UNIVERSITY GETS GRANT OF $202,460

Southeast Missouri State University has been awarded a $202,460 grant from the U.S. Department of Education to establish a Talent Search Program in the five Bootheel counties of Southeast Missouri.

The federal grant was announced Thursday.

The funds will be used to identify qualified youths with potential for education at the post-secondary level, and to encourage them to complete high school and begin a post-secondary education program.

Also, the grant will be used to publicize the availability of financial assistance to students who pursue post-secondary education. It is intended to encourage people who have the ability to complete high school or post-secondary education.

"We are extremely pleased to receive this funding," said Kala Stroup, university president. "This will allow the university to move forward in the Bootheel region and to identify talented students who can be brought into the education mainstream and truly profit."

The program will serve 1,100 students in 10 high schools and 10 junior high schools, as well as 50 out-of-school adults in Dunklin, Mississippi, New Madrid, Pemiscot and Stoddard counties.

The grant, which covers a one-year period beginning Sept. 1, will be administered through the university's Office of Graduate Studies and Extended Learning. The program will operate out of the Bootheel Education Center in Malden.

"This is an outreach program badly needed in the Bootheel," said Myra Norman, director of research and grants at the university. "Our mission is to help with economic development in the Bootheel. Raising educational levels and expectations is a significant first step toward economic development."

The Talent Search Program will provide students with information on post-secondary education and financial aid. Workshops will be conducted on study and survival skills, career exploration and personal development.

The program will also provide junior and senior high school students with specific information on post-secondary education and financial aid. It will also assist seniors in identifying and applying for admission to a post-secondary education program and in applying for financial aid.

The grant also will provide for workshops on the ACT and SAT college admission tests. High school seniors will be counseled and a follow-up program will be conducted for students who continue with post-secondary education. The program will serve 400 high school students.

In addition, the program will meet the early intervention initiative for seventh and eighth grade students by providing workshops and tutoring services. The junior high initiative will serve 700 students.

During summers, talent-search staff members will conduct two four-week math and science camps for seventh and eight grade students at the Bootheel Education Center.

The center will provide the computer and general science labs for this project. Each camp will serve 50 students.

The program will identify and assist 50 out-of-school adults in completing their high school education and in applying for admission to a post-secondary education program. Primary emphasis will be on young adults, under age 27, who have dropped out of school. Emphasis also will be placed on minorities, female heads of households and veterans.

The program will involve target schools, service agencies and communities through an advisory committee, which will meet quarterly to review program progress.

The grant is part of the Trio Program under Title IV of the Higher Education Act. The Trio Program consists of the Student Service Program, the Talent Search Program and the Upward Bound Program.

Last fall, the university received a $120,000 grant from the Student Support Service Program to serve 200 first-generation college, low income and physically handicapped students in their first and second years of study.