Program Services & Objectives

Program Services

An Educational Talent Search must provide the following services:

  1. Academic tutoring to enable students to complete secondary or postsecondary courses, which may include instruction in reading, writing, study skills, mathematics, science and other subjects.
  2. Advice and assistance in secondary and postsecondary course selection.
  3. Assistance in preparing for college entrance examinations and completing college admission applications.
  4. Information on the full range of Federal student financial aid programs and benefits (including Federal Pell Grant awards and loan forgiveness) and resources for locating public and private scholarships. Also, assistance in completing financial aid applications, including the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
  5. Guidance on and assistance in secondary school reentry; alternative education programs for secondary school dropouts that lead to the receipt of a regular secondary school diploma; entry into general educational development (GED) programs or entry into postsecondary education.
  6. Education or counseling services designed to improve the financial and economic literacy of students or the students’ parents, including financial planning for postsecondary education.
  7. Any project that has received funds for at least two years must include as part of its core curriculum in the next and succeeding years, instruction in mathematics through pre-calculus; laboratory science; foreign language; composition; and literature.

Additional Services

  1. Academic tutoring, which may include instruction in reading, writing, study skills, mathematics, science, and other subjects.
  2. Personal and career counseling or activities.
  3. Information and activities designed to acquaint youth with the range of career options available to the youth.
  4. Exposure to the campuses of institutions of higher education, as well as to cultural events, academic programs, and other sites or activities not usually available to disadvantaged youth.
  5. Workshops and counseling for families of participants served.
  6. Mentoring programs involving elementary or secondary school teachers or counselors, faculty members at institutions of higher education, students, or any combination of these persons.
  7. Programs and activities as described in this section that are specially designed for participants who are limited English proficient, from groups that are traditionally underrepresented in postsecondary education, individuals with disabilities, homeless children and youths, foster care youth, or other disconnected participants.

Program Objectives

The programs are funded to serve students attending Johnson High School in Gainesville, GA and Gilmer High School in Ellijay, GA. The program requires that two-thirds of the participants in a project must be both low-income and potential first-generation students. The remaining one-third must be either low-income, first-generation college students, or students who have a high risk for academic failure.

Program Objective Gilmer High School Johnson High School
Academic performance of grade point average (GPA) - Percentage of participants served during the project year will have a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or better based on a four-point scale at the end of the school year. 69% 70%
Academic performance on standardized test - Percentage of seniors served during the project year will have achieved at the proficient level on state assessments in reading/language arts and math. 44% 48%
Secondary school retention and graduation - Percentage or project participants served during the project year will continue in school for the next academic year, at the next grade level, or will have graduated from secondary school with a regular secondary school diploma 80% 84%
Secondary school graduation (rigorous secondary school program of study) - Percentage of all current and prior year participants who graduated from high school during the school year with a regular secondary school diploma will complete a rigorous secondary school program of study. 43% 62%
Postsecondary Enrollment - Percentage of all current and prior participants who graduated from high school during the school year with a regular secondary diploma will enroll in a program of PSE by the fall term immediately following high school graduation, or will have received notification by the fall term immediately following high school from an institution of higher education of acceptance but deferred enrollment until the next academic semester (e.g., spring semester). 66% 77%
Postsecondary Completion - Percentage of participants who enrolled in a program of postsecondary education, by the fall term immediately following high school graduation or by the next academic term (e.g., spring term) as a result of acceptance by deferred enrollment, will attain either an associate’s or bachelor’s degree within six years following graduation from high school. 49% 49%