Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) Superintendent Christopher Steinhauser speaks during an Oct. 13 press conference announcing that the City of Long Beach will now join the three entities already involved in the Long Beach College Promise: LBUSD, Long Beach City College and California State University, Long Beach.
-Managing Editor-
Inside a conference room in Long Beach Unified School District’s (LBUSD) newest high school, Superintendent Christopher Steinhauser announced Monday that the City of Long Beach is now joining the three main educational institutions here in ensuring that local students have a clearly delineated path to higher education— through the College Promise.
“There is no other organization or ‘Promise’ [program] in the state or the nation that has the unified school district, the community college, the university and the city involved,” Steinhauser said. “We’re very fortunate.”
The City’s participation, however, is not the only news that was shared during Monday’s conference at McBride High School. The Long Beach College Promise’s mission is also being expanded to include a goal of universal pre-school enrollment for the city, an effort to double the number of internships for Long Beach high-school and college students, and an increase in scholarships and student support for LBUSD students at both colleges.
Illustrating the College Promise’s focus on preparing students early for college and making their high-school completion a reality through emphasis on their graduation year, the superintendent then pointed out the class of kindergarteners sitting to his left and told the audience that those pupils will be the graduating class of Long Beach Unified in the year 2027.
The past is history?
According to United States Census Bureau statistics for 2008-2012, 20.2 percent of Long Beach residents live below the poverty level— almost 5 percentage points lower than the state average. Although the high-school-graduate number for persons 25 or older was 79 percent (the state average was 81 percent), the percentage of those with a bachelor’s degree in the same age bracket was 28.6, compared to 30.5 percent among the state.
In an effort to address Long Beach’s relatively low number of college graduates, six years ago, the city’s three main education leaders committed themselves and their respective institutions to providing local students greater opportunities to pursue and earn college degrees. With their “Long Beach College Promise,” Long Beach City College (LBCC) Superintendent-President Eloy Ortiz Oakley, LBUSD Superintendent Steinhauser and then California State University—Long Beach (CSULB) President F. King Alexander entered into a collaboration to: increase the percentage of LBUSD students who are prepared for and attend college directly from high school; increase the percentage of LBCC students who earn degrees and/or career and technical certificates; increase the percentage of LBCC students who successfully transfer to CSULB or another four-year college or university; and increase the percentage of CSULB students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree and/or advanced degrees.
Also part of the program is a commitment to cover the cost of first-semester enrollment fees for each local high-school graduate who enrolls directly at LBCC after graduation, and the LBCC Foundation has established an endowment to cover those fees.
According to the “Long Beach College Promise Five-Year Progress Report (2008-2013)” compiled jointly by LBUSD, LBCC and CSULB, the number of new CSULB freshmen from LBUSD in fall 2008 was 519. By the fall of 2012, that number had jumped to 743— an increase of more than 43 percent. “Even more notable is that the increase in LBUSD students continued despite the fact CSULB enrolled 2,000 fewer students for two consecutive years (2009-10 and 2010-11) because of cuts in state support to the CSU system,” states the progress report.
Additionally, the number of applications from LBUSD graduates to CSULB in that same time frame increased from 1,449 to 1,874. The number of admits jumped from 1,105 to 1,483, according to the report.
LBCC’s signature initiative of the Long Beach College Promise is Promise Pathways, which has significantly increased the number and percentage of students who have completed key college milestones, including transfer-level English and math, according to the progress report. “These are true college-level courses, as opposed to remediation classes,” the report states. “The Promise Pathways launched in the fall of 2012 and implemented two key innovations: predictive placement and prescriptive scheduling. Participating LBUSD graduates were placed into English and math courses based on their high school grades, rather than the traditional method which relies heavily upon standardized assessment tests. These students are also required to enroll in these foundational courses beginning in their first semester.”
“Success rates for every demographic group enrolled in Promise Pathways increased,” the report states. “Some of the largest relative gains were made by Latino and African-American students. Despite these gains in placement and success, achievement gaps among student demographic groups remain, but the College Promise institutions are committed to closing these gaps.”
The future is a mystery?
On Monday, Oakley thanked Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia for being present for the announcement ceremony, and he commended the City for its involvement.
“It’s truly a great opportunity to include the City of Long Beach in the Long Beach College Promise because this really is about the entire community,” Oakley said. “Although we’ve always had a wonderful relationship with the City of Long Beach— they’ve always been very supportive of public education in Long Beach— to have the mayor, the City, City Council, the city manager, everyone involved in ensuring that every single child has an opportunity is a great testament to the great work that happens here in Long Beach, and I’m proud to be a part of it.”
Oakley said the College Promise is important because it gives Long Beach the opportunity to distinguish itself among national statistics.
“The pundits tell us that these children don’t stand a chance,” said Oakley, as he referred to the pupils situated nearby. “If you look at the data that we hear about, they will tell us that about 70 percent of these children will not be prepared for college when they get out of high school. And what does that mean? That means that we are already giving up on our future when we look at these faces— if we just believe what everybody’s telling us is happening in this country. But what’s happening in Long Beach is not what’s happening in this country. Even though people suggest to us that these kids starting in public education, their chances— especially these wonderful faces of color— that their chances are maybe one in a hundred that they will finish a bachelor’s degree. We don’t believe that in Long Beach.”
Oakley explained that, although it may sound “scary to a lot of people,” the local educational institutions track the progress of students throughout their schooling, and they share that data with each other.
“We’re going to follow these students throughout their experience,” he said, “and ensure that it’s not just what they do on standardized exams, but what they actually do in the classroom, that matters.”
Jane Conoley, who became CSULB’s first-ever female president after Alexander left to become president of the Louisiana State University system last July, was also in attendance at the event Monday morning. She said she is “blown away” by the progress being made through the College Promise program and referred to it as “a national model.”
“I have come today to reaffirm Cal State Long Beach’s promise that we will hold a seat for you at Cal State Long Beach,” Conoley said, directing her remarks toward the group of high-school students who were there. Each and every one of you who is eligible to enroll, you have a spot there, because we are invested in the improvement of our community.”
Joined by students of the Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) and Long Beach City College (LBCC), the four signatories of the Long Beach College Promise applaud after making their venture official. Pictured at the table after signing the initiative are, from left: LBUSD Superintendent Christopher Steinhauser, LBCC Superintendent-President Eloy Ortiz Oakley, CSULB President Jane Conoley and Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia.
“So if you are a Long Beach Unified student in the fourth grade or the fifth grade, you actually go and visit Long Beach City College and you go visit Cal State Long Beach,” Garcia said. “And when you’re there, [the program] also allows students to sign a contract and get them ready to start thinking about college as they go to middle school and high school.”
Garcia described how the College Promise then helps students and their families progress through the high-school process and grants them access directly into LBCC and CSULB.
The present is a gift
At the end of the ceremony on Monday, Steinhauser, Oakley, Conoley and Garcia all signed the new College Promise initiative, taking on the City as a partner and committing to the program’s new goals.
A joint statement the four leaders released this week called education the foundation of a strong community and a healthy economy.
“Research has shown that quality preschools provide educational gains to students that can still be measured at the secondary and college level,” the statement continues. “Moving towards universal enrollment is one of the most important means of developing lifetime learners who are well-prepared for today’s specialized global economy. Moving on from secondary education to higher education is often a challenge not just academically, but financially. Students who do not believe they can succeed in college often drop out of school before graduation, and adults who lack a college degree meet with significant wage gaps.”
The statement also indicates that expanding the financial and academic support for LBUSD students entering the city’s colleges translates into better jobs and higher wages for young people and that it will help keep graduation rates high.
“Internships are an essential element in the transition from school to career,” the statement says. “Providing internships that offer the opportunity to move directly into full-time paid employment will help our residents achieve economic security and boost the city’s economy. The Long Beach College Promise will not only facilitate more of those opportunities, it will also provide support to prepare students for the world of business and prepare businesses to receive student interns and create a valuable internship experience for them. The four entities now collaborating in the Long Beach College Promise are united in our desire to strengthen and expand the Promise and to provide support to all LBUSD students at these critical stages of their educational development, and we look forward to a fruitful relationship between the City and our local schools.”
More Information
longbeachcollegepromise.org
