Texas State professor awarded Caminos camp contract by Austin ISD

Posted by Jayme Blaschke
University News Service
May 19, 2014

The Austin Independent School District (AISD) has awarded Omar S. López, assistant professor in the Department of Occupational, Workforce and Leadership Studies at Texas State University, a contract to run the Caminos – Pathway to Success summer youth program for Lanier High School students.

The Caminos camp will run June 9 through July 11.

Caminos is a five-week summer program designed to strengthen the academic success of 10th-grade transitioning students toward the goal of preparing them for a college preparatory curriculum in fall 2014. The first two weeks of the program are at Lanier High School in central Austin, and the last three weeks will be on campus at Texas State in San Marcos. The $178,000 contract covers room and board while students are on campus.

Caminos students will learn leadership skills and complete academics in core subject areas relevant to college readiness, as well as engage in experiential learning activities through field trips to museums, scientific and cultural centers. Caminos students will also have the opportunity to prepare for and retake their state assessments in algebra I and English I to increase their total scores to meet new state requirements for on-time graduation.

Last summer, López ran Caminos at AISD’s Reagan High School with a similar contract award.

"The program was transformational for many of these students in that it gave them a vision of college life, and the expectations and discipline relevant to academic success," López said. "This included the need to be on time, on-task, and focused on learning. Students also learned how important it was to create meaningful relationships with other students that also cared about academics, and with teachers who could provide a gateway to college and life success."

For more information, contact López at (512) 245-2115 or via email at ol14@txstate.edu.