By JOE BOCANEGRA
Special to the NEWS
Tuesday evening, the San Benito CISD Board of Trustees approved an interlocal agreement for an educational talent search program with Texas State Technical College (TSTC) in Harlingen.
The program is a five-year grant designed to help about 250 students from middle and high school levels to become first generation college students. Most of these students are at-risk, needing an extra push to get them into graduation and college, according to officials. A grant that was received by TSTC will pay for all the expenses.
“They will get extensive math and science tutoring activities. We’ll have a college advisor for them to help,” said Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Celeste Sanchez during the meeting. “They will have to meet the qualifications of low income, first-generation students.”
She introduced the speaker for the program, TSTC Director of the Center for Science and Math Education Johnny Martinez.
“With this program we are particularly targeting some of the more at-risk students, and so we want to provide tutoring, advising, and mentoring, all of the social and emotional support to help these middle and high school students to help them to college,” Martinez said. He also added that the main goal of the grant is to make sure that the kids do not fall into the cracks by providing said resources.
“With the grant, about 89 percent of the 250 kids will pass from one grade level to the next, and about 95 percent will graduate within four years,” Martinez said. He continued that 70 percent of the graduating group will go to college. “We just want to show them that they do have the potential to graduate.”
To see this story in print, pick up a copy of the Sept. 4 edition of the San Benito News. Or view our E-Edition by clicking here.
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