Century High School Physics teacher Joe Bookataub helps a student with an assignment.

The UCI Libraries’ SPIRIT (School Partnerships in Research and Information Technology) Program has received a $10,000 grant from Wells Fargo to help fund it’s ongoing activities with local junior high and high schools.

Since 2002, the SPIRIT Program has reached over 4,000 junior high and high school students by providing a one-day UCI campus visit to participating classes for hands-on, interactive training using effective research skills. The program works with local school teachers and librarians to teach students library and information literacy skills that are essential for lifelong learning and academic success at the college or university level. The day also includes lunch in a student residential dining hall, introducing high school and junior high school students to the social environments of the university. After lunch, students either then take a campus tour led by UCI undergraduates or participate in an associated learning activity led by a UCI faculty member or graduate students.

The Wells Fargo grant recognizes the accomplishments of the SPIRIT Program and the unique approach to education taken by local junior high and high school teachers, UCI Libraries’ staff along with UCI faculty and graduate students. The money will be used to fund renting buses, and buying lunches, and educational materials that make the visits possible for students from the most needy schools. The grant ensures that SPIRIT will be able to continue meeting its goal of enhancing the academic performance and university readiness of junior high and high school students from our most economically disadvantaged schools.