Loop Business District to Help UCHS Students with ACT

The Loop Special Business District is partnering to partner with The Princeton Review to help University City High School students prepare for college enrollment.  

During its March meeting it was announced that the LSBD board of directors had decided to allocate $3,000 from their annual budget to provide scholarships for 10 U City High School students to receive ACT tutoring from The Princeton Review. The Princeton Review has agreed to provide a reduction in their ACT tutoring fees to allow even more students to benefit from this community-driven program.

A tutoring program similar to this was implemented last year on a smaller scale with much success, and this year the program organizers were thrilled to have the opportunity to take the program to include even more University City High School students from the area. Princeton Review’s Regional Director of Tutoring Kathi Mickelson designed a special course for the 10 scholarship recipients.

After UCHS receives the results from the June ACT test, the LSBD and Princeton Review will be provided with a progress report showing the students’ results.  

Michael Hobbs, owner of The Melting Pot in The Loop, suggests that students benefiting from the program may also be offered additional tutoring to improve the likelihood of college acceptance.

“I don’t want to take these kids to the finish line and then not help them across it,” Hobbs said.

Hobbs told Patch the money was dropped off this week to begin the tutoring. 

In a press release, the LSBD said the group is optimistic that the project will enhance ACT scores for eligible students. In time, the organization hopes to expand this effort to include additional funding from other U City businesses, some of which have already expressed interest.

“This was done to help the community, and by going public with it, we’re hoping we can do more,” said Michael Alter, the owner of Fitz’s said.

In addition to boosting students’ academic standing, higher ACT scores will improve the high school’s ranking in its upcoming review for accreditation.

“It’s not a donation, it’s an investment,” Hobbs emphasized. “We’re investing [our money] back into the community.”