uc outlook

University of California

FamilyMattersUC Davis promotes parent participation to set kids on the college course

M A Y 2 0 0 2

BETATakes Care of Business

UC’s K-12 Connection

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA

OutlookEnhancing Students’ Preparation for College –News about UC Outreach

EDITOR: Steven CohenART DIRECTOR: Laura Cirolia DESIGN/PRODUCTION: Anita Wong

Outlook is published by Student Academic Services, Office of the President, University of California,1111 Franklin Street, 9th Floor, Oakland, CA 94607-5200; e-mail: [email protected].

www.ucop.edu/outreach/outlook

Subscribe to the online version of Outlook by filling out the form atwww.ucop.edu/outreach/outlook/OL_subscribe.html

WEB DEVELOPER: Marc GidalPROJECT MANAGER: Danielle Perry COMMUNICATIONS ASSISTANT: Jennifer Forsberg

FeaturesP R O F I L E

14 Taking Care of BusinessUC Berkeley’s BETA program fulfilling mission at San Francisco high school. BY STEVEN COHEN

V O I C E S

16 Putting the Pieces TogetherThrough its critical links, UC can help improve California’s K–12 schools. BY GERALD HAYWARD

S P O T L I G H T

22 Family MattersUC Davis promotes parent participation and early intervention toset kids on the college course. BY JAN FERRIS HEENAN

College clicks at home, page 22

Mentor magic, page 14

MAY 2002 / VOLUME 4 ISSUE 2

COVER: The UC Davis Reservation for College program has made higher education a family focus in the Hill household.Pictured are Lana Hill with her sons Clayvius, left, and Aubrey. Photo: Neil Michel/Axiom.

University of California

EAOP doubles up, page 8

UCSB makes AirWAVES, page 3

2 H O R I Z O N S

Toward a Level Playing FieldBY WINSTON DOBY

3 I N B R I E F

Capsule summaries of programs,events and activities.

8 N E W S

8 EAOP Measures UpOutreach program’s studentstwice as likely to complete “a–f”courses as non-EAOP classmates.

9 Programs’ ProgressSecond-year results demonstrateimpact of UC outreach efforts asLegislature wrestles with statebudget shortfall.

Departments10 CSMP/CPDIForge Ahead

California’s largest professionaldevelopment programs readyfor another busy summer.

11 UCCP Stays on CourseUC’s AP online initiative going back to UC campuses for content development.

12 Boosting the Transfer TrackUC Davis meeting showcaseslatest links between communitycolleges and UC.

13 North Star Shines BrighterUC stresses college awareness at popular Redding conference.

28 C A M P U S D I R E C T O RY

UC outreach contacts.

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May 2002 3

UCSB Youth Radio Project Makes AirWAVES

UCSB tutors are speaking out and reaching out through KCSB/KJUC Radio.

IN BRIEFGEAR UPConference HatchesIdeas for Future

The first community conference forCalifornia’s State GEAR UP pro-

gram drew partners and supporters toSacramento in March to share theirprogress and generate ideas for sustain-ing the program.

Now in the third year of a five-year$25 million federal grant, GEAR UP issponsored by the California EducationRoundtable, and the University of California is steward of the grant. Theprogram goal is to sustain the organ-izational capacity of middle schools to prepare all students for higher educationby supporting the adults who most affectstudents’ lives: parents, teachers, coun-selors and principals.

According to Shelley Davis, GEARUP director, the statewide commitmentto this program was evident at the con-ference with participation from everylevel of education, as well as from thepublic and private sectors.

Secretary of Education Kerry Maz-zoni greeted the conference participantson behalf of the Governor’s Office. Panelsrepresenting the implementationteams, partners, school-based servicesand individual schools showcased dif-ferent components of the program.

One of the key elements of GEARUP is the Parent Institute for QualityEducation. Families from each GEARUP middle school participate in a nine-week institute that teaches parents howto assist their children in reaching col-lege. For three months following theinstitutes, families participate in trainingsessions for other parents at their schoolsites, sharing the strategies and practicesthey’ve learned.

The conference’s afternoon discussion

groups examined the effectiveness andsustainability of various GEAR UP initiatives, including professional devel-opment for middle school educators,articulated standards in English andmath between middle and high schools,a resource and materials clearinghouseand the establishment of Educational

A pilot outreach project is introducing high school students to the resources

and possibilities at UC Santa Barbara by giving them and their tutors a

voice on community access radio.

Dubbed AirWAVES, the youth radio project is a collaborative endeavor of

UCSB’s Early Academic Outreach, the Academic Senate’s Center for Faculty

Outreach and KCSB Radio. To bring the campus’s community radio into local

schools, organizers recruited UCSB undergraduates already serving as academic

tutors in Carlos Cohen’s 10th-grade classroom at San Marcos High School.

Five tutors have been trained in programming, engineering and broadcast-

ing at the University’s community radio station, KJUC. As part of their training,

the undergraduates produce and broadcast a weekly show from 3–4 p.m.

Fridays, focusing on issues from women’s studies to slam poetry.

At the same time, Cohen’s 17 students have been learning about communi-

ty radio and how to think critically about the media. Students have listened to

snippets of the radio shows produced by their tutors, and visited UCSB to

observe the production and broadcast. In April, the tutors and high school stu-

dents jointly produced, engineered and broadcast the first of a number of

shows reflecting youth topics chosen by the high school students. UCSB out-

reach staff are seeking extramural funding to expand the project.

For more information, contact UCSB academic development counselor Scott

Woodbridge at (805) 893-5439; [email protected].

Trust Accounts for 3,750 students thatwill grow to $2,500 upon graduation.

All ideas generated at the conferencewill be compiled and circulated as a“Blueprint for Sustainability” of StateGEAR UP efforts.

More information is available online(at www.castategearup.org).

The framework I have articulated to the Regents and to

others involved with UC outreach reflects this ambitious but

crucial goal. The framework requires securing certain learn-

ing conditions for all students. These conditions are ground-

ed in “opportunity to learn” research by UCLA education

faculty and have served as a common framework for stu-

dent development and school reform outreach work at

UCLA:

Committed and competent instructors who are credentialed

masters of content and pedagogy with high expectations of

all students;

A college-going culture in schools where every child is seen

as college material and going to college is the expected

norm, not the exception;

Rigorous standards-based curriculum beginning in the early

grades and culminating in a full

array of Advanced Placement and

honors courses in high school;

An academic support system of

counseling, mentoring, tutoring,

test preparation and enrichment

activities to ensure success;

Healthy families and communities that support schools

and individual student needs, growth and development;

A multicultural college-going identity that allows all stu-

dents to see a connection between their identities and

going to college; and

Access to external learning resources through enabling

technology that gives low-performing schools equal access

to the Internet and other resources.

The University of California cannot control the quality of

all these conditions for every student, but that should not

derail our mission to expand educational opportunity for

Toward a Level Playing Field

By Winston Doby, Vice President for Educational Outreach

HORIZONS

s I begin my tenure directing systemwide

outreach, I often think of a man who

intervened at two critical junctures in my

life.

I arrived at Fremont High School in Los

Angeles (now a UCLA partner school) hav-

ing excelled academically in middle school. However, when

I told the high school counselor I wanted to be an architect,

she put me on the vocational track — three courses of archi-

tectural drafting, auto mechanics and physical education.

English was my sole academic class.

Fortunately, about halfway through my first semester

I showed my report card to my PE coach. Bill Thayer gave

me a startled look and asked what I was doing in those

classes. Then he marched me over to the counselor’s

office and had my program

switched back to the academic

track. I caught up by taking

geometry in summer school and

continued to do very well at

Fremont High. Then, two weeks

before the end of my senior year,

when Coach Thayer learned of my plans to attend

Compton College, he drove me to UCLA and convinced

track coach Elvin “Ducky” Drake to give me a

half scholarship.

Frankly, I don’t know where I would have ended up if

Coach Thayer had not interceded on my behalf at those

two very critical moments.

We all need to intervene on behalf of more students to

help them get on the right track: The ultimate goal is a level

academic playing field where every student has the oppor-

tunity to achieve his or her full intellectual potential.

AThe University cannot control the quality of all conditions for every student, but that should notderail our mission to expand education-

2 U C O U T L O O K ANNE HAMERSKY

May 2002 5

UC Merced Creates Pipeline for Potential Teachers

UC Merced is working to build

the ranks of math and sci-

ence teachers by exposing more

Central Valley high school and

college students to what it takes

to teach.

The campus this year brought

out a UCOP-funded program,

Community Teaching and Fellow-

ship for Mathematics and Science

(CTFMS), which aims to create a

pipeline into credentialing pro-

grams for candidates who want

to pursue teaching careers in

math and science.

The program is offered in part-

nership with local schools and

reaches 100 students across four

high schools and two community colleges in Merced and Stanislaus counties, and

at CSU-Stanislaus. UC Merced plans to add its own students to the program

when it formally opens in 2004.

For college students, the program offers the guidance and preparation

they need to earn a bachelor’s degree and credential to teach math or science.

That preparation can include professional development, classroom teaching

and mentoring. Students accepted into the program sign a contract detailing

their commitment and receive a stipend when it’s met.

At the high school level, students are given a variety of teaching experi-

ences and the opportunity to simply learn more about science and math — for

example, by serving as docents in a local science and technology center and

taking related field trips or by co-teaching with experienced teachers. A site

adviser at each campus identifies a range of school-day and after-school experi-

ences that students can choose from to fulfill the required hours.

The students will attend half-daysessions that include workshops onhow campuses select students foradmission. The programs are designedto help more students understand eli-gibility and how they can overcomeany deficiencies they may have, and toacquaint students with the opportuni-ties and support services available at allthe UC campuses, said UCLA’sEdmund Harris, who is coordinating

Students simulate a space shuttle launch atthe Challenger Learning Center.

the program.Having recruiters directly address

those issues with students last year pro-duced an increase in UC applicationsfrom participating schools, Harris says.

The model being used at the eventwill be applied in October at UC PREPevents hosted by the other UC campuses.

For more information, contactEdmund Harris at (310) 794-2573; [email protected].

MESA EarnsNational Honor

The California Mathematics, Engi-neering, Science Achievement

(MESA) program was named one of thefive most innovative public programs inthe country in December.

Selected from a field of 1,200 appli-cants by a national committee of promi-nent public policy figures, MESAreceived the prestigious Innovations in American Government award bydemonstrating outstanding problem-solving skills and creativity. Winningprograms each receive a $100,000 grant.Gov. Gray Davis nominated MESA,which was the only winning programfrom California. The Puente Projectreceived the same award in 1998.

MESA supports more than 32,000educationally disadvantaged students at pre-college, community college anduniversity levels to excel in math andscience and graduate with baccalaure-ates in math-based fields. The programoperates more than 90 sites throughoutCalifornia.

Los Angeles HostsBiggest UC PREP

More than 700 high-achievingjuniors from 19 Los Angeles and

Orange County high schools will partic-ipate in California’s largest UC PREP onMay 24 at the Watts Community Centerin Los Angeles.

The event will bring UC campusrepresentatives to the area to offer earlyadmissions information and transcriptevaluations to the students, most ofwhom participate in the Early Acade-mic Outreach Program (EAOP) atUCLA and UC Irvine. Those who are not EAOP students were selectedbased on their anticipated Eligibility in the Local Context status.

4 U C O U T L O O K

set of services tailored to the district’sneeds. In 2000–2001, the most signifi-cant change in program strategiesincluded working more closely with the Mathematics, Engineering, ScienceAchievement (MESA) program andAmerica Reads and Counts Challenge,and with professional development pro-grams like the California Subject Mat-ter Projects.

The school district, in turn, hasfocused on recruiting and retaining lead-ers who are committed to workingtoward student success. “It has become agiven to work holistically in the schoolsin order to have our outreach effortsbecome effective agents of change,” saysStephanie Hubert Schneider, director of

IN BRIEF

Math + Bugs = Success in UCR Program

Not everyone can see a geo-

metry lesson in a butterfly’s

wings, or explain volume vs.

surface area using fat and flat

bugs. But that’s just what UC

Riverside’s outreach center did

in a special after-school program

designed to build students’ math

and science skills and their inter-

est in going to college.

Climbing Higher with the

Academy for Mathematics Per-

formance (CHAMP) was offered

in February and March to teachers and students in two schools in the Val Verde

Unified School District, which has an ethnically diverse population and a low

college-going rate. Over two weeks, teachers were given opportunities to blend

math with new instructional strategies, and 87 students were taught hands-on

lessons that integrated math and the biological sciences.

The Alpha Center, Riverside’s base for outreach programs, collaborated on

this CHAMP offering with the university’s entomology department, which has

developed its own K–12 outreach program tailored to meet state content stan-

dards. “Catch the Bug” offers on-site interactive presentations, led by gradu-

ate and undergraduate students or faculty that teach general entomology and

specific topics such as metamorphosis.

For more information regarding CHAMP, contact the Alpha Center (at

www.alphacenter.ucr.edu).

UCI-ComptonPartnership Pays Off

Last fall, 28 students from ComptonUnified’s three high schools were

admitted to UC. Three years earlier,only five Compton students qualified.

The more than fivefold increase inadmitted students — 18 of whomenrolled as freshmen at UC Irvine,including the student body presidents of all three high schools — is tangibleevidence of the partnership between thedistrict and UCI to build and sustain acollege-going community.

With funding provided by the LosAngeles Basin Initiative (LABI), UCIhas offered Compton a comprehensive

evaluation for the UCI Center for Edu-cational Partnerships.

For more information, contact Barbara Kuhn Al-Bayati, director of the UCI-Santa Ana Teachers Institute,at (949) 824-4145; [email protected].

Puente Prepares for Largest-EverTraining Series

The Puente Project is planning itsbiggest-ever series of trainings

this summer to keep up with its rapidexpansion.

The program, which currently servesstudents in 45 California communitycolleges and 31 high schools, plans toexpand to 75 community colleges —three-quarters of the state’s total. As aresult, it will hold three separate week-long sessions — two for community col-lege faculty, one for high school faculty— to train 70 teachers and counselorsin its innovative methods for workingwith underserved students.

According to Toni Fannin, directorof Puente’s community college program,the trainings will not only bring newsite teams into the fold, but also unitethose who are replacing outgoingteachers and counselors. “We have somany new people from which to drawstrength that it benefits everyone in the program,” she says.

Puente’s mission is to increase thenumber of educationally underrepre-sented students who enroll in four-yearcolleges and universities, earn collegedegrees and return to the community asmentors and leaders to future generations.

For more information about thePuente Project, contact Ernest Robles at (510) 987-9736 (Northern California)or Dennis Lopez at (714) 245-4424(Southern California).

Students handle a walking stick, left, and a New Zealand leaf insect.

May 2002 7

nutrition and a positive mental attitude.Students will learn math skills as theyrelate to health — for example, under-standing their ratio of body fat to leanmuscle — personal physical fitness, andlessons in self-motivation and characterdevelopment.

A free spinal screening will also beoffered by the Children’s Spine Founda-tion (CSF), which is partnering with theAlpha Center to sponsor the program.

CSF was founded by Dr. ThomasHaider, who invented the “Haiderscrew” used in spinal surgeries world-wide. Roughly $1 million in profits fromthe screw are donated annually to UC,says Pam Clute, executive director of theAlpha Center.

For more information on “HealthyBody, Healthy Mind,” visit the AlphaCenter Web site (at www.alphacenter.ucr.edu).

UCSD’s CREATEPublishes Article

Four senior members of UC SanDiego’s CREATE have described

their school-university partnership workwith 18 local elementary and secondaryschools in the March issue of “Educa-tional Researcher,” a publication of theAmerican Educational Research Associ-ation.

The article, “Shaping Pathways toHigher Education,” by Makeba Jones,Susan Yonezawa, Elizabeth Ballesterosand Hugh Mehan asserts that “authenticcollaboration around what counts as equitable and democratic educationhelps us understand the complex waysschool, district, and state contexts con-strain and enable college access,” which“can help the University and its K–12partners act in ways that subvert con-straints and support minority students’varied pathways to the university.”

CREATE was established in 1997 to coordinate K–12 outreach for UCSDand to develop a theoretical and research-based understanding of how school-university partnerships can increase thepool of college-eligible students.

The article is available in PDF for-mat online (at www.aera.net/pubs/er/toc /er3102.htm).

UCR Program Links Mental,Physical Fitness

Recognizing that students needhealthy bodies as well as healthy

minds, UC Riverside’s Alpha Center is offering a new program this July thatemphasizes developing both mental and physical strength.

The weeklong program for 40 seventh- and eighth-graders will focuson balancing health education, fitness,

EPC Students and Teachers Get Taste of Seafaring Research

In July, students and teachers studying earth sciences and oceanography

through summer programs of the UC Santa Cruz Educational Partnership

Center (EPC) will get to see firsthand what it’s like to be a scientist on an

oceanographic research cruise.

The center is arranging visits to the R/V JOIDES Resolution, a unique scientific

drilling ship that will briefly dock in San Francisco to exchange scientific and

technical staff and to resupply. During this port call, EPC-affiliated students

and teachers will tour the ship and meet some of its international scientists,

technical staff and crew.

Forty students participat-

ing in the EPC Upward Bound

Math and Science (UBMS)

four-week residential sum-

mer program will see the

shipboard laboratories from

which working research sci-

entists will correspond with

them as the ship collects

geological samples from the

seafloor off the coast of

Oregon during July and August. This summer’s UBMS program is built around

the theme of “oceanographic research expeditions.” Students from William C.

Overfelt and Willow Glen High Schools in San Jose will live on campus at UCSC

and take integrated science, math and language courses focused on learning

about the geology of the deep sea.

Visits to the ship for other EPC-affiliated groups are also being arranged.

High school students studying earth sciences and oceanography at the California

State Summer School for Mathematics and Science (COSMOS), geology/ocean-

ography instructors and students from community colleges, high school students

involved with MESA, and other groups may also tour the ship.

For more information, contact Gretchen Andreasen at (831) 460-3072;

[email protected].

The scientific ship is coming in for Santa Cruzstudents and teachers.

6 U C O U T L O O K

1,000 students and family members wereexpected to attend. Additionally, theshared resources allowed the program tobe offered in Spanish and Cantonese, aswell as English.

Collaborators on the event includedoutreach programs from UC Berkeley(EAOP), City College of San Franciscoand San Francisco State University.

For more information, contact Tracy Stevens at (415) 514-2132; [email protected] or visit the CSEOWeb site (at student.ucsf.edu/ucforyou).

College Prep MathCourses Up at UCSBPartner Schools

With the support of UC SantaBarbara’s outreach programs,

about 250 new students, including 90English Language Learners, are takingeighth grade algebra in the SantaMaria-Bonita School District, a 600percent jump over last year.

The teachers attribute much of theirstudents’ success to the curricula materi-als (College Preparatory Mathematics orCPM), improved teaching styles, verticalarticulation meetings with the highschool math teachers and collaborationacross elementary and high school dis-trict lines. UCSB provided professionaldevelopment and support for facilitationof vertical teams.

Santa Maria High has added ninthgrade geometry sections so these stu-dents can continue in their math success,while even more students are takingeighth grade algebra this year. TheSchool/University Partnership programis capitalizing on the results to persuadeother partner middle schools to addeighth grade algebra courses.

For more information, contact KelleyBaeza at (805) 893-5663; [email protected].

Outreach EffortsUnite at UCSF Event

Two annual outreach efforts at UCSan Francisco pooled resources in

April to present a bigger event for localeighth-grade students and their families.

UCSF’s Center for Science Educa-tion and Outreach (CSEO) merged itsthird annual “Plan on College” eventwith “College: Making It Happen,”which is organized every year by a

Cal Science Program’s Sweet Smell of Success

The smell of sizzling onion rings wafts from the second floor classroom

in San Francisco’s Thurgood Marshall Academic High School. Inside, 42

buzzing students huddle in groups around the solar ovens they made from recy-

cled pizza boxes, aluminum foil and plastic wrap, racing to see which one will

cook the frozen rings in the shortest time.

It’s not a cooking class, but rather an AP course in environmental science,

giving students a hands-on lesson in how scientific concepts apply in the real

world. The approach is part of an innovative UC Berkeley curriculum that aims

to hook disadvantaged students on

science by making it relevant to them.

“The days of teaching purely from a

textbook are history,” says Lance Powell,

who teaches the AP class. “Our kids

want to actually see how the living and

nonliving worlds are interconnected.”

The project brings to Marshall two

UC Berkeley undergraduates who are

participants in the Environmental Science

Teaching Program of AmeriCorps’s Des-

tination: College project. With support

from the School/University Partnership

program, the undergrads not only bring

hands-on learning experiences to the class, they also give the high schoolers a

sense of what it’s like to be a student at Cal.

And organizers point to an impressive payoff: 62 percent of the students

in Marshall’s AP course applied for fall 2002 admission to UC Berkeley. UCB

geology professor William B. N. Berry believes the UC-enriched program could

broaden the base of undergraduate science majors at Berkeley.

For more information, contact Stephen Andrews at (510) 381-1321;

sandrews @uclink.berkeley.edu.

6 U C O U T L O O K

IN BRIEFconsortium of local educators. Thecombined program’s event brought stu-dents from each program’s partnerschools in San Francisco and Daly Cityto the UCSF campus for a half-day ofcollege information and workshops.

The new-and-improved “Plan onCollege” program included workshopson higher education segments in Califor-nia, eligibility, and how to prepare forcollege through coursework, extracurric-ular activities and financial aid. Close to

May 2002 9

at schools that offer the program and atschools that do not offer the program.

Students are generally selected to par-ticipate in EAOP at the beginning of10th grade based on their grade pointaverages from ninth grade, course-takingpatterns, and potential to achieve acade-mically in ways that will enable them toapply to and be accepted by competitiveuniversities.

EAOP generally is provided inschools that have not performed wellhistorically and, according to Quigley,“this correlates highly with a schoolhaving a large percentage of minoritystudents.”

In the pooled sample of 46,817 stu-dents at 101 high schools, 7 percent ofthe students (3,296) participated in EAOPthroughout high school. Nearly three-quarters of the study sample wasenrolled at the 38 schools in the studywhere EAOP is offered.

The study was designed to statisticallyseparate the effect of EAOP participa-tion on students’ subsequent completionof UC preparatory coursework from theeffects of other characteristics of the stu-dent or school.

The study was conducted by theNational Center for Research on Evalu-ation, Standards and Student Testing;Center for the Study of Evaluation; andGraduate School of Education andInformation Studies at UCLA. It wascommissioned by the UC Office of thePresident and is one of 11 research pro-jects being conducted to investigate andevaluate the effects of outreach at theUniversity of California.

To receive a copy of the study or formore information about this and otherUCOP studies, contact Neal Finkelsteinin UCOP’s research and evaluation unitat [email protected]. The authorof this study, Denise D. Quigley, can bereached at [email protected].

As part of the annual budgetreview process, representativesfrom UCOP reported on the

outcomes and effectiveness of its out-reach programs to the Legislature inApril and May.

Vice President for Educational Out-reach Winston Doby told members of aState Senate budget subcommittee thatUC’s outreach efforts had “demonstratedquite conclusively” an increase in thenumber of underrepresented studentswho were UC eligible and competitivelyeligible.

At the May 1 hearing, Doby stressedthat funds were necessary for bothschool-university partnerships and stu-dent-centered programs to help UC“stay the course” and not disrupt thetimetable for UC to meet its five-yeargoal of a 50 percent increase in the num-ber of students from UC programs whowere competitively eligible for admissionto UC, and doubling the number of those students who were eligible tothe University.

“The focus of our attention is how tobring about systemic change in theseschools, which essentially are servinglargely low-income, disadvantagedyoung people,” said Doby. “The long-term payoff will come from thisinvestment. We need more than anincrease in eligibility. It’s bringing aboutchange in the system that’s servingthose students.”

According to second-year programresults that UC reported in an Aprilreport to both Senate and Assemblybudget committees, UC is projected tomeet or exceed the five-year goals.

Among the highlights of the results:◗ UC eligible participants from

Mathematics, Engineering, ScienceAchievement (MESA), the EarlyAcademic Outreach Program (EAOP)and Puente increased from 4,208 in1998–99 to 4,947 in 1999–2000 to 6,141in 2000–2001, an increase over 1998–00of 1,933 students or nearly 46 percent.

◗ UC-eligible underrepresentedstudents from school-universitypartnership schools increased from1,378 in 1998–99 to 1,451 in 1999–2000to 1,791 in 2000–01, an increase over1998–00 of 413 students, or 30 percent.

◗ Collectively, EAOP, MESA andPuente now reach almost 100,000students in more than 400 schoolsacross the state.

◗ School-university partnershipsnow extend to 256 low-performingCalifornia schools with enrollmentsexceeding 165,000 students.

◗ The University’s student academicdevelopment program participantsaccounted for 30 percent of AfricanAmerican and 33 percent of Chicano/Latino students among new UCfreshmen in 2000.

Due to the state budget shortfall,Governor Davis has proposedreducing funding for UC K–12outreach by $4.2 million for 2002–03(exclusive of CSMP and CPDI funds).This is in addition to a $2 millionreduction for University outreach as well as a $5 million redirection of funds from school-universitypartnership programs to student-centered programs that was made in the current fiscal year.

Programs’ ProgressSecond-year results demonstrate impact of UC outreachefforts as Legislature wrestles with state budget shortfall

coursework by the end of 12th gradethan do non-participants of EAOP,” says Dr. Denise D. Quigley,author of the report.

EAOP provides a range of academicenrichment activities for students frommiddle school through high school grad-uation. Anecdotal evidence had longsupported the hypothesis that such pro-grams enhanced students’ preparationfor UC eligibility. The new report bearsout this belief.

Researchers looked at backgroundcharacteristics such as a student’sFree/Reduced Lunch status; ethnicity;gender; language or languages spoken,including whether the student is bilin-gual, currently or previously limitedEnglish proficient, and courses takenand grades earned from middle schoolthrough high school graduation.

In looking at the two ninth-gradecohorts from 1996–97 and 1997–98across their four years in high school,researchers conclude that “EAOP hassignificant impact” on the ability of highschool students to complete coursesrequired for UC admission.

“Completion of the ‘a-g’ coursesequence is the most complicated hurdlefor most students,” the report states. “Itis also a very important indicator of howeffective schools are at preparing studentsfor college across all subject areas.”

The StudyThe study compared students in severalways, including students who mightparticipate in EAOP if the programwere to be offered at their schools.

It compared students who have ahigh probability of participating inEAOP to similar students at schools thatdid not offer EAOP. To further thevalidity of the study, researchers alsoidentified two groups of students whowere unlikely to be EAOP participants

8 U C O U T L O O K

NEWS

Students who participate in theUniversity of California EarlyAcademic Outreach Program

(EAOP) throughout high school aretwice as likely to complete UC prepara-tory coursework by the end of theirsenior year as their non-EAOP counter-parts, according to an independent studyreleased in March.

The study incorporated a controlgroup, analyzed longitudinal data span-ning five years, from seventh through12th grade, and included more than40,000 high school students. The study,which is the first of its kind conducted todetermine the impact of EAOP, provesthe link between outreach and the suc-cessful completion of UC “a-f” coursesby the end of 12th grade, making theEarly Academic Outreach Program avery effective and successful UC-fundedinitiative. Currently one-quarter of the underrepresented undergraduatestudents enrolled at UC campuses parti-cipated in EAOP.

The First Hurdle to EligibilityAccording to the new study, 40 percentof EAOP students are “a-f” eligible bythe end of their senior year, compared toonly 9.5 percent of non-EAOP students.(Note that at the time of the study stu-dents were only required to complete “a-f” courses because the “g” requirementhad not yet been implemented.)

The study looked at the effect ofEAOP participation on completion ofthe required courses. Course-takingbehavior of two cohorts of high schoolstudents in a large urban school districtin California were studied, taking intoaccount student demographics and self-selection into the EAOP program.

Completing the UC subject require-ments is considered to be the first hurdleto being eligible for admission to theUniversity of California.

“Our results are definitive and sug-gest that students who participate inEAOP throughout high school are twiceas likely to complete the UC preparatory

EAOP Measures UpOutreach program’s students twice as likely to

complete “a–f” courses as non-EAOP classmates

8 U C O U T L O O K WILLIAM SHORT

EAOP studentsare making their mark.

May 2002 11

provide programs in nine content areas. For the upcoming year (2002–03),

both programs are taking on the challenge of improving students’ acade-mic performance in relationship to thestate’s content standards; working withteachers of English language learners;and serving teachers who work inschools with low Academic PerformanceIndex scores (1–4), particularly those atschools with high numbers of beginningor non-credentialed teachers. CSMP willalso specifically seek to develop teacherleaders and create partnerships with uni-versity faculty, schools and districts.

EvaluationsAs CSMP and CPDI expand, renewand take on these ambitious goals,teams of independent evaluators contin-ue to scrutinize them. Preliminaryreports submitted in December 2001 bythree different organizations regarding the CPDIs indicate that the institutesprovide high-quality professional development aligned with CaliforniaAcademic Content Standards. Theyconclude that the institutes have a posi-tive impact on participants’ confidencein their subject area. Concurrently, theAmerican Institutes for Research (AIR)submitted a preliminary statement inDecember 2001 showing that teachersreport that their experiences withCSMP have increased their knowledgeand understanding of content stan-dards and have had a considerableimpact on their classroom practices and professional careers.

More information about either pro-gram is available online (at http://tepd.ucop.edu) or by contacting GlendaGentry at (510) 987-9636; [email protected]. In addition, the recentlypublished CSMP Triennial Report isavailable online (at http://csmp.ucop.edu/csmp/downloads/CSMP_Triennial_Report.pdf).

UCCP Stays on CourseUC’s AP online initiative going back to

UC campuses for content development

grants of $30,000 per team to developprototypes for other AP courses, such asU.S. history, that will be considered forexpansion into full AP courses deliveredin 2002 and 2003.

According to UCLA physics profes-sor Maha Ashour-Abdalla, universityprofessors, researchers, high schoolteachers and environmental industryexperts helped develop the AP environ-mental science course.

“The collaboration allowed content tobe developed from a variety of perspec-tives,” said Ashour-Abdalla, CDI’sdirector of science and technology devel-opment. “What emerged was engagingmultimedia course content, interactivityand newly developed pedagogical toolsthat address the goals of the AP environ-mental science curriculum.”

Once the online courses are developed,Hernandez says, they are adaptable inmany other situations.

“What makes these courses so versa-tile is that they can be used by a singlestudent sitting at home, a class of 30 in asingle setting, or by a teacher who needsto supplement their classroom-basedcourse,” says Hernandez.

Teachers can evaluate the latestcourse offerings and receive trainingduring UCCP’s annual AdvancedPlacement Summer Institute at UCSanta Cruz, July 21–26. In addition, thecampus will be hosting a Virtual HighSchool Institute for high school leadersfrom across the country, August 15–17.

For more information on the UCCollege Prep Initiative, contact Hernan-dez at (831) 460-3006; [email protected];or visit the UCCP Web site (at www.uccp.org).

T his spring, the UC CollegePreparatory Initiative (UCCP)offered 11 Advanced Placement

and honors courses, plus tutoring andAP Exam Review over the Internet to nearly 2,500 students at Californiahigh schools where college preparatory curricula are underdeveloped. Whilenearly tripling the number of partici-pating students since last fall, UCCP’sbiggest expansion may be on the UCcampuses, where new AP courses areon the drawing board.

The AP environmental science courseis slated for release in fall 2002.

“We recognize that there are prob-lems inherent in using off-the-shelfcommercial products,” says UC SantaCruz Vice Chancellor Francisco Hernandez, who directs UCCP. “We arecommitted to developing university-owned online courses to ensure thatstudents receive the most interactive andengaging learning experience available,one that is as close as possible to a class-room-based course.”

Slated for release in fall 2002 is an APcourse in environmental science devel-oped in collaboration with the UCLACenter for Digital Innovation (CDI). Inaddition, 10 teams of UC faculty mem-bers — approximately 20 individuals — have been awarded

posed 2002–03 budget.In late February, after the Governor

released his proposed 2002–03 budget,the Legislative Analyst’s Office recom-mended that all programs related toteacher professional development,including the CPDIs and CSMPs, be collapsed into a block grant and sent toK–12 districts on a proportional basis.The districts would, in turn, have discre-tion as to how such funds would beexpended. UC and other higher educa-tion segments could, if they chose, beproviders of services to districts by enter-ing into fee-for-service agreements.

According to Bob Polkinghorn,assistant vice president for educationaloutreach, UC has serious concerns aboutthe LAO recommendation and the fee-for-service relationship with K–12. Henoted that the state’s systems of highereducation consider themselves partners,not vendors, in the quest to improve stu-

dent learning at all levels. In addition, hesays that UC has concerns about qualitycontrol, accountability and the dissolu-tion of a professional development sys-tem that is an integral part of the state’s strategy for educationalimprovement.

“I believe it is more important thanever that our CSMP and CPDI sitescontinue to conduct their programs andprovide the high-quality professionaldevelopment that teachers and schoolshave come to expect,” says Polkinghorn.“It is especially important that planneddistrict-level partnerships be solidifiedand that our commitment to meet district, school and teacher needs bemore on the forefront of our planningdiscussions.”

Programs ComparedPart of the budget discussions and pro-posed program cuts in Sacramentorevolve around the similarities and differences between CSMP and CPDI.Both programs provide standards-based,university-sponsored professionaldevelopment institutes for K–12 teachersin academic content areas. In addition,the majority of CPDIs are hosted atCSMP sites and rely on CSMPs forinstructional leadership and adminis-trative support.

While both programs are designed to help teachers increase their contentknowledge and instructional effective-ness, CSMP puts special emphasis onfostering teacher leadership and pro-vides an entrée into a well-establishednetwork of teacher leaders throughoutCalifornia. Although CPDIs are primar-ily intended to meet the needs of newand underprepared teachers, CSMP siteswork with both new and experiencedteachers. CPDIs target key content areas(reading, high school English, mathe-matics and English language development); CSMP sites

10 U C O U T L O O K

Despite looming budget cuts andthe pending re-authorization ofthe California Subject Matter

Projects (CSMP), both CSMP and theCalifornia Professional DevelopmentInstitutes (CPDI) are gearing up foranother active season of professionaldevelopment institutes at UC, CSU andindependent colleges and universitiesacross California.

The two programs are expected toserve a combined 68,000 K–12 partici-pants in school districts across the stateduring 2001-02, even as the Legislaturescrambles to cover a state budget short-fall of several billion dollars.

CPDI is currently (2001–02) fundedat $50.8 million, a nearly 18 percentdrop from the $61.9 million originallyearmarked after Governor Gray Davistook office in 1999. Meanwhile, CSMPfaces a permanent $4 million cut to$31.3 million in the Governor’s pro-

NEWS

CSMP and CPDI Forge AheadCalifornia’s largest professional development

programs ready for another busy summer

A teacher from the CaliforniaInternational Studies Project

oversees high school students.

May 2002 13

in Shasta and Siskiyou counties last sum-mer at the request of UC Office of thePresident. Her findings were released atthe Conference for North State Educa-tors, which was attended by some 150high school, middle school and commu-nity college educators. Not surprisingly,she found that low family incomes and arange of other obstacles, including rurallifestyles and the distance to UC campus-es, inhibit college attendance.

McDonough said that while the set-ting is significantly different than thestate’s impoverished urban areas, theissues are strikingly similar.

“There’s little college exposure in thecommunity, an inability of students topicture a college option that seems bothgeographically and symbolically remote,the debilitating aspects of communitiesin economic depressions, and thethwarting of the aspirations of theiryouth,” she said.

Superintendent of the Shasta CountyOffice of Education Charles Menoher,one of the architects of the college-awareness activities in the area, concurred.

“For far too many of our families,going to college is not part of theirvision for their children,” he said. “TheUniversity of California’s outreach torural areas such as ours allows familiesand students to see firsthand that goingto the UC system is achievable whenproper preparations are made. Expecta-tions are powerful motivators and theUniversity of California is a most signifi-cant player in this regard.”

UC PREP

In the largest UC PREP in the state,some 650 high-achieving sophomoresand juniors from 15 high schools inShasta and Trinity counties attendedhalf-day programs February 27. Stu-dents received information on the UCcampuses, financial aid, test preparation,writing the personal statement and acad-emic preparation. Juniors met in smallgroups with UC campus admission offi-cers, who evaluated their transcripts anddiscussed campus selection criteria.

“The campus reps were tremendouslyimpressed with the qualifications ofthese students,” said Ben Tucker, man-

ager of UC Early and Immediate Out-reach, who has spearheaded UC PREPevents throughout the state for morethan a decade. “It’s not a question ofmaking the students eligible for UC, it’sa question of making the studentsbelieve that going to UC is possible.”

UC was also one of the sponsors ofthe second community-wide “College:Why Not!” event, a college-awarenessnight and college fair held February26. Students crowded three and fourdeep around the massive University of California booth, which was staffedby representatives from each of the UCcampuses.

In addition, UCOP staff conductedworkshops on topics ranging from finan-cial aid to sports and higher education toselecting the right courses for college. UCstaff also worked closely with the Califor-nia Student Aid Commission to develop,staff and facilitate its popular on-site FAF-SA appointments, where families broughttheir financial records for assistance withfilling out the FAFSA.

For more information, contact NisaDonnelly at [email protected].

North Star Shines BrighterUC stresses college awareness

at popular Redding conference

For far too many of our families, going to college is notpart of their vision for their children.

T he University of California ishelping the rural North Statedevelop a viable college-going

culture, thanks to three major eventsheld in two days at the end of Februaryin Redding.

Designed to chip away at the per-ceived accessibility gap, UC Early andImmediate Outreach hosted the secondannual Conference for North State andone of the largest UC PREPs in the state.At UC PREP, UC admissions officersadvise high-achieving sophomores andjuniors on UC entrance requirements,evaluate their transcripts, and provideinformation on such topics as test prepa-ration, financial aid and writing the per-sonal statement.

UC Early and Immediate Outreachwas also a major presence at the ShastaCounty college-awareness night. As aresult, UC provided direct services to150 educators, more than 600 highschool sophomores and juniors, andprovided information to some 5,000area residents.

Although last year one-third of Shas-ta County’s nearly 1,800 graduatingseniors completed UC/CSU require-ments, only 72 enrolled as freshmen atUC. Enrollment numbers for CSU seldom top 100. The vast majority ofseniors — well over 40 percent mostyears — opt for the local communitycollege with plans to transfer that sel-dom materialize. Of the more than 600students that Shasta College deemed“transfer-prepared” in 1999, only 24transferred to UC in 2000.

Calling the problem “particularlypuzzling” in light of the UC/CSU eligi-bility rates, UCLA education professorPatricia McDonough studied 15 schools

satisfaction with UC Davis in general,stemming primarily from a weakersocial integration.

Chatman also unveiled a Web-basedinteractive tool called the “TransferReport Generator” that allows users tosort outcomes of community college students who have transferred to UCDavis. For example, it could sort thenumber of students who were in the civ-il engineering major at American RiverCollege who transferred to the UC DavisSchool of Engineering. The site is avail-able (at www.sariweb.ucdavis.edu/transfers/tsearch.cfm). Questions or comments may be directedto Chatman at [email protected].

The second symposium panel includ-ed Ernest Moreno, president, East LosAngeles College; Alfred Herrera, direc-tor, Center for Community CollegePartnerships, UCLA; Kim Herrel,EAOP coordinator, UC Davis; andFrancisco Rodriguez, executive dean,Woodland Community College.

Herrera described the six key compo-

nents of successful transfer programsidentified mutually by UCLA and com-munity colleges that improve both theoverall transfer rates and the diversity of the transfer pools. In particular, heemphasized the importance of UCLAfaculty involvement.

These key transfer components werelater reinforced in a discussion moder-ated by Winston Doby, former UCLAvice-chancellor, now vice president foreducational outreach at UC Office ofthe President.

For more information on the UCDavis/community college symposium,contact Dan Roy at (530) 752-4444;[email protected].

Nearly 100 California communitycollege presidents, faculty,counselors and University of

California representatives gathered atUC Davis in March to discuss ways to improve the transfer process to UCcampuses.

The 12th annual UC Davis/commu-nity college symposium, “Partners inHigher Education,” featured panel discussions about UC Davis transfer initiatives and creating a communitycollege transfer culture. State SenatorRichard Alarcón (D-San Fernando),who chairs the Senate Select Committeeon College and University Admissionsand Outreach, discussed collaborativeefforts to enhance the transfer process ina luncheon speech. UC Davis Chancel-lor Larry Vanderhoef also participatedin the meeting.

“It is absolutely clear that our com-munity colleges are the bridge that pro-vide hope to everyone,” Alarcón told aluncheon gathering at UCD’s Universi-ty Club. “It’s that whole idea that youcan be a pauper and rise from that posi-tion.”

NEWS


Boosting the Transfer TrackUC Davis meeting showcases latest links

between community colleges and UC

Alarcón said that Cali-fornia ranks second in thenation in attendance atfour-year universities, butit is 48th in the nation forstudents going directlyfrom high school to uni-versity. He noted thatcommunity colleges fill aneed for remedial educa-tion as well as provide an

opportunity for those from increasinglydiverse backgrounds to receive a highereducation.

During the symposium, MichaelDang from UC Davis and BrendaThames from the Los Rios Community

College District described the history,process, successful outcomes and futureimplications of the UC Davis DualAdmissions program pilot.

Steven Chatman, UC Davis’ directorof Student Affairs Research and Infor-mation (SARI), reported on a survey ofrecent UC Davis alumni that demon-strated there was little or no difference between UC Davis studentscoming from community colleges andhigh schools on most measures, such assatisfaction with services, majors, GPA,rates going on to graduate and profes-sional schools, and post-graduatesalaries. However, he said transfer stu-dents tended to show a lower level of

It is absolutely clear that our community colleges are thebridge that provide hope to everyone. It’s that whole ideathat you can be a pauper and rise from that position.

UCOP’s Winston Doby,left, and State Sen.Richard Alarcón discussideas at UC Davis.

May 2002 15

process. While working on these projects, they developwriting, communication and math skills.

Business concepts are also integrated into the othertwo academy courses: U.S. History and English. Theresume-building exercise that helped Escobar land a jobactually originated in a unit on the early Americancolonies in Nancy Rodrigues’ history class. Academy stu-dents — who stay grouped together for three courses inboth their junior and senior years—created resumes for

important colony figures like John Smith, includinga summary of qualifications and educational back-ground.

Another history unit on industrialization connectedan economics game about oil prices with the story ofbusiness barons such as John D. Rockefeller andAndrew Carnegie. In the English class, students readThe Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s portrait of self-made millionaire Jay Gatsby.

Mission High School teachers like Rodrigues coor-dinate class content and share feedback on classroom

strategies with the mentors during weekly meetings.Regular teachers lead two of the three 90-minute classesalone, while mentors, who receive a stipend, have fullreign to teach one class a week by themselves.

“The mentors help me primarily with the businesscontent,” says Rodrigues, a UC Berkeley graduate whohas taught at Mission for six years. “I help them stay intouch with the history lesson plans and offer someteaching pointers.”

This close interaction between teachers and mentorshas helped both expand their visions of education. Sal-vador “Sal” Becerra, who was lead mentor inRodrigues’ history class in fall 2001 and now mentors inthe Introduction to Finance class, credits Rodrigueswith pointing him toward a teaching career. The UCBerkeley senior plans to return to his hometown ofRiverside to teach high school when he graduates thisJune. Two other recent BETA mentors are also consid-ering teaching credentials.

Meanwhile, a record number of Mission High Schoolsophomores will be joining the Business and FinanceAcademy next year because of inspirational mentors likeCampos and Becerra.

The inspiration goes both ways, says Campos.“It’s amazing to see how much they’ve opened up

since the first day,” he says. “They always surprise you,and meet your expectations.” •

Lead mentorManny Camposamuses studentsBeverly Escobarand ShahnawazzRangooni in theIntroduction toFinance class.

I’m here to share with them what I did right. Business goescounter to everything they’vebeen taught in their culture.

BUSINESSTaking Care of


eet Beverly Escobar. Firm hand-shake. Friendly smile. Looks yousquare in the eyes.

A professional demeanor didn’t come naturally for the shyMission High School junior.Then she received one-on-one

interview practice using video, a resume critique andeven advice about what to wear to a job interview in oneof three classes she takes in the school’s Business andFinance Academy.

In her first real job hunt, Escobar landed a part-timeposition at Macy’s. Now she has her sights set on attend-ing UC Berkeley.

Although few students from the low-performing San Francisco high school applyto Cal, it’s not surprising that Escobar is eye-ing the prestigious campus: All six of her stu-dent mentors in the academy hail from UCBerkeley’s Haas School of Business, andEscobar and her 42 classmates have had theopportunity to visit the campus and even sur-vey their mentors’ dorm rooms.

“I look up to them,” confides Escobar, 16.“They are an inspiration.”

The undergraduate mentors are part ofUC Berkeley’s Business, Economics, Tech-nology Achievement (BETA) program,launched to test the idea that teaching business skills and entrepreneurship could help propelunderserved students toward college. The program ismodeled on the Mathematics, Engineering, ScienceAchievement (MESA) program, which in partnershipwith Young Entrepreneurs at Haas began pilotingBETA in 1999. The program now employs mentorsin 11 classrooms, serving more than 300 students in the Oakland, San Francisco, Berkeley and West

Contra Costa school districts. During a recent visit to the Introduction

to Finance class at the UC Berkeley partnerhigh school in the low-income Mission dis-trict, it was easy to see why the studentsseemed eager to participate in a class led bythree college students who are not mucholder than they are.

Emmanuel “Manny” Campos, the charis-matic lead mentor, enlivened a potentiallydry study-skills workbook section on time manage-ment by lacing it with humorous anecdotes about hissometime less-than-disciplined lifestyle at Cal —

something he carefully discourages the stu-dents from emulating.

“What do you guys do at, say, 4 p.m. onWednesday afternoon?” he asks the stu-dents. “And don’t tell me you’re watchingcartoons like I was in high school.”

But Campos also preaches what he prac-tices. After emigrating from Mexico to Bak-ersfield in 1989, he chose high school overfarm work, then launched a successful tirebusiness when he was only 17, the same yearhe first learned about the University of Cali-fornia from a Taft High School counselor.

“I’m here to share with them what I didright,” says Campos, 22. “Business goescounter to everything they’ve been taught in

their culture. They’re told not to challenge, not to beaggressive. You have to act professionally, aggressivelyand consistently in order to succeed.”

Campos and the other two mentors in the Introduc-tion to Finance class engage the students by tying busi-ness concepts to real-life applications. Students writebusiness plans for their own enterprises, learning financeterms such as “margin” and “break-even point” in the

Mentor SalBecerra leads asmall discussiongroup atMission High.

MUC Berkeley’s BETA Program Fulfilling Mission

at San Francisco High School

BY STEVEN COHENPhotographs by Anne Hamersky

May 2002 17

opted for high expectations at the outset.◗ There are consequences for all — students, teachers,

administrators and school boards, both for performing welland for performing poorly. Provisions are made for rewardsand sanctions.

Converting these relatively straightforward concepts intooperational reality is far from simple, especially if, as in Califor-nia, it is imposed on an already existing hodgepodge of elements, not all of which are consistent with the new thrust.

In an ideal world, an accountability model would bedeveloped sequentially (both in terms of each element andprogressing grade by grade) and gradually phased in over time.However, the sense of urgency that accompanied these reformefforts precluded an orderly, sequential process.

The key elements in California’s accountability systeminclude the following:Content standards specify the knowledge and skills studentsneed to know and be able to do in each area of the curriculum,starting with the core areas of reading/language arts, mathe-matics, science and history/social science.Performance standards define the nature of the evidence thatstudents must display and the levels of attainment that answerthe question “How good is good enough?”Curriculum frameworks provide subject-matter-specific curricu-lum guides that offer a standards-based context to teachers.Textbooks and other instructional materials reflect the stan-dards-based content for each of the subject matter areas.Multiple assessment instruments provide more than one measure

to correctly assess a student’s mastery of the breadth and depthof the standards.Personnel preparation and development provide for the educa-tion and training of teachers, administrators and student-support staff in sufficient numbers and of sufficient qualitywith appropriate standards-related training. Appropriate consequences promote a system of rewards andinterventions linked to measures of student outcomes focusingon improvement rather than absolute rankings.

It is important that each of the above elements be alignedwith each other. Creating each element is massive work, align-ing it with all the other elements requires huge amounts of synchronized activity on a number of fronts, involving a largenumber of state agencies, including the Governor’s Office, theOffice of Secretary of Education, the superintendent of publicinstruction, the State Board of Education, the executive directorof the State Board of Education, the Curriculum Commission,the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, county offices ofeducation, local districts and schools. To be successful requiresa singleness of purpose and a set of unambiguous signalssustained over a substantial period of time.

Into this complex mix of purposes, processes, agencies andindividuals must be added the critical role played by highereducation if the accountability system is really to contribute toimproving student performance. The sections that follow willhighlight higher education’s important contribution in fourareas: content and performance standards, curriculum,assessment and professional development.

As California rushes to instituteits high-standards, high-stakesaccountability system, UC musttake the lead to make it a success


n the early days of creating an accountability system inCalifornia, scant attention was paid to the critical role ofhigher education.

Much of the early activity focused on the dismal stateof K–12 education. California’s National Assessment of

Educational Progress (NAEP) scores were among the verylowest in the nation, and Govs. Wilson and Davis, with thesupport of the Legislature, responded with a sense of urgencyand a burst of activity. They believed something needed to bedone and done quickly.

But as the accountability system has rolled out, the importantroles to be played by postsecondary institutions in improving stu-dent performance — particularly the tasks of California’s four-year public segments, UC and CSU — become more and moreevident. Before I examine the nature andsignificance of those roles, however, let mebriefly describe, in very general terms, the

key concepts and operational elements of the new K–12, high-standards, high-stakes accountability system.

Core Concepts

California’s accountability system is based on a few core conceptsthat can be summarized succinctly:

◗Success is measured by what students know and are ableto do. The focus shifts to the improvement in student out-comes and away from inputs.

◗ All students can learn. No longer is it acceptable to“blame the students.” It is the responsibility of the schools tograduate students who have mastered complex materials.

◗Student performance will rise to meet high expectations.Some states have opted to begin their standards-based

accountability system with relatively lowexpectations, with the intent of graduallyratcheting them up over time. California

I

Putting the Pieces Together

by GERALD HAYWARD

Illustrations by Robert

May 2002 19

schools that because of negligible eligibili-ty rates often failed to offer the necessaryprerequisite courses. These new policiesstrongly reinforce the rigorous course-tak-ing patterns the new standards require.

Multiple Assessments

Much of the attention paid to accountabil-ity has focused on the issue of assessment.It is the area in which the greatest progresshas been made (specifically in aligning new tests to meet thestandards) and yet which to many remains the most trouble-some (reliance on a single test, the SAT-9, as the sole measureof school performance). The progress made by the State Boardof Education and the Department of Education on alignmenthas been remarkable. Tests in all core curricular areas havebeen developed that are now standards-based. In English/lan-guage arts, the standards-based items make up the bulk of thetests, with a reduced reliance on nationally normed tests. Inmathematics, end-of-course tests for junior high and highschool are now standards based and a cumulative standards-based test covering Algebra I and Geometry/ Algebra II hasbeen administered. Here, too, the nationally normed test playsa reduced role. In science, end-of-course, standards-based testshave been adopted in key subjects and reliance on the nation-ally normed test is reduced. In history/ social science, onlystandards-based tests will be administered as the nationallynormed test is completely phased out. In short, the state hasmoved quickly to make certain the tests align with and rein-force the standards.

As new tests are developed, they are phased into a school’sAcademic Performance Index (API) so that a school’s scorewill actually reflect how well it is doing in educating studentsto meet the state’s standards. Not only will the tests show howwell a school is doing absolutely (e.g., how many students areproficient in the new standards) but also comparatively (howwell the school does compared to a school with similar studentpopulations). The next step for the state is to move aggres-sively to add additional components such as drop-out rates,college-going rates, written essays, locally developed studentperformance measures, etc. — all of which will reduce the

reliance on a single multiple choice test.The contributions that higher education has

made on this dimension are significant as well,although much work needs to be done to align testsused for higher education purposes (such as admis-sion and placement) with the K–12 standards. ThePolicy Analysis for California Education (PACE)has documented the need for better alignment ofhigher education tests extensively. It is important tonote that higher education testing serves multiple

purposes, only one of which is to provide support for the K–12standards. But both the CSU and UC have proposals under con-sideration that far better align their current admission andplacement testing programs with the K–12 standards. Mostdirectly, the CSU has proposed adopting some variation of thehigh school exit examination as an admissions/placement test.This, of course, sends the strongest possible signal about theimportance of mastering the material contained in the highschool standards in order to gain admittance to the CSU andto avoid placement in remedial courses. UC President RichardAtkinson initiated another important effort, and as a result theUC Academic Senate has forwarded to the regents a new admis-sions policy proposal that would phase out the use of the SAT Iand rely on a new achievement-based test designed specificallyto test students on knowledge necessary to succeed at the Uni-versity. The new test, although years away, would put theemphasis on what students learned in school, rather than oninnate ability beyond the school’s control.

Professional Preparation and Professional Development

It is in this area that the state has its most significant challengeand to which the higher education system has the most directand essential contribution to offer. It is impossible to think ofa high-standards-based curriculum, with all students masteringcomplex material, without a sufficient and well-trained teachercadre. In addition, California’s school population continues togrow. With it comes the need for additional school personnel.Policy changes, often implemented without careful consider-ation of the consequences, have exacerbated the demand fornew teachers. Class size reduction is a good example of a


Content and Performance Standards

These standards, in order to have maximum impact, shouldbe aligned with expectations that the California higher edu-cation segments have for students entering their institutions.To the extent that the K–12 standards can be matched withwhat students need to know and be able to do to succeed inhigher education institutions, their effectiveness will beenhanced. If, for example, students understand that theknowledge they gain in high school will be directly applicableto their success in college, that reinforcement sends a power-ful message regarding the importance of doing well on thestandards. While it may be too much to expect higher educa-tion institutions to tailor their expectations to K–12 stan-dards, to the extent those standards are taken into consider-ation when expectations are developed, they can becomemutually reinforcing.

Under the auspices of the Education Roundtable, the aca-demic senates of the state’s four segments of higher education

(community colleges, California State University, Universityof California and the private independent colleges and uni-versities) develop expectation statements consisting of the skillsand knowledge students should come equipped with in orderto participate successfully in higher education. The academicsenate expectation statements, while not a perfect match, lineup fairly well with the current K–12 standards. Put different-ly, the higher education expectation statements serve to effec-tively reinforce most of the K–12 standards. As we will discussbelow, however, the expectation statements are not well aligned with either admission or placement examina-tions. This lack of symmetry at least partially offsets the positive impact the expectation statements may have.

Curriculum

California does not have a uniform, mandated high schoolcurriculum. The major force for coherence and uniformityhistorically has been the cluster of courses required for admis-sion to the University of California and the California StateUniversity. In 1999, UC and CSU aligned their courserequirements for the first time. Both systems now require twoyears of history, four years of college preparatory English,three years of college preparatory mathematics, two years oflaboratory science, two years of language other than English,two years of college preparatory electives and one year of visualand performing arts. The fact that CSU and UC now haveidentical prerequisite course requirements for admission hasbeen an enormously important plus in sending clear signals tostudents about the necessary course-taking patterns in highschool and junior high.

Last year, when the University of California Board ofRegents adopted its new Eligibility in the Local Context (ELC)

path, another tool to reinforceK–12 standards and rigorouscourse-taking patterns was put inplace. The policy, which grantsUniversity eligibility to the top 4percent of graduates in each highschool who complete the requiredcourses, has created a substantialincentive for high schools thathave historically had few or no

UC-eligible students to offer the full complement of “a-g”requirements. According to the University, almost 97 percent ofthe high schools participated in the ELC plan in 2001.

Finally, the University, working closely with the Californiacommunity colleges, will further support rigorous course-taking patterns by enacting a “Dual Admissions” program,which admits students simultaneously to a community collegeand to UC, providing they successfully complete their lower-division coursework before transferring to the University. Students who rank between the top 4 percent and 12.5 percentof their high school graduating class are eligible. The ELCand Dual Admission policies have increased the prospects foradmission for thousands of students who in the past attended

If students understand that the knowledge they

gain in high school will be directly applicable

to their success in college, that reinforcement

sends a powerful message regarding the

importance of doing well on the standards.

May 2002 21

education presence. Education must beviewed as a continuum from preschoolthrough graduate school with the successof each segment dependent on the successof all other segments. Put differently, thefutures of University of California and theCalifornia State University are inextrica-bly linked to the success of elementary andhigh schools in this state. Even more so,the success of K–12 is dependent on thenature and quality of the assistance itreceives from its higher education colleagues. In the last fewyears several positive steps have been undertaken to improvethe K–12 connections, but much still must be done.

First and foremost the two segments must increase theiralready substantial efforts in training prospective teachers, whilealso maintaining, improving and increasing their innovativeand largely successful efforts in professional development of theexisting K–12 personnel.

Second, both systems have the responsibility, even more sothan in the past, to send abundantly clear signals about what isexpected of students if they are to succeed in pursuing highereducation opportunities. These expectations must be trans-mitted early (beginning in elementary school) and often. Theymust be consistent. Aligning tests for admission and placementwith expectations for success are critical. Furthermore, takinginto consideration existing high school standards in the devel-opment of those examinations is important. CSU’s proposal toutilize the high school exit examination for placement purposeis commendable, as is UC’s proposed alteration of its admissionrequirements.

Third, sending equally clear signals about the importancefor all students to take a rigorous high school curriculum hasbeen helped by the uniform “a-g” requirements, and UC’sELC plan and dual enrollment initiative. More can be done toencourage the spread of advanced placement and honorscourses so that all students can benefit from them.

Fourth, creating a stronger link between higher educationpreparation and K–12 accountability is essential. For exam-ple, part of a high school’s API should include the rate of suc-cess high schools have in preparing students for college. Col-

lege-going rates, college first-year grades andscores on college admission tests should all beincluded in the mix of measures by which ahigh school’s quality is judged. The rewardsand sanctions part of the accountability systemare based on changes in the base year scores —a strong incentive for all schools to improvetheir standing.

Finally, higher education can do a much better job of getting information about studentperformance back to the high schools. This is

especially true as the higher education tests become betteraligned with the expectations, which in turn are better alignedto the standards. Being able to use the information aboutstudent performance to improve preparation in high schoolis essential.

One should not take lightly the difficulty in adopting sucha seemingly straightforward set of recommendations. Toimplement even the simplest requires a massive coordinationeffort among all the segments. Even more importantly, itrequires a singleness of purpose and a willingness to stay thecourse over a very long period of time. California is not notedfor its patience. The past is filled with innumerable stops andstarts on any number of initiatives. Improving student perfor-mance through a high-standards, high-stakes accountability system is not just another in a long line of reforms. Itdeserves and requires the strongest possible sustained supportfrom higher education. •

Gerald Hayward is one of three directors of thePolicy Analysis for California Education, orPACE (at pace.berkeley.edu). He served asdeputy director of the National Center forResearch in Vocational Education at UCBerkeley. He is also a founding partner ofManagement, Analysis and Planning, an

educational consulting firm. From 1980–1985 Hayward served asChancellor of the California Community Colleges, and prior tothat he served for a decade as Principal Consultant to the CaliforniaState Senate Committees on Education and finance. Hayward is aformer teacher and administrator in California’s public schools.


policy with huge unintended consequences. While the endresult, class sizes of 20 or fewer in grades K–3, is enormouslypopular with parents and teachers, the sudden increase indemand has created a situation in which teachers with inade-quate preparation and little or no experience have been hired tofill the sudden influx of new slots. Unfortunately, a dispropor-tionate percentage of the underqualified and inexperiencedteachers wind up in schools with the largest number of low-income and minority students. Those students needing help themost get the least well-trained professionals.

This has exacerbated an already troubling situation in Cali-fornia. For the first half of the 1990s California’s public highereducation institutions, partially as a result of the faltering

economy, reduced their commitment to teacher and admin-istrator preparation in the face of increasing enrollment in ele-mentary and secondary schools. While the demand for teach-ers was increasing, the production of newly minted teacherswas declining.

There are dual pressures on the state’s higher educationinstitutions to (1) prepare more teachers, especially teachers whoare willing to teach in urban and rural areas of greatest need,and (2) to offer professional development opportunities to hugenumbers of teachers already in the system who need appropri-ate training. These pressures are in addition to the relativelynew push to align teacher preparation programs with the newstandards and with the need to improve subject matter exper-tise to accommodate the demands of the new standards.

On the first front, CSU has responded by increasing its credential candidates by 50 percent in the latter half of the ’90s.In the last two years, UC has increased its enrollment inteacher preparation programs by 8.5 percent, according to astudy done last year for the Center for the Future of Teachingand Learning.

Just as the demand for new teachers was increasing so, too, wasthe demand for providing improved professional development

activities for California’s existing teacher population. Californiain the last 15 years has developed literally dozens of profes-sional development initiatives. Of the many programs, twobear mentioning here. The California Professional Develop-ment Institutes (CPDIs) were started in 1999 and have rapidlyexpanded both in scope and in numbers of teachers served.Money in the budget provides funding for some 45,000 partic-ipants in both 2001–02 and 2002–03. These programs, fundedthrough UC, are really ambitious consortia efforts involving allthe segments. The centers are designed to provide intensivecontent-based professional development, aligned with statestandards, in reading/English, English language developmentand mathematics. The other large professional development

initiative administered by the Uni-versity is the California SubjectMatter Projects, working withteams of teachers in an attempt toeffect school-wide instructionalreforms. In the current year, about

25,000 teachers will receive the services.In sum, schools of education in the CSU and UC must now

prepare more teachers, with greater skills and subject matterknowledge to meet the accountability requirements promul-gated by the new standards. There is much yet to be done.There are still almost 50,000 teachers who have not met theminimum requirements to obtain a credential. There are tensof thousands more who are ill-prepared to teach the new stan-dards, especially in science and mathematics. Although thehigher education system has responded with an impressiveeffort to provide wide-scale professional developmentopportunities — from teaching reading in first through thirdgrade to professional development for principals — seriousproblems still exist. These programs still have enormous logis-tical and coordination problems to overcome. The good newsis that the effort is improving; the not-so-good news is that theproblem of too few well-prepared teachers continues to grow.

The Critical Links

It has become abundantly clear that the successful implemen-tation of a high-standards, high-stakes accountability system isdependent on a large, aggressive and innovative higher

The success of K–12 is dependent on the nature

and quality of the assistance it receives from its

higher education colleagues.

May 2002 23

and my mom helped with (applying for) schol-arships. My parents are really, really supportive,”Sylvia says. “I’m proud of them for everythingthey’ve done for us.”

Programs such as EAOP establish the frame-work for helping educationally disadvantagedstudents prepare for college. They provide a hostof aid, from motivation and information on college basics to tutoring, academic planningand entrance exam preparation. And they areamong the more than 100 outreach programsthrough which UC Davis partners with schools,teachers and students to create a college-goingculture, enhance preparation for university andoffer academic enrichment.

Increasingly, UC Davis administrators and out-reach workers are finding there is an advantage tointervening early in students’ lives, and families area critical and necessary foundation. The more thatparents understand the value of a college educationand learn that it is indeed a realistic option for theirown children, the greater the chance of students’academic success, outreach workers say.

“The students we areworking with have tradi-tionally not attended college,so the parents often havemisinformation or a lack ofinformation,” explains DanRoy, manager of School/University Partnerships atUC Davis. “What we needto do is present a programthat shows that college isnot only a worthwhile goal,but an attainable one.”

Leading the way inworking with younger stu-

dents and involving their parents are EAOPand two other UC Davis programs — one thatshows elementary school students the impor-tance of a college education and the steps toachieve it, and another that provides academicassistance to children of migrant farm workers.

As the efforts take shape, outreach staffmembers say they’re seeing an increase in par-ent interest and participation.

“The students we are working with have traditionally not attended college, so the parentsoften have misinformation or a lack of infor-mation,” explains Dan Roy, manager of School/University Partnerships at UC Davis. “What weneed to do is present a program that shows thatcollege is not only a worthwhile goal, but anattainable one.”

Roy and others on the Davis campus arecreating new ways to shore up that family foun-dation. As the efforts take shape, outreach staffmembers say they’re seeing an increase in parentinterest and participation.

ReservationforCollegeSuch has been the case with Reservation for College, which was launched at UC Davis threeyears ago to inspire and prepare elementary stu-dents for college. The effort is one of manyjointly coordinated by School/University Part-nerships and the Early Academic OutreachProgram. Staff from both offices provide pro-fessional development to teachers and plan fieldtrips that draw hundreds of educators and students to campus each year.

“It’s rare for universities to work with elemen-tary schools,” says Roy. “But we realize that inorder to expand the pool of potential applicantsand ensure that students are UC-eligible, (then)we have to start much earlier.”

Reservation for College works with allfourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders at 14 schools inSacramento, Stockton and the rural Yolo Countytown of Woodland. Classroom teachers use a curriculum designed collaboratively with Uni-versity staff. Lessons explore the connectionbetween life opportunities and education, timemanagement and other necessary college skills,and careers.

UC Davis has endowed the program with $1 million in scholarships for two elementary

Fifth-grader “A.J.” Hill, left,predicts that he’ll be takinglecture notes at UC Davis on a PDA. Below, he playson a laptop as his olderbrother Clayvius looks on.


BY JAN FERRIS HEENAN | Photography by Neil Michel/Axiom

UC Davis promotes parent participation and early intervention to set kids on the college course

ike most parents, Isabelle andJose Ortega wanted better thingsfor their two children than theyhad for themselves, especiallywhen it came to education.

With little guidance and fewgoals, Isabelle made it through

community college but no further. And althoughJose started out on a university scholarship, hewas placed early on in such advanced coursesthat he dropped out and enlisted in the military.

Their children, Rafael and Sylvia, neverfaced such hurdles. Both attend UC Davis.

What made the difference between the twogenerations? The Early Academic OutreachProgram (EAOP).

“I thank God for the program. WithoutEAOP, I don’t think they would have made itto college,” says Isabelle Ortega.

Her children, in turn, credit both the pro-gram and their parents. While the programshepherded them through unfamiliar and oftenoverwhelming terrain, they couldn’t have madeit this far without Mom and Dad, says Sylvia, ajunior majoring in human development.

“My dad reminded me of all my deadlines

L

FamilyFamilyMatters

student fees and other expenses exceed their owntake-home pay.

“I tell them that finances should not be anobstacle... and a lot of parents are fairly surprised,”says Stewart-Carballo. The paperwork is sometimesdaunting, he explains. “It’s overwhelming to com-plete the financial aid applications,” he says. “And ifyou’re not used to divulging information, the systemseems a little bit intrusive.”

Family Leadership Institute organizers had suchtopics in mind when they began drafting the firstfour-week session. The parent recruits, most of themleaders in their community, had other ideas. Yes,they said, we’d like to learn about college. But forstarters, parents said, we need to deal with a morepressing and troubling issue: gangs.

“At first, I was like, ‘Gangs? Well, this isn’t reallywhat we’re going to talk about,’” Stewart-Carballorecalls. “Then I understood that if we really want toengage parents to join us in a dialogue aboutcollege, we need to seefirst where the parents arehaving challenges and beadvocates for their kids.”

As a result, experts on gang intervention, men-toring programs and other community resourceswere the main features at the first two leadershipmeetings. The third session was to focus on acade-mic success and expectations. The fourth week,parents were to be bussed to UC Davis to tour thecampus, learn about financial aid and admissionrequirements and even meet with some Latino fac-ulty to learn about their own academic journeys.

ParentUniversityAnother effort to involve families is also under way. UC Davis’s EAOP recently partnered withSacramento City Unified School District, theSacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agencyand Target for Excellence to host a “parent uni-versity” in the Capital City’s low-income FranklinVilla neighborhood.

The initiative was centered on a nine-week pro-gram with courses for parents that included angermanagement, conflict resolution and understand-ing the public school system. Participants alsolearned the ins and outs of higher education and visited UC Davis.

EAOP Director Edward Aguilar says the nextstep for EAOP is to create parent advisory boardsfor each of its regions, which serve a total of 6,900

May 2002 25

seventh- through 12th-grade students. The mem-bers, in turn, will become part of a Family ActionNetwork that will meet twice a year on campus.

“We want to increase the capacity of parent advo-cates in the community. Then, naturally, those parentsbecome resources to other families,” says Aguilar.

EAOP has also cultivated strong ties to parentsfrom the 19 school districts it serves in Yolo, Sacra-mento and San Joaquin counties. EAOP has its owntoll-free hotline and an e-mail address. It also hosts anannual “Fall Family Gathering” at a Sacramentopark. Two hundred families turned out the first year.

This past fall, some 650 families attended thethird annual gathering, according to Aguilar. Theworkshops are presented in English, Spanish,Hmong, Russian and Vietnamese to reach as manyparents as possible.

CriticalStageIsabelle Ortega’s children were in middle schoolwhen they were matched up with EAOP. The summer between eighth and ninth grade, daughterSylvia spent a weekend on the UC Davis campusand was instantly hooked.

“In junior high, you’re kind of embarrassed to doreally well in school,” says Sylvia. “That’s why it wasreally nice to have that association with (UC) Davis.

Fourth grader Marlena Martinez rises to the occasionin her class at FatherKeith B. Kenny Elementary, one of14 Reservation forCollege schools in the Sacramentoregion.

The parents are the No.1 advocates.They’re going to get the kids where they need to be.


schools (Father Keith B. Kenny and Fairbanks, bothin low-income Sacramento neighborhoods), pro-vided that their Reservation for College participantsultimately gain admission to UC Davis.

Aubrey-Joseph Hill won’t be eligible for collegefor another seven years, but the fifth-grader alreadyhas his eye on a scholarship. A.J., as he is known,and his older brother, Clayvius, have been involvedwith Reservation for College since its inception atKenny Elementary.

Higher education is clearly one of A.J.’s favoritetopics. The past two years, he has soaked up allkinds of information about university life. Forinstance, he predicts that by the time he enrolls atUC Davis, laptop computers will be an outmodedmeans of note-taking. He’ll likely be shoppinginstead for a PalmPilot or similar handheld elec-tronic device.

“I know I’m going to have to save up my moneynot only to get into college, but to get something likethat so I can take notes,” A.J. says. “I know the profes-sors only say things once, so you really have to listen.”

A.J. aspires to be a mathematician or a scientist,as well as an artist. Thanks to the Reservation forCollege curriculum, he also knows now about mas-ter’s degrees and doctorates.

“What I’m trying to do is get a Ph.D. because Ibelieve, and my teacher believes, that if you have that

knowledge, there isn’t anything you can’t do,” A.J. says.Above all, the program has created a focus for

the family that might have otherwise been absent,says the boys’ mother, Lana Hill, a single parent whoworks as a claims analyst for a vision service plan.A.J. and Clayvius, a seventh-grade student at KitCarson Middle School, often debate the merits of dormitory vs. off-campus housing, or single vs.double majors.

“Their conversation and everyday focus istoward college. They know that it is an attainablegoal for them. ... It’s not like it’s not cool to talk aboutgoing,” says their mother. “It’s like, ‘Isn’t everybodygoing to school?’”

That her sons’ progress in elementary and middleschool will “affect their journey to college,” as Hillputs it, is both a given and a motivator in the Hillhousehold. But many families aren’t as attuned to theneed for academic planning — or even aware thatthe cost of a university education is within their grasp.

FamilyLeadersA pilot Family Leadership Institute aims to teachparents otherwise, says Harold Stewart-Carballo,assistant manager for School/University Partner-ships. Stewart-Carballo planned to launch theinstitute and its weekly workshops in May, mainlytargeting Latino parents of the 250 Reservation

for College students in the Wood-land Unified School District.

“I really saw a need to connect notwith just the kids, but with the parents,”Stewart-Carballo explains. “The parentsare the No. 1 advocates. They’re goingto get the kids where they need to be.”

Yet misconceptions and unfamil-iarity with the college-going systemare all too common. For example,Stewart-Carballo says, most parents he works with don’t realize that afairly simple task like steering a childtoward pre-algebra in middle schoolcan make a world of difference. Doingso, he says, prepares the student forthe proper UC-eligible math sequenceonce in high school.

Similarly, many of the parentsStewart-Carballo has worked withhave a tough time believing that a university education can be affordablefor their children, especially if the

Alan Lass imagines his calling as a video

game engineer atWoodland’s Freeman

Elementary School.

May 2002 27

program to the Davis campus sevenyears ago. “The strength of the Mini-Corps program is that it actuallydraws from students who have hadsimilar life experiences. It also pro-vides this tremendous mentoring ofstudents,” Merino adds.

Yolanda Soler has been a Mini-Corps worker for two years. TheUC Davis student, whose majorsare in sociology and Spanish, spendsseveral days a week at Grafton. Thecampus is in Knights Landing, a

tiny town along the Sacramento River.Soler is a kindergarten and first-grade classroom

aide at Grafton Elementary School. Her workthere, as well as the specialized teacher training shereceives through Mini-Corps, has cemented herdesire to become a credentialed teacher.

“It’s been a real great learning experience,” saysSoler, a fixture in the community, known by parentsand students as “Yoli.”

Dave Nevarez, principal of Grafton Elementary,has been pleased to have Soler’s help on the 150-student campus. Nevarez himself was a Mini-Corpsworker while attending CSU-Chico in the 1970s. Heis the son of farmworkers. As many as 40 percent ofhis young charges at Grafton are migrants.

In many ways, Soler’s presence is as important asthe assistance she provides. “Here’s somebody who’sbeen there, done that, and yet she’s in college,”Nevarez says. “(Mini-Corps tutors) are role modelsfor these young kids.”

As with Reservation for College and EAOP, theMini-Corps places an emphasis on family relations,explains Rosalinda Martinez, program coordinator.Each of her tutors is asked to make home visits atleast once a month. Such visits allow parents toengage in what she calls “informal but very cul-turally appropriate” exchanges of information withthe tutors.

“My Mini-Corps students always ask, ‘What amI going to say (to parents)?’ But when they get there,they find that the parents do have a lot of questionsthat nobody has been able to answer for them” aboutissues such as high school grades and college costs,says Martinez. “It’s a small way, but it is a way that

does help to bridge the school and home situationand impresses on the tutors the importance of reach-ing out to parents.”

CollegeBoundA strong parent component in student outreach programs “just makes good sense,” agrees DaveGordon, superintendent of the Elk Grove UnifiedSchool District.

The Sacramento County school district, one ofthe fastest-growing in the nation, set out nearly fiveyears ago to improve the college-bound rates amongits graduates. At the time, just under 15 percent ofthe district’s graduating seniors went off to UC orCSU campuses — 1.5 percentage points lower thanthe state average, according to Gordon.

Largely through partnerships with the UC andCSU systems, that college-bound rate has nearlydoubled to 27 percent. “The numbers tell the story,”says Gordon, whose district has also doubled thenumber of Reservation for College participants thisyear to 1,600.

“I think this program is giving a lot of parents whodidn’t think college was for their kids the sense that,‘Hey, we can do this,’” Gordon says. “That’s huge.And they impart that feeling to their kids.” •

Jan Ferris Heenan, a former Sacramento Bee staffwriter, lives in Sacramento.

A complete list and descriptions of all UC Davis outreachprograms is available on the Web (at sup.ucdavis.edu/page5.html). Every academic field is represented, with particularlystrong representation in agricultural, environmental andbiological sciences.

UC Davis student andMini-Corps worker“Yoli” Soler serves asa sounding board forfirst graders DamianRodriguez and EricFlores at Grafton Ele-mentary School inrural Yolo County.

I think this program is giving a lot of parents who didn’t think collegewas for their kids the sense that, ‘Hey, we can do this.’


They were so encouraging.”In high school, Sylvia

took part in another EAOPsummer activity: the JuniorAcademic Science ResearchAchievement Program. Sheexamined heart and lungspecimens in the campus labsand observed a dog under-going brain surgery at the veterinary school. For the budding scientist — who nowplans to become a physician’sassistant — it was yet anotherexciting step toward highereducation.

As Sylvia’s graduationfrom Hiram Johnson HighSchool West neared, however,her mom became concerned.“I started to fear the fact that Iwouldn’t be able to afford it.I began to backslide in mythinking,” Isabelle says. “Sev-eral times, Sylvia had to liftme up. She said, ‘My mentorsalways told us that as long as

we have the grades, the money’s available.’”That has held true for both Sylvia and her

younger brother, Rafael, a freshman studying aero-nautical engineering.

One of the best things about EAOP’s approach,says Sacramento High School principal Judy Bill-ingsley, is that it reaches students at a critical stage:adolescence.

“When you begin paying attention to the oppositesex, you have sports and activities, and these can be distractions,” says Billingsley. “With UC Davis on cam-pus, it helps kids stay more focused on the realities.”

That’s particularly important at SacramentoHigh School, where educators are trying to guidegraduates toward CSU-Sacramento and UC Davis.Currently, the majority who continue with post-secondary studies solely attend Sacramento CityCollege, according to Billingsley.

Bringing high school students to tour the Daviscampus is another “great motivational piece,” asShelia Sidqe sees it. One of EAOP’s regional out-reach coordinators, Sidqe and her assistants workwith 1,300 high school students in the SacramentoCity Unified School District.

MigrantEducationAlthough UC Davis is only a dozen miles or so fromthe rural Yolo County town of Winters, it is a worldthat Jose and Marta Lopez, migrant farmworkersfrom Jalisco, Mexico, know very little about.Through the UC Davis Mini-Corps, however, their11-year-old daughter, Martha Alicia, is gainingsome exposure.

The program, part of a broader migrant educa-tion effort, provides tutoring and mentoring bycollege students to as many as 450 elementary andsecondary students a year. Martha Alicia, having livedin the United States less than two years, meets regular-ly with a UC Davis student who is a Mini-Corps tutor.The two go over vocabulary, draft sentences andwork with flash cards, says Martha Alicia, a studentat Waggoner Elementary School.

The extra attention is clearly paying off, MartaLopez believes. Her daughter’s grades have risen thisyear. She does her homework now with no proddingfrom her parents. And her English has improved,Marta says.

“I want my kids to get an education,” agreesJose Lopez, whose own father pulled him out ofschool in the second grade so he could help supportthe family.

UC Davis’s Mini-Corps is part of a statewidemigrant education program that got its start at CSU-Chico in the 1970s. Its purpose is twofold: to offeracademic support to migrant elementary and highschool students, and provide training in classroominstruction to university students. Almost 80 percentof its university participants become teachers.

“It is the Cadillac of teacher education,” says Bar-bara Merino, a professor in UC Davis’s Division ofEducation who helped bring the federally funded

UC Davis studentsRafael and Sylvia

Ortega credit their parents and EAOP

for helping them get to college.

Zitel Anyeneh discusses a math

problem withKenny teacher Tara Lampkins.

May 2002 2928 U C O U T L O O K

UC BerkeleyGENARO PADILLAOffice of the Vice Chancellor for

Undergraduate Affairs130 California HallUniversity of CaliforniaBerkeley, CA 94704(510) 642-6727E-mail: [email protected]

MARSHA JAEGERDirector, Center for Educational

Outreach2150 Kittredge StreetUniversity of CaliforniaBerkeley, CA 94704 (510) 642-8368E-mail: [email protected]

UC DavisJUDY SAKAKI Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs One Shields Avenue University of CaliforniaDavis, CA 95616(530) 752-6866E-mail: TBD after 7/1/02

DAN ROYManager, School/University PartnershipsOne Shields AvenueUniversity of CaliforniaDavis, CA 95616(530) 752-9931E-mail: [email protected]

UC IrvineJUAN FRANCISCO LARAAssistant Vice Chancellor,

Enrollment Services; Director, Centerfor Educational Partnerships

600 Administration Bldg.University of CaliforniaIrvine, CA 92697(949) 824-6362E-mail: [email protected]

UC Los AngelesCLAUDIA MITCHELL-KERNANInterim Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs2127 Murphy HallUniversity of CaliforniaLos Angeles, CA 90095(310) 825-4383E-mail: [email protected]

AIMÉE DORRDean, Graduate School of Education

& Information ScienceMoore HallBox 951521University of CaliforniaLos Angeles, CA 90095(310) [email protected]

UC MercedJANE LAWRENCEVice Chancellor, Student Affairs1170 West Olive Avenue, Suite IUniversity of CaliforniaMerced, CA 95348(209) 724-4490E-mail: [email protected]

ENCARNACION RUIZDirector of AdmissionsUC Center550 East Shaw Avenue, Suite 105Fresno, CA 93710(559) 244-6965E-mail: [email protected]

UC Riverside JAMES SANDOVALVice Chancellor, Student Affairs2108 Hinderaker HallUniversity of CaliforniaRiverside, CA 92521(909) 787-5599E-mail: [email protected]

PAMELA CLUTEExecutive Director, The Alpha CenterCollege Building SouthUniversity of CaliforniaRiverside, CA 92521(909) 787-5425E-mail: [email protected]

UC San DiegoJOSEPH WATSONVice Chancellor, Student Affairs112 Administration Complex, 00159500 Gilman DriveUniversity of California, San DiegoLa Jolla, CA 92093(858) 534-4370E-mail: [email protected]

BUD MEHANDirector, Office of CREATE9500 Gilman Drive, Dept 0700University of California, San DiegoLa Jolla, CA 92093(858) 822-2272E-mail: [email protected]

CAMPUS OUTREACH DIRECTORY

UC San FranciscoCLIFF ATTKISSON Associate Vice Chancellor,

Student Academic Services500 Parnassus Avenue, MU 200WUniversity of CaliforniaSan Francisco, CA 94143(415) 476-9716E-mail: [email protected]

UC Santa BarbaraMICHAEL YOUNGVice Chancellor, Student Affairs5203 Cheadle HallUniversity of CaliforniaSanta Barbara, CA 93106(805) 893-3651E-mail: [email protected]

JOE CASTROExecutive Director,

Campus Outreach InitiativeUniversity of California1501 South HallSanta Barbara, CA 93106(805) 893-3105E-mail: [email protected]

UC Santa CruzJ. MICHAEL THOMPSONAssociate Vice Chancellor,Outreach, Admissions and Student

Academic ServicesCook House1156 High StreetUniversity of CaliforniaSanta Cruz, CA 95064(831) 459-5453E-mail: [email protected]

CARROL MORANDirector, Educational Partnership

Center3004 Mission Street, Suite 220Santa Cruz, CA 95060(831) 460-3030E-mail: [email protected]

UC Office of the PresidentWINSTON DOBYVice President, Educational Outreach University of California Office of the

President1111 Franklin Street, 7th Floor Oakland, CA 94607(510) 987-0158E-mail: [email protected]

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