here - Education Management Corporation

Sarasota
PARTNERING FOR EDUCational SUCCESS
Argosy University, Sarasota is taking its educational expertise from the university campus to the high school campus
in a partnership developed with Sarasota’s Booker High School, by donating time, talent and needed funding to help
advance education for high school students.
Booker High School meets the learning needs of a diverse student population with programs that include college
preparatory, advanced placement, honors, vocational, Tech Prep and School to Work.
Argosy University, Sarasota partners with Booker High School in the College For Every Student (CFES) program,
which creates and strengthens partnerships between schools and colleges that help underserved youth gain access to
and succeed in college. College of Education professors Dr. George Mims and Dr. Ronald Kar, together with Mark
Swinnerton of the campus’ Admissions Department, volunteer at the school’s Career Resource Center, listening to
students’ educational and professional goals and offering support and guidance to help put those goals in reach. They
help the students with their resume writing, college applications and entrance essays.
In addition to donating time, Argosy University, Sarasota is providing needed financial resources. The campus presented Booker High
School with a $2,000 grant to support SAT and ACT preparation programs in 2010. In addition, applicants to the University were given
the opportunity to support the local school by donating $25 to support educational programs at Booker in lieu of paying Argosy’s standard
application fee. The funds raised have allowed Booker’s principal, Constance White-Davis, to bring in an ACT/SAT preparation specialist
to help teachers incorporate specific test-taking skills into their regular classroom instruction and to provide direct training to over 400
students in two large-group sessions.
While Argosy University, Sarasota employees can regularly be seen in the halls of Booker High School, it’s not unusual to see high school
students and teachers on the Argosy campus. “This partnership allows students the opportunity to interact with a post-secondary school,”
said Argosy University, Sarasota President Sandra Wise. “It helps to keep college and college preparation front of mind and within reach
for all of them.” Dr. Mims agreed. “Through this partnership, we are able to support both students and educators,” he said.
In the summer of 2010, Argosy donated $1,000 to Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity as partial sponsorships to send three Booker High School
students, along with 75 other high school juniors and seniors, on a 15-stop tour of historically black colleges and universities (HBCU).
This marked the 25th year that Dr. Mims has led the tour.
The fruits of Argosy University, Sarasota and Booker High School’s labor can be seen in the school’s state school ranking from 2010,
where Booker went from a “D” rated school to an “A” rated school. “The rise in ACT and SAT scores as a result of the partnership with
Argosy University has helped contribute to our success,” said Booker High School Principal Constance White-Davis. “It’s an honor to
partner with a university of Argosy’s stature.”