Funding needed for TRIO programs

From Laurie Besco, TRIO Student Support Services director, and Erica Frey, TRIO talent search director

Creston

For more than 40 years, the federally-funded TRIO programs have been helping students from low-income families complete high school and be the first in their families to enroll in and graduate from college. Today, there are more than 2,900 TRIO projects nationwide serving nearly 850,000 students. TRIO programs are hosted at more than 1,200 colleges, universities and agencies throughout the United States, Caribbean and Pacific Islands. On Feb. 22, TRIO programs across the state of Iowa will be celebrating National TRIO Day in a variety of ways, but also with heavy hearts.

While some tout President Obama’s 2013 budget request for making education a top priority, the proposed plan failed to include an increase for federally-funded TRIO programs, an omission that, with Congressional approval, would immediately affect tens of thousands of underserved students, adult learners and veterans.

Currently, only 38 percent of students from low-income families go straight to college and as mentioned, many are the first in their families to pursue higher education. Lacking adequate financial aid, and the academic assistance and support to complete their studies, they earn bachelor degrees at a rate far below that of their high-income peers, hurting their future earning potential and ability to contribute productively.

Iowa’s TRIO programs ensure that young Americans — regardless of family income level — have access to the right tools and guidance to obtain a college education by providing tutoring, counseling and mentoring, financial guidance and other resources. In AEA 14, TRIO Talent Search serves more than 800 students in nine school districts (grades 6th-12th). These schools include students at Bedford, Clarke, Corning, Creston, East Union, Lenox, Murray, Orient-Macksburg and Villisca. TRIO Student Support Services reaches more than 180 college students at Southwestern Community College. Our TRIO community is extremely disappointed in the administration’s failure to recognize TRIO’s impact. We hope to see an increase in funding for the critical academic and support services these programs provide.