Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Educational Talent Search finds next generation of college students

Photos and story by James Hill

by Chris MooreIt’s mid-morning at Beaverton’s Meadow Park Middle School. In the staff lounge, a group of 13-year-olds is meeting with a writer and photographer from Portland Community College. Giggling with embarrassment, the students cluster around one end of a table as they await their turns in front of the camera. At first, it’s all nervous titters and last-minute looks in the mirror. Then the conversation turns serious. "What do you want to do with your life?"Their answers come quickly. "I want to be a teacher,"Lupe says. "I plan to become a doctor,"Karina says. "So do I,"Elizabeth asserts.At this age, kids often nurture vague notions of being rich and famous, of becoming a rock star or a professional athlete. Not these middle-schoolers. Most have set their sights on professional careers and they have a plan for getting there. "You have to stay in school,"Elisa says. "Go to college, get good grades,"others chime in.Despite economic disadvantages and language barriers, these students may well achieve their goals. As participants in Educational Talent Search, a partnership between Portland Community College, the Beaverton and Forest Grove School districts and a federal grant, they are getting the extra support and encouragement they need to make their dreams come true.Overcoming barriers to higher edEducational Talent Search is one of a group of federally funded programs aimed at helping disadvantaged students attend college. Participants come from low-income families and are usually the first generation to have the change to go beyond high school. Colleges, universities, and other institutions coordinate local efforts, most of which are carefully targeted and relatively modest in size.PCC began discussions with local school districts a year ago, and received word its grant application had been approved just last fall. Talent Search Director Eduardo Martinez-Zapata and two program advisors are working hard to recruit participants. Coordinated from PCC’s Rock Creek Campus, the program eventually will serve about 600 students in five middle schools and five high schools. Students are encouraged to remain in the program from the time they enter until they graduate from high school, and a new crop of sixth-graders is recruited each year.The program primarily serves middle school and high school students and their families and others. Martinez-Zapata and colleagues Sylvia Barajas-Everson and Melinda Myrick work one-on-one with students to develop educational plans and set goals. They take field trips to colleges and universities, attend workshops and cultural activities, and explore possible career options. "There’s such a need in this area,"says Sue Voigt, assistant principal at Forest Grove High School. "The more advocates kids have in helping them be successful in high school and look toward college, the better."Many of the Washington County students are Latino, but that is not a requirement.Across the nation, the program serves a wide variety of students from all ethnic and cultural backgrounds. What these students have in common is "college potential"combined with economic disadvantage. While federal financial aid programs can help at financing higher education, Educational Talent Search focuses on helping students overcome the social and cultural barriers to higher education.The PCC program is funded by a renewable, five-year federal grant of $950,000. Nationwide, Educational Talent Search has a strong record of success at helping students complete high school and go on to college.Parent involvement a keyThe team that developed PCC’s Educational Talent Search set very specific, measurable objectives for the program. For example:  90 percent of seniors in the program will graduate each year. 75 percent of those eligible will enroll in postsecondary education. All of those students will receive assistance with financial aid and admission applications. Two-thirds of talent search participants who drop out of high school will re-enter high school or a GED program. At least one parent in each family will be involved. Every participant will have the opportunity to use a computer and 95 percent of graduating seniors will be computer literate."The most challenging objective for us is parent involvement,"Martinez-Zapata explains. "Many of our families want their children to become successful professionals, but don’t have any idea what it means to go to college. They don’t know how to apply, how much it costs, or what it’s like for a student to leave home and live independently. A major part of our job is addressing these concerns and encouraging families to trust the system of higher education."At the high school level, program advisors provide information about the college admissions process, help families apply for financial aid and scholarships, and assist students with SAT test preparation. At the middle school level, parents are invited on field trips and encouraged to play a supportive role in their child’s plans for the future.Links with program staff also are important, according to Voigt. "We have excellent communication from PCC,"she says. "Eduardo knows the staff at Forest Grove High School and has an office here. It will be very rewarding to see students who might never have attended college able to pursue their educational and career goals."Bottom Line: PCC, in partnership with Beaverton and Forest Grove School Districts, now offers Educational Talent Search (ETS), a federally funded program aimed at helping low-income students attend collegeThe program targets students with college potential who are economically disadvantaged and would be the first generation in their families to go beyond high school.Students ages 11 to 27 receive one-on-one educational, career, and financial aid counseling. They also visit colleges, attend workshops and cultural activities, and explore possible career options.The PCC program’s advisors work closely with students, parents, school staff and community resources to achieve educational goals that are ambitious, but achievable.