Bridge to College, Trade or Technical School, a local program that helps disadvantaged students map out a plan for college, expects to expand its reach with the help of CSULB faculty and students.
The program, founded in September 2009, specifically helps at-risk students who have a criminal record or are on the verge of dropping out. The students attend Will J. Reid High School, the only continuation school in Long Beach, and the majority of mentors are either CSULB or Long Beach City College students.
“Most of the kids that we get are going to drop out and are not going to be able to get a job in this environment,” executive director of the program Ray Thomson said. “These kids get a vision of who they can become that is real. It’s not that they don’t have information to go to college; it just isn’t real.”
Thomson created Bridge to College as part of Long Beach’s Better Learning After School Today program.
The difference with Thomson’s project is that it deals exclusively with students in 11th or 12th grade and offers more time with mentors per week in preparation for earning a high school degree and beyond.
“There wasn’t any money to do something or make an initiative to improve dropout rates,” Thomson said about the Long Beach Unified School District. “I was a continuation student and I dropped out of high school so I am sensitive to the situation.”
Thomson eventually earned a master’s degree in social work from the University of Southern California. He explained that the program is not only very valuable to students who are on the verge of dropping out, but also to student mentors for the experience they gain.
“As you develop a relationship with the students, they end up giving you more than you feel you are giving them,” said Tina Cochran, a senior international studies major at CSULB, and volunteer program coordinator. “The at-risk demographic is a little different than the rest of the population. They appreciate your assistance that much more. And they show it differently.”
The age difference between mentors and the students they are helping is usually only a couple of years, which allows the students to have role models they can relate to.
Some professors contributed by accepting volunteer work as credit for class. Dr. Courtney Ahrens, a psychology professor, had her class conduct a comprehensive study last semester to evaluate and improve the program.
“Almost all of our kids are minorities,” Thomson said. “We just placed their skills according to what the mentee needed. What we found is that what people really want is to be placed with people of their own ethnicity.”
The program aims to graduate 35 to 40 percent of students into college, and has provided field trips to campuses in connection with local universities.
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