They come with a variety of names: Educational Talent Search, Upward Bound, Early Academic Outreach and College Success Institute.

All of them fall under the bailiwick of Academic Preparation Programs, a UC Davis unit that works with young people from low-income families or educationally underserved backgrounds. The programs tout the benefits of higher education — and then help students make the grade.

Preparation is critical during the middle school and high school years, said Harold Stewart-Carballo, academic enrichment coordinator for Academic Preparation Programs. This is the time, he said, when students can become “more competitively eligible for higher education.”

To participate in UC’s Academic Preparation Programs, students must consult with their respective school coordinators or advisers, who determine if the students are eligible.

A majority of participants are first-generation students — the first in their families to go to college, Stewart-Carballo said.

Academic Preparation Programs personnel make it their mission to provide personal attention, he said. Staff members meet frequently with students at their schools to provide guidance and assistance.

“We work with a subset of students at each of our partner schools in the Sacramento Valley and Northern California region,” Stewart-Carballo said.

Funding comes from the federal government (Educational Talent Search and Upward Bound) and the state (Early Academic Outreach Program).

CSI: UC Davis

All students who participate in those programs are eligible for College Success Institute: UC Davis, or CSI: UC Davis, a summer program for eighth-, ninth- and 10th-graders from Sacramento, Solano and Yolo counties. CSI: UC Davis is a weeklong program of workshops, skill-building exercises and other enrichment activities designed to strengthen student skills.

“The program includes activities to develop life skills and college entrance knowledge,” said Samuel Blanco, director of Educational Talent Search.

CSI participants gain essential knowledge for beginning a higher level education — at UC Davis or elsewhere, Blanco said.

CSI: UC Davis is offered three times. Assignment to the various weeks is based on where the participating students go to school. Priority goes to students from low-income families .

Said Stewart-Carballo: “We try to provide opportunities to enrich our students’ academic experience outside of the classroom.”

The program provides transportation for students; a bus picks them up at sites throughout the community.

Team building, problem solving

“We do a lot of team building,” Stewart-Carballo said. “The question for students is always: Can you get along with people who are not like you?”

Colleges as well as employees always look for good teamwork and group problem-solving work skills, he added.

The summer program also allows students to be on a college campus, giving them a taste of what college life is like, he said.

Students appear to respond well to the CSI summer program.

“We receieved a lot of really good positive feedback,” Stewart-Carballo said. “Last year’s CSI: UC Davis student surveys indicated it was a transformational experience, and all the students wished it could have been longer.”

More information: app.ucdavis.edu.

Caitlin Cobb is a Dateline student writing intern.