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Congratulations, Future High School Graduates!
The new Gateway to College program at Spartanburg Community College (SCC) held its inaugural student orientation on August 13, 2009. The orientation was designed "with the end in mind" to help students create a mental picture that would be real enough to carry with them until their dreams come to fruition on graduation day.
As students arrived for orientation, they were seated in a classroom auditorium in alphabetical order. During the first hour, they viewed a PowerPoint slide show which included names of all the new students, one name per slide, describing each student as a "future high school graduate." The audience applauded for each student as he/she rose to sign the orientation register at the front of the auditorium. A few supporters and relatives of students attended. Photographs of each student were taken during the event and individual photographs were later distributed to students as a keepsake of the day. SCC's staff hopes that students will hang on to their photos through good and rocky times and use them as a tool to keep their eyes on the prize of a high school diploma and college success.
Although the primary goal was to help students visualize their end goal of earning a high school diploma and college credits, the orientation had several other objectives: creating a positive experience that students might wish to remember, helping students feel that the Gateway team knows them and sees them as individuals from Day 1, and giving supporters in attendance the chance to cement their roles in helping students keep their dreams intact. SCC plans to continue this ritual with each new learning community of students on orientation day.
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Just Released: Innovations Brief on Student Ambassador and Advisory Groups
As Gateway to College partners, we have all invested our energies to help solve the dropout epidemic in the United States. Helping previously unsuccessful students find a new identity as academically successful adults is no small task and it requires a group of like-minded professionals working in tandem to envision, create, pilot, refine, and share best practices. By translating "site-specific" practices into "our" best practices, the Gateway to College Network can build a body of knowledge, skills, and materials proven successful in promoting achievement among those hardest to serve.
We solicit your ideas! Send your best practices to Stephen Rice at srice@gatewaytocollege.org.
Several Innovations Briefs have been developed by the National Network staff over the past two years. The newest brief, focused on student ambassador and advisory groups, was published earlier this month. GtC programs at Community College of Philadelphia, Palo Alto College and St. Louis Community College are highlighted in the brief. To access this new publication, go to www.gatewaytocollege.org and log into the "Resources for Network Partners" page. This section of the website is password protected and each GtC program has a unique password. If you're unsure of your program's password, please contact Bernadette DeVito at bdevito@gatewaytocollege.org.
The following Innovations Briefs are also posted on the "Resources for Network Partners" page of the website:
"Riverside Gateway to College Academy: Messages from a Mature Gateway Program" (published in July 2008) -- This brief highlights notable practices and program elements at Riverside City College, including database management, school-to-career programs, guaranteed study time, and use of GradeQuik software.
"Teambuilding Days Support Student Success" (published in January 2008) -- This brief focuses on teambuilding and college acculturation activities incorporated into the pre-Foundation and Foundation term curricula at Monroe Community College, San Antonio College and Tri-County Technical College.
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Students in PCC's Academic Lab Benefit from an Enhanced Curriculum
Over the past year, Portland Community College's GtC program h as transformed its Academic Lab into a highly engaging, skill-building course.
The new curriculum is built around a group project where students in teams of 3-4 are tasked with researching a social issue of their choosing, and responding to the question, "If you had $100,000 to effect change in the world, what would you do with it?" Students explore issues related to the elderly, health, waste management, and many others.
At the end of the term, each group delivers a final presentation on their research topic. During the Summer 2009 term, one group focused on obesity, presenting statistics on its causes and prevalence, as well as awareness indicators such as how to calculate Body Mass Index (BMI). They also identified strategies for combating obesity. To help bring the subject to life during the presentation, the group asked volunteers in the audience to walk up and down the stairs several times wearing backpacks weighing as much as 70 lbs. To appreciate how carrying extra weight impacts mobility, the volunteers were then asked to remove the backpacks and repeat the stair-climbing exercise with a lighter load.
During the presentation, the group also shared their recommendations for spending the hypothetical $100,000. Their strategies included funding a health specialist to speak about obesity at local high schools and shopping malls, a nutritionist to advise school administrators on making healthy food options available in the school cafeteria and campus vending machines, and a $15,000 scholarship to a high school student who has initiated the best school-wide obesity campaign.
The redesigned Academic Lab has generated a great deal of enthusiasm and buy-in among students and has helped them improve their skills in the areas of research, budgeting, communication, organization, presentation, problem solving, and team building. Students also have benefited from increased awareness of various social issues. |
UPCOMING EVENTS
September 30, 2009: Virtual Brown Bag - Project-Based Learning for 21st Century Students, with John Larmer from the Buck Institute
Time: 10 - 11 am Pacific Time
Details: This session will address how Project-Based Learning (PBL) increases student motivation to learn, and will include a discussion with network partners who have implemented PBL as well as those interested in implementing PBL at their programs.
How to register: RSVP to Prentice Davis at pdavis@gatewaytocollege.org. Registrants will be provided with log-in information to join the webinar session.
November 11, 2009: Virtual Brown Bag - Engaging Math Students to Discover Success, with Deb Poese from Montgomery College
Time: 10 - 11 am Pacific Time
Details: This roundtable discussion will address how math teachers can engage and challenge their students while teaching them strategies for success. Techniques currently being used by GtC math faculty will be covered during the session.
How to register: RSVP to Prentice Davis at pdavis@gatewaytocollege.org. Registrants will be provided with log-in information to join the webinar session.
December 15 & 16, 2009: GtC Directors Convening Location: Portland, OR
Details: The convening will focus on instructional leadership, using data for program improvement, solution focused staff and faculty evaluations, and other topics. Continental breakfast and lunch will be provided on both days.
How to register: This meeting is open to GtC Directors and Assistant Directors only. A registration form will be sent out in early October, with a registration deadline of October 30. Please contact Stephen Rice with any questions about the convening.
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What's new and noteworthy in your program?
Network News is your source for interesting, informative and inspiring articles on Gateway to College happenings across the network.
Please contact
Bernadette DeVito
(bdevito@gatewaytocollege.org) whenever you have news, success stories, or other information you'd like to highlight in an upcoming newsletter. We look forward to hearing from you and your students!
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