SOUTHEAST WILL REAPPLY FOR TALENT SEARCH GRANT

Officials in Southeast Missouri State University's educational opportunity programs are preparing to reapply for a grant through the U.S. Department of Education to continue the Talent Search Program in the Missouri Bootheel.

Harry Schuler, director of Student EOP-retention coordination, said the grant application deadline is Dec. 22.

"The competition is fierce," Schuler said. He said that of 700 grant proposals expected to be submitted for Talent Search Programs, only about 300 will be funded.

The Talent Search Program identifies qualified youths with potential for education at the post-secondary level and encourages them to complete high school and begin a post-secondary education program. Talent Search also encourages people who have the ability but have not completed high school or post-secondary education to re-enter such a program.

Talent Search is one of a trio of programs for under-represented students funded by the U.S. Department of Education. All three are offered by Southeast for students in the Bootheel. The other two programs are Student Support Services and Upward Bound.

In 1991, Southeast was awarded a $202,460 grant to establish the Talent Search Program.

The program is designed to serve 1,100 students in 10 high schools and 10 junior high schools, as well as 100 out-of-school adults in Dunklin, Mississippi, New Madrid, Pemiscot, Scott and Stoddard counties. The program, which originally was funded for three years, operates out of the Harry L. Crisp Bootheel Education Center in Malden.

"The program has gone really well," Schuler said. "The Talent Search Program has particular relevance this year," he said, "since the university has as one of its annual themes to increase college attendance rates by students in the Bootheel. That is the objective of the Talent Search and Upward Bound programs."

The Talent Search program provides students with information on post-secondary education and financial aid. Workshops are conducted on study and survival skills, career exploration and personal development. The program also provides junior and senior high school students with specific information on post-secondary education and financial aid and assists seniors in identifying and applying for financial aid. Talent Search also provides for workshops on the ACT and SAT college admission tests. High school seniors are counseled and tracked, and follow-up programs are conducted for students who continue with postsecondary education.

"We try to make sure students are taking the core curriculum," Schuler said. "We also try to make sure students are getting the types of classes they need to be successful."

The Talent Search Program also meets an early intervention initiative for seventh- and eighth-grade students by providing workshops and tutoring services. During the summer, 40 seventh-graders and 40 eighth-graders each attended four-week camps at the Bootheel Education Center as part of the program. The students studied math, computer science, English and science, Schuler said. The students also participated in field trips to the St. Louis Science Museum and to Mingo National Wildlife Refuge.

"This provides them with some opportunities that they never otherwise may get," he said.

In addition, the Talent Search Program also identifies and assists "out-of-school" adults in completing their high school education and in applying for admission to a post-secondary education program. Primary emphasis is on young adults under age 27 who have dropped out of school. Emphasis is placed on minorities, female heads of households, and veterans.

From July 1, 1992, to June 30, 1993, the Talent Search Program served 1,315 students, of whom 1,271 were ages 12 to 18, 30 were ages 19 to 27, and 14 were 28 or older. Of the 1,315 students served by the grant, 265 received financial aid counseling and assistance, 538 received computer-assisted instruction, 31 received tutorial assistance, 94 participated in cultural activities, 681 participated in career awareness and orientation, and 132 participated in campus orientation and visitation programs. In addition, each of the 1,315 students served received academic, personal, group and peer counseling.

Illustrating the grant program's success, Schuler said that 74 students who have participated in Talent Search have enrolled in post-secondary education. Of those 74, 42 have enrolled in public four-year institutions, 21 have enrolled in public two-year institutions, 10 have enrolled in the armed forces, and one has enrolled in a private, non-profit four-year institution.

On Tuesday, superintendents, principals, and secondary education directors at high schools and junior high schools served by Talent Search have been invited to a luncheon in the Crisp Bootheel Education Center, where information on new provisions under the Higher Education Act of 1965 will be discussed. The Trio programs fall under Title IV of the Higher Education Act.

Under the new provisions, Talent Search Program grants will run for four instead of three years and schools served by Talent Search must show a commitment in resources to the program. The new provisions also will allow overnight lodging of students, institutions to submit more than one grant proposal for a Talent Search Program during a grant cycle, and the extension of the program to the sixth-grade level, Schuler said.