Florida Tech Raises $3,220 For Adopted University Park Elementary School

– At Florida Tech’s recent Homecoming 2004, 15 pairs of Homecoming King and Queen hopefuls competed to raise funds for this year’s recipient-neighboring
University Park Elementary (UPE) School. Participants, including Herman Ramos and Lauren Iberson, who won the titles, raised $3,220. Ramos and Iberson
represented campus theatrical organization, College Players.

“The money will allow boys and girls the possibility to see and visit a real theatrical production or professional plays, help to purchase books for
students who do not have them in their homes, purchase prizes for accelerated reading and mathematics programs as well as other rewards for behavior such
as good citizenship,” said UPE Principal Clenton Taylor.

Since Florida Tech “adopted” UPE in 2001, the K-6 school has been upgraded from a “C” rating to an “A.”

Taylor said, “This has been a great idea. Our boys and girls are learning from Florida Tech and I hope university students are learning from us. Florida
Tech has enhanced community involvement, even encouraging more parents to support University Park.”

University Park Elementary is a Title I school. Sixty-seven percent of its students are on free or reduced-rate lunches. The student population is highly
mobile, with mobility as high as 88 percent within a school year.