This proposal seeks to explore the issues of postsecondary outreach to students with disabilities, especially those from racial and ethnic minorities. Recognizing that qualified students with disabilities are underrepresented among the students enrolled in higher education today, and that minority students with disabilities are even less likely to be encouraged to pursue postsecondary options, this grant seeks to identify mechanisms for reaching out to (minority) students with disabilities in grades 7-10.
The existing Talent Search Programs (funded by the federal government through the Division of Student Services) have provided such outreach to disadvantaged students for a number of years, and there are currently more than 450 such programs in operation nationwide. Instead of developing yet another model and trying to generalize its utility across geographic, cultural, and disability boundaries, this project seeks to review existing programs, test worthwhile ideas or strategies as appropriate, and then disseminate widely the insights gained to service providers who are in daily contact with the population of talented young people we hope to attract to postsecondary education.
Specifically, this three-year project will begin by bringing together a panel of knowledgeable and experienced service providers currently involved in outreach efforts to the target population. With the help of project staff from the Association on Higher Education and Diseability (AHEAD), this Project Advisory Panel will have the responsibility of: