STRENGTHENING OUR

COLLEGE-GOING

CULTURESRebecca Joseph, PhD

Associate Professor

CSULA

rjoseph@calstatela.edu

getmetocollege@gmail.com

323-646-5759

True or False

This quiz addresses low-income students.

1. Students can only take the SAT or ACT once for free.

2. Students can apply to three Cal States and three UCs for free.

3. Undocumented students qualify for Cal Grants.

4. The UC Blue and Gold Plan guarantees financial aid accessibility for students whose families make less than $80K per year.

5. The new UC eligibility index includes the top 9% of qualified seniors applicants.

6. Colleges around the country fly in under-represented students to visit their campuses for free before and after the students are accepted.

7. Students can only apply to four private universities for free.

8. Students who go away to college are significantly less likely to return to their communities.

9. Counselors and teacher letters to colleges play a minor role in college admissions.

10. Colleges fly in counselors to visit their universities for free.

True or False

1. FALSE. --Students can take the SAT, ACT, and three SAT Subject Tests free twice. Schools can raise money to pay for third or fourth tries. Test scores are more important than ever. Yet they truly discriminate against ELLs and under—represented students. Counselors can get unlimited fee waivers from the ACT and SAT. They need to apply early and help kids sign up.

2. FALSE--Four of each.

3. TRUE

4. TRUE. Loans are part of many, but significantly less than before.

5. TRUE. However, students must now pass with a C or higher 11 of 15 A-G classes by beginning of senior year. UCS and Cal States no longer count any post graduation make up classes

True/False Continued

6. TRUE. I keep a list of these schools. They are desperate for

your students.

7. FALSE—They are multiple ways to keep application fee

waivers. NACAC, College Board, etc.

8. FALSE-research shows they are much more likely to come

back and serve their communities.

9. FALSE—They play a huge role and can help make or break

a scholarship or college acceptance. Top counselors contact

colleges and invite admissions reps into visit their students.

10. TRUE--here are multiple ways for counselors to visit

colleges. Top counselors participate in WACAC and NACAC

and make connections with colleges and non-profits.

Our Own Pathways to College

• Group Questions:

Were you the first in your family to go to college?

Did you have an advocate in your family? Outside of your family?

Did you work to pay for school?

When you were in high school, did you easily see yourself as a college student?

• Journey Questions: posted up in the room

Any surprises about your partner’s Ed Journey?

What messages do you think your students are getting? Are they similar/different to the messages you received? How many of you have children? What messages are you giving your children? How is that message similar of different than the ones we give to our students.

Group Questions

Why Do I Care

• Former middle school teacher.

• PhD Urban School Reform at UCLA

• Associate Professor at CSULA

• Train secondary teachers and teach remedial freshman English support

• College access expert. Get Me To College

• Speaker at schools and non-profits around the country about college access.

• 2016 Unsung Hero of LA County

My Journey Through LA

• I walk two roads that lead to one powerful destination: college access and success for first generation students.

• On one road, I train aspiring teachers to be effective, social justice educators for all students and to serve as advocates to get their students on the path to match colleges, successful careers and meaningful, happy lives.

• On the other road, I travel around Los Angeles and the country giving workshops about college readiness and success to parents and guardians, students and educators. I created getmetocollege.org, write frequent blogs and offer a website that tracks college admission essay prompts. These powerful yet simple tools are an incredible resource for students.

• I get emotional about the idea of breaking cycles together. But one person isn’t enough. I work with hundreds of teachers and counselors so our power is multiplied, helping thousands and thousands of kids succeed in school and get to college.

Some Students I’ve Met• Johanna-Graduated Fremont High School. 3.9 GPA. Oldest of four sisters. Mother

sells food from front yard. Accepted to Penn, UCLA, Williams, Brown. Parents beg her not to go. Graduated from Penn last year. Now her sister is a senior at Davis. Zero debt.

• Adilene-Graduated Fremont High School. Came to country at age 16. Not documented. 3.9 GPA. Activities galore. Took five years to graduate college. Now a teacher credential student here.

• Yesenia-Graduated from LA Leadership Academy. Participated in HOLA and STEP-UP. Undocumented. Visited several colleges. LMU full ride.

• Jesus-Graduated LA Leadership Academy. Questbridge Winner. HaverfordPaola-Belmont. 2.8 GPA. CSULA Freshman. Dropped out to work. No family support.

• Pedro-Fremont. EOP. CSULA. Freshman. Comes every day. Working to overcome remedial math and English. Just graduated last month.

• Florisel-Torres. Upward Bound. Run LA and much more. 1960 SAT-Brown.

• Genesis-Central Region High School #16. Junior with 3.8 GPA. NO plan. NO SAT. No guidance.

• Amari-Downtown Magnets. 2.2 GPA. No plans yet for college.

• Frederick-LA Leadership. 2.2. GPA. Class trip to GCC for placement tests.

Higher Earnings. High Education

Stark Differences

Statistics Are Powerful

• Associate degree holders earn roughly 80 percent of the

income of bachelor’s degree holders. The proportion falls to

less than 50 percent for people who did not graduate from high

school, and the proportion has fallen since 1991.

• Unemployment rates tell a similar story. The unemployment

rate for all workers in 2011 was 8.9 percent. According to the

Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment rates in 2011

decreased with educational attainment:• Less than high school diploma: 14.1 percent

• High school: 9.4 percent

• Some college: 8.7 percent

• Associate degree: 6.8 percent

• Bachelor’s degree or higher: 4.3 percent.

Jobs Abound for College Grads

Disparate Access

• 33 percent of whites in their 20s hold college degrees, compared to

18 percent of blacks and 10 percent of Latinos.

• These students

• receive limited access to rigorous college preparatory courses, especially in

math and language

• receive poor and now more limited college counseling

• have less prepared and less qualified teachers than their privileged

counterparts

• are less likely to live in a home with college-educated parents, a relationship

that directly correlates with college matriculation

• LAUSD is working hard to improve graduation rates and A-G completion

rates—across all ethnic and social-economic groups. Still lagging for African-

American students, Latinos, ELLS, and Special Needs

Too Few African-American and Latino

Graduates are Eligible for a 4-Year

California University

35%

59%

41%27% 26%

39%

29%

43%

31%41%

74%

89%83%

59%

68%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

All Asian White African-American

Latino

Hig

h S

ch

oo

l G

rad

uati

on

Rate

High School and A-G Graduation Rates by Race/Ethnicity, 2009-10

HS GradsNOT MeetingA-GRequirementsHS GradsMeeting A-GRequirements

NOTE: This is not a cohort analysis; it is made up of publicly available snapshot data through the CDE. Cohort

graduation data, 2009-10, and 2006-07 H.S. Graduates’ College Enrollment, SFSF Indicator, C12.

83 graduate from high school

43 of these students enter a CA

public postsecondary institution

68 graduate from high school

32 of these students enter a CA

public postsecondary institution

59 graduate from high school

27 of these students enter a CA

public postsecondary institution

Of every 100 California 9th graders…

White Students Latino Students African-American Students

Within the Pipeline, Achievement Gaps Persist

Eye of the Needle –Latino Students

• In 2008, 14% of Latino public high school graduates in CA

enrolled in a UC or CSU as first-time freshmen.

• The more than 43,000 Latino dropouts significantly outnumbered

the 32,000 who were eligible to apply to a UC/CSU.

• Latino students represent only 32% of UC undergraduate

accepted students and 40% of CSU undergraduate

enrollment, despite the fact that Latinos represent 54%

percent of the California population between the ages of

18 and 24.

• College admission is no guarantee of success. Six-year

graduation rates for Latino first-time freshman range from

41% in the CSU system to in the 72% in the UC system.

Eye of the Needle-African American

Students• African American students represent only 4.7 % of UC

admitted students and 4.6% of CSU undergraduate

enrollment, despite the fact that Latinos represent 8.4%

percent of Los Angeles County population between the

ages of 18 and 24.

California’s Leaky Pipeline

The Power of Outreach

• College readiness takes significant systemic changes at

the middle and high school level.

• Strong teachers and counselors

• College advising

• Positive mentoring

• Academic support

• Assistance with all aspects of college readiness, applications, financial aid, and more

• Parent/Family guidance

Disparate Outcomes

For four years, I evaluated a GEAR UP program that

instituted a multitude of college readiness components that

Doubled matriculation to four year colleges

Tripled matriculation to UCs and Cal States

I visit schools with these same kids and the majority go to

community college

Successful College Students

1. Explore college through

•Investigation of written and online resources

•Virtual tours

•Participation in college fairs

•College visits

•Interaction with college students

•Meetings with college representatives

•On-campus experiences

•Find the right fit between person and institution

Successful College Students

2.Have compelling and motivating personal goals

• a. Driven to prove self

• b. Engaged with a career vision

• c. Willing to sacrifice and alter personal habits

Successful College Students

3. Are able to use available resources and ask for help

• a. Recognize that seeking help isn’t weakness

• b. Asking for and using help is necessary skill for success

Successful College Students

4.Develop special, supportive networks with individuals

who are knowledgeable about the college experience.

• a. Counselors

• b. Teachers

• c. Advisors

• d. Peer mentors

• e. Resident assistants

• f. Others

David Conley on College Readiness

Key Components of Schools With Strong

College Going Cultures (CGC)• Academic momentum

• An understanding of how college plans develop

• A clear mission statement

• Comprehensive college services

• Coordinated and systemic college support

• College affordability addressed at all levels

Ways to Begin the Process

1. Evaluate where you are. Track where your students go.

• Discuss and share notions of what it means to be part of a

K-16 continuum.

• Involve the whole school in creating a clear vision

a. Ambitious mission statement

b. Meaningful benchmarks

c. Adequate resources

Creating the CGC

2. Sustain and consistently reinforce college-going

messages

• Design a plan that serves students throughout the grades

beginning in elementary school

Message Communication

• 1. Integrate college-planning topics into the curriculum

and continue through the senior year of high school

• 2. Provide more personalized information in the higher

grades

• 3. Encourage all students to take the PSAT and PLAN;

provide subsidized SAT/ACT prep

More Message Communication

• 4. Publicize availability of financial aid in middle school

and early high school –provide early estimation services

• 5. We are here to help. You do not have to do it on your

own—test readiness, application readiness, college and

college fair visits, Cal Grant submission, and more.

• 5.Tailor messages to particular grades

• 6.Provide messages for specific student groups, e.g.,

foster students, children of undocumented parents;

students with top GPAS.

More Ways to Increase CGC

• Coordinate services widely and communicate activities

and goals

Publicizing

Newsletters

More CGC4. Create and support a strong academic program

Even More

5. Provide quality guidance services

What Colleges Want from Diverse CA

Students• Academics

• Tests

• Applications/Essays

• Involvement

• Recommendations

• Special talents

• Readiness for College

• Interest in College

Nine Principles.

• According to UCLA’s Pat McDonough

Policies That Support CGC

• Define school success in terms of what happens to students after high school.

• Engaging teachers in the process.

• Ensure student preparation aligns with postsecondary requirements.

• Dual credit, concurrent enrollment, AP, IB

• Use college placement tests in HS junior year

• Make college preparatory curriculum normative

• Blend/blur the boundary between secondary and postsecondary

• Develop partnerships with local non-profits, universities, and grant-makers.

More Policies

• Comprehensive guidance programming

• Strong career development component in accordance

with National Career Development Guidelines

• International Baccalaureate, Early College High Schools

• Alignment efforts such as P-16

Evaluate Your Own Path and Your

School’s Path• Complete College-Going Assessment Rubric

• For Yourself

• For Your School

• Complete it in Google Classroom

• Make a copy for yourself and title it

• Rebecca Joseph Self Rubric

• Rebecca Joseph CSULA Rubric

Excuses-Attached Responses

• Nobody in my family has ever gone to college before

• My grades are not good enough for college

• I can’t afford it

• I don’t know how to apply or where I want to go

• College will be too difficult for me

• I’m not sure that I’ll fit in

• I don’t know what I want to do with my life anyway

• I can’t go to college full time

• I just want to get a good job and make lots of money

Beginning List of Resources

• Pathways to College http://www.pathwaystocollege.net/

• Removing the Roadblocks to College. http://idea.gseis.ucla.edu/publications/documents/removing-the-roadblocks-to-college-report

• Potholes on the Road to College: High School Effects in Shaping Urban Students' Participation in College Application, Four-year College Enrollment, and College Match

• http://ccsr.uchicago.edu/publications/potholes-road-college-high-school-effects-shaping-urban-students-participation-college

• California Center for College and Career Connect Ed. http://www.connectedcalifornia.org/

• Creating a College Going Culture. http://apep.gseis.ucla.edu/bestla/BEST-CreateCollegeCultResourceGuide.pdf

• College Tools for Schools: Helping California schools prepare students for college and careers. http://collegetools.berkeley.edu/index.php

• Application crunch. http://collegeologygames.com/

• Get Me To College. http://Getmetocollege.org

• Learn about various grants—Questbridge, Posse, Dell, Gates, Coca-Cola and more

• Learn about various scholarships-SALEF, HSF, HCF, and more.

• Learn about non-profits and other programs in your area. Fulfillment Fund, College Summit, HOLA, Upward Bound, Talent Search, College Match, Latinos in College, College Week Live, and more.

• Learn about fly-in programs, summer programs, internships, test prep, and more.

A Promise

• This summer institute will help you develop systemic ways

to increase college going rates within your school.

• I will visit your schools this fall.

• I can connect you with other principals and counselors

committed to college access on a budget

• Rjoseph@calstatela.edu