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LBUSD Superintendent Chris Steinhauser, left, poses with Billy Brown, his daughter, Mahogany Brown, a Marshall Middle student who received a LBCC Promise Scholarship, and mother Sandra Brown. (Stephen Carr / Staff Photographer) |
The leaders of Long Beach City College, Cal State Long Beach and the Long Beach Unified School District had a simple message for students Thursday: Do well in school, and we'll save you a place in college.
The leaders gathered at Franklin Classical Middle School to celebrate the more than 15,000 middle schoolers in the Long Beach school district who, along with their parents, sign a "Save Me a Spot in College" pledge, committing themselves to seriously pursue higher education.
Students at the event also were awarded money for college.
"We want to make sure you are prepared to invest in your future," State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell told students gathered at Franklin, located at 540 Cerritos Ave.
The LBUSD was one of four California school districts this academic year to launch the state's new Early Commitment to College program, which encourages students to prepare for higher education.
Twenty-seven eighth-grade students from across the LBUSD were recognized with college scholarships ranging from $50 to $500 as part of the event, which was organized by The Campaign for College Opportunity.
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State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O Connell talks to students about college. We want to make sure you are prepared to invest in your future, he said. (Stephen Carr / Staff Photographer) |
The event also recognized the one-year anniversary of the Long Beach College Promise, a partnership among LBUSD, LBCC and CSULB aiming to ease students' entry into higher education.
As part of the College Promise, CSULB is pledging to accept all qualified local students. Long Beach City College has committed to allowing all local students by the fall of 2011 to attend their first semester at LBCC tuition-free.
"Long Beach City College is your community college," said LBCC Superintendent-
President Eloy Oakley. "We hope that you take advantage of the resources that we have."
CSULB President F. King Alexander told students that education is the greatest "stimulus package" the state could have.
Higher education "will transform California's economy into an entirely new economy," he said.
LBUSD Superintendent Chris Steinhauser said 78 percent of district middle-school students signed and returned the pledge, including all students at four schools and more than 90 percent at two other campuses.
For scholarship recipients, each of the 27 K-8 and middle schools selected the eighth-grader who had made the greatest academic improvement.
Students from the six schools with the highest rate of pledge-signing got $500 each in money to be deposited in a college savings account. The other students received $50.
