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Closing the Door on Our Kids
By Wayne Au
I was rummaging through a desk drawer the other day and came across an old Polaroid picture from two former students. The handwritten caption on it read, "Unsuspected picture to Wayne. Remember us. Beto n' Vangie."
The shot is of Beto, clad in a white t-shirt, backwards black baseball cap, and sagging jeans, and Vangie with teased-up bangs sporting a black-and-silver L.A. Kings jacket. They are hugging each other in front of the dorms at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash.
This picture makes me happy because it reminds me of why I became a teacher to begin with—to work with students like Beto and Vangie. Their note also strikes an especially emotional chord with me because of the seriousness of their demand: Remember us.
I remember Beto vividly. He was one of those kids who walked that perilously fine line: always on the fringes of gang and drug activities, but also culturally centered and part of a vibrant Northwest Native-American community. Beto was sharp, quick-witted, intelligent, and street savvy. In one moment he could be a fire-eyed fighter, and in the next moment he could be a warm-hearted goof. I loved him even if he periodically drove me crazy with his hardheadedness.
Beto and I first crossed paths through the Upward Bound program at Evergreen. He grew up on a Native-American reservation outside of Tacoma, Wash., and I was working with Upward Bound as a tutor/counselor. To me, Beto was Upward Bound. A working-class kid who would be the first generation in his family to attend college, he represented what the program was about: giving kids like Beto a shot at a better life. That's why I loved working in the program and did so for eight years.
In late January 2005 the Chronicle of Higher Education reported that the Bush administration was proposing to cut Upward Bound and its middle-school counterpart, Talent Search, from the fiscal year 2006 budget. True to the Chronicle's account, on Feb. 7 the U.S Department of Education (DOE) posted its proposed budget online. Its website, www.ed.gov, includes a section entitled "Programs for Elimination." The DOE does not mince words regarding its decision. The language reads, "The 2006 request continues the practice of the Bush Administration of proposing to eliminate or consolidate funding for programs that have achieved their original purpose, that duplicate other programs, that may be carried out with flexible State formula grant funds, or that involve activities that are better or more appropriately supported through State, local, or private resources." The website lists 48 "programs for elimination." Upward Bound and Talent Search are among those proposed to be laid to rest, for a federal savings of $312.6 and $144.9 million, respectively.
Upward Bound, Talent Search, and Student Support Services are referred to as federal TRIO programs. Upward Bound started under the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 as part of President Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty. The other two programs soon followed in 1965 and 1968. All three of the TRIO programs were developed to help low-income, first-generation college students get through high school and into college. According to the DOE's own reports, in 2001, Upward Bound served more than 68,000 students, 45 percent of whom were African American, 25 percent of whom were white, 19 percent of whom were Latino, and 79 percent of whom were considered to be from low-income households. In the 10 years from 1993 to 2003, the DOE estimates that Upward Bound served an average of 50,000 students each year.
In my heart of hearts I am absolutely sure that both Upward Bound programs I worked for were ef