MEMBER NEWS: West Hills College Lemoore awards nearly $200,000 to 20 STEM students

West Hills College Lemoore awarded National Science Foundation (NSF) S-STEM CORES Scholarships to 20 STEM students studying biology, engineering, physics and math, the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium member announced earlier this month.

The scholarships are valued up to $10,000 annually per student ($5,000 per semester) for a maximum of four semesters. This academic year, the college is distributing nearly $200,000 in NSF S-STEM CORES Scholarships, half of which was disbursed Dec. 12. A second distribution is planned for the next semester.

The scholarships provide recipient with comprehensive support, including a dedicated faculty mentor and complementary tutoring for courses up to Introduction to Calculus, monthly cohort meetings and seminars, field trips each semester, and paid research opportunities. Additionally, two students will attend conferences.

WHCL President James Preston said the scholarships are part of the college’s commitment to develop future STEM leaders.

“Our mission is to remove barriers and provide opportunities,” said President Preston, who is a member of the CVHEC Board of Directors. “These scholarships are more than just financial aid; they invest in our students’ futures and potential to contribute to the STEM community.”

 

See the West Hills College Lemoore press release.

 

 

MEMBER NEWS: WHCCD campuses eligible for 2025 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence

The West Hills Community College District’s Coalinga and Lemoore campuses have been named eligible candidates for the prestigious 2025 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence.

The Aspen, often referred to as the “Oscars for great community colleges,”  is a highly-coveted award presented biannually to recognize community colleges nationwide for their exceptional performance in critical areas, including teaching and learning, certificate and degree completion, transfer and bachelor’s attainment, workforce success, access, and equity for students of color and students from low-income backgrounds.

Out of the thousands of community colleges nationwide, only 150 have been identified as eligible candidates for the 2025 Aspen Prize.West Hills College Coalinga and West Hills College Lemoore are the only community colleges in the Central Valley region to receive this prestigious acknowledgment.

“We are incredibly proud of West Hills College Coalinga and West Hills College Lemoore for their outstanding achievements and well-deserved recognition as eligible candidates for the 2025 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence,” said Kristin Clark, West Community College District Chancellor. “This achievement reflects our colleges’ dedication to providing exceptional education and support services to our students, empowering them to achieve their goals and aspirations.”

Chancellor Clark serves as chair of the CVHEC Board of Directors which includes WHC Coalinga President Carla Tweed and WHC Lemoore James Preston.

 

See the WHCCD press release.

What the CV-HEC Is Happening Blog: Math Bridge Update

This month’s “What The CV-HEC Is Happening” guest blog is an update of the Math Bridge program presented by Owynn Lancaster, vice president for Academic Strategy with College Bridge, a California non-profit based in Los Angeles County dedicated to forging a path towards both college access and success for underrepresented students.  College Bridge is a partner with the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium in the innovative program designed to improve math outcomes for struggling 11th and 12th graders and streamline Math pathways into college. Funded by a five-year $4 million grant through the US Department of Education’s Education Innovation and Research (EIR) Program in January,  this ambitious endeavor was kicked off in May with a convening of more than 150 valley K-16 educators in Fresno to begin the onboarding process for this historic intersegmental collaboration between CVHEC member community colleges and high schools in their respective service areas. That initiative was followed in April with a $1.1 million state grant to CVHEC/College Bridge partnership through the Central San Joaquin Valley K-16 Partnership creating the Dual Enrollment (DE) Math Bridge that will provide equitable access to transfer-level math courses with embedded support for high school students who are disproportionately impacted, and/or are not traditionally college-bound.  This fall, the College Bridge and CVHEC Math Bridge teams have been visiting campuses to continue the onboard process in preparation for the program’s launch next fall.  

 

Expanding the Reach of the

Central Valley Math Bridge

 

BY OWYNN LANCASTER
College Bridge

 

After our successful College Orientation meetings in September, the College Bridge team has been darting up and down the San Joaquin Valley, meeting with interested feeder highs schools to onboard and launch them for the coming academic year’s CV Math Bridge Project.

Inspiring our efforts, two amazing CVHEC member colleges have “jumped to lead the pack” as Dr. Lynn Cevallos, our College Bridge president, often says. The first of those with an impressing showing come from Merced College where their team has helped us garner interest from seven possible high schools! Showing the region’s commitment to opening options for their students in math and the impressive connecting power of the college’s administration.

In equally exciting efforts, San Joaquin Delta College helped to secure two committed high school partners from Stockton Unified, with interest from others in their region. Those two Stockton schools, Amos Alonzo Stagg High School and Captain Charles M. Weber of Applied Science and Technology have been two of the smoothest schools to onboard so far! More importantly addition of these schools and the partnership with Delta College now helps us open the CV Math Bridge Project across the breadth of the Valley.

With schools as far north as Stagg High School and as far south as Taft Union High School the reach of this project is now slightly smaller than the state of South Carolina! This means several more flights and drives are still ahead for our College Bridge team to continue to onboard and launch these high school partners, but in the end, we are excited by this transformative work.

The CV Math Bridge’s first cohort of schools will be starting in the coming academic year, 2024-2025, and there’s still room for more in the second cohort starting in academic year, 2025-2026. We invite high schools interested in participating to reach out and contact me at Owynn.Lancaster@college-bridge.org.

 

Also see: https://bit.ly/CVHECblog1223-GiftOfMath 

NEWS RELEASE – CVHEC Math Task Force: Impactful legislation (AB 1705) Convenings Oct. 6 & 13

Impactful legislation is focus of CVHEC Math Task Force convenings

Valley math educators discuss AB 1705 with California Community Colleges, Dana Center

The Central Valley Higher Education Consortium Math Task Force will convene twice in October, virtually and in-person, to address issues surrounding California Assembly Bill 1705 requiring that California’s community colleges expand their efforts to enroll and support students in transfer-level math and English courses — a follow up to previous legislation (AB 705) that fundamentally reshaped placement and remediation at the community colleges.

Dr. Erik Cooper

The first session, “AB 1705 in the Central Valley” on Friday, Oct. 6, from 10 to 11:30 a.m., is a virtual-only event presented by CVHEC in partnership with the California Community College Chancellor’s Office.

Dr. Erik Cooper, CCC assistant vice chancellor for Data, Visualization and Research, will clarify areas of confusion regarding the bill and its implementation, Dr. Benjamín Durán, CVHEC executive director, announced today.

The second session, “AB1705 Student Success Workshop” on Friday, Oct. 13, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. hosted by CVHEC at the Fresno Doubletree Convention Center, is an in-person convening with the Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin exploring how to best support students within the framework of AB1705.

The 18-member CVHEC Math Task Force consists of math educators and administrators representing CVHEC’s 15 community college member institutions (total 28 CVHEC members with CSU, UC and private colleges in the nine-county region).

Central Valley Math faculty, chairs and deans are also invited and encouraged to attend, said Dr. Durán.  (See registration information below).

Passed in 2022 for implementation July 1, 2024, AB 1705 expands the provisions established in AB 705 (2017) by explicitly requiring community colleges not only to place students directly into transfer-level English and math courses but also to ensure that students actually enroll in those courses.

The recent legislation also establishes that for students who need or desire extra academic support, community colleges shall provide access to such support. The new law clarifies that a community college can require students to enroll in additional concurrent support if it is determined that the support will increase the student’s likelihood of passing transfer-level English or math.

“Throughout California, there is varied understanding of the impacts of this assembly bill on college structures and on math educators,” said Dr. Durán. “Dr.  Cooper will be available to clarify areas of confusion regarding the bill and its implementation.”

For that first CCCCO virtual session, participants are asked to review the AB1705 FAQ. Additional questions can be asked during the virtual session by emailing them to centralvalleyhec@gmail.com by Oct. 2. Dr. Cooper will answer these questions during the Oct. 6 meeting, Dr. Durán said.

At CVHEC’s Oct. 13 in-person second session, representatives from the Dana Center will be present to facilitate the development of materials and strategies that promote student success in the quantitative reasoning, statistics and BSTEM pathways.

“Additionally, we will explore the skills and andragogy (pedagogy) needed for the modern calculus course,” Dr. Duran said.

For more information: Angel Ramirez, CVHEC finance and operations manager, angelr@mail.fresnostate.edu.

 

Registration for the free events is required:

 

(Those unable to attend the Oct. 6 virtual meeting are asked to view the recording of that session prior to the Oct. 13 meeting. The recording link will be available Oct. 7 at the CVHEC website).

For media inquiries: Tom Uribes, 559.348.3278 (cvheccommunications@mail.fresnostate.edu) 

Open Educational Resources movement launched with $580,180 K-16 grant to CVHEC members

 

 

Open Educational Resources has the potential to save students millions of dollars in textbook and material costs that helps minimize financial barriers impeding access to quality education, said Dr. Kristin Clark (left), WHCCD chancellor, with West Hills College-Coalinga President Carla Tweed and West Hills College-Lemoore President James Preston.

OER Task Force and convening

planned for this fall

 

The pioneering Open Educational Resources Improvement Project – a collaboration of Central Valley Higher Education Consortium members and partners –kicks off with a $580,180.00 state grant as well as a new OER Task Force and convening planned for later this fall.

CVHEC-member West Hills Community College District recently announced the Fresno-Madera K-16 Collaborative Mini-Grant Award for the groundbreaking initiative that is poised to usher in a new era of educational opportunities by revolutionizing learning, teaching and research materials across the Central Valley.

The project is in collaboration with the State Center Community College District and its campuses — Fresno City College, Madera Community College and Reedley College (all consortium members) — and CVHEC.

Open Educational Resources has the potential to save students millions of dollars in textbook and material costs, said Dr. Kristin Clark, WHCCD chancellor, in the Aug. 22 award announcement. This helps minimize financial barriers that impede access to quality education.

“OER is pivotal in alleviating financial burdens on our students with the transformative power to enrich education, making it more affordable and accessible,” Chancellor Clark said.

 

The free exchange of knowledge

The initiative promotes accessibility, reusability, adaptation and redistribution said the chancellor who also serves as chair of the CVHEC Board of Directors made up of the chancellors, presidents and campus directors of 28 Central Valley institutions of higher education in the nine-county region from San Joaquin to Kern counties.

OER encompasses a diverse range of materials, such as textbooks, curricula and multimedia resources made available under open licenses that encourage the free exchange of knowledge.

Since 2016, West Hills College Lemoore has been at the forefront of OER development, showcasing WHCCD’s dedication to providing an inclusive and equitable learning environment that serves as a testament to the district’s commitment to academic excellence.

Chancellor Clark said the Fresno-Madera K-16 Collaborative Mini-Grant Award “will empower us to advance education in the Central Valley by leveraging the potential of Open Educational Resources underscoring our unwavering commitment to fostering innovation and student success.”

She called the grant “a testament to the collaborative spirit of the Central Valley’s educational community and the strides we can achieve together. We are incredibly excited to embark on this significant endeavor alongside our esteemed partners.”

 

Statewide leadership to a ZTC degree pathway

Dr. Benjamín Durán, CVHEC executive director, said this visionary partnership of consortium members will expand on WHC-Lemoore’s pioneer work with faculty and instructional administrators developing Open Educational Resources /Zero Textbook Cost textbooks, courses and pathways that serve area institutions and their feeder high schools.

“This Central Valley OER movement provides statewide leadership leading to a full ZTC degree pathway in Elementary Education for our students that immediately serves the Fresno and Madera County areas,” Duran said.

“We commend our community college members for uniting under CHVEC for this grant, enabling them to create a wealth of high-quality educational resources for the benefit of students and educators throughout the Central Valley and beyond.”

 

An evolution of teaching and learning

West Hills College-Lemoore President James Preston, who serves on the statewide California Community Colleges ZTC Task Force, said in a CVHEC “What Is Happening Blog” a year ago that his campus jumped into the “OERevolution” as a way to eliminate textbook cost barriers for students.

“However, what started as a revolution against textbook publishers and outrageous prices quickly turned into an evolution of teaching and learning as faculty utilized OER materials in creative and powerful ways,” wrote President Preston.

“Thousands of hours of teamwork, a few additional grants and six years later West Hills College Lemoore has saved students over $8 million dollars, revolutionized teaching and learning and currently offers 62 percent of our courses in the ZTC format with a dozen degrees and certificates that students can complete without any textbook costs.”

In a presentation to fellow CVHEC board members at their quarterly meeting in May,  President Preston said the use of ZTC is “a huge win for diversity and equity” that “allows for culturally responsive relevant materials.”

 

OER/ZTC Task Force

Dr. Duran said the next step for CVHEC is to finalize formation this fall of the OER/ZTC Task Force consisting of representatives from the consortium’s 28-member institutions.

“This new task force will support our members as they assist students attain basic needs that help navigate their way towards the completion of their educational goals. “

He said the first OER/ZTC Task Force Convening will be set for later this fall when task force members and other individuals and campuses can further explore strategies for addressing those basic needs.

For more information: centralvalleyhec@gmail.com.

 

For media inquiries:

WHCCD – Amber Myrick (559.934.2132) ambermyrick@whccd.edu

CVHEC – Tom Uribes (559.348.3278) cvheccommunications@mail.fresnostate.edu

SCCCD – Jill Wagner  jill.wagner@scccd.edu

 

Also see:

 

MEMBER NEWS: Tachi Yokut Tribe donates $3M to West Hills College Lemoore

Robert Jeff (left), vice chairman of the Santa Rosa Rancheria Tachi Tribe, and West Hills College Lemoore President James Preston discuss the local tribe’s 3 million gift.

Tachi Yokut Tribe will establish Native American Studies Program

The Tachi Yokut Tribe has donated $3 million to the West Hills Community College Foundation that will establish a comprehensive Native American studies program at West Hills College Lemoore, a member of the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium.

This “monumental and historic partnership” endowment signifies a commitment to education, cultural preservation and community enrichment, demonstrating the power of collaboration between the Tachi Yokut Tribe and West Hills College Lemoore, the college said in its announcement of the gift Aug 17.

The groundbreaking Native American studies program will delve into the rich history, traditions, and contemporary issues of Native American communities.

West Hills College Lemoore President James Preston said this program will provide students with an invaluable opportunity to engage deeply with the region’s cultural heritage, fostering understanding, respect and awareness.

“We are elated to embark on this journey to create a Native American studies program that not only celebrates the heritage of the Tachi Yokut Tribe but also enriches the lives of all our students,” President Preston said. “This endowment reinforces our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusivity, and we are excited to build bridges between our college and the Native American communities we serve.”

Rojelio Morales, director of Marketing at Tachi Palace, said the Tachi Yokut Tribe is honored to contribute to establishing the Native American studies program at the nearby college.

“We believe that education is a powerful tool for cultural preservation and dialogue,” Morales said. “This initiative aligns with our values of community, heritage and progress. By investing in this program, we hope to inspire future generations and facilitate meaningful exchanges between cultures.”

The Native American Studies program will engage students in academic exploration and extend its reach to the wider community through events, seminars and cultural activities, the college said in its announcement.

“West Hills College Lemoore looks forward to collaborating with the Tachi Yokut Tribe and other stakeholders to ensure the success and growth of this transformative endeavor,” the announcement said.

 

Media inquiries: Amber Myrick, district director of Marketing, Communications, and Public Information for the West Hills Community College District at  ambermyrick@whccd.edu  (559.934.2132).

 

See the WHCCD press release.

Central Valley Math Bridge kickoff May 18

Read more

PRESS RELEASE: Central Valley Math Bridge kickoff May 18 in Fresno

ADVISORY: For media coverage of the Central Valley Math Bridge Kickoff on Thursday, May 18 (9 a.m. to 3 p.m.), or for spokesperson availability, please text Tom Uribes at 559.348.3278. LOCATION: The Doubletree by Hilton Hotel/Fresno Convention Center (2233 Ventura St. – Fresno).  See Agenda.

(UPDATE May 26, 2023) – See Math Bridge coverage.

 

Central Valley Math Bridge: keeping the doors to STEM careers open for our students


13 rural high schools, six community colleges to convene for program kickoff May 18 in Fresno

(May 16, 2023) — The first cohort of 13 Valley high schools has been secured for the Central Valley Math Bridge Program that will promote equity and college-readiness in mathematics via dual enrollment courses for underprepared students at rural high schools in the region next fall (see list of high schools below).

The participating educators will convene this week with six community college members of the  Central Valley Higher Education Consortium in Fresno to formally launch the program and plan for its implementation at the Central Valley Math Bridge Kickoff from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, May 18, at Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Fresno Convention Center.

The launch is presented by co-hosts College Bridge, Central Valley Higher Education Consortium and the Rand Corporation.

Dr. Lynn Cevallos, founder and president of College Bridge, will deliver keynote remarks, “The State of Mathematics in California,” an analysis of intersegmental mathematics policies and practices statewide over the last 20 years that highlights a pending crisis now facing Valley students.

“The doors to STEM careers are closing for our students,” Cevallos warned. “The Math Bridge project is designed to keep those pathways open.”

In one morning session, “Collaborating Towards a Common Goal: Dinuba Success Story,” officials from Dinuba High School will share their experience with a previous College Bridge program — the Math Pipeline Readiness Project (M-PReP) — that provided the foundation for the current project.

Presenting will be DHS Principal Andrew Popp, Counselor Auggie Sanchez and Jim Gilmore, Math professor at Reedley College which was the DHS community college partner.

Dr. Benjamín Durán, CVHEC executive director, will deliver closing remarks along with Cevallos.

“The DE Math Bridge Project will prepare and guide students as they transition to college or university equipped with math credits and confidence,” said Durán, president-emeritus of Merced College who became CVHEC’s executive director in 2016.  “It creates a model for meaningful dual enrollment pathways and expansion that can be replicated in other regions of California serving underprepared students. This also supports CVHEC’s mission to increase degree attainment rates.”

The Central Valley Math Bridge project was initially funded by a $4 million five-year Education Innovation and Research (EIR) Program federal grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Education to College Bridge in late December.

College Bridge recently completed an extensive four-month recruitment campaign to secure eligible high schools for the first of two cohorts. Recruitment of the second cohort will begin this summer, Cevallos said.

The first cohort of high schools to-date and their respective community college partners are (with three additional pending*):

Cerro Coso College: Lone Pine, Tehachapi;

Columbia College: Bret Harte*, Calaveras*;

Madera College: Liberty, Madera, Madera South, Matilda Torres, Yosemite;

Reedley College: Dinuba, Orosi, Parlier, Reedley*

Taft College: Taft High School

West Hills Coalinga College: Firebaugh, Tranquillity.

High schools and community colleges interested in participating in the second cohort may contact Nicole Korgie at nicole.korgie@college-bridge.org.

For more information about the  May 18 event, contact Angel Ramirez, CVHEC operations manager at 559.292.0576 (centralvalleyhec@gmail.com). Media inquiries:  Tom Uribes at 559.348.3278.

 

NOTE: A parallel project funded by the state in February through the Central San Joaquin K-16 Partnership — made up of the Fresno/Madera and the Tulare/Kings K-16 Collaboratives — will serve an additional two colleges and seven high schools in the region (see https://bit.ly/CVHEC-DualEnrollmentMathBridge).

 

See background stories

https://bit.ly/CB-DualEnrollmentMathBridgeAnnounced

https://bit.ly/MathBridgeDualEnrollmentKickoff

UPDATES

ABOUT CVHEC and COLLEGE BRIDGE

The Central Valley Higher Education Consortium based in Fresno, made up of 28 institutions of higher education in the Central Valley’s nine-county region, is assisting the Dual Enrollment Math Bridge Project by using its role as a regional convener to bring the participating higher education and K-16 representatives together with College Bridge, a California non- profit based in Los Angeles County dedicated to creating a seamless K-16 pathway for students.

AGENDA-MathBridgeKO(051823)media

 

BOARD NEWS: CVHEC Board Reviews AB928, Eyes Retreat In 2023 and Bids Farewell to One of Its Own (Photo Gallery)

Outgoing Community College President Lori Bennett sat in on her final CVHEC Board meeting Dec. 8 and was honored by her colleagues including CVHEC regional coordinator John Spevak, who worked with her on special projects at CCC, and Executive Director Benjamin Duran. Jessie Ryan of the Campaign for College Opportunity presented on AB928 (Berman) and transfer reform. Bottom right: Board Chair Kristin Clark, chancellor of the West Hills Community College District, with West Hills College Lemoore President James Preston, Fresno City College President Robert Pimentel and State Center Community College District Chancellor Carole Goldsmith. See photo gallery below.

The Central Valley Higher Education Consortium Board of Directors held its final quarterly meeting of the year Dec. 8 highlighted by a discussion of Assembly Bill 928 regarding transfer reform and a farewell to a beloved colleague.

Dr. Lori Bennett, outgoing president of Clovis Community College, was presented a retirement gift during her final meeting sitting on the CVHEC board and representing her institution of higher education.

After a presentation by two dear friends and colleagues — Dr. Kristen Clark, CVHEC board chairperson  and chancellor of the West Hills Community College District; and Dr. Claudia Lourido-Habib, president of Porterville College — President Bennett expressed her appreciation for her CVHEC colleagues.

“There is nothing that I’ve done in my whole career that has been better than being president at Clovis Community College and part of that is being part of CVHEC,” said President Bennett whose retirement is effective Jan. 3.

“It’s amazing what we have here in this valley, all of you in this room, all of us getting to know each other and meeting up and talking and including all the different colleges,” she told the board. “It is beyond my wildest dreams that I could have been part of something like this. I want to thank all of you for the friendship and the work that we’ve done together over the last several years.”

The hybrid board meeting, only the second in-person session since the pandemic for the presidents and chancellors of CVHEC’s 30 member institutions in the nine-county Central Valley region, was hosted by the California Health Sciences University and board member Florence T. Dunn, CHSU president. Dr. John Graneto, CHSU dean pf the university’s College of Osteopathy Medicine, welcomed the academic CEOs with a presentation about the medical school.

Also presenting at the board meeting was Jessie Ryan, executive vice president of the Campaign for College Opportunity, who joined the meeting via Zoom. Discussing AB928 (Berman), Ryan acknowledged the role CVHEC has played in the transfer reform movement over the years, noting that the Central Valley is ahead of many in the state.

Ryan said the bill sought three things: to create an intersegmental transfer task force to talk about critical issues related to the production of the Associate Degree Transfer and improving the transfer process for students across the state; to create a common lower division general education pathway into the CSU and UC; and to more strategically ensure that the ADT became the preferred pathway for students where an ADT pathway for transfer existed

The board also heard CVHEC Executive Director Benjamín Durán report that the Consortium will be undertaking strategic planning measures in 2023 that include a program evaluation and a CVHEC Board Strategic Retreat next summer.

Several other CVHEC Projects were discussed; including a progress report on the CVHEC Transfer Project/Program Mapper, updates on the four CERF regions K-16 Collaboratives, and a discussion about the Online Educational Resources/Zero Textbook Costs (OER/ZTC). (See full agenda here – view details).

The CVHEC Board of Directors will meet again in spring 2023.

CCA Dual Enrollment National Focus Group Features Central Valley Students

A nation-wide communications campaign conducted by Complete College America (CCA) to recruit more Latinx students and other students of color into dual/concurrent enrollment student programs across the United States includes four Central Valley students who participated in CCA’s Dual Enrollment Student Focus Group Sept. 19 via Zoom.

The projected release of the virtual presentation is early 2023, said Dr. Brandon Protas, a strategic director for CCA.

Complete College America is a national nonprofit organization whose mission is focused on significantly increasing college completion rates with a focus on racial equity through an alliance of higher education leaders and organizations – such as partner CVHEC.

Dr. Benjamín T. Durán, CVHEC executive director, serves as one of 48 CCA leads nation-wide who provide oversight and coordination for local initiatives as well as CCA-sponsored projects. Leads act as strategic thought partners and leaders and promote the efforts and importance of CCA, Dr. Protas said.

The alliance sought the student recommendations after seeing CVHEC’s dual enrollment awareness campaign the past year that culminated in a five-minute video, newsletter stories and student panels at two convenings earlier this year. In addition to those students from the consortium’s nine-county Central Valley region, for this national project CVHEC also recruited valley students who attend a college outside the region.

Dr. Protas said the national project sought racially homogenous focus groups of students over 18 who participated in dual/concurrent enrollment in the past four years.

“The aim is to understand what impact DE/CE classes had on students of color, as well as on their motivation to go to college and to earn a certificate or degree and their experiences as a student of color,” Dr. Protas said.

“Information gathered from this national focus group will help create plug-and-play communications assets that can be used for intentional recruitment of dual/concurrent enrollment students who are underrepresented in these programs,” he said. “These would be branded through Complete College America and made available throughout the CCA Alliance to help recruit future high school students into DE/CE programs across the United States.”

The conversations were facilitated by Dr. Stepheny Hinkle Beauchamp, who CCA retained to conduct them through a race-conscious lens, Protas said. Her doctoral research is in dual enrollment rates for Latinos in Colorado.

The CVHEC students participating in the nation focus group are:

 

  • MARISSA GUTIÉRREZ, a graduate of Firebaugh High School who took dual enrollment through West Hills College-Firebaugh Center, earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology at Fresno State. She is now enrolled at University of Northern Colorado earning a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling while working full time for a local elementary school in Greeley, CO.

 

  • VERÓNICA MÉNDEZ GARCÍA graduated from Madera High School where she enrolled in dual enrollment courses through Madera Community College before earning a Bachelor of Arts at Fresno Pacific University in spring 2022. She also served as student body president (2021-22) and was featured in a CVHEC video regarding broadband disparity. She is now pursuing a master’s at California Baptist University online.

 

  • AMIRA MALDONADO earned an Associate of Arts degree (plant science) through Reedley College’s Wonderful Prep program while at Sanger High School and is now in her second undergrad year at University of California, Davis (human development- sports medicine).

 

  • JOSÉ ACOSTA, a Sanger High School alumnus, took dual enrollment courses through Reedley College’s Wonderful Prep program and is in his second undergrad year at UC Davis (Animal Science).

 

The students have been enthusiastic in sharing their respective success stories, said Tom Uribes, CVHEC communications/media coordinator who coordinated the local student effort with Saundra McGlothlin, CVHEC regional coordinator and dual enrollment lead.

“We identified students who took just a few dual enrollment classes and found themselves motivated to pursue a higher education and we had some who went all out taking enough courses to earn an associate degree a week or two before they formally graduated from high school,” Uribes said. “All have been very articulate in sharing their respective stories either in our video, newsletter stories or serving on the panels.”

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