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In the three
years since the passage of Proposition 209, which outlaws considerations
of race in admissions, the number of Chicano and African American
Freshmen entering U.C. Berkeley has decreased by 41%. Two thirds of
entering freshmen from those racial/ethnic groups are female. In response to this dismaying
situation, Stiles Hall has initiated Berkeley Scholars to Cal (BSC),
whose goal is to make forty underrepresented students competitive for
admissions to the University of California. The program is based on Stiles Hall’s over seventy
years of experience mentoring low-income students of color, a ten-year
collaboration with I Have a Dream-Oakland, and a five-year collaboration
with U.C. Berkeley’s Math Engineering and Science Academy. As a non-profit agency with long
standing credibility in the community and solid University ties, we are
well positioned to carry out such a long-term project.
BSC
will coordinate comprehensive academic, social and community support for
these forty underrepresented fifth graders (thirty boys and ten girls)
and their parents continuously for the next eight years. The Project
Coordinator will meet weekly with each of the forty youth to establish a
trusting relationship, coordinate academic and social support, and
provide ongoing guidance and advice. He will meet monthly with the youth’s parent(s) to
keep them current on their child’s academic progress and enlist their
ongoing support.
Each of the
youth will also get a U.C. Berkeley mentor for each of the next eight
years, who will provide one-to-one tutoring, social support, and a
positive role model. City
and Regional Planning and Social Welfare will provide undergraduate,
graduate and other departmental support. Three of the largest Chicano/Latino organizations on
campus will provide the majority of the mentors. (For the past five years, the
three largest African American Fraternities and Sororities have provided
mentors for the Stiles Hall/I Have a Dream Collaboration in West
Oakland.)
Finally,
Stiles Hall will facilitate the youth’s participation in a Summer Academy
at Stiles Hall, extended-day academic support at the school site, and
beginning in the sixth grade with the U.C. Berkeley outreach programs
EAOP, MESA, and PDP. Special
attention will be paid to providing the youth with access to
extracurricular activities uniquely designed to broaden their horizons,
such as highly rated summer camps, foreign exchange programs, and as they
get older, pre-professional internships.
Principals and
key staff from four Berkeley elementary schools with low academic index
scores have selected the youth as having college potential. In order to participate, the
youth must agree to attend a weekly Saturday Academy, give top priority
to their homework, and meet regularly with the Project Coordinator and
their mentor. The parents
must agree to provide ongoing support for their child’s academic progress
and participate in monthly Family Reading Nights, Parent Support Groups,
or special events.
Stiles Hall
will provide all program support and oversight, forty mentors for eight
years and coordination of services for the youth from existing funds. The
University and foundation grants will support the salary and benefits of
the Project Coordinator and Assistant Coordinator. We have also received School
District support for teacher oversight of the Summer and Saturday
Academies. We are seeking
donations and community support for all other aspects of the
program.
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