Barry University's College Reach Out Program Awarded $39,000 Grant from DOE

Barry University’s Counseling Department in the Adrian Dominican School of Education has received a grant in the amount of $39,143 from the Florida Department of Education to continue its one-of-a-kind College Reach-Out Program (CROP) for the next year.

CROP is a statewide program to help educationally disadvantaged, low-income students in grades 6-12 pursue and successfully complete a college education by providing tutorial services. Barry University along with Florida Memorial University, however, took the program a step further in 1999 by creating the CROP North-Dade County Consortium (NDCC) which is the only program of its kind in the state of Florida to provide counseling services to CROP students and their families. Barry’s Family Enrichment Center provides counseling services to 13 schools in Miami-Dade County each year. Last year Barry counseled 200 CROP students and 10 families.

The purpose of Barry’s program is to counsel students on the issues affecting their decision not to attend college. Fear of violence, especially in light of the shootings at Virginia Tech, domestic violence in the home, substance abuse and family medical problems such as cancer and HIV/AIDS were the main reasons given by students. Barry counselors, at no charge, conduct individual and group psycho-educational counseling sessions in the schools, which provide students with the skills necessary to achieve academic success.

“The NDCC's goal is to eliminate barriers to school achievement and facilitate academic and personal success, says Silvia Reyes, director of CROP at Barry. “Barry University’s Department of Counseling recognizes that the family is an integral part of a student’s development, whether, academic, personal or career.”

Barry’s CROP-NDCC helps parents as well, providing programs that support their child’s goals toward a college education. The program also organizes field trips for CROP students to various colleges and universities across the state. Barry’s CROP has been very successful over the years. During the 2004-2005 academic year, 56 of the 62 CROP students counseled by Barry’s CROP Counselors graduated high school, and 40 of those students went on to attend college.