College Opportunity News

Volume 4, Issue 4, August 28, 2008

In this issue:

1)		SB 890 Early Commitment to College Awaits Governor's Signature - State Assembly passes bill 73 to 5; Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) signs on as a Principal Co-Author. Read the August 6th Sacramento Bee editorial urging support of SB 890. << Learn more
2)		"College Opportunity Day" in Sacramento Brings Together Students and Policymakers - Over 500 attend Capitol event, Senator Jack Scott honored by the Campaign for College Opportunity for his commitment to education; "Save Me a Spot In College" Contest winners receive awards and visit legislators. << Learn more
3)		SoCal Student Winners Honored in Long Beach at Reception hosted by the Campaign at the CalState System Office - CSU Chancellor Charles Reed, CCO Boardmember & CSU Trustee Herb Carter and Assembly Member Mike Davis honor students and support college opportunity in California.  Students share their award winning posters, videos and essays. << Learn more
4)		College Access Foundation Renews Commitment to "Save Me a Spot" in College Scholarship Contest - Following three successful years of the contest, the College Access Foundation provides $400,000 in scholarships and support for the contest for two more years.  Learn more about the College Access Foundation and their work to support California students. << Learn more
5)		Photo Essay:  Profile of Contest Winner Josefina Vega of San Diego - 7th grader Josefina Vega won a grand prize for her written word entry.  Her teachers at Finney Elementary School in San Diego's Chula Vista School District sent both her mom and her to Sacramento. << Learn more
6)		Join us Sept. 5th for California's Promise:  Conversations on College Access and Student Success - This telephone briefing will discuss recent LAO and Cal-PASS reports on what can be done to reduce the number of students who enter college unprepared and how we can improve state policies to support students success. << Learn more
7)		Read the Recent Los Angeles Times Article about Health Work Force Issues in California - Read the Sunday, July 27, 2008 Los Angeles Times story.  "Closing the Health Workforce Gap in California" found that shortages have already hit the health care sector - especially the allied health fields. << Learn more

SB 890 has passed through the Assembly Appropriations Committee with a unanimous vote on August 7th, the day after students, education leaders, and policymakers descended on the Capitol to urge legislators to pass the bill.  The following week the bill passed through the State Assembly by a 73 to 5 vote and then returned to the State Senate for a conferring vote where it passed.  The bill is now on it's way to Governor Schwarzenegger's desk.

This past summer delegations of students, parents, and education advocates visited over 30 legislator's offices to talk with them about Early Commitment to College and urge the passage of SB 890.

We would like to thank each of the supporters of Early Commitment to College who have helped to get the bill this far.  We would also like to recognize Assembly Speaker Karen Bass who signed on to the bill as a principal co-Author and helped to shepherd its passage through both the Assembly Appropriations Committee and the full Assembly Floor.  We appreciate her commitment, and the commitment of 40 co-authors, to educating and creating college opportunities for California's students.  You may see the complete list of co-authors and organizational supporters on our website.

The purpose of Early Commitment to College is to ensure that beginning in middle school, students and their families understand that if they prepare for college, California will provide them the opportunity to pursue a career technical education or a college degree in our community colleges and universities and provide financial aid for eligible students with need.  The program is simple because it builds on existing programs, but powerful because it packages these opportunities into one commitment made to students at an early age.  It seeks to reverse troubling trends of declining educational achievement that will hurt the economic competitiveness of the state.

Over 500 participants attended the August 6th "College Opportunity" Day event honoring winners and honorable mentions in the 2008 "Save Me a Spot in College" scholarship contest and raising awareness of Early Commitment to College Programs and SB 890.  Students traveled from all over California - as far south as San Diego up to the far northern reaches of the state to receive their certificates, tour the Capitol, and visit with legislators. 

SB 890 Co-author and incoming Community Colleges Chancellor Senator Jack Scott was presented with an achievement award for his work on behalf of students in California by Interim Community College Chancellor Diane Woodruff and CCO Executive Director Michele Siqueiros.  Student winners read their award winning essays and had their posters displayed along the walkway in front of the Capitol steps.  All had answered the contest question:  "Why should California leaders save you and your peers a spot in college?"

Over 200 students and community partners joined us in celebrating the participants and winners of the "Save Me a Spot in College" Contest in Southern California.  The Campaign treated our guests to a reception that included a gallery viewing of the winning essays, posters, and TV ads.  During the program, everyone was encouraged to share their voice with our state leaders and to encourage others in their community to prepare for college so that California can strengthen its economy and meet the workforce demands of the future.    

We would like to extend a thank you to the guest speakers at this event:  CSU Chancellor Charles Reed, CCO Boardmember & CSU Trustee Herb Carter, Assembly Member Mike Davis (D-Los Angeles) and student speakers Josefina Vega, Aubrey Hunter, Vanessa Olivares, RyanTaylor, Richard Taylor, and Jacqueline Mak.    (All above photos by Denise Lassalle)

All winners in the "Save Me a Spot in College" scholarship contest receive their scholarships in the form of 529 college savings account, also known as a ScholarShare account, so that they can earn interest on their scholarship.  In recognition of College Savings Month in September, we are encouraging California families to make saving for college simple – open a ScholarShare College Savings Plan account today.  529 plans are a flexible and affordable way to invest in your children’s future. When you open a tax-advantaged ScholarShare account you could be eligible to receive a $50 gift card, during the month of September 2008. ScholarShare is the State of California’s official "529" college savings program, designed to help California parents and families save to meet the rising costs of higher education. Call 800-544-5248 toll-free, or visit ScholarShare on the Web at www.scholarshare.com.

The College Access Foundation has generously supported the past 3 years of the "Save Me a Spot in College" youth scholarship contest.  Earlier this month, the Foundation provided the Campaign with a $400,000 grant supporting the contest for two more years.

About the College Access Foundation

The College Access Foundation is the largest foundation of its kind in California and works to remove the financial barriers that prevent students from realizing their dreams of a higher education. College Access Foundation funds organizations that help students prepare for and enter institutions of higher learning.  The goals of the College Access Foundation are to increase college participation rates among student populations that have had historically low college-going rates and to provide sufficient aid to enable scholarship recipients to enter and remain enrolled in colleges.  

On August 6th Josefina Vega spoke to a crowd of 500 on the Capitol steps and then met with policymakers including California Secretary of Education David Long and Assembly Member Anthony Portantino.

The San Diego twelve year-old won a $2500 grand prize college scholarship for her essay that she submitted to the "Save Me a Spot in College" scholarship contest. The contest awarded scholarships to over 200 middle and high school students around the state. Over 12,000 students entered this year.

When her Finney Elementary School teachers heard that she had won, they began passing around a hat to raise money for her to go to Sacramento and join education and policy leaders urging lawmakers to pass SB 890 Early Commitment to College.  

"Everything that has happened has touched the hearts of our entire district – everybody is rallying behind her.  We want her to feel like her college experience has already started. We really want to see her succeed." says her 6th grade teacher Edrick Macalaguim who teaches at Finney Elementary School in San Diego's Chula Vista Elementary School District. Made more inspiring is the fact that Ms. Vega no longer attends Finney Elementary – this year she begins classes at Montgomery Middle School in San Diego's Sweetwater Union High School District.

Macalaguim knows first-hand how important it is for students as young as Josefina Vega to learn about college. Many in his class like Ms. Vega would be the first in their families to go to college and most come from low-income backgrounds. Every year he has his sixth graders write to colleges and universities to get information.  And every year for the past three years he has had his students enter the "Save Me a Spot in College" Contest.

Josefina Vega and her classmates need all the support they can get to make it to college. California is facing an 'education crisis' warn education and policy leaders around the state, including the Campaign for College Opportunity. While a study last month pointed to the state's extremely high dropout rate of one in four students, another recent study has pointed to the low rate – less than 43% – of high school graduates going directly into college, making California 48th in the nation.

Josefina's mom, also named Josefina, is a childcare worker and has been a volunteer with Finney Elementary School for the past 12 years – her older daughters, Karina and Melissa, attend Montgomery High School. Josefina's father is an auto mechanic with the United States Postal Service. Both parents are bursting with pride about Josefina's accomplishment. As her mom says, "I know that each of my daughters can be someone important someday."

Please join us for our next session of "California's Promise:  Conversations on Student Access and Success" on Friday, September 5th at 10am PST.  Please RSVP by Wednesday, September 3rd to denise@collegecampaign.org to receive call-in information.  All background materials will be available at www.collegecampaign.org/californiaspromise the day before the call.

We will discuss the findings of:   

• "Back to Basics: Improving College Readiness of Community College Students", a report by the Legislative Analyst's Office, and

• "An Early System for Remediation Needs of Entering Community College Students: Leveraging the California Standards Test", as reported by Cal-Pass.

Over 2 million California students are served each year by the community college system. Many of them enter college without the sufficient reading, writing and mathematics skills required of them.  During this conversation we will hear what can be done to reduce the number of students who enter college unprepared to succeed and how we can improve state policies to support students in achieving academically and reaching their college goals.

This briefing is intended for policymakers, community college, university, and K-12 educators, and community and civic leaders concerned about the education, workforce and economy of California.

The call will include a presentation of the reports key findings and recommendations and a chance for comments and questions in a moderated format with call participants.  

Please join this conversation to:

Help wanted: U.S. has a shortage of trained health workers
Hospitals scramble for pharmacy technicians, lab scientists and other trained workers as baby boomers age and retire.
by Mary Engel of the Los Angeles Times
Sunday, July 27, 2008

excerpt from the article:  "The aging of the population is a double whammy," said Michele Siqueiros, executive director of the nonprofit Campaign for College Opportunity. "It drives up demand [for health services] at the same time that people will be retiring from the very jobs that will be needed."

About "Closing the Health Workforce Gap in California" (released November 2007)

While all industries are projected to show major shortages of college-educated workers in California by 2020, "Closing the Health Workforce Gap in California" found that these shortages have already hit the health care sector. Health care will soon be hit by the 'double whammy' of California's aging population, as older residents need substantially more care as they age and a generation of highly skilled Baby Boomers retires from the health workforce.

The first study of its kind in nearly a decade, this report provides a comprehensive view of the health workforce, including nursing and the 60% of the health workforce known as "allied health." These technical occupations have educational requirements ranging from certificates and Associate Degrees to postgraduate education. Seventy-five percent of occupations analyzed face current shortages of graduates and California's community colleges play a critical role in meeting that need. The study found that California lags behind the rest of the nation in providing an adequate health care workforce.

The research was funded by Kaiser Permanente and the California Wellness Foundation and conducted by Health Workforce Solutions LLC. The study was sponsored by the Campaign for College Opportunity. The study also offers policy recommendations both specific to health care training programs and to overall educational performance.

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