Federal budget may affect schools

Monterey County : Programs that prepare students for college in jeopardy

By MARC CABRERA

Herald Salinas Bureau

CSU-Monterey Bay student Clementina Macias doesn't mince words when it comes to describing the impact that the Educational Talent Search program has had on her educational career. The 2003 King City High School graduate enrolled in the program her senior year, and she is the first to acknowledge the program's success in showing her and her family that it would be possible for her to attend college. Prior to joining the program, she had not considered a university education because of her parents' economic situation and, more importantly, because of her lack of knowledge of the college application process.

"Without a program like this, I would not have thought about going to a four-year university, or any other type of education, other than just getting my diploma and settling for that," she said.

The future of the Educational Talent Search program -- and possibly educational opportunities for students like Macias -- could be in jeopardy under President Bush's proposed budget. The budget, unveiled Monday, proposes cutting $4.3 billion from 48 programs in the Department of Education. Those include school dropout prevention, state grants for vocational and technical preparation and family literacy programs. The idea is to shift funds from college outreach programs to support Bush's No Child Left Behind Act, the schools' accountability law that is measured by test results and other indicators. The budget proposal still has to be approved by Congress, and undoubtedly will go through many changes before Democrats and Republicans come to an agreement on the final document. Meanwhile, local programs are preparing to face what might happen. In addition to the ETS program, Upward Bound could also be eliminated under the proposed budget. Both operate out of CSUMB.

Upward Bound is an intensive college outreach program that currently works with about 70 students at Soledad and Watsonville high schools. It offers students biweekly counseling sessions on college preparation and a seven-week summer program at CSUMB with workshops on financial aid and college applications, as well as classes in a variety of college-level subjects. ETS, which was established at CSUMB in 1995, works with 1,200 students every year from eight Monterey County high schools: Seaside , Salinas , Alisal, Soledad , Gonzales, Greenfield , King City and North Monterey County . The program also works with students at Watsonville and San Benito high schools.

The program's goal is to work with low-income and first-generation college-bound students to help them graduate from high school and get into college. It helps students find financial aid and complete college applications, and it sponsors field trips to visit colleges in the region.

"So many students don't identify themselves as potential college students," said Jacqui Dominguez-Adler, Seaside High's outreach counselor with the UC-Santa Cruz Early Outreach Program. "It's a matter of changing their mind-sets and that's sort of what the mission of these programs is."

Seaside High would be strongly affected by the loss of the ETS and Upward Bound programs, Dominguez-Adler said. About 65 Seaside graduates who were involved in those programs went on to universities last year. As more school districts cut back on counseling services, these special programs help guide students toward a successful college career, Dominguez-Adler said.

Sam Pacheco, program coordinator at CSUMB, said the program's greatest strength is its focus on underachieving students, those who have a borderline grade-point average and may not be motivated to further their education.

"If we're shut down, it means we won't be able to offer these students an opportunity to college. The kids we're going after are 2.0 and 2.3 (grade-point averages)," Pacheco said. "A lot of people have given up on these kids. Our target is to go after kids that people have given up on."

In Monterey County , about 90 percent of the students who have participated in the program graduated high school, and 85 percent went on to community college or a four-year university. The program has proven so successful that students have come back to work for it, Pacheco said.

"Obviously they love it, and it shows because a lot of our staff is former Education Talent students," Pacheco said. "They go back to their high school and help out the next generation."

Macias is among those who opted to work for the program. Returning to King City High School , she has passed the word along to low-income students that financial aid can be secured to pay for their educational goals.

"I know there are a lot of students out there who can get help, but they think, 'Oh, it costs $15,000 a year and we're low-income and how can we pay for it,'" she said. "I explain to other students that it is possible."

Pacheco said he will continue to run the program despite the threat of federal budget cuts. Currently, he is working on grants to secure more funding.

"We're still going along like we're being funded. We're not doing anything differently," he said. "We're still going to push it for the students."

Staff writer Brandy Underwood contributed to this report.

For more information click here:

http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/state/10854465.htm http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/state/10854465.htm