On April 9th at 6:30 p.m. in the McClatchy Media Center, a college preparatory presentation took place to teach students and families about the benefits of taking community college classes and hear from speakers who can help them navigate the community college process.
“Adding community college classes to a high school class schedule can fulfill graduation requirements and, at the same time, enhance a student’s college application,” said group representative and C.K.M. parent Terri Hardy.
Speakers at the event included Sacramento City College counselors, C.K.M. counselor Ms. Taormina, and current C.K.M. students Abby Gray and Tomiko Foster, who shared their experiences taking community college classes.
This program, called Jump-Start Your College Career in High School, was presented to remind students of the amazing resource that Sacramento City College provides, said one of the parent group leaders, Bonnie Holmes. “High school students 16 and older can take FREE college classes to help with high school graduation, explore interests, build a stronger resume for college applications, or begin preparing to transfer to a four year college. Plus, the credits taken at SCC could help reduce the costs of college,” said Holmes.
Sacramento City College counselors Jackie Vargas and Carla Lopez distilled the concurrent enrollment process into a list of manageable steps and provided information of where to find all needed forms and documents a student must complete. Additionally, they highlighted the RISE program, an organization at Sacramento City College that will provide students with a computer lab, book loans, college tours, food distribution, and other resources. Vargas and Lopez stressed the interest of Sacramento City faculty and professors to help students to succeed and encouraged all students to take advantage of the college’s outreach.
C.K.M. counselor Ms. Taormina was also very enthusiastic about a student’s potential benefit from concurrent enrollment. “This is the program I’m probably most passionate about at C.K.M.,” she said. “For students that don’t have other involvement in sports or extracurriculars, this gives them a place to shine.”
Student speaker Abby Gray reinforced this encouragement by telling of her success in the program. “I’ve really enjoyed both classes I’ve taken. I have had lots of time to balance academics between high school and my college classes, and the instruction at City is much better for what works for my [learning style],” she said. She emphasized the importance of students taking classes that spark their interest and allow them to develop and hone their knowledge on possible career paths.
Jump-Start Your College Career in High School was one presentation in a series of college preparation programs that the C.K.M. parent group will offer this spring. Future presentations will include workshops on standardized testing strategies (April 30) and crafting college essays (May 15).
The “Parent College Group,” consisting of four mothers of C.K.M. students, is working to provide college access information to all SCUSD students to “complement the programs offered by C.K.M.’s College and Career Center,” said Hardy.
Holmes was inspired to begin this group “by going through the college application process with my daughter Bethany, who is now a sophomore at Oberlin College in Ohio,” she said. “The application process was very challenging with lots of surprises. I learned so much by working with my daughter and I wanted to share what I had learned with other families.”
Holmes went on to say that the group hopes to “provide opportunities for students and their families to learn about the many college options available and to demystify the application process.”
“I think students should 100% attend these event if they need assistance or more information,” said Elli Arzbaecher (‘20), who attended the Jump-Start your College Career in High School event.