Evans D Cantrell
Evelyn T Garcia
Talent Search San Fernando Valley North Central
Project Type:
Project
Project Sponsors:
- US Department of Education - USDE
Project Award:
- $8,274,029
Project Timeline:
2011-09-01 – 2021-08-31
Lead Principal Investigator:
Project Team:
California State University, Northridge (CSUN) proposes to provide Talent Search project services to 200 middle school students and 400 high school participants annually, focusing its support on students enrolled in 4 middle schools and 3 high schools. The 7 target schools (Madison, Sepulveda, Olive Vista, and San Fernando middle schools; Grant, Monroe, and Sylmar high schools) are located near the CSUN campus in the north/central San Fernando Valley (SFV) of north Los Angeles County. The target schools serve students and families in the SFV communities of Sylmar, San Fernando, and Van Nuys, and have a combined enrollment of 6,254 middle school students and 8,964 high school students. All schools have high percentages of low income, first generation students. The CSUN Talent Search project is characterized by a high number of contact hours throughout the school year. We believe this strategy is not only effective in retaining participants in the program, but also essential to providing timely intervention and referral services. TS Advising Coordinators are on the road four days a week visiting their middle and high school campuses, meeting with students, speaking with school administrators, and conducting workshops. Middle school coordinators visit their schools every week; high school coordinators conduct activities at their assigned high schools twice a week. During their time on site, TS staff provides group and one-on-one support, including formal workshops and advisement, tutoring assistance, college and career counseling, financial and economic literacy training, and parent outreach. Monthly, Advisors meet with students to monitor their academic progress, and review their Pathway to College (PTC) at least once a semester.