In an effort to help solve the problem of students being unprepared for post-secondary education, the University is taking an active role helping America's youth become more academically equipped for college.

The Penn State Educational Partnership Program (PEPP) is an early intervention collaborative founded in 1988 between the University and various Pennsylvania school districts, said Darrell Thomas, assistant partnership director for the state. Currently PEPP exists through the McKeesport Campus, Penn State Erie, the Berks Campus and the Beaver Campus.

The program's focus, Thomas said, is to assist "at risk" students in middle schools and high schools to reach their academic potentials.

Those students are average to above-average students who have the ability to do great work but do not always have the motivation to do so, he said.

Jessica Ortiz (freshman-occupational therapy), who entered the PEPP program at Berks Campus during her junior year in high school, said PEPP helped her decide to pursue college. She now works for the program there.

"I liked it because it helped you individually," she said. Ortiz has also encouraged her cousin and her cousin's friends to enter the program.

The PEPP at Berks works with Reading High School and Northwest, Southwest and Southern middle schools, said Sary Garcia Matos, director of PEPP at the Berks Campus. The program receives University funding.

At the McKeesport Campus, PEPP, which is a division of the College of Education, helps middle school and high school students in the McKeesport School District, said Thomas, who is also director of PEPP at McKeesport. The program consists of the PEPP Academy for middle school students and PEPP Institute for high school students.

"Our program is a program composed of all students. This is not a minority program," Thomas said.

PEPP Academy meets three days a week for two hours each day after school. PEPP Institute, a continuation of PEPP Academy, meets two days per week for two hours. PEPP runs for a total of 22 weeks, Thomas said.

Students become involved through teacher recommendations. Not all of the students involved in PEPP are on the honor roll, Thomas said, but about one-third of the students involved in PEPP Institute at McKeesport have a B-average or above.

"It gives me the feeling we are being effective," Thomas said. "At any grading period we are inundated with calls (from parents) about how their kids can get into the program."

Tutors involved in PEPP at McKeesport are sometimes students from the McKeesport Campus. Students in the PEPP Institute may also become peer tutors for the students in PEPP Academy.

"I think the peer notion really works," Thomas said. "It's a win-win situation."

In addition to University funding, PEPP at McKeesport receives funding from various private companies, gaining financial support from organizations including General Motors Corporation, Mobil Oil Inc., Beaver County Housing Authority and the Pennsylvania Job Training Partnership Act, Thomas said. Penn State Alumni also donates funding, he added.

PEPP at Penn State Erie also receives funding from private corporations such as General Electric, Hamot Medical Center, Champion Bolt Corporation, Iroquois Tool Systems, GECAC Talent Search and other private donators, said Diane Daniels, director of PEPP at Penn State Erie.

PEPP at Penn State Erie does not operate under the College of Education, but under the Behrend College itself, and works with two of the Erie School District middle schools and one of the high schools, Daniels said. The PEPP at the middle schools was established on April 8, 1991. The program was implemented at the high school on Feb. 2, 1993.

Students involved in the program in Erie are usually from low-income families and have grade point averages that range from 1.9 to 4.5.

"Our kids are at risk for not keeping grades up to academic potential," Daniels said.

The Erie School District is very actively involved in PEPP, Daniels said. The school district provides office space and snacks and bus service for the students.

"They are very much a part of PEPP," Daniels said. "It's a good partnership."

Peer tutors in Erie are students from Penn State Erie, Gannon University and Mercyhurst College. Students from East and Central high schools also tutor in the middle schools.

PEPP at the Beaver Campus has a partnership with the Aliquippa School District. The program works primarily with students from two area housing developments.

The PEPP at Beaver differs from the other PEPPs because students may become involved with the program as early as first grade, said Donald Sheffield, special assistant to the vice provost for educational equity.

The program works with students in the elementary, middle and high schools to promote excellence, self-esteem and manage academic development, Sheffield said. The program also focuses on parent activities.

"Our PEPP is really focusing on the whole family, " he said. The work with parents and teachers is just as important as the work with students, he added.

Another unique aspect of the PEPP at Beaver is the excellence-conditioning model, which focuses on getting students to practice excellence and work together while using motivational techniques. The group uses motivational messages and raps to promote learning, Sheffield said.

"If you walked into one of the after-school programs you'd think you had walked into a pep rally," he said.

The PEPP at Beaver, which was started in 1990, does not receive University funding, Sheffield said.

"We have to really rely on outside funding," he added.