Date of Award

Spring 2024

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Major

Educational Studies

First Advisor

Britney Jones

Abstract

In the United States, large disparities in education and educational attainment across racial and ethnic groups continue to exist. To combat this disparity, families may look for opportunities that will help their child succeed such as academic programming/enrichment. Hartford Youth Scholars (HYS) is one such program, located in Hartford, CT. While programs such as HYS exist, these programs are usually in demand and unfortunately, due to lack of resources and funding, there are only a limited number of students programs have the capacity to admit. While this is the case, it’s important that all families have a fair shot at applying to programming. Through this qualitative study, I interviewed 13 parents in both English and Spanish and asked them questions pertaining to their experience navigating the HYS program application and the accessibility of the application. Based on my analysis of parent interviews, participants found the HYS application to be accessible for Spanish, Bilingual, and English-speaking parents, however, some parents pointed to obstacles inside the organization, such as the limited number of Spanish-speaking staff, or related to the organization’s application process (such as the requirements like teacher recommendations, etc.). Parents overcame these difficulties through their motivations of applying to HYS and through the help of supportive and accessible staff within the program.

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