Founded in 1988, College Bound has since been at the forefront of providing resources and services to underserved students from BPS. The program is historically rooted in the BPS busing court order as means to implement the desegregation plan. Part of this plan involved connecting universities with “districts” in BPS for purposes of improving educational programs, providing more opportunities and support for students and families of color, to achieve academic success amidst the racial injustices. Working with BPS’s District 3/Area B, Boston College College Bound sought out to provide out-of-school-time enrichment for students from communities like West Roxbury, Roslindale and parts of Mattapan. Most of the CB students then attended West Roxbury High School or Urban Science Academy. However, given the high number of students who were in need of support programs and limited overall program funding, CB struggled to keep the program afloat. Fortunately, in 1991, the desegregation plan was transferred to the Boston School Committee, which allowed partnerships between BPS schools and Boston College to remain. With additional funding from State Street Bank, New England Telephone and Bull HN, Brighton High School was included as a new partner. 

In 1992, the first cohort of College Bound students enrolled in a college, and since then the numbers have only continued to grow. As the program started gaining more momentum and support, a $1 million grant from the Peter Jay Sharp Foundation – with half designated as an endowment for College Bound – was awarded in fall 2001. Today, the Lynch School and National Science Foundation fund the program as well. This has allowed College Bound to expand their services to 7th and 8th grade students from Gardner Pilot Academy and Dr. Henderson Inclusion School. 

In 2004, the fomer director, Catherine Wong, saw the need to integrate the College Bound under the umbrella term "Urban Outreach Initiatives." This re-organization allowed the students of College Bound to access a network of educators of color, of school partnerns in and around the Greater Boston Area, and most importantly, the resources that Boston College has to offer. In leveraging this wealth of resources and network, the program which began with an enrollment of 40 students per year, increased to 75 students per year. This success culminated in the 30th year anniversary in 2018.

College Bound Celebrates 30th Anniversary

Despite the successes, the constant struggle to maintain partnerships and ensure sufficient streams of funding remains. In December 2018, the Boston School Committee voted to close down West Roxbury High School and Urban Science Academy. As a result, over 700 students and their families were forced to transfer to another school district. Among the affected students, many of whom were regular participating students at College Bound.

Less than 2 years later, College Bound is again faced with an unprecedanted challenge, the COVID-19 pandemic. To address institutional challenges, the Lynch School of Education and Human Development went through another re-organization and decided to integrate College Bound under the Department of Strategic Initiative External Relations. 

Today, the College Bound community is still dealing with the aftermath of the school closure, along with a new set of challenges pose by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it has stood its ground and will continue to create new partnerships and enhance the quality of its programming. As the program enters its 4th decade, College Bound will only continue to promote its interdisciplinary collaborative nature, and place emphasis on diversity and inclusion.