Partnership programs
make college a reality
E
ven though college is several years
away for 15-year-old Alex Martinez,
the New Jersey high school freshman
has already gotten a taste of college life.
"There's a lot more freedom," Martinez
says of his experience attending a high-level
psychology class on the New Brunswick
campus of Rutgers University. "Many
students had their laptops out and taking
notes. But in high school you can't do that.
There's a lot more rules in high school."
Martinez adds, "In college, it's like the
teachers let you do whatever you want. It's
your problem if you don't take notes."
Martinez's college mentor, Katherine
Finer, who graduated from Rutgers this
spring, says by bringing Martinez to her
psychology class, she was able to relate the
message: "This is what needs to be done to
18 Diverse | June 6, 2013
get here."
Martinez — a freshman at the Health
Sciences Technology High School in
New Brunswick — is getting his college
experience through a program called
Rutgers Future Scholars.
Through the program, each year, 200
first-generation college students from
families of lesser economic means in
New Brunswick, Camden, Piscataway
and Newark are selected to participate
in pre-college activities beginning the
summer before eighth grade. The pre-
coUege activities include college entrance
exam preparation, mentoring from Rutgers
students and campus visits.
Perhaps more notably, those who
complete the pre-college activities and are
deemed "admissible" get free tuition to
for first-generation
students.
Rutgers.
"It's a great opportunity," Martinez says.
"Rutgers is a pretty expensive school.
Getting a free tuition scholarship to it is
pretty amazing."
Working together
As the United States seeks to boost the
number of its young citizens with a college
degree, programs such as RFS wül play an
increasingly important role in fostering
diversity on campus, a number of higher
education leaders say.
"We can't just wait and see what K-12
delivers," says James Madison University
President Jonathan Alger, during his
keynote address, "The Future of Diversity
as a Compelling Interest in Higher
Education," at the annual meeting of the
National Association of Diversity Officers
in Higher Education this past March.
Alger helped establish the RFS program
during his time as senior vice president and
general counsel at Rutgers.
The program — which involves a
partnership between Rutgers and school
districts in the communities where Rutgers
is based — was launched in 2008 and
is funded at $1.7 million annually by
the Rutgers University Foundation and
corporate sponsors such as Merck and
AT&T
"We've got to work together across
www.dlverseeducatlon.oom
institutional lines, with employers and support structure from high school to is in line with the programs goals.
foundations," says Alger. "Partnerships are college completion." "The idea for us is not just impacting the
important going forward." In San Diego, Calif., Compact for communities in which we are serving, but
Alger adds that programs such as RFS Success — an award-winning partnership the idea is how can we create a model that
will be crucial regardless of how the U.S. between San Diego State University and the can be adapted to any community," he says.
Supreme Court rules in the pending Fisher Sweetwater Union High School District — To get accepted into the program,
V. University of Texas at Austin case, whichprovides guaranteed admission for students students must meet federal poverty
guidelines, be the first in their family
"The idea for us is not just impacting the communities to attend college and attend school in
Camden, Newark, New Brunswick or
in which we are serving, but the idea is how can Piscataway.
we create a modei that can be adapted to any The program seeks out seventh graders
community." — Aramis Gutierrez who are "not necessarily the crème" but
who at least show promise, Gutierrez says.
RFS also offers professional development
could potentially curtail or ban the use of who meet certain benchmarks, such as to teachers, explains Gutierrez, so they
race in college admissions. maintaining a 3.0 CPA or better during can "work with families to assure they
"So no matter what happens in the Texas senior year. understand what does it mean to have a
case," explains Alger, "those are the kind of child who is college-bound and some of the
programs I'd like to explore." Doing more responsibilities they will now have."
RFS is just one of several programs Despite the emergence of such The work isn't always easy, he says,
partnerships between K-12 and explaining that it occasionally involves
higher education, educational working with students who are homeless or
leaders and policymakers must involved in gang life.
work together to create even "We have to address those issues to make
more, says Deborah Santiago, sure they can focus in the classroom,"
co-founder and vice president Gutierrez says. "It's a holistic approach to
for policy and research at supporting these young people."
Excelencia in Education, a D.C.- The work is evidently paying off. Future
based organization that focuses Scholars graduate from high school at a
on Latino issues in higher rate of 99 percent, significantly higher than
education. The organization the New Jersey state average of 86 percent,
gave CFS its Baccalaureate Level illustrates RFS data.
Example of Excellence award in Specifically, of the 183 scholars in the
2007. inaugural cohort — referred to as the Class
"We see pockets of of 2017 — 180 were projected to graduate
excellence and wonderful from high school this June, according to
things happening around the figures supplied by RFS. Of the 180 scholars
country," says Santiago during who were expected to graduate from high
a January panel hosted by the school this June, 149 applied to Rutgers,
Western Interstate Commission 105 were accepted to Rutgers and 89 have
RFS scholars on a trip to Philadelphia. From Left to Right: for Higher Education, titled
Jason Gaines, Herendira Rojas, Wardell Dunlap, Natasha Kalley,
been admitted to Rutgers as of early May,
Alexander Lopez, Alexis Paylor, Terrence Christopher, Kwane "Knocking at the College Door: with a little more than a dozen undecided.
Muhammad and Taha Shimou. Projections of High School The majority of scholars wül be attending
Graduates," which predicts the School of Arts and Science. Others will
throughout the country where institutions "rapid diversification" of prospective college be going into criminal justice, engineering,
of higher learning are partnering with students along racial and ethnic lines in the business, environmental and biological
K-12 systems to provide academic, social coming years. science, public administration, nursing and
and even financial support to prospective "But we need to find a way to do it more pharmacy, says Gutierrez.
college students from underrepresented and more," adds Santiago. "To reach our "We have the figures to say this
groups in the communities that national goals, we have to accelerate." investment is worth it," he says. "It's not
immediately surround their campuses. Like CFS, RFS is also an award-winning just about sheer numbers. But we're talking
For instance, this fall in Maryland, program. Specifically, the program about what impact could these young
Montgomery County Public Schools, won a silver award from the NASPA — people have on the region and that goes
Montgomery College and the Universities Student Affairs Administrators in Higher beyond just how many graduated from
at Shady Crove are set to collaborate Educations 2013 Excellence Awards. high school or enrolled in Rutgers.
through a program called Achieving Aramis Gutierrez, director of RFS, says a "We're talking about lives transformed
Collegiate Excellence and Success to create number of institutions of higher education and that could have easily taken a vastly
a "seamless educational pathway and are seeking to replicate the program, which different path," says Gutierrez. •
www.diverseeducation.com June 6, 2013 I Diverse 19
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