US funding for disadvantaged students lagging, advocates say
WASHINGTON - Khawar Malik had written just one 10-page paper in four years at DuVal High School in Lanham, Md., and his teacher had given him an entire year to finish it.
High school left him unprepared for college. So, Malik, 19, entered the University of Maryland through its Academic Achievement Programs division. He spent six weeks in the academic equivalent of boot camp.
By the end of the sixth week, he had written another 10-page paper and several shorter ones. Today, he is sophomore with a 4.0 grade-point average.
The federal Student Support Services program is part of a larger effort to help students overcome academic and cultural barriers. The program is part of TRIO, a group of national initiatives that have proven their ability to raise the odds that a student will get good grades and graduate.
But funding for the programs - $848 million this fiscal year - has risen only about 1 percent in the past five years. And TRIO serves 838,591 students, fewer than in 2003.
The programs are closely linked to the federal Pell grant. Unlike TRIO, Pell funding has increased by more than one-third over the past three years.
Advocates say the programs are key to the success of students who receive Pell grants.
“You can give them all the money in the world,’’ said Arnold Mitchem, president of the nonprofit Council for Opportunity in Education. “But if you don’t address the confidence issues, the skills issue, you’re not going to make it.’’
