Things are looking ‘upward’ for students at two Springfield high schools, now that the University of Massachusetts has been awarded a $1.2 million federal grant to fund programs for bringing students in to higher education.

UMass got the five-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education in June to reinstate the Upward Bound program — a national year-round, multi-year program for high school students with college potential – which UMass has not run in Springfield for years.

“Our campus had an Upward Bound grant a few decades ago but then lost the funding,” Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs and Campus Life Jean Kim explained in a press release. “So we are thrilled to get the grant this year that will help high school students from Springfield and strengthen our working relationship with the city.”

The program provides tutoring, mentoring, career counseling, work study and pre-college assistance with academic focuses on science, mathematics, English composition, literature and foreign languages, according to the release.

The Department of Education said the goal of the program is “to increase the rate at which participants complete secondary education and enroll in and graduate from institutions of postsecondary education.”

The target participants include disabled students, homeless children, foster children as well as students from low-income or undereducated homes.

The grant will be split between 60 students at two Springfield high schools: Springfield High School and High School of Commerce. The majority of the funding and programming will be at the High School of Commerce during the school year, while a summer program will take place on the UMass Campus.

“We are very excited about this grant because it provides a great opportunity to work with two of the most needy high schools in Springfield, our partner city, and increase the number of high school students going on to college,” Kim said in the release.

Upward Bound in these two high schools is one of 780 programs being run throughout the United States, costing over $254 million and providing services to almost 60,000 students, according to the University release.

In a press release U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said that Upward Bound is a worthy investment for the country and the economy.

“A college education is the ticket to the middle class, and these Upward Bound projects will help students take the next step toward the American Dream. The Upward Bound program has a long history of providing key support to those who need it the most. Continuing to provide these resources for disadvantaged students will help to build a college-educated workforce in communities across the nation and ultimately revitalize our country’s economy.”

Sam Hayes can be reached at [email protected].