Greetings!
There is a great deal of college access activity going on within both our Humanitas and Career Academy programs as they combine efforts with the KnowHow2GO program that is supported by a grant from Lumina Foundation for Education and Public Education Network (PEN). Below you will find a story about a recent college field trip that engaged ninth graders as part of an effort to build a college going culture for them.
Sincerely,
Peggy Funkhouser
President & CEO
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Giving Students a Taste
of College Life at CSUN
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In an effort to inspire high school freshmen to stay in
school and pursue college goals, Los Angeles Education Partnership (LAEP)
arranged a field trip to Cal State University Northridge (CSUN) for almost 60 ninth-graders
from San Fernando Senior High (SFSH), a high-need school where 86% of
the students are eligible for the free or reduced price meal program.
Organizing college field trips like this is one way in which
LAEP is participating in Lumina's KnowHow2Go (KH2GO) initiative, a
national campaign to raise awareness among low-income and first-generation
students about preparing for college and what it takes to get there.
A CSUN student tour guide led students on a walking tour of
the campus, and Jerry Verdin, Assistant Director, Guest Relations, talked to
them about college life and what they must do to qualify for college.
 Jerry Verdin engages high school freshmen about college life
"I am Mexican-American, and neither of my parents went
to college -- my dad did not even graduate high school -- but look where I am,"
Verdin told the students, grabbing their attention. "If I told you there
was a plan, and if you followed that plan you would go to college and onto a
successful career, would you follow it?"
Almost all the students' hands shot up in the air.
Diana M., a high school freshman, said she really enjoyed the
presentation. "It gave me more confidence," she said. "If you
put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything you want to do in life."
Several students were selected to sit in on Professor
Yerma's Freshman Speech Communication class in the Chicano Studies department. Monica
R, a freshman, had not anticipated participating with college sophomores in
their class activities. But that is exactly what she did.
 SFSH student joins college students in class activities
"They had to get up and make a speech with college
students, and they all did an amazing job," said their English teacher Ms.
Krugler.
Judging by student reactions, the field trip to CSUN was a
success. The early exposure to a college campus made college a reality for many
of them. "[The college field trip] really made me think more about the
future and what they expect from you...I thought [college] was just about
focusing on your career, and it's about that too, but it's also about gaining
freedom and becoming more mature," said Diana M.
Twelve small learning communities (SLCs) enrolling mfore than 4,000 students are participating
in the KH2GO college access program.
LAEP will offer college field trips to all the SLCs. The KH2GO program is supported by a grant from Lumina Foundation for Education and
Public Education Network (PEN).
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