LEWISTON, Idaho – The Lewis-Clark State College TRIO Educational Talent Search (ETS) program has established internet hotspots in Kamiah and Kooskia to help better serve the 280 middle school and high school students in the two cities who are taking part in the college’s program.
LC State ETS recently purchased hardware and worked with Mountain View and Kamiah school districts, and Airbridge Broadband, an internet company out of Grangeville, to establish wireless hotspots at Kooskia Elementary School and by the football field at Kamiah High School for ETS students to use. AirBridge Broadband donated its time in setting up the hotspots, and is donating bandwidth to feed these hotspots moving forward.
The ETS program is a federally funded TRIO program serving students aged 11-27. Two-thirds of the students in the program come from families who have limited income and whose parents have not completed a bachelor’s degree. The remaining third must have a desire to seek post high school education, which includes both career-technical education or academic studies in higher education.
ETS is designed to help students better understand their educational opportunities and options following high school. The program provides free services and training to students in the areas of study skills, tutoring, career development activities, time management skills, organizational skills, goal setting, scholarship searches, campus visits, ACT/SAT preparation, assistance with financial aid and admission applications, and information on various colleges and CTE programs and schools.
The ETS program started at LC State in 2006 and will begin the fifth year of its five-year grant on July 1. The program receives $317,307 annually from the U.S. Department of Education and this year served 592 students in Lapwai, Orofino, Timberline (Pierce-Weippe), Kooskia, and Kamiah.
Traci Birdsell, senior director of the LC State ETS program, said internet connectivity is an issue in smaller communities where many students have limited internet access. By having the hot spots, she said they will be able to access online tutoring help. Later this summer, the ETS program hopes to add online career assessment and exploration to help the students as well.
For more information on the LC State ETS program or the hotspots, contact Birdsell at 208-792-2848.