Sixth graders said they want to be nurses, athletes and lawyers -- when they grow up -- during interviews shown via a taped news segment to the University's Board of Trustees this weekend.

The young students of the Reading school district were the first to experience the benefits of the University's Educational Partnership Program last December during University President Bryce Jordan's visit.

"They think they are coming (to Penn State), they think they have a future," said Jeanne M. Fulginiti, assistant superintendent of the Reading school district.

The program involves the students and faculty at Commonwealth campuses working in cooperation with members of the surrounding area. Reading has a high population of minorities -- 34 percent Hispanic, 12 percent black, 2 percent Asian -- and must do something to address the needs of its at-risk students, Fulginiti said, noting that the University can provide the force behind the vision.

The program's goals are to increase the number of minority students who graduate from high school and proceed to higher education, to increase the academic skills of students at risk, and to convey to them and their parents the importance of education, Dunham said.

By increasing the number of minority students attending college, other benefits to the commonwealth can include a decline of public assistance and an increased pool of qualified, production-entry-level employees.

"This program is intended to address the pressing social challenge of our time," said Robert Dunham, vice president and vice provost, noting that the population of the nation will be one-third minorities by the year 2000.

"The program is not limited to minority students although our targeted schools have a heavy population of minority students," he said.

The program, in place at the Berks Campus, will expand to the McKeesport Campus April 1 with the installation of a program director, Dunham said, adding it may expand to four other campus areas.

Programs planned for this summer at the Berks Campus include a summer writing program and a science program for teachers and students. A computerized system called PINN, accesses students to information on the University and their admissions and financial aid applications. Berks campus students will tutor middle-school students, he said.

In-service training programs for teachers at the Reading district will include workshops run by University professors to sensitize them to the cultural differences of their students. Two programs in April and two in May will precede the group's week-long trip to Puerto Rico to learn the culture of many Reading school system students.

The University hopes to initiate a third educational partnership program in the near future, and three more eventually, but the University does not have unlimited funds, he said.

Funding for the project is jointly provided by the University, the school districts, the State Department of Education, and private funding. The state provided a science grant of $90,000 and $25,000 of discretionary funds that can be used to fund the program.