CSU Channel Islands will host its first Migrant Summer Leadership Institute for migrant high school students and their parents from this Friday through Saturday, Aug. 10.

The institute, funded through a grant from the California Department of Education, exposes migrant children and their parents to the opportunities and benefits of a college education and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) learning.

The MSLI Parent Institute this Friday and Saturday is a two-day residential program for 40 parents selected from around the state. Parents will attend sessions explaining the benefits of a college education, financial aid and scholarships, pre-college and college coursework, college life, and how to support their college-bound students. They will spend the night in Anacapa Village student housing.

The MSLI Student Institute from this Sunday through Aug. 10 is a two-week residential program composed of 100 high school students selected from around the state. The program offers students a taste of college life and learning on the CI campus.

The curriculum includes classes taught by CI professors; leadership and team-building activities; peer mentoring and career coaching; field trips to Santa Cruz Island, the California Science Center and Channel Islands Under the Stars (an inflatable planetarium); and a variety of speakers, experiments and fun STEM learning activities.

Students reside in the student housing at Santa Cruz Village throughout the program.

CI was one of two institutions awarded the $250,000 MSLI grant, based on a detailed proposal. The California Department of Education awards contracts to two public universities each year to implement summer institutes for students and parents as part of its effort to help migrant students overcome educational disruption and make a smooth transition to college. The institutes’ curriculum is designed by university professors and staff to offer academic enrichment activities, leadership opportunities, college preparation and exposure to STEM.

— Nancy Gill is the director of communications and marketing for CSU Channel Islands.