Cerritos
College - Teacher TRAC
Established in 1999, the Teacher TRaining ACademy (Teacher TRAC) Program is
committed to the recruitment, development, and preparation of quality teachers.
It is closely aligned with the integrated teacher education program (ITEP)
at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB). TRAC students complete
a minimum of 69.5 transferable lower division units while at Cerritos College.
Each Teacher TRAC course section is tagged as Targeted for Future Teachers and
is taught by Teacher TRAC faculty. The students build professional portfolios
that will help them in their university careers, and in later job interviews
and lesson plans.
Teacher TRAC courses maintain impressive retention
rates that range from 80% to 100%. In addition
to coursework, TRAC students observe and participate
in fieldwork prior to their student teaching.
They participate in 10 hours of observation experience
as part of their first education course, and
complete 40 of the state-required 120 hours of
field experience as part of their second course.
As further support to TRAC students, two dedicated
counselors help them navigate through the program
and avoid unnecessary obstacles. These counselors
also act as liaisons between Cerritos College
and the Liberal Studies, financial aid, and university
outreach offices at CSULB. Students also benefit
from a wide variety of workshops designed especially
to orient them to the program and to assist them
in the transfer process, and from the Teacher
TRAC Center, which is open 50 hours a week and
offers a range of program resources, information
and services.
Cerritos College students are drawn from one
of the most ethnically diverse communities in
the country, and many TRAC students come from
underrepresented and non-traditional groups:
60% of TRAC students are the first in their families
to attend college; over 50% receive financial
aid; and, 91% of TRAC graduates began in developmental
courses. Also, of the more than 180 TRAC students
that have transferred since its inception, only
three have changed their focus from teaching
or left the university. The TRAC program certainly
demonstrates an outstanding commitment to students retention
and transfer, from their matriculation at Cerritos
College and beyond through their university and
teaching careers, and is thus well-deserving
of commendation and emulation.
Pasadena
City College - (PCC) Teacher Preparation Transfer
Program
The Teacher Preparation Program (TPP) began at Pasadena City College in 1999
as a program to offer students numerous pathways that will ultimately result
in a career in teaching. TPP maintains close communication with partnering
colleges and universities to keep students current regarding transfer requirements
and also helps students negotiate the latest state and federal requirements
for new teachers. TPP students are given the option of following the education
plans specific to the Blended/ITEP Transfer Programs at any of the following
institutions: CSU Los Angeles, CSU Northridge, Cal Poly Pomona, CSU Fullerton,
UC Riverside, Pacific Oaks College, or Mount St. Mary s College. However,
students also have the option to follow a generic list of suggested courses
that will assist them in transferring to practically any other institution
of their choice.
Not only does PCC provide reliable assurance that
when its students transfer they will transfer
at the junior level, it also provides a variety
of courses that enable students to meet field
experience requirements before they transfer.
Because field experience requirements often present
a further hardship to students who are already
juggling their education with family and employment
responsibilities, TPP has developed ways for
such students to earn a portion of their field
experience from any one of the core courses common
to the TPP path. In addition, TPP offers two
paid internship programs that provide classroom
experience and mentor teacher relationships while
also helping to fund the students education
and living costs. Many TPP students receive scholarships
and/or funding for the CBEST and Live Scan testing
that is required of teacher education students
before they may begin student teaching.
The TPP program is committed to making teacher
education more accessible to non-traditional students.
Likewise, conscientious efforts are made to make
TPP s rigorous curriculum more accessible
to students entering Pasadena City College at
the basic skills level. For example, the Teaching
Learning Communities (TLC) Program, which primarily
serves Latino students, has worked with TPP to
create non-transferable remedial block class
options for future teachers. These prepare students
for the transferable courses required by TPP.
Approximately 80% of TPP s students come
from minority ethnic backgrounds.
Pasadena City s Teacher Preparation Program
has continued to grow in the five years since
its inception. Starting with 289 students in
its first year, it now boasts a membership of
1130. Additionally, current data shows that only
8% of the TPP students that have transferred
to universities have since left the teacher education
path. All of this information indicates that
the many institutions, faculty members, and administrators
that make TPP possible have succeeded in making
it a truly exemplary program.
Honorable
Mention
Reedley College - Madera Center College Advantage Program
The Madera Center is a satellite campus of Reedley College. It is located about
an hour away from both Reedley College and the other nearest California community
college, Fresno City. The Madera Center provides more convenient access to
higher education to its community than would otherwise be possible. The Madera
Center primarily serves students graduating from the Madera Unified School
District (MUSD) and the Golden Valley Unified School District (GVUSD), both
of which are rapidly growing and which serve a very high proportion of minority
and poor students. Many of these students are at risk of not graduating from
high school, much less attending college.
The Madera Center College Advantage Program
(MCCAP) was initiated in 2001 to address these
risks. The MCCAP program is designed to not only
ensure that high school students are aware of
the opportunities at community college, but also
to take the high school students into the college
environment for direct experience of those opportunities.
Madera Center Counselors, faculty and administrators
collaborate with their counterparts in MUSD and
GVUSD to go into the high schools and present
MCCAP directly to the students and their parents.
They are presented with a program that will allow
them to participate in community college courses
that meet their high school education requirements,
but also earn them credit toward a future AA
or AS degree.
The MCCAP curriculum consists of a core English
or math class three days a week, and an elective
class two days a week. The electives are also
CSU transferable. Designated counselors on both
their high school campus and at the Madera Center
assist MCCAP students with matriculation, class
selection, orientation to college, and educational
planning. This counseling is on going, so that
students receive an unusually high level of progress
monitoring, and each student meets once a semester
with an Education Advisor to discuss their college
experience and tailor their future academic plans.
The MCCAP experience is made even more attractive
and accessible by the fact that the participating
high schools, in their commitment to the success
of their students, have subsidized the purchase
of the course textbooks and/or transportation
to and from the Madera Center campus a
very significant benefit to students from such
poverty-stricken areas.
After four semesters, the MCCAP program completed
a statistical analysis that demonstrates its
students success: MCCAP students have
a retention rate of 97%, versus the average
community college retention rate of 65%;
and MCCAP students have had an average GPA of
2.45 compared to the average GPA of 2.42 for
the regular community college student.
Perhaps even more significant are the survey
responses of former MCCAP students. These responses
show that the program eases their apprehensions
about attending college and significantly smoothes
their transition from high school to college.
Students also report significant increases in
their general self-confidence. The MCCAP program
is an inspiring and effective pathway to educational
success for underrepresented and at-risk students
in its uniquely underserved community.
