Annual summit teaches students about college requirements

More Santa Cruz County students are preparing for college, and Cal State Monterey Bay is part of the process.

On April 22, half of the county’s seventh-graders – about 1,400 students – will visit CSUMB to attend a summit on college eligibility requirements and to learn about the college experience. The university’s office of Early Outreach and Support Programs will host the visit to campus. The rest of the seventh-graders in the county recently attended a similar event at UC Santa Cruz.

The Seventh-Grade College and Career Summit, now in its third year, is part of the Santa Cruz County College Commitment (S4C). Partners include CSUMB, Cabrillo College, UC Santa Cruz and school districts throughout the county. The summit is intended to foster a college-going culture and to promote the higher-ed campuses in the area.

S4C is a collaboration of educators started in 2011 and sponsored by the county Office of Education. Ray Kaupp, S4C’s executive director, told the Santa Cruz Sentinel that the collaborative approach helps students meet certain milestones on the path to college and career.

“In fourth grade, they decide to go to college. In seventh grade, they decide to take the classes they need to get into college, and in 11th grade, they choose their school,” Kaupp told the Sentinel.

Workshops will focus on the coursework needed to be college-eligible, referred to as the A-G requirements. The seventh-graders will also attend a CSUMB student panel and will be provided with information and resources to help them prepare for college.

State education department data shows that 48.5 percent of Santa Cruz County high school graduates completed their A through G requirements in 2013, up from 40 percent in 2011.

A-G requirements:

Published April 20, 2016