Students and families are invited to attend Cash for College workshops for free, multilingual support about college financial aid options, including the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and Cal Grants. The annual Cash for College Campaign, an initiative of the California Student Aid Commission, is part of ongoing efforts in the region to increase college-going rates and help low-income and first-in-family college students complete the financial aid application process and pursue postsecondary education. There will be a special Cash for College Campaign Kick Off event on Saturday, January 24, 2009, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at The National Hispanic University in San Jose.

There will be 10 Cash for College Campaign workshops in San Jose throughout January and February for one-on-one assistance with financial aid and scholarship applications. Workshops are free, multilingual, and open to the public.

• Wednesday, Jan. 21, from 3:00 – 8:00 p.m. at East Palo Alto Academy High School
• Thursday, Jan. 22, from 3:00 – 8:00 p.m. at Yerba Buena High School
• Wednesday, Jan. 28, from 3:00 – 7:00 p.m. at Gunderson High School
• Thursday, Jan. 29, from 3:00 – 7:00 p.m. at James Lick High School
• Wednesday, Feb. 4, from 3:00 – 8:00 p.m. at Andrew Hill High School
• Saturday, Feb. 7, from 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. at Willow Glen High School
• Wednesday, Feb. 11, from 3:00 – 7:00 p.m. at James Lick High School
• Thursday, Feb. 12, from 4:00 – 8:00 p.m. at William C. Overfelt High School
• Tuesday, Feb. 24, from 3:00 – 8:00 p.m. at San Jose High Academy
• Thursday, Feb. 26, from 4:00 – 8:00 p.m. at William C. Overfelt High School

The Cal Grant deadline is March 2; the FAFSA application for the 2009-10 school year must be submitted by June 30, 2010. All college-bound high school seniors who qualify for a Cal Grant are guaranteed to receive one.

The kick off event on Jan. 24 and the Campaign workshops are being organized by EPC and its San Jose Cal-SOAP program and K-16 partners from across Santa Clara County. Citi Foundation also provided generous support to the Cash for College Campaign. “A college education is extremely important in increasing earning power and breaking inter-generational cycles of poverty,” said Rebecca Macieira-Kaufmann, President of Citibank California. “The Citi Foundation is supporting programs like the Cash for College Campaign to dramatically increase the number of low-income and first-generation students who enroll in college and obtain a degree. These programs ultimately enhance lives and strengthen our communities.”

College systems, financial aid, UC/CSU admissions, and high school requirements were some of the important college prep topics covered at the 2008 College Family Conference at Porter College and College Eight on April 12. About 300 middle school students and families from Chualar Elementary, Fairview Middle School, and Vista Verde Middle School in south Monterey County gathered for the special all-day event to explore college and career options and learn about academic preparation and other steps to take for success on the college-going pathway.

“The goal of the conference is not for parents to be able to recite the A-G high school requirements. Rather, we want to empower parents to know what questions to ask, where to go for help, and feel motivated to seek out the support that is available to them through our programs and other resources at the school, district, and county office of education,” said Maria Leyva, EPC South Zone Assistant Director for South Monterey County.

The conference is part of EPC’s ongoing efforts to improve student academic achievement and increase college-going rates, especially for students from low-income and underserved communities. Dr. Eduardo Mosqueda, UCSC Assistant Professor of Education, was the keynote speaker at the opening ceremony, joining Elise Herrera-Mahoney, Chief of Staff for the Institute for Science and Global Policy. “The presence of parents here today is a testament to their commitment to their child’s education,” said Dr. Mosqueda.

Over the last few months, EPC has hosted other family conferences across the region, including a first-ever event for 200 families from north Monterey County at CSU Monterey Bay, which was a successful collaboration between the institutions and programs like GEAR UP, EAOP, Talent Search, and Upward Bound. In February, EPC partnered with the Pajaro Valley Unified School District on the district-wide “Highlight to the Future: College & Career Family Conference,” leveraging the resources and expertise of multiple education outreach efforts to help students and families prepare for life after high school.

EPC was recently awarded a $15,000 planning grant from Bank of America Charitable Foundation to launch the Santa Cruz Education Collaborative, a partnership of K-12, higher education, community, and business leaders focused on improving student learning and building a college-going culture in the Santa Cruz City Schools. With strong support from Superintendent Alan Pagano, school principals, community-based agencies, and Cabrillo College, EPC has convened the Collaborative and established task forces to collect and analyze student outcomes data, map local assets, identify collaboration opportunities, and develop a comprehensive plan to serve students and families in support of the intersegmental alliance.

Also strengthening the partnership between UCSC and Santa Cruz is EPC’s University-Community Engagement (UCE) project, a community-driven, university-supported effort to support African heritage youth and families in Santa Cruz on the college-going pathway. With a $30,000 grant from UC Office of the President for CY 2008, EPC is again partnering with a local community-based organization, Second Saturday Network, to deliver a variety of special events, college awareness and exploration activities, and sustained follow-up with students. EPC hosted a successful African Heritage Youth Retreat on campus last November and is organizing another bus trip for students to visits area college campuses. Also, through the MESA Schools Program, EPC is implementing a mathematics tutoring program at Santa Cruz High School. The UCE partnership serves as a catalyst for meaning university-community collaborations to work as equal partners on efforts to close achievement gaps and build each other’s capacity to support student success. EPC was awarded a $25,000 grant from UCOP last year to launch the pilot UCE project in 2007.

Balsawood bridges, mousetrap cars, model bisected hearts, and trebuchets were some of the engineering designs part of the 2008 MESA Day Preliminary Competition, hosted by the Educational Partnership Center at the UCSC Jack Baskin School of Engineering on Saturday, March 15, 2008. Nearly 300 middle and high school students from 12 partner schools in Santa Cruz, Watsonville/Pajaro Valley, Castroville, Soledad, and Salinas competed with science, engineering, and mathematics projects, part of the Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) Schools Program.

MESA Day is the culmination of students’ year-long efforts. Working with their MESA Teacher Advisors, students follow curricula designed to reinforce California State Math and Science Standards. The hands-on MESA projects allow students to directly apply important academic concepts that help them succeed on the college-going pathway and in their future careers. “We want to encourage bright minds to stay in math, science, and engineering and dream big and not lose their interest in these fields. MESA is an important part of our ongoing efforts to build college-bound communities, and this event helps celebrate students’ success and rewards their hard work,” said Carrol Moran, EPC executive director.

MESA Day also provides an engaging climate for students to meet and interact with engineers, university faculty and researchers, undergraduates, and business professionals. Volunteers from Cisco Systems, City of Santa Cruz, Lockheed Martin, Kaiser Permanente, and other firms joined UCSC economics and marine biology faculty as competition judges. About 200 EPC staff and university volunteers, undergraduate Academic Interns, parents, and guest judges helped to make MESA Day a huge success.