$3.2 Million Federal Grant To Help Local Students

SAN BERNARDINO>> With the help of a $3.2 million federal grant, underprivileged students at three area school districts will receive greater attention to make them more aware of what it takes to get into college, from preparing them with the required classes and graduating from high school to enrolling in college. California State University, San Bernardino has received three five-year U.S. Department of Education Talent Search grants, each for an annual $240,000, to boost college awareness and readiness programs for middle and high school students in Colton Joint Unified, Rialto Unified and San Bernardino City Unified school districts, said Olivia Rosas, CSUSB associate vice president for enrollment management. “The goal is to help prepare low-income students so they are ready for college,” Rosas said. The Talent Search program identifies and helps students from disadvantaged backgrounds who have the potential to succeed in higher education. The program provides academic, career and financial counseling to participants, encourages them to graduate from high school and continue on to and complete their postsecondary education. "That help includes tutoring, mentoring, career advisement and exploration, educational counseling, financial aid workshops, financial and economic literacy and offering workshops to parents and family members about college because of the high numbers of students who are first-generation college students," Rosas said. In the Colton Joint Unified School District, the participating schools include Colton High School, Bloomington High School and Grand Terrace High School; and Joe Baca Middle School, Colton Middle School, Ruth O. Harris Middle School and Terrace Hills Middle School. In the San Bernardino City Unified, the participating schools are: Arroyo Valley High School, Cajon High School, Indian Springs High School, Pacific High School, San Bernardino High School and San Gorgonio High School; and Arrow View Middle School, Chavez, Curtis Middle School, Del Vallejo, Golden Valley, King, Serrano and Shandin Hills middle schools. The program also focuses on students who have dropped out of middle or high school, assisting them with re-entry programs to get them back into school and completion programs so that they will graduate. John Conboy, coordinator of assessment and evaluation for the Colton Joint Unified School District, said the grant will help in the district’s efforts to reach younger students on the importance of college. “We’re not waiting for them to get to high school. We will be approaching them in middle school,” Conboy said. “We are gearing them toward four-year colleges.” Tex Acosta, Secondary Education Principal on Assignment for San Bernardino City Unified School District, said the Talent Search grant “will give the district the opportunity to identify students that have the potential for post-secondary education.” “It will help us provide tutoring, guidance and mentorship to these students,” Acosta said. “This will give them a better chance of obtaining a college education.” The grant will also help beef up existing district programs such as AVID and link students with actual representatives from colleges and universities, bridging them even further with higher education, Acosta said. The educators said another important aspect is educating and working with students’ parents and families on preparing students for college. “Kids may do well to get into a four-year college, but they and their families may not know how to apply and what is needed to get into college,” Conboy said. Some schools in Rialto also qualify as participating schools. Edward D’Souza, the associate superintendent for secondary education at Rialto Unified School District, said the grant will help focus on at-risk children in the district at the sixth through ninth grades levels, and help them get and stay on track to graduating from high school. “We want to catch them earlier by targeting those grades,” D’Souza said. The grant will also help the district continue its focus on college preparation, encouraging students to complete the A-G requirements and more specific courses to prepare them for college, such as taking a fourth year of mathematics as seniors, D’Souza said.