Iowa State  School of Education has partnered with the Field Club Elementary School in Omaha for the “No Excuses University” program.

The program is used in the classroom for grades first through fifth to encourage potential at-risk students to start thinking about attending college in the future.

“No Excuses University” is part of networked program including elementary, middle and high schools from across the country that promote the goal of going to college and furthering education to the students.

At Field Club Elementary School, the school has 14 partnerships with universities, including Iowa State.

Iowa State has a special connection to a first grade classroom at the elementary school. Lori Cupit-Stott is the teacher for the classroom and a 1995 graduate of Iowa State.

“What is great about the connection with Iowa State University is that Mrs. Cupit- Scott, who teaches that classroom, is an alum from Iowa State and that is the case in some of the connections we have but not nearly all of them,” said Barbara Wild, principal at Field Club Elementary School.

The student population at Field Club, including the first graders, are at-risk students.

“Our students come from really great families who are hard working families that want the best for our students, and for whatever reason are not coming from enriched financial backgrounds,” Wild said.

85 percent qualify for free or reduced lunch, 51 percent are English language learners and 82 percent are racial minorities according to Wild.

“We are trying to both install the idea of college and then build the skills that will help get them there,” Wild said.

A portion of the program teaches students vocabulary pertaining to college and gives them a background knowledge about college. This is done to familiarize the students and help them become accompanied to the behaviors that are needed to reach college as an educational goal. Having the students visualize college as a real possibility for the future is the main goal.

If the students see themselves as college students, and see themselves as capable of being college students, then they are more likely to seek opportunities in college, Wild said.

The School of Education sent the first graders a package of Iowa State t-shirts from Dogtown University and memorabilia such as pens, pencils, paper, wall pennants and book bags to the classroom.

Every Friday, the students involved in the program wear their sponsored university t-shirts to school.

Chuck Achter, assistant to the director of the School of Education, said he has a learning community within the School of Education made up of current Iowa State freshman that are pen pals with the first graders.

“If we can help these first graders start thinking about college along with their moms and dads maybe they will [go to college],” Achter said. “So that’s what got me excited about the program.”

Achter would soon like to Skype with the first graders to be able to strengthen the connection between the college students and the first grade students.

Field Club students also participate in “college calls” with the guidance counselor. The student is sent to the guidance office when they exhibit habits of good college behavior. First graders who are called for “college calls” receive Iowa State book bags.

The “No Excuses University” started in Texas in 2006 and has expanded across the country. The program currently is in 184 schools in 21 states, encouraging more than 115,000 students with the help of 6,000 educators.