Latest News from College Access Foundation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 9, 2008

Contact: Pathways to Success office at
(760) 341-6542 or
dramirez@cvep.com

COLLEGE ACCESS FOUNDATION JOINS CVEP AND LOCAL CIVIC GROUPS TO SIGNIFICANTLY BOOST COLLEGE ATTENDANCE IN COACHELLA VALLEY

Partners commit $1.9 million for scholarships and support to Valley students

Palm Desert, CA (December 9, 2008) - College Access Foundation of California president Julia I. Lopez today joined leaders of the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership (CVEP) and other local business and civic leaders to announce a new regional initiative to dramatically expand college access in the Coachella Valley. The Pathways to Success program, backed by $1.9 million in the first year, will provide scholarships to hundreds of students pursuing higher education at two-year and four-year colleges and universities, representing the largest commitment to date of private dollars for scholarships in the Valley. The initiative was announced at an event at the University of California at Riverside’s Palm Desert Graduate Center.

Pathways to Success will provide scholarships to approximately 340 low- and moderate-income students next year, representing more than a quarter of the 1,300 graduating high school seniors from the Coachella Valley who pursue college each year. Approximately $1.5 million of the total funding in 2009 will go to direct student aid, with the remaining $400,000 to provide support services to scholarship recipients and to administer the program. The program’s partners plan to make additional scholarship grants beyond 2009, though specific amounts have not been determined.

Commenting on the significance of the new partnership to the Coachella Valley, CVEP board co-chair, Southern California Edison representative, and Cathedral City Mayor Kathy De Rosa said, “The future economy of the valley will depend on our ability to create a highly educated and trained workforce. We see Pathways as a critical investment in our economic future.”

Fellow board co-chair Lee Morcus added, “Pathways to Success is the capstone to our efforts to improve linkages between business and education needs in the valley. Students need robust financial assistance and good advice to direct them towards careers in high-growth fields. Pathways will provide both.”

College Access Foundation of California, with a contribution of $1.3 million, joins a diverse group of Coachella Valley foundations, business and civic institutions as a major partner in the initiative. The San Francisco-based foundation will award over $18 million this year to promote college access and success for low-income and first-generation students in California.

Julia I. Lopez, president of the Foundation, said, “This grant represents the College Access Foundation’s largest single grant to date in any one region of California. We are making this investment because of the impressive commitment of the valley’s political, education and business leaders to promote greater access to college.” She added, “We believe this comprehensive regional strategy is a powerful model that many other California communities can learn from and emulate.”

Pathways to Success will be managed under the auspices of CVEP, and will combine direct scholarships with matching grants to expand existing scholarship programs in the region. Local partners include the Desert Healthcare District, the COD Alumni Association and COD Foundation, the Girlfriend Factor, the Reynaldo Carreon Foundation, the CSUSB Foundation, the UCR Foundation, the Palm Desert Rotary, Soroptimist International of Palm Springs, Our Lady of Soledad, and the Thermal Chamber of Commerce. The Regional Access Project Foundation will serve as fiscal agent for the Pathways scholarship funds.

Pathways will build on existing scholarship programs by offering more financial assistance and a set of supportive services for students, both before and after they enroll in college. Terry Green, executive director of Pathways to Success, noted that most existing scholarships for local students range from $500 to $1,000, while Pathways will provide one-year and two-year scholarships of $2,500 to $5,000 per student.

In addition, Pathways to Success will: connect students with volunteer mentors; offer workshops on college readiness, financial literacy and parental involvement; and, provide on-going advisement and support to students while in college. Green added, “Our goal is to identify young people who can benefit from both financial support and a reaffirming message from adult advisors. With both those elements in place, we are confident that many of our region’s students can reach higher education and succeed there.”

Pathways to Success staff conducted an extensive analysis of college going rates and scholarship awards patterns in the Coachella Valley and found that only one third of local high school graduates enroll in either a two-year or four-year college. Less than 10% of high school graduates who are CSU/UC eligible receive any kind of scholarship, and the average scholarship award given in the Coachella Valley is about $500. Meanwhile, the cost of going to college and the cost of living have both accelerated dramatically in the past four years, while school budgets for support programs vital to the success of low-income students are being slashed.

For additional information on the Pathways to Success program, including how to apply for a scholarship, please visit the Pathways to Success website at www.cvpts.com or feel free to email or contact the Pathways to Success office at (760) 341-6542 or dramirez@cvep.com.

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