COLLEGE KICK START

For years, adults have been telling students they should prepare for college and work after high school, with limited results. Now a talking donkey named Norm will be spreading the same message.

Norm was picked by students as the mascot of the Kick Start campaign, a multimedia effort aimed especially at eighth-graders. By connecting with pupils before the transition to high school, the campaign hopes to encourage them to talk with school officials about their college and work aspirations and to then take courses that will lead them toward their goal.

This region’s eighth-graders have a chance to join the campaign this weekend by trying out to be a contestant for a televised quiz show. Tryouts will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday at the Bangor Mall and from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the Maine Mall in South Portland.

Those wishing to try out for the show should bring a current report card and a parent or guardian. Pupils will be asked trivia questions and participate in good-natured physical challenges. Twenty contestants will be chosen to participate in a series of five shows, which will air on WPXT Television. The winner will receive a $10,000 college scholarship.

Norm will make its television debut on a commercial during Sunday’s Super Bowl. A Web site, www.kickstartmaine.com, has Norm’s life story and information about college. Students who complete an online quiz can get a T-shirt from their guidance counselor or principal if they go talk to him or her about college and career planning.

Although the approach is humorous, the goal is serious.

According to the Kick Start campaign, of every 100 high school freshmen, only 78 graduate four years later with 39 going on to college in the fall. Six years later, only 25 will have received a two- or four-year degree. In an economy that increasingly demands a college degree, many Maine students will be left behind, financially and professionally, unless more students go to college.

Kick Start is part of the larger Maine Readiness initiative. Maine was one of 10 states to receive grant funding from the National Governors Association to increase high school graduation rates and college readiness. A key component of the program is fostering partnerships between schools and communities. The owner of a metal fabrication company in Kingfield, for example, began employing students from Mt. Abram Regional High School, all of whom are now enrolled in Eastern Maine Community College and expected to return to Kingfield to work for the company.

Maine’s history of aspirations and college preparation programs shows that this problem must be addressed in many different ways. Bring on the talking donkey.