The principal objective of this project is to identify talented secondary school students in mathematics from Puerto Rico and orient them about a career in statistics. The project covers a period of twelve months and two months of persummer activity and consists of three phases. First phase is a presummer program to identify and recruit thirty talented students from various secondary schools in the western region of Puerto Rico where the Mayaguez Campus of the University of Puerto Rico is centrally located. The activities in this phase include visits to schools and regional offices of the educational department and conferences with students and teachers. The target population is mostly hispanic with low family incomes. Phases two of the project consists of an intensive summer program of six weeks with activities designed to orient the students in the field of statistics and its career opportunities. The activities include four weeks of formal classes and laboratory work specially designed to interest high statistics from academia and industry give conferences on the utilization of statistics in various fields; and visits to research laboratories and industries. The experts will also serve as mentors to students in the follow up activities during the academic year. During the last week of the summer session students will select special projects involving the use of statistics in consultation with their mentors. In the third phase, the students will continue to work on their projects during the academic year. Arrangements will be made for periodic consultations with the mentors and the project staff. The students will be encourage to present their research projects at a Science Fair held annually in the western region of Puerto Rico. During the final month of the project, a Statistics Day will be held at the participant's schools and a Statistics Fair will be held at the Mayaguez Campus where the students will present their projects.
