Schools' pact with Cal State gets support from businesses
North County Times 3/1/07
The partnership could have businesses help their employees learn about college admission requirements for their children and offer students internships to bring them into the world of work.
"We can be a collection point for information about college for our employees and their families," said Bruce Dunn, owner of Mission Pools in Escondido. "I want to provide a conduit that wasn't there before."
Dunn challenged the city's employers to join him in allowing their workers to attend informational meetings about the partnership on company time. He was one of the leaders of the Escondido Chamber of Commerce's efforts to put the partnership together.
Escondido's school districts already signed an agreement with Cal State San Marcos in October that would guarantee high school graduates admission to the university if they complete standard statewide academic requirements.
"Talk to a high school senior and see how important that is," said Ed Nelson, Escondido Union High School District's superintendent.
The program is called MAP, which stands for "Maintain an academic focus, Attend school daily, and Participate in activities."
Eventually, the partnership could offer students, starting with this year's seventh-graders, whatever tuition assistance they need if they complete the state academic requirements, maintain a 98 percent attendance rate in high school and put 100 hours into school or community activities.
The activities could range from school athletics to charity groups in the community, Nelson said.
School districts in San Marcos and Valley Center have been working on similar agreements with Cal State San Marcos.
"It's part of our mission to reach out to educationally at-risk students that are in the communities we serve," said the university's president, Karen Haynes. Almost half of the university's students are their family's first generation to attend college, she said.
Jennifer Walters, superintendent of Escondido Union School District, and Frank Gomez, superintendent of San Pasqual Union School District, said their role would be to be the "first communicators," instilling a collegegoing culture early on and alerting students to the tasks ahead of them.
Nelson said high school district officials had recently seen an increase in the number of students taking Advanced Placement classes, but not in the number who have completed the broader state university requirements.
The discrepancy seems to have come from students not learning about the state requirements, Nelson said. About 32 percent of the high school district's students complete them now, he said.
Citing President John Kennedy's economic growth analogy that "a rising tide lifts all boats," Nelson said: "We need to create an academic tidal wave of our own in Escondido."
High school district Trustee Tina Pope acknowledged that a challenge lies ahead for educators and the business community: to raise money to provide the necessary tuition assistance for students from poorer families.
"That's phase two," Pope said. "It's why we're not going to have a class able to actually use it until 2011."
School officials will put a high priority on giving parents tools they can use to seek tuition assistance from several sources, she said. To be eligible for assistance, parents must complete a federal application for student aid, which some parents say is harder to fill out than an income tax form.
Also coming could be agreements with technical schools and more detailed internship programs for high school and college students, she said.
Representatives of several large local employers lined up in the City Council's chambers to show that they had signed the Chamber of Commerce's pledge to support the partnership.
They included the city of Escondido, Palomar Medical Center, the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park, Westfield North County, the North County Times, Mercedes-Benz Escondido and Brecht BMW.