A new report by LFA and Grunwald Associates, with support from AT&T, examines how parents perceive the value of mobile devices, how they see their children using mobiles, and what they think of the possibilities for mobile learning.
College OPTIONS
Story posted August 3, 2010
Results:
• The eligibility of high school graduates for admission to California's public universities increased by 12 percent between 2004 and 2007
• The college-going rate increased from 35 percent to 62 percent over that same period
In California’s rural mountainous region of Shasta and Siskiyou counties, a problem emerged. Local students had low college-going rates, despite the comparatively low 13 percent poverty rate among the population, which was 90 percent white.
The communities are separated from the closest colleges by vast distances and mountain roads. The regional culture values strong family ties and intergenerational commitment to family farms or businesses, which came with an unspoken concern that once youngsters left for college, they might not return, stripping these isolated communities of an educated workforce. Many students in Shasta Union High School District never had set foot on a college campus.
The Shasta Partnership, launched by the Shasta County Office of Education, used grant-funded studies to determine how to increase interest in attending college and improve the college-going rate. The outcome is a program known as College OPTIONS, whose partners include the two county offices of education; the Shasta Union High School District; two regional community colleges; Chico State University; the University of California-Davis; and two private universities, National and Simpson.
The well-funded partnership activities are supported in part by a $1.7 million grant from the McConnell Foundation. College OPTIONS offers free services to boost matriculation in postsecondary study — overnight bus trips to college campuses; information on college admission and course pattern requirements; guidance for students and families on choosing and applying for college; and help filling out the complicated financial aid application. Program staff conduct SAT and ACT workshops and college fairs. The program director and staff are employees of the public universities, operating from a center with college counselors in 20 high schools representing all the postsecondary partners. The center’s website (http://collegeoptions.org) is an excellent planning tool for students and families.
The impact of this collaboration has been dramatic. The eligibility of regional high school graduates for admission to the state’s public universities increased by 12 percent between 2004 and 2007. Even more impressive is the increase in the college-going rate from 35 percent to 62 percent in the same period. College OPTIONS is expanding its goals to develop scholarships and career-technical education services.
This story is an excerpt from Partnering Pre-K to University, an article by Kathleen Cohn that appeared in AASA’s The School Administrator, June 2010 Number 6, Vol. 67, pages 30-35.
Copyright June 2010, American Association of School Administrators. Reprinted with permission.
Read the article in its entirety here.
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