Early and ongoing intervention is known to be a critical element in increasing the likelihood that students in underserved communities will attend college and then thrive there and beyond. Crucially intervention is most effective when it starts at an early ageplanting the seeds in young minds that college is a realistic option for themampampamp8212and continues from elementary school through high school.ampampamp160ampampamp160The Leadership U. program provides gradeappropriate preparation scaffolded through four curriculum manuals each tailored to a specific stage of learning and includes a supplement to guide high school students through the college application process.ampampamp160The interactive lessons of the ampampamp9Grades 68 Developing Key Life Skills curriculum incorporate differentiated learning foster engagement in school develop personal responsibility and teamwork dive into healthy identity exploration provide an opportunity to examine life interests and encourage students to take on the role of leaders.