An ambitious partnership between the East Side Union High School District and UCSC will dramatically improve college participation rates of students from East San Jose.
"Our goal is to provide a full host of academic support and outreach services to economically disadvantaged students in one of the most racially diverse districts in California," said Francisco Hernandez, vice chancellor for student affairs at UCSC. "Research shows that these types of early aca-demic outreach efforts can make all the difference. A lot of these kids have the potential to be the first in their families to attend college. It's our job to help make them aware of their educational options and to help them make decisions that will keep those options open for them."
The program will focus on improving the academic preparation of students in the district and increasing the number of students who enroll at UC campuses. To that end, UCSC faculty and staff are teaming up with district personnel to build programs that will help students prepare for college, meet college admissions requirements, apply, and enroll.
Services being offered to each of the 10 high schools in the district include:
Intensive tutoring for students.
Creation of Parent Advisory Boards to facilitate parent involvement throughout the partnership.
Information and counseling services for students during the college application period, and biweekly site visits in the fall.
In the spring, three schools will also host an intensive seven-week academic enrichment program known as "Saturday College" that emphasizes math and English instruction.
In addition, UCSC is tailoring programs and services to meet the individual needs of schools as identified by principals and school administrators. Some of those services include scholarship-search training for career counselors, analysis of standardized test results, access to UC libraries and public events, and university field trips.