GRANT COVERS COST OF AVC PROGRAM AIMED AT BOOSTING SUCCESS IN MATH.

Byline: Daily News

LANCASTER -- Reducing attrition of math students and boosting their success in class is the goal of a new program being funded through a $339,120 federal grant just awarded to Antelope Valley College.

Officials received word in a letter from the federal Department of Education that the district's plan to help math students had scored 99 out of a possible 100 points to qualify for the Minority Science and Engineering Improvement Program grant.

The award is for a three-year period beginning this year.

A key element of AVC's grant proposal is to develop a dedicated open math lab where students can get assistance from faculty members, lab assistants and student tutors every weekday and possibly Saturdays.

``What we actually want to do is have at least 35 hours open lab (weekly) with someone being there all the time,'' math instructor Tooraj Gordi said.

Gordi, along with colleagues Lynda Little and Fenggang Zhang, was instrumental in developing the grant proposal.

Part of the first year's allocation of $168,265 will go toward outfitting a math lab with all new computers for the spring 2007 semester.

The program will also try to better monitor students in math classes to identify those in need of help, Gordi said.

This is the second major federal grant AVC has received in the past three months.

In August, the college was awarded a $3.5 million, five-year grant to increase the number of ``homegrown'' engineers, teachers and business professionals through a partnership with California State University, Bakersfield-Antelope Valley and California State University, Fresno.