First Star

The First Star UCLA Bruin Guardian Scholars Academy (BGSA) is a college-prep program for youth in foster care that keeps students on track for high school graduation and prepares them for successful transitions to higher education and adulthood. Over the past six years, on average, 99% of First Star scholars who complete the four-year Academy program graduate from high school, and 88% go on to post-secondary education. Grant funds would pay for peer mentors, many of whom are foster care alumni, and allow the program to serve more students.

Less than 3% of Foster Youth go on to earn a Bachelors Degree, despite the fact that it is their best ladder out of awful childhoods of abuse or neglect. We request your support in dramatically improving the statistic. Please support the First Star UCLA Bruin Guardian Scholars Academy, our scalable college prep program for foster youth, that provides a 4-5 week summer residential component, monthly follow-up meetings, and additional online and other full-year enablements. With a comprehensive focus on education, psychosocial functioning and self-sufficiency, the Academy program offers transformative tools and support throughout high school, so that these youth enter and succeed in college and beyond. Our Foster Youth Academies, now operating in Los Angeles, CA, Rhode Island and the greater Washington, DC area, are inspiring, challenging and equipping foster youth in grades 8 through 10 for success in college and beyond. Students who remain in good standing are invited to continue in the Academy program – summer residential sessions, monthly workshop days, and our protected students’ social media site – each year through high school graduation. With the enthusiastic support of local public-private partnerships, including child welfare agencies and public schools, we have launched these three Academies in two years. To launch and operate Academies around the country, additional public-private partnerships are at work at six additional campuses across the nation.