PEP Program

Created by local high school faculty, the PEP (Personal Effort for Progress) Program was a four-year academic enrichment program that operated as a regularly scheduled class. The program targeted low income students and students of color who came to the school as mid-level achievers. It sought to help students redefine themselves as college bound (i.e., to change their identities) and to support their engagement in challenging academic activities. The program was successful in raising students' grade point averages (in the context of taking academically challenging courses) and getting students into college.

Davidson (1996) identified three key features of the program. First, the program communicated in multiple ways the expectation that all PEP students would engage in challenging academic work and attend college. The PEP classroom was decorated with college insignias and information, and college counseling was part of the curriculum. Moreover, students were required to enroll in at least one advanced course.

Second, the PEP curriculum supported students' academic development and communicated that people of color have played a significant role in the intellectual life of America. Over four years students worked their way through an increasingly difficult writing curriculum that was centered around ten common writing techniques. Students began the study of each technique by reading model passages, many by writers of color. Following analysis of a technique, students used the technique in their own essays. Students receiving less than a C on an essay had to revise their work with the help of a tutor until they earned an A or B.

Third, collaboration was a norm of the program, with older students helping younger students, and graduates of the program serving as tutors. Thus, younger students could see the effects of the program on older students and graduates.

Relevant CIP Cultural Question

3.5.2 Cultural Identities