UCSC Press Release: Educators fund $5 million project to get more kids on path to college

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June 6, 2000
Contact: Jennifer McNulty (831) 459-2495; jmcnulty@cats.ucsc.edu
Educators fund $5 million project to get more kids on path to college
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SANTA CRUZ, CA--A $2.2 million grant funded by the state of California's Academic Improvement and Achievement Act is giving a major boost to a collaborative effort by UC Santa Cruz and the Monterey County Office of Education, under the auspices of the Monterey Bay Educational Consortium (MBEC), to fund a five-year, $5 million effort to get more students on the path to college. The grant will serve five participating high schools and their "feeder" middle schools from Watsonville to King City.
MBEC brings together all the public higher educational institutions, county offices of education, and school districts in the Monterey Bay region to work toward increasing the number of students in San Benito, Monterey, and Santa Cruz Counties who attend college.
With the new state funding, the Educational Partnership Center (EPC) at the University of California, Santa Cruz, is teaming up with the Monterey County Office of Education (MCOE) and the five high schools to implement the "Passport to Education Program." The goal of the program is to increase the number of high school students who, upon graduation, are eligible to attend a University of California or California State University campus.
Contributions from UCSC and the five schools will raise the program's total budget to $4.94 million over five years. Participating high schools serve more than 6,600 students, and an additional 2,500 eighth graders are enrolled in the feeder middle schools. The participating schools are:
* Greenfield High School in the King City Joint Unified High School District, with Vista Verde Middle School;
* North Monterey County High School in the North Monterey County Unified School District, with Gambetta and Moss Landing Middle Schools;
* Seaside High School in the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District, with Roger S. Fitch, Martin Luther King, and Los Arboles Middle Schools;
* Soledad High School in the Soledad Unified School District, with Main Street Middle School;
* Watsonville High School in the Pajaro Valley Unified School District, with E. A. Hall, Lakeview, Pajaro, and Rolling Hills Middle Schools.
The Passport to Education Program is designed to create a pathway to college for students from eighth grade through 12th grade. "The goal is to infuse all aspects of school culture with the expectation among staff, students, and parents that all students can go to college," said Carrol Moran, director of EPC. "By the end of the 2004-05 school year, our goal is for each high school to equal or exceed the state average on five standard measures of success, including SAT scores."
Academic support will focus on math and writing skills for "gatekeeping" courses like algebra I and II and college preparatory English that allow students to proceed toward college. College advocates will be hired to work at the high schools and middle schools, and tutors will support the academic work of students in the schools. Test-preparation workshops will help students prepare for exams, and parent workshops will give parents information about college eligibility requirements, financial aid, and the importance of a college education to help them encourage their children to go to college.
New interactive databases will allow teachers and university researchers and support personnel to monitor student accomplishments, with an eye toward shaping specific interventions for each student at each grade level, she said. "We want to increase awareness of college requirements and let students know how to get on track for college right away," said Moran. "We'll have easy access to the records that will show if they're getting off track, and if they are, we have developed a series of strategies to bring them back into the fold."
In addition, EPC will expand the reach of its existing college preparation programs, including Early Academic Outreach Program (EAOP); Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA); and the local branch of Advancement via Individual Determination (AVID), to include students in the Passport to Education Program.
"We look forward to working together with UCSC and our other partners as we build the aspirations and performance of students in these five high schools and their feeder middle schools," said Nancy Kotowski, assistant superintendent for educational services with MCOE. As the lead educational agency, MCOE will administer the funds.
Local business partners will help motivate students through mentoring, career talks, job-shadowing opportunities, events to recognize student achievement, and development of hands-on activities. Business partners include the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, the Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau, the Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce, the Register Pajaronian newspaper, Graniterock Construction Company, the Soledad-Mission Chamber of Commerce, and the Soledad and Greenfield Rotaries. Additional educational partners that are contributing to the program include Cabrillo College, Hartnell College, the Monterey Bay Regional School-to-Career Partnership, and the Santa Cruz County Office of Education.
The Academic Improvement and Achievement Act is an initiative to boost college preparation among eighth graders and to improve academic support and services offered to high school students.

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June 6, 2000 Contact: Jennifer McNulty (831) 459-2495; jmcnulty@cats.ucsc.edu Educators fund $5 million project to get more kids on path to college FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE SANTA CRUZ, CA--A $2.2 million grant funded by the state of California's Academic Improvement and Achievement Act is giving a major boost to a collaborative effort by UC Santa Cruz and the Monterey County Office of Education, under the auspices of the Monterey Bay Educational Consortium (MBEC), to fund a five-year, $5 million effort to get more students on the path to college. The grant will serve five participating high schools and their "feeder" middle schools from Watsonville to King City. MBEC brings together all the public higher educational institutions, county offices of education, and school districts in the Monterey Bay region to work toward increasing the number of students in San Benito, Monterey, and Santa Cruz Counties who attend college. With the new state funding, the Educational Partnership Center (EPC) at the University of California, Santa Cruz, is teaming up with the Monterey County Office of Education (MCOE) and the five high schools to implement the "Passport to Education Program." The goal of the program is to increase the number of high school students who, upon graduation, are eligible to attend a University of California or California State University campus. Contributions from UCSC and the five schools will raise the program's total budget to $4.94 million over five years. Participating high schools serve more than 6,600 students, and an additional 2,500 eighth graders are enrolled in the feeder middle schools. The participating schools are: * Greenfield High School in the King City Joint Unified High School District, with Vista Verde Middle School; * North Monterey County High School in the North Monterey County Unified School District, with Gambetta and Moss Landing Middle Schools; * Seaside High School in the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District, with Roger S. Fitch, Martin Luther King, and Los Arboles Middle Schools; * Soledad High School in the Soledad Unified School District, with Main Street Middle School; * Watsonville High School in the Pajaro Valley Unified School District, with E. A. Hall, Lakeview, Pajaro, and Rolling Hills Middle Schools. The Passport to Education Program is designed to create a pathway to college for students from eighth grade through 12th grade. "The goal is to infuse all aspects of school culture with the expectation among staff, students, and parents that all students can go to college," said Carrol Moran, director of EPC. "By the end of the 2004-05 school year, our goal is for each high school to equal or exceed the state average on five standard measures of success, including SAT scores." Academic support will focus on math and writing skills for "gatekeeping" courses like algebra I and II and college preparatory English that allow students to proceed toward college. College advocates will be hired to work at the high schools and middle schools, and tutors will support the academic work of students in the schools. Test-preparation workshops will help students prepare for exams, and parent workshops will give parents information about college eligibility requirements, financial aid, and the importance of a college education to help them encourage their children to go to college. New interactive databases will allow teachers and university researchers and support personnel to monitor student accomplishments, with an eye toward shaping specific interventions for each student at each grade level, she said. "We want to increase awareness of college requirements and let students know how to get on track for college right away," said Moran. "We'll have easy access to the records that will show if they're getting off track, and if they are, we have developed a series of strategies to bring them back into the fold." In addition, EPC will expand the reach of its existing college preparation programs, including Early Academic Outreach Program (EAOP); Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA); and the local branch of Advancement via Individual Determination (AVID), to include students in the Passport to Education Program. "We look forward to working together with UCSC and our other partners as we build the aspirations and performance of students in these five high schools and their feeder middle schools," said Nancy Kotowski, assistant superintendent for educational services with MCOE. As the lead educational agency, MCOE will administer the funds. Local business partners will help motivate students through mentoring, career talks, job-shadowing opportunities, events to recognize student achievement, and development of hands-on activities. Business partners include the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, the Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau, the Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce, the Register Pajaronian newspaper, Graniterock Construction Company, the Soledad-Mission Chamber of Commerce, and the Soledad and Greenfield Rotaries. Additional educational partners that are contributing to the program include Cabrillo College, Hartnell College, the Monterey Bay Regional School-to-Career Partnership, and the Santa Cruz County Office of Education. The Academic Improvement and Achievement Act is an initiative to boost college preparation among eighth graders and to improve academic support and services offered to high school students. ##### Press Release Home \| Search Press Releases \| Press Release Archive \| Services for Journalists
	Maintained by:pioweb@cats.ucsc.edu