Proposal: Google 20% Project

Name(s): Cadric Moulton & Chelsea Bowden

Title of Project: College and Career Readiness for Elementary Students
Needs and Opportunities: To inform potential first generation college students of the
opportunities colleges present and promote higher education. Most of the students we
will be working with throughout the Google 20% project are students whose parents did
not attend college, therefore our aim is to inform students of higher education and for
students to know college is an option for them if they put in the work and effort to
achieve educational success. Research shows that only 11% of low-income students who
are first generation college goers have a degree within six years compared to 55% of their
more privileged peers. This percentage is alarming and is why we choose to work with
these students.
Audience/Clients/Users: The students that we will be working with are
lower income students who can potentially be first generation college
students. There is a need for these students to learn about what
college entails and what it takes to go to college. We will have various
conversations and lessons geared to teaching young students about
college so they can know that college is an option for them. During the
Google 20% project we will be working with the guidance counselor,
Mrs. Smith. She has expressed the need for college readiness with us
and will be working closely with us in the planning out various lessons
and activities for the students that will be most beneficial for their
learning.
Timeline:
Date:

Activity/Lesson Focus:

Feb. 17th

Intro- talk to students about college basics (gage prior

knowledge) and what goals they have for themselves (future
college/career dreams); go over college terminology
Q & A question time; conversations about college and the
importance of college (fun activity included)
College Virtual Tours- University of Alabama, Auburn, and
Samford; students and teacher will take a virtual tour of the
college campuses (many students will never get the
opportunity to see a college campus and that is our goal with
this lesson)
College Life- we will focus this day on how students can get
involved in campus organizations and becoming apart of the

Feb. 24th
Mar. 2nd

Mar. 9th

Mar. 16th

Mar. 23rd
Mar. 30th

school; Also, discuss requirements for being accepted into

college and how you can prepare in High School
Students & teacher prepare for Samford Students and plan
questions to ask; answer any confusion and wrap up Google
20% project because this will be our last structured day with
the students before the final celebrations on March 23rd
Samford College Athlete Panel Discussion- Q & A with
college athletes about college life and how they got to college;
this will be our last day with the students
Google 20% Final Presentation- in the Samford classroom;
will not be working with the students

Product: At the end of our time with the students our goal is to have students understand
the benefits of attending college as well as a greater understanding of what college is. We
plan to have Samford athletes attend our last meeting with the students and have a panel
discussion, so the students can interact with college students, some being first generation
college goers themselves. Before each meeting with the students on Wednesdays, we will
have a prepared lesson that outlines topics surrounding the conversations of college life
and how to get to college. We will hold ourselves accountable by checking with each
other and Mrs. Smith weekly to plan mini-lessons, activities, etc.
Reality Check: We will be using student chrome books, iPads, PowerPoint presentations,
and various materials for mini-lessons. Students have chrome books and iPad class sets
that we will borrow when needed. All the materials we need with be at Trace Crossings or
we will provide the needed resources ourselves.
Conclusion: There is a great need to inform elementary students of the benefits and
options they have to further their education at the college level. Teaching students at an
early age about college can greatly benefit their desire to go to college and be informed
about the college basics. We are passionate about this project because these are students
who are normally considered non-college bound and we want to provide these students
with a first hand look at what they can achieve with a higher education and degree from
college!