Projects: Young Scholars Program
The Young Scholars Program in Ohio is a cooperative effort of nine urban school districts and several major institutions of higher education in Ohio. The program identifies minority youths with college potential who might drop out of school. The students are selected in the sixth grade by a committee of educators from their local school districts. Selection criteria include a written essay, grades, and a standardized test. Students are advised and mentored in various ways during their high school and college years. They must maintain a 3.0 gradepoint average in high school and take collegepreparatory classes to remain eligible for the program. Middle school students take mathematics classes on Saturday mornings, and high school students attend two-hour tutoring sessions twice weekly after school. The program's developers believe that it is very successful. Students who have been through the program can succeed in nearly all the academic disciplines at the college level. A notable exception to this rule is mathematics.