” thickness=”1″ margin_top=”20″ margin_bottom=”20″][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”0″]
Target Population
The BSP will focus on the Senior Boulé Scholar, High Schoolers between the ages of 15 to 17 (grades 10-12). We aim to recruit between 25-30 College Level Boulé Scholars from among Senior Scholars in the final year of high school. Generally, the number of Scholars will be recruited through existing programs although we welcome Archons and Archousai to nominate students who are not participants in existing programs. Emphasis will be placed on recruiting students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.The BSP will feature Affinity Groups comprised of Archons and Archousai who will provide support and mentorship to program Scholars. All Affinity Groups will be responsible for developing, planning, and implementing a robust program experience for its participants.The educational component of the program aims to expose participants to knowledge and careers in wealth acquisition, finance, and financial literacy through 22 45-minute lessons. These lessons range from common financial terminology and responsibility to why credit matters and money management. The program will be offered on a weekly basis starting in January 2014.[/vc_column_text][mk_divider style=”thin_solid” divider_width=”full_width” custom_width=”10″ align=”center” thickness=”1″ margin_top=”20″ margin_bottom=”20″][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”0″]
Financial Literacy and Wealth Acquisition Emphasis
The principal goal of the Financial Literacy and Wealth Acquisition emphasis area is to cultivate and celebrate excellence among Black males.Scholars are expected to participate in knowledge development and other activities related to personal and business finance, business development, economics and entrepreneurship. Through 22 45-minute lessons, Scholars will learn about common financial terminology and responsibility, why credit matters, saving, investment, money management, business organization, competitive markets and public policy as it relates to the domestic and global economies. Their progress in acquiring and using knowledge in this field will be measured and evaluated with a view toward maximizing their overall academic performance and whetting their appetite for high achievement.[/vc_column_text][mk_divider style=”thin_solid” divider_width=”full_width” custom_width=”10″ align=”center” thickness=”1″ margin_top=”20″ margin_bottom=”20″][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”0″]
Curriculum
The Boulé Scholars Program is powered by a dynamic new literacy curriculum by Practical Money Skills for 9-12 graders that features engaging design, student-centered activities, research projects, discussion points, and tools and resources–all designed to engage students in learning the personal finance skills they need to succeed in life after high school. The 22 lesson plans will empower young men to become financially literate while equipping them with the set of skills and knowledge necessary in making informed and strategic decisions with their financial resources. Covering everything from matters of credit, money and budgeting, staying out of debt by making money with money, and more, the BSP curriculum offers a robust journey to achieving financial literacy.To access the curriculum on Practical Money Skills for Life, use this link which will direct you to Lessons for Grades 9-12. There you will find Teacher and Student lessons that are free and easy to download.[/vc_column_text][mk_divider style=”thin_solid” divider_width=”full_width” custom_width=”10″ align=”center” thickness=”1″ margin_top=”20″ margin_bottom=”20″][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”0″]
BSP Selection Criteria
The selection of participants will be based upon an evaluation of their school leadership, community leadership and grade point average (minimum 2.5 on a 4.0 scale). We recognize that the national minimum GPA is 3.3 for scholarships and other related programs, however, Beta Upsilon will use a 2.5 GPA minimum to address the local needs of its community.[/vc_column_text][mk_custom_list icon_color=”#3e85b7″ margin_bottom=”30″ align=”none”]
