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Hispanic Task Force Initiative Accountability Report, August 2003
Hispanic Task Force Initiative Accountability Report, April 2003
Hispanic Task Force Study, August 1999 (.pdf format)

The Hispanic Pilot Project, coordinated by the University of Georgia's (UGA) Office of International Public Service and Outreach, is a consortium project carried out by UGA, North Georgia College and State University, Georgia Southern University, Dalton State College, and Gainesville College. In 2003, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College was added to the consortium. The Board of Regents charge to the consortium in November 2000 was to implement pilot programs that would (1) increase the number of K-12 personnel qualified to teach English as a Second Language; and (2) encourage more Latino youth to pursue higher education in the University System of Georgia (USG).

In early 2001, the consortium initiated several projects to address the two primary goals of this initiative. These projects are being pursued in close collaboration with K-12 school districts and community organizations. Steps to College, one of the Hispanic Pilot Project's most successful programs, is a summer school program targeting middle and high school students whose first language is not English. The goals of Steps to College are to improve students' English language skills, help them prepare for Georgia graduation tests, and provide them with opportunities to become familiar with a college campus. During Summer 2003, 337 students participated in Steps to College programs on the campuses of UGA, Dalton State College, and Gainesville College.

The English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) component of the project has significantly increased the number of Georgia teachers qualified to teach the state's growing number of students whose first language is not English. Nearly three hundred teachers from across Georgia have taken the ESOL endorsement courses through the Hispanic Pilot Project.

The Hispanic Pilot Project's College and University Awareness Program (CUAP) provides seed grants for innovative projects designed to increase the number of Hispanic students who: (1) are informed about the advantages of a high school diploma and post-secondary education; and (2) earn a high school diploma and continue on to college. Through CUAP, seven grants totaling nearly $30,000 were awarded to USG institutions in Fall 2002. The funded projects include partnerships between USG institutions and local schools, churches, and non-profit organizations.

In December 2002, Georgia Southern University was added to the Hispanic Pilot Project's consortium of institutions. Through its Center for Latino Outreach and Research Services, Georgia Southern has initiated El Proyecto Ayuda (Project Help), an outreach program to assist Hispanic youth in local middle and high schools to pursue higher education in the state. Targeting five middle and high schools in Bulloch County, El Proyecto Ayuda builds on existing scholastic improvement strategies and retention efforts by taking the logical next step in presenting to Hispanic youth the benefits of higher education—ensuring that parents, who frequently do not see the benefits of a college education, are included in the programming.

Project Ayuda's goals are to: 1) develop greater student and family awareness about the importance of finishing a high school education; (2) foster greater student and family awareness about the value of higher education; (3) provide students and families with realistic possibilities for financial opportunities; and (4) provide participants with assistance in the college application process.