On January 20, 2005, as Bush-supporters and unwitting taxpayers alike spent over $40 million dollars on parades and balls to celebrate Inauguration Day, Dr. Arnold Mitchum, President of the nonprofit Council for Opportunity in Education, quietly sent a letter to his professional colleagues across the country. The letter received far less sound and fury than the inauguration, but it involved an issue that will also reach far into the future.
Mitchum's letter discussed the role that Talent Search and Upward Bound (TRiO) programs would play as legislators debate the future of the American public educational system. These programs identify and help students from disadvantaged backgrounds who have the potential to succeed in college, including first generation students (high school students from families in which neither parent holds a bachelor's degree).
These programs-- which have provided assistance for generations to students struggling to join the middle class-- are now quietly being targeted for elimination. White House officials have confirmed that the February 7 budget will propose to end Talent Search and Upward Bound programs by May of 2006. These cuts will total $460 million.
This amount is less than three-tenths of one percent of the cost to date of the Iraq War. It's about a dollar and a half a year from each American. Or it's about ten days of partying at the pace established in the Inaugural. In a larger sense, these cuts are a part of the Bush Administration's efforts to create larger class divisions. The elimination of New Deal and Great Society programs will eliminate the middle class. The elimination of TRiO programs will not receive as much media attention as the debates over Social Security, but they are also crucial.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP
These are federal programs. The President's budget will be released in early February and the Congress will begin debating at that time. Because Texas' Senator, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, sits on the Appropriations Committee, we are positioned to play an absolutely critical role in this fight. Contact Senator Hutchison immediately at:
ReplyDelete284 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-4304
202-224-5922
202-224-0776 (FAX)
202-224-5903 (TDD)
or check http://hutchison.senate.gov/e-mail.htm for local addresses.
You may also contact Senator John Cornyn at:
517 Hart Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
Tel: 202-224-2934
Fax: 202-228-2856
or check http://cornyn.senate.gov/contact/index.html
To find your U.S. Representative's contact information, you may enter your address into this web form:
http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/fyi/fyi.htm
Please contact local media as well. Submissions to the Amarillo Globe-News may be sent to:
letters@amarillo.com.
Please compose your own letter, and be polite. You may consult the following web sites for program history and talking points.
http://www.trioprograms.org/abouttrio.html
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/trio/index.html
Future generations thank you!
This is the guest column I submitted to the Amarillo Globe-News:
ReplyDeleteOn January 20, 2005, as a coalition of public and private groups spent over $40 million dollars on parades and balls to celebrate Inauguration Day, Dr. Arnold Mitchum, President of the nonprofit Council for Opportunity in Education, quietly sent a letter to his professional colleagues across the country. The letter received far less fanfare or media attention than the inauguration, but it involved an issue with profound importance to the future.
The letter discussed the role that Talent Search and Upward Bound programs would play as legislators debate the future of the American public educational system. These programs identify and help students from disadvantaged backgrounds who have the potential to succeed in college, including first generation students (high school students from families in which neither parent holds a bachelor's degree). Students receive academic, career, and financial counseling that helps them to graduate from high school and enroll in college. Upward Bound also serves first-generation military veterans who are preparing to enter postsecondary education.
These programs-- which have provided assistance for generations to students struggling to join the middle class-- are now quietly being targeted for elimination. White House officials have confirmed that the February 7 budget will propose to end Talent Search and Upward Bound programs by May of 2006. These cuts will total $460 million.
This amount is less than three-tenths of one percent of the cost to date of the Iraq War. It's about a dollar and a half a year from each American. Or it's about ten days of partying at the pace established in the Inaugural.
Yet, for this investment, generations of students have been able to pull themselves out of the underclass. These programs target "first-generation" students whose parents did not attend college. Rather than providing cash scholarships, which do not by themselves insure that students will succeed in college, Talent Search and Upward Bound educate students culturally. Advisors help them to fill out college applications and aid forms, learn how to decide which colleges are right for them, and even take them on college tours.
The success of these programs is well-documented. Upward Bound and Talent Search comprise two TRiO programs, which together have since 1965 assisted an estimated 2.2 million students have graduated from college. Distinguished graduates who were assisted by TRiO programs include: Henry Bonilla, former U.S. Representative from Texas; Franklin Chang-Diaz, the first Hispanic astronaut; ABC correspondent John Quinones; and many more.
TRiO advisors are able to serve students who fall through the cracks of the public educational system. Since their caseloads are smaller, they are able to work one-on-one with each student. Advisors work to intervene as early as middle school, reaching out to students who have "college potential" but may not recognize or understand their academic and career options beyond high school. They establish relationships with these students over several years to support students as they struggle to move out of the cycle of poverty and dependence.
In addition, Student Support Services serve these students by performing mentoring and tutoring on college campuses to help students succeed in college.
Another TRiO program, the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement program, awards grants to colleges and universities to assist first generation students who want to continue on to advanced graduate work. The McNair Scholars program is named after Ronald McNair, an astronaut who died in the Challenger Space Shuttle disaster in 1986. With Talent Search and Upward Bound in imminent danger, it appears likely that Student Support and McNair would follow close behind.
These programs are being targeted because they are discretionary spending and the funds can be use to meet budget shortfalls in other areas. But underclass children working hard to improve their condition should not be made the victims of partisan politics. Nor will the TRiO budget go very far toward making up a budget deficit that is now approaching $412 billion. Class mobility is a treasured part of our American heritage. We must remind our elected officials to keep this treasured tradition alive.
Guest column printed today in AGN. Right under the madness of V V C.
ReplyDelete