Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, August 13, 1993                   TAG: 9308130249
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: FAIRFAX                                LENGTH: Medium

PROGRAM PREPARES HIGH-RISK YOUTHS FOR COLLEGE YEARS

Why, Montgomery asked, did the Senate's only black member and one of its few women feel so strongly that a women's service organization should not have Senate permission to use the flag in its logo?

"What is that a symbol of, the Confederate flag? What does it make you think of?" she asked the 14- and 15-year-olds.

"Racism," one answered quietly.

"Yes, that's right, racism," Montgomery said. "Racism, big time."

The class then discussed the differences between Braun and the black women sometimes portrayed in movies and music videos.

Earlier, Montgomery's students in a special summer program for minority teens had dissected a cow's eye and developed photographs they took themselves.

The intensive three-week academy at George Mason University is aimed at preparing at-risk students for college. Montgomery, a high school science teacher, said she often uses the last few minutes of her class to discuss current events such as the Senate debate.

"There is so much happening that affects their lives. I try to just get them to notice it a little bit," she said.

After class, a 14-year-old from Prince William County considered the discussion.

"She was brave," Maggie Smith said of the Illinois senator. "I think they should show how she's doing something good."

Maggie is one of 66 mostly black and Hispanic students who completed the summer program Friday.

During the three weeks, she got a condensed preview of the material she will encounter as a high school freshman in September.

She also got to see black youngsters like herself who are thriving in the Early Identification Program, which extends over participants' entire high school careers.

"They see older kids just like themselves who are succeeding so well, and they gain confidence," said Hortensia Cadenas, director of the program.

George Mason began the program six years ago in response to small minority college enrollments.

"We were finding at George Mason, like a lot of other colleges, that the minority students who were applying were not ready, they were not qualified candidates," Cadenas said.

Minority students who should have been fully capable of college work often did not have the proper high school credits or had low standardized test scores, Cadenas said.

Sometimes these students were steered away from college by high school teachers or their parents, or never told what they needed to qualify, she said.

The Early Identification Program picks out 8th-graders who typically have average grades but show potential and personal drive, said Richard Powell, who is in charge of recruiting students from the Arlington County schools for the program.

Participants are usually the first in their families to attend college, Cadenas said. Most are black and many come from low-income backgrounds and single-parent households. There are also a large number of immigrant youngsters in the program.

The approximately 60 participants accepted annually come from Arlington, Prince William and Fairfax counties. About 300 students are nominated by their junior high school guidance counselors. Cadenas is in charge of narrowing the field.

"That is the hardest thing we do," she said.

The competitive nature of the program helps keep students motivated, said Tiffany Smith, 16, who has attended the academy for four years.

"It keeps me focused," she said. "I would be kind of embarrassed if I did not complete it, because really the requirements are not that difficult."

Students sign a contract when they enter the program. They must maintain at least a 2.0 grade-point average and take a full load of college preparatory courses. Students with low grades must attend weekly tutoring sessions.

The first class of EIP students will be sophomores in college this fall. Two of them were EIP tutors this summer.

Of that first class of 50 students, 18 enrolled at George Mason, seven at Northern Virginia Community College and six at other colleges. The rest either moved away from Northern Virginia or were dropped from the program because of poor grades.