Joi-Danelle Whitehead, assistant dean for equity initiatives and university K-12 engagement, said the full financial aid model furthers the University’s larger commitment to providing impactful learning experiences for students in Brown’s home city. 

“With the launch of our new scholarship model, our goal was to increase participation among PPSD students — and now in year three, we’re seeing clear success in doing just that,” Whitehead said. “This growth also reflects the longstanding partnership we’ve built with the district. Their Office of Strategic Community Partnerships, guidance counselors, teachers and administrators play a critical role in encouraging students to apply each year. And by continuing to collaborate with school leaders, we’re working to reach even more Providence students, expanding their access to quality college-level education and career exploration opportunities that prepare them for success in whatever future they pursue.”

Brown’s Pre-College Programs welcome more than 6,000 high schoolers each year. Students select from 11 programs where they study at a first-year college level on campus, at domestic and international sites, in-person and online. Programs introduce opportunities and responsibilities that come with balancing demanding academics and robust outside-the-classroom experiences. An array of options, ranging from one to six weeks, offer courses such as: Stranger than Fiction: Debunking Popular Myths in Psychology; The Political Economy of Everyday Life; Antibiotic Drug Discovery: Identifying Novel Soil Microbes to Combat Resistance; Preventing Urban Flooding Using Engineering Design and Software; and Leadership and Storytelling for Social Change.

In addition to its partnership with the Providence Public School District, Pre-College leaders also work with more than a dozen other Rhode Island schools and community organizations to reach more students across the state. This year, an additional 40 Rhode Island students enrolled in as part of collaborations with the Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center, Achievement First Providence, Blackstone Valley Prep High School, Paul Cuffee School, Trinity Academy for Performing Arts, Tomaquag Museum, Blackstone Academy Charter School and Youth in Action, among other organizations.

This year, Pawtucket’s public schools became part of the expanding network of local partners. Brown's Pre-College Programs welcomed four Pawtucket students this summer — two from Shea High School and two from the Jacqueline M. Walsh School for the Performing and Visual Arts — each of whom attended on a full scholarship. 

Increasing access to Pre-College Programs for Rhode Island students is important, said Adrienne Marcus, dean of the Division of Pre-College and Undergraduate Programs, because Rhode Island teens enrich the campus community. 

“Bringing together young scholars from Providence and all U.S. states and territories, along with students from over 70 other countries, creates a profoundly meaningful environment for everyone,” Marcus said. “Within that broad mix of students’ experiences and perspectives, all participants gain deeper insights into themselves, the world and each other — students from Rhode Island are critically important to that shared ecosystem.”

Brown’s Pre-College Programs are just one of a growing number of ways in which Brown engages with Providence schools each year. For decades, the University has worked closely with leaders in Providence to support K-12 education through teaching, training and mentoring, research, volunteer efforts and financial investments aligned with the schools’ priorities. Brown’s engagement helps enrich students’ classroom learning, transform physical spaces, innovate teaching practices and inform local education policy. 

During the summer, Providence-area high schoolers also participate in summer enrichment programs such as Brown Summer High School, the Simmons Center’s  Black and Indigenous Histories High School Summer Institute, GoGetMath hosted by Brown’s Institute for Computational and Experimental Research in Mathematics, and HealthCore, part the Warren Alpert Medical School’s network of educational pathways programs.