*BELOW BLOG WAS WRITEN BY SOMEONE ELSE FROM LSUS
LaPREP (Louisiana Preparatory Program) just recently completed its twenty-sixth annual summer session on the campus of LSU Shreveport. Fifty-two students attended the summer program, 29 as beginning first-year participants and 23 as continuing second-year participants. The goal of LaPREP is to identify, encourage, and instruct competent middle and early high school students, with special attention to include women and minority students, who, as a result of the program, will successfully complete a college program preferably in math, science, or engineering. Many of LaPREP’s participants have been and will be first-generation college-bound students. LaPREP charges no fees or tuition of any kind, and the program provides lunches and transportation via SporTran bus passes. The objective of LaPREP includes the development of abstract reasoning, problem solving, and writing skills. The academic components include Logic, Engineering, Probability and Statistics, Algebraic Structures, Problem Solving, Technical Writing, Robotics, and Leadership Skills. Participants hear from engineers, scientists, and mathematicians, including many minority professionals, who discuss career opportunities and their educational requirements. Other aspects include college and career awareness, a study skills seminar, and field trips to local businesses and industries. To date, more than 750 young people from the Shreveport/Bossier area have participated in LaPREP. Every LaPREP graduate is eligible to receive a LaPREP scholarship to LSU Shreveport as an entering freshman in the amount of $500 a semester. This four-year award is in addition to any level of TOPS award that the student receives from the state of Louisiana. The Shreveport City Council has twice awarded LaPREP for its contribution to math and science to the youth in Shreveport. The Mathematical Association of America gave LaPREP an award for its contribution to mathematics in the state of Louisiana. LaPREP has also received awards from the Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, and the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Foundation. The program has been featured on C-SPAN and has been the subject of a documentary film that aired nationally on the ABC network. In addition, evaluations contributed by the participants, their parents, and local and state officials who have visited LaPREP have been very high. It should be noted that the LaPREP director has also received many prestigious local, regional, and national awards for quality teaching, public service, and his work with LaPREP. In 2007 in Washington, D.C., Dr. Carlos Spaht was awarded United States Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation and CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education). Other awards bestowed upon Dr. Spaht include the Louisiana Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation; The Louisiana/Mississippi Distinguished University Teaching Award in Mathematics in Recognition of Extraordinarily Successful Teaching by the Mathematical Association of America; The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Award (which is the highest national award given for public service); and The Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring by the National Science Foundation and the President of the United States.
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