Special Initiatives
Campaign to Improve Latino Educational Attainment
TRPI’s College Knowledge campaign – College for You: Your Million Dollar Decision – seeks to close the information gap that exists among Latino youth and parents on the college application and financial aid processes. The campaign stems from TRPI's 2002 landmark study, College Knowledge: What Latino Parents Need to Know and Why They Don't Know It, revealing that while a significant majority of Latino parents want their children to attend college, relatively few have access to meaningful information that helps them understand the college preparation process. A 2003 TRPI study found that only 16.4 percent of Latinos in their late 20s have college degrees, compared to 36.5 percent of Caucasians.
With funding from The James Irvine Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, MTV, The Sallie Mae Fund, Honda, ImpreMedia, Boeing, and Toyota Motor Company, TRPI is now utilizing multimedia to address all applicable audiences in the college-going cycle - teachers, outreach counselors, parents, and students - to inform them of the steps required to apply for, and attend, college.
The College for You: Your Million Dollar Decision campaign is an initiative of the Tomás Rivera Policy Institute (TRPI) and its Center for Latino Educational Excellence (CLEE). It is a yearlong project that aims to provide Latino parents and students with information to prepare for college admission and attendance.
Components of the campaign include:
A scholarship directory of scholarships that are offered by regional organizations targeting California Latino students. To date, this directory has been viewed online over 30,000 times.
A searchable, easily-accessible website listing scholarships that are offered by regional organizations targeting California Latino students.
A media campaign comprised of news segments, informed by TRPI and produced by and aired on MTV.
Localized guides to college readiness, which appeared in March, 2006 in Spanish-language newspapers in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York. Developed in partnership with MTV, they are designed to give parents the information they need to help their children win admission to competitive colleges and universities.
Jorge Ramos, an Emmy award-winning journalist and anchor of Noticiero Univision, is featured on the inserts.
Download the guides for California, Illinois, and
New York.
A website for students providing basic information about how to prepare for and apply to college.
This 2005 TRPI report, Reaching Higher Ground: Parental Outreach Programs at the Postsecondary Level, examines how postsecondary institutions throughout the nation are mobilizing to address the need for college information among Latino parents. A resource section is included, providing a list of program directors, as well as potential funding sources.
________________________________________________________________________
Kids2College®
The Tomás Rivera Policy Institute (TRPI), in partnership with the California State University (CSU) System Chancellor’s Office and The Sallie Mae Fund, has successfully completed the third year of the Kids2College® Program in California.
In collaboration with three California State University campuses, CSU Los Angeles, CSU Fullerton and CSU Northridge, TRPI has implemented the program in 83 6th grade classrooms in selected schools in Los Angeles and Orange counties. In 2007, Kids2College® reached out to 18 schools within 8 districts in cities such as Los Angeles, Montebello, Baldwin Park, West Covina, Anaheim, Fullerton, Garden Grove, and Santa Ana. The campuses’ geographic locations made it possible for the program to reach student populations that have been traditionally underserved and underrepresented in higher education.
KIDS2COLLEGE® 2007 PARTICIPANTS |
|
| California State University, Fullerton |
California State University, Los Angeles |
| Fullerton School District |
Los Angeles Unified School District |
| Orangethorpe Elementary | Hollenbeck Middle School |
| Pacific Drive Elementary |
MIddleton Elementary |
| Richman Elementary | |
| Woodcrest Elementary | Alhambra Unified School District |
| Garfield Elementary |
|
| Anaheim Unified School District | |
| Benjamin Franklin Elementary |
Baldwin Park Unified School District |
| James Madison Elementary | Tracy Elementary |
| Palm Lane Elementary | Olive Middle School |
| Sunkist Elementary |
|
| Paramount Unified School District | |
| Garden Grove Unified School District |
Alondra Elementary |
| Hazard Elementary |
Zamboni Middle School |
| Lawrence Elementary | Tanner Elementary |
The Kids2College® program in California has shown to have significant influence in outreach and in the knowledge 6th graders gain about college opportunities. Every year, Kids2College® reaches out to more and more 6th grade students around the Southern California region. In 2005-2006, the program’s first year in California, Kids2College® served 2,093 students. In 2006-2007, 2,936 sixth graders participated and in the 2007-2008 school year, with the addition of California State University, Northridge; Kids2College® anticipates meeting our participation goal of 4,000 6th grade students.
The program was established with funding from The Sallie Mae Fund as part of their $1 million statewide education initiative, and is an early outreach program designed to facilitate awareness and provide information on preparing and planning for a college education. The program helps foster motivation and inspiration to pursue higher education, and provides information on career and life opportunities. Kids2College® utilizes a unique teacher-student centered model with a unique six-session curriculum that combines hands-on activities with information on careers, college life, and choice-making. Students are asked to fill out a pre-survey in the beginning and a post-survey at the end of the program. Survey results have shown that students obtain an increased knowledge of college opportunities and resources due to the Kids2College® program. All sessions and activities are held at the participating school and reinforce the program’s premise: “Planning and Preparation make it possible!”
The success of the program has been facilitated by the participation and support of teachers and school administrators, without whom we would be able to partner in this venture. In their commitment to provide opportunities for enrichment and influence achievement outcomes, teachers, counselor, assistant principals, and principals have enlisted with the program. Our goal is to help schools create a college-going culture and promote the premise at an early age that higher education can be achieved if you plan ahead.
“This is a wonderful program. My students are beginning to realize how necessary and available college is to them” (Teacher, Key Elementary, Anaheim)
“An outstanding program that has changed the outlook of not only our students, but the entire school and community…We really enjoyed it!” (Teacher, Heritage Elementary, Santa Ana)
“I am so grateful that my students had this opportunity. The changes in their attitudes toward studying and working hard and knowing the importance of a good education have been invaluable. I now have students really thinking about going to college. Thank you so much!” (Teacher, Heritage Elementary, Santa Ana)
The program culminates with a visit to the partner college for students and parents/guardians.
While many colleges and universities already have educational awareness programs in place, Kids2College® is unique in its outreach to sixth graders. The students are old enough to contemplate the future and young enough to be open-minded and listen to adults. The sooner students and their families learn about all of their educational options, the sooner they can begin to prepare for them financially, academically and socially. Sixth grade is a particularly critical point for decisions that affect a child’s future education; a time when many students begin to a question the value of education and whether or not it holds any promise for them. In 6th grade, students and their parents are still HOPEFUL!
“I really enjoyed the program Kids2College when we went to Cal State Fullerton…I would never forget this, it will be a memory in my life and maybe in about 7 years I will see you in Cal State Fullerton.” (Student, Sunkist Elementary, Anaheim)
“I want to say thank you for this program that is also funded by the Sallie Mae Fund…I never really thought about college until now.” (Student, Northrup Elementary, Alhambra)
The rapidly changing demographics in California show that Latinos will continue to be a population group whose impact on the workforce and economic prosperity is significant. As such, providing educational opportunities to Latinos and other historically underrepresented communities is paramount to creating an educated and skilled workforce for California. The Kids2College® program is part of ongoing education, community, and civic partnerships that seek to be a part of student learning environments that foster and promote college aspirations.
For additional information about Kids2College®, contact Corina A. Espinoza at 213.821.5615 or at corina@trpi.org.
Kids2College® is a program of the Tomás Rivera Policy Institute (TRPI).
The Sallie Mae Fund, a charitable organization sponsored by Sallie Mae, is the founding sponsor of the Kids2College® program, established in 1992 in Massachusetts.
________________________________________________________________________
The Center for Latino Educational Excellence
The Center for Latino Educational Excellence (CLEE) was established as a major initiative of the Tomás Rivera Policy Institute in the spring of 2002 to help improve educational attainment and achievement in Latino communities across the United States. Through its policy research, CLEE seeks to provide guidance for Latino leadership - across public, non-profit, and private sectors - on how to better the current systems of education that are, on many levels, failing Latino youth and adults.
________________________________________________________________________
The Center for Latino Health Policy
The Center for Latino Health Policy was founded in the Fall of 2003. Researchers will examine pressing health issues as they relate to the Latino community. In better understanding the Latino experience with health and health care, the Center looks to better inform policymakers and key stakeholders on such topics as: healthcare disparities, the role of language and culture in health, health care access, as well as the role of minorities in the health professions. Through its actionable policy recommendations, the Center seeks to improve the health outcomes and the quality of life of the Latino community.
