YSU Targeting low-income kids
The program identifies children who otherwise might not ever consider college as an option.
By RON COLE
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A busload of Youngstown State University trustees and administrators, led by President David Sweet, trekked to Columbus in November for Ohio State University's football game against Purdue.
They came away with much more than a lesson in Big Ten football.
In a pre-game brunch, OSU President Brit Kirwan's staff talked about the university's successful Young Scholars Program, in which OSU helps low-income students complete high school and enroll in college.
The reaction from YSU officials: Hey, we can do that, too.
YSU plans to launch a pilot project this summer, tentatively called Junior Scholars, that will mirror OSU's program but on a much smaller scale.
Goal's the same: The goal, however, remains the same.
"The idea is to increase the first-generation, college-going population, and particularly African-American and Hispanic, here in the Mahoning Valley," Sweet said.
In a budget adjustment package approved by trustees this month, Sweet set aside $50,000 to help fund the Junior Scholars program, and he hopes to garner private support in the months ahead.
OSU's program: The OSU program, started in 1988, involves 720 seventh- to 12th-graders in nine city school districts across the state, including 60 in Youngstown. The children must be from low-income families whose parents do not have college degrees.
Students participate in a series of meetings in the evenings and on weekends, including special academic workshops in math, science, technology, reading and the arts, said Paula Smith, director of the OSU program.
Each participating school has a Young Scholars coordinator responsible for monitoring children's grades and progress. In Youngstown, the coordinator has an office in the school district's central offices.
"Our main goal is to keep them in school and prepare them for the college experience," Smith said.
Students get that experience early on. Every summer, the students go to OSU for a two-week conference, living in university dormitories and attending informational classes with faculty.
Smith said the experience gives students exposure to college and helps build a rapport with students from across the state.
The program requires students to participate in at least 80 percent of all activities and to maintain a 3.0 grade average in high school.
Smith said 66 percent to 70 percent of students who successfully complete the program enroll at OSU, and most of them receive scholarships of up to $3,000. About 20 percent go to other colleges.
Sweet said YSU's program will be similar: Identifying students as early as sixth grade, regularly bringing them to campus, monitoring them throughout high school and enrolling them after graduation.
"It's a way of growing your own in a sense of building this relationship early on," he said.
Focus on Youngstown: The YSU effort will focus on students in Youngstown city schools, possibly expanding in later years to other areas of Northeast Ohio, he said.
Diversity has been one of Sweet's top priorities since coming to YSU 18 months ago, and he thinks a Junior Scholars program can help increase the number of minority students.
YSU enrolled 1,424 minority students in the fall semester, 11.6 percent of the university's 12,250 student body. Sweet has said that a key to increasing those numbers is getting more minorities in the Youngstown city schools into college.