starting the college conversation with latino students and ... · for students to find the right...
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Starting the College Conversation
with Latino Students and ParentsPrepárate Conference 2011
Abel Montoya
Director of Outreach Operations
Illinois Student Assistance Commission
Robert Nelson
College Illinois Corps member
Illinois Student Assistance Commission
Rosa Varela
College Illinois Corps member
Illinois Student Assistance Commission
Illinois Student Assistance Commission
State agency that administers state grant
money and other financial aid programs
Mission: Making college affordable and
accessible for all Illinois students
◦ Goal: Increase the percentage of students
from the two lowest quintiles that are
graduating from high school, enrolling in
college & graduating.
Economic impact on Illinois*
Approximately 1/3 of students who enter 9th grade each year do not graduate
More than 46,100 students did not graduate from high schools in Illinois in 2009
◦ The lost lifetime earnings in Illinois for that class of dropouts totals nearly $12 billion
Illinois’ economy would see a combination of savings and revenue of about $379 million in reduced crime spending & increased earnings each year if the male graduation rate increased by just 5 percent
If Illinois’ high schools graduated all students ready for college, the state would save almost $210.2 million a year in community college remediation costs and lost earnings.
More than $13 billion would be added to Illinois’ economy by 2020 if students of color graduated at the same rate as white students
*http://all4ed.org/files/Illinois_econ.pdf
College Illinois Corps membersUsing College Access Challenge Grant funds, recent college graduates
were hired to work with low income and/or first generation students!
College Illinois Corps
Ground and marketing campaign to increase
student awareness about college planning and
options after high school
Funded by the Department of Education
Serve as ―near peer‖ mentors
Placed in 39 community college districts
1-3 Corps members per community college
district
Illinois Community College Districts
Corps training
6 week residential training program
Guest speakers
Training topics included:
◦ College access barriers
◦ Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA )
◦ Career counseling
◦ College admissions
◦ Community organizing
◦ Event planning
◦ Project management
On the job
One-on-one mentoring
Focus on low-income and first-generation families
Target 9th – 12th grade students
Work with parents, teachers, counselors, and community based organizations
Promote college planning & preparation
Offer application assistance
Conduct FAFSA completion workshops
Assist with scholarship searches
Provide college matching guidance
Promote free college planning portal: www.whatsnextillinois.org
Overall outreach efforts
2009 – 2010 academic year
◦ Conducted 1194 outreach events 371 financial aid presentations
273 FAFSA completion workshops
◦ Interacted with 65,268 people 40,305 students
15,566 parents
2010 – 2011 academic year (through 2/28/11)
◦ Conducted 1301 outreach events 294 financial aid presentations
329 FAFSA completion workshops
◦ Interacted with 65,082 people 44,343 students
14,551 parents
148 additional outreach events (and counting) planned after 2/28/11
One-on-one interactions
Reasons for working with students one-on-one◦ Students who come from families with no college
going experience are less likely to attend college
◦ Per the American Council, one out of every five dependent low-income students do not submit a FAFSA*
◦ College application process is difficult to navigate
Have worked with 3186 students◦ 1537 first generation students
◦ 1232 students on the free or reduced lunch program
*http://www.acenet.edu/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Fin_Aid&CONTENTID=33183&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm
Challenges
Illinois is a diverse state geographically &
culturally
Managing 70+ field representatives
Assessing the needs of specific schools,
cities/towns, or community college
districts
Getting buy-in from certain schools or
parts of the state
STRATEGIES UTILIZED IN ELGIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT
Robert NelsonCollege Illinois Corps member
Elgin Community College District
High schools in Elgin district
School Total StudentsStudents on Free or
Reduced Lunch Average ACT %White %Black %Hispanic %Asian %Low incomeELGIN HIGH SCHOOL 2363 1196 18.8 24 10 60 5 66LARKIN HIGH SCHOOL 2422 927 19.1 35 10 50 3 55STREAMWOOD 2303 955 18.3 37 7 46 8 49DUNDEE-CROWN HIGH
SCHOOL2529 937 19.3 51 7 38 2 46
SOUTH ELGIN HIGH
SCHOOL2383 388 19.5 62 7 21 8 26
BARTLETT HIGH SCHOOL 2850 430 21.3 64 4 19 12 20HAMPSHIRE HIGH
SCHOOL552 45 20.8 75 2 14 7 17
ST. CHARLES EAST 2075 170 22.5 84 2 9 4 10JACOBS HIGH SCHOOL 2327 156 21.5 90 3 11 6 10ST. CHARLES NORTH 2161 65 23.4 89 1 5 4 4CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL 833 14 21.6 79 3 11 4 4ILLINOIS YOUTH CTR - ST
CHARLES241 238
GIFFORD STREET HIGH
SCHOOL131 128
OAK RIDGE SCHOOL 49 25CENTRAL SCHOOL
PROGRAM106
Events leading up to mentoring
Larkin HSFinancial aid presentation
Lunch tables
Elgin HS Lunch tablesCollege
application workshops
Financial aid presentation
Dundee-Crown HS
College application workshops
Financial aid presentation
FAFSA workshops
Streamwood HS
FAFSA presentation to all seniors
FAFSA workshop
Overview handout
Overview—continued
Goal
For students to find the right fit for postsecondary education
Strategy
There are three types of barriers to college:
◦ academic
◦ social
◦ financial
This program is designed for academically capable students who face social or financial barriers. By knowing all their options and how to pay for them, students can overcome those barriers.
Description
The Mentor will visit your school on the same day each week during lunch periods. To keep the mentor-to-student ratio low, approximately 5 students per lunch period can participate, for a total of 15-20 students per school. Students’ progress will be communicated to parents on a monthly basis.
Timeline
Tentative length of program
◦ March 29, 2010 – June 2011
Tentative schedule
◦ Mondays—Streamwood High School
◦ Tuesdays—Elgin High School
◦ Wednesdays—Larkin High School
◦ Fridays—Dundee Crown High Schol
Student eligibility
Plan to graduate in 2011 (be a junior)
Must have 2.5 GPA or higher
Must be deemed by counselor to have social or financial barriers in attending college (social barriers defined as lacking supportive or knowledgeable adults or family members, such as being a first-generation college student)
Must be able to meet weekly with mentor during lunch period
Not currently a participant in other support program such as Upward Bound, AVID, or Youth Leadership Academy
Spring of junior year
Introduction and icebreaker
Group and individual interviews
Preparing for the ACT
KnowHow2GO.org college knowledge quiz
Factors to consider when searching for a college
Career Surveys
Picking a major
Build list of schools to visit
Build a list of your extracurricular activities, awards, and jobs
Are you taking tough classes next year?
Fall of senior year
• College applications
• College application essays
• Scholarship searches
• More career surveys
• More college visits
Spring of senior year
• FAFSA
• Understanding and comparing college
award letters
• Scholarship searches
• Plan a few final college visits for yourself
Additional documentation
Introductory letter to parents
Student commitment signature modeled
on idea from free pdf ―Elements of
Effective Practice for Mentoring, 3rd
edition‖ from www.mentoring.org
Sample student sessions
―Preparing for the ACT‖ booklet (PSAE)
CollegeBoard’s College MatchMaker
What are loans? How much should you borrow?
How much money will four years of college cost?
Clarifying career paths
◦ http://www.bls.gov/oco/
◦ http://www.onetonline.org/
◦ http://www.whatsnextillinois.org/
Strengths of program
Provides an extra resource for the
students
Helps students avoid mistakes
◦ Filling out a FAFSA on website that charges
money
◦ Applying to law schools (while in high school)
Works with students who otherwise
would not make it to college
Impact of Program
Met with student 10 or
fewer times◦ 30 total students (22 Latino)
◦ At least 9 have been accepted
to college
◦ At least 6 are going to
community college
Met with student 11 or
more times◦ 31 total students (25 Latino)
◦ 29 have been accepted to
college
◦ 15 are going to community
college
The 61 participating students fell into one of
two categories:
These numbers last updated on 3/5/11
Challenges of implementing
program Logistical issues
◦ Finding space
◦ Length of lunch period
Are student GPAs an accurate reflection of their ability?
Inconsistent student participation
Finding optimal size of group
Initial resistance—A school in another district declined this program. Perhaps there was not a sufficient relationship between ISAC and the school. We hope to show them quantifiable results of program in neighboring schools.
Challenges faced by students
Low test scores
Lack of familiarity with colleges◦ Applying without visiting college
◦ Parents are often not able to take students on college visits
Not having social security number◦ Not being able to apply for federal and state
financial aid programs
◦ Limited scholarship opportunities
Procrastination in completing college applications
How can we assist Latino/a
students? Educate parents
◦ Vocabulary list (―credit hour,‖ ―bachelor’s‖)
◦ Community college transfer program
◦ Make time for college visits
Clarify on college applications whether a social security
number is required or not
Identify local scholarships for undocumented students
Try to identify future procrastinators. Refer them to
counselor?
Encourage use of planners
IMPACT OF PARENTS ON THE SUCCESS OF THEIR STUDENTS
Rosa VarelaCollege Illinois Corps member
Kankakee Community College
District
Demographics
Kankakee County Population: 103,833
Latino population: 4 ,959
Population age 15-19: 10,182
Less than 9th grade: 6,920
9th-12th grade, no diploma: 9,289
Establishing relationships with
community based organizations Present an outline of available services
Clarify who are the target students
Participate in CBO events
◦ Understanding the importance of cultural
events and traditions
◦ Connecting with the audience
◦ Speaking with them in their language
Building relationships with parents &
students Coordinate meeting time that works for
both parents and students
Find convenient meeting locations
Inform parents and students of how
program can help their students
Concern for student’s success needs to
be sincere
Relate personal stories to their situation
Understanding parental background
and goals Parents will often address the struggles
they have due to limited educational
opportunities and will want their children
to:
◦ Have better educational opportunities
◦ Have better job prospects
◦ Have a career after college
Case study: Mario
First-generation student
Got to know student’s expectations and goals
Met on a weekly basis to review the college-
going process
Visited a college
Along with successes, there were also some
setbacks
Will be attending a 4-year public university and
majoring in criminal justice
Parental involvement
Family involvement in the education of first
generation students is restricted by limited
resources, time, confidence, and language skills
Parents need to:
◦ Encourage the student to continue on with higher
education
◦ Support the student by attending the one-on-one
meetings
◦ ―Push them‖ to succeed in school
◦ Attend college visits with their students
Financial obstacles
Tend to not take advantage of all forms of financial
aid, specifically loans
Debt
Not applying for scholarships
◦ Due to lack of knowledge on how to proceed
◦ Due to not meeting eligibility requirements
Money management
◦ Lack of budgeting experience
◦ Lack of understanding in regards to the payment
process and/or policies in college
College visit
Most of the parents have never been on a college
campus
Most parents may not even know what type of
questions to ask on a college visit
Encourage family to visit more than one college
Seek out campus tours that are in their language
Follow up with students and/or parents:
◦ Ask the parents what they thought about the campus visit
◦ Ask parents if they could envision their student attending that
particular college
◦ Ask the student what they liked and disliked about the visit
◦ Ask both how they felt about the college
Lessons learned
If first generation students are to be successful, they
need their parents’ support
Parents will need help navigating the college-going
process
◦ Where and when to start
◦ Who to contact
◦ Resources to utilize
Family is important—consequently, we need to
incorporate this concept in all that we do
Questions?
Thank you!