Program

Latino students continue to show academic progress, but a great deal of work still remains in order to ensure that we move past pockets of excellence for Latinos. The panel of Latino leaders will share their insight on the current challenges and promising initiatives as well as their journey as educators.

Education and community leaders will offer insights and best practices for supporting underserved students (particularly first-generation students and their families) in the college-going process. Panelists will share case studies of communities that have significantly improved participation in postsecondary education. Session participants will develop strategies for increasing access to college planning resources in their schools, districts, and communities so that all students receive the information they need to engage. Participants will review mechanisms for connecting students and their families to these resources as part of a comprehensive and systematic approach to promoting college and career readiness.

With the passage of President Obama’s executive order of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, it appears that support for undocumented students’ education is at an all-time high. However, undocumented students continue to enter college in dismal numbers. Every year, only five to 10 percent of undocumented students who graduate from high school go on to enroll at a university or community college. Despite the financial aid opportunities available to students through individual state DREAM Acts and DACA, these numbers have not changed in the past few years. This session will unpack the additional barriers that legislation does not address. Session participants will identify ways to actively serve as advocates for their undocumented students. Participants will evaluate intervention programs that schools can administer to empower undocumented students to aspire to college, and will identify additional resources that can aid that goal.

Learn how college admission professionals and high school counseling teams can collaborate and develop a successful and well-attended “College Night” program that targets Spanish-speaking populations. Session participants will assess the ways in which high school and college counselors can support each other in designing such an event. Participants will identify and discuss key points of concern and interest to their Latino student population and develop programming that addresses these points.

The Latino Leadership Initiative (LLI) is a collaborative effort that provides multicultural leadership training for Latino students enrolled in community colleges in Washington state. LLI focuses on giving students the confidence and self-esteem to attain their college dreams and more. Students learn an empowering approach called “P2P, the power of your mind” that fosters students’ ability to control their fears, self-distracting feelings, and self-deprecating thoughts. Organizers also implement a community project with Latino students in middle and high school to help them realize the importance of college. In this session, participants will assess LLI’s successes and struggles and explore the tools and strategies that the program utilizes. Participants will analyze our recruitment approach and discuss potential implementation of the LLI model in other states. A short video and student testimonnials will be shared.

This session will highlight a P–20 partnership between a world-renowned technology and research university and a majority-Latino high school cluster. Presenters will focus on the principal components of our school-based, college-focused, academic mentoring program that provides exposure to and preparation for STEM careers. Session participants will engage in several activities from our high school and middle school curricula (including a hands-on, STEM-focused activity) and will learn how student input helped us modify the activities to better meet learners’ needs. Participants will identify components of the program that can be integrated into existing programs at their schools and will leave equipped with a framework for implementation and evaluation.

By 2025, a quarter of the nation’s college-aged students will be Latino. School counselors, with support from administrators, are uniquely positioned to encourage and support student preparation and admission to college. Desert View High School, a Latino-majority high school, has increased AP test taking by over 300% and doubled the enrollment at the local university by establishing a clear focus on college access. In this session, participants will engage in a variety of activities (including tech-savvy guidance lessons) that are designed to empower students, motivate them to take rigorous courses, and help them construct a school culture of college readiness. Participants will identify barriers to college access, analyze methods for building social capital, and develop skills for increasing family engagment. Numerous resources will be provided.

The Mother Daughter Program (MDP) is a pre-college program for seventh- and eighth-grade female students and their mothers (or other family members). Mother-Daughter "teams" from target schools prepare for high school and college, supported by University of Texas-Pan American student mentors and tutors, community members, and professional role models. MDP exposes students to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers while reinforcing parental support for the students’ educational aspirations. The program furnishes the tools for increasing self-esteem and confidence, as well as opportunities for identifying, exploring, and appreciating cultural values and traditions. In response to the growing need for increases in the number of women and underrepresented populations who are entering STEM careers, the MDP also focuses on exposing its young participants to the opportunities available in STEM majors and careers.

At Washington State University, outreach and development programs have always been important. Through a unique program, Las Memorias, WSU seeks to employ writing, theater, and performance to enrich the experiences of high school students. Performance as Education, also known as Las Memorias, aims to demonstrate that in addition to financial assistance and academic support programs, college attendance and retention rates of Latino and other underserved students will improve if they enter college with higher aspirations, confidence and self-awareness, improved writing skills, and worldly life experience beyond their community and better life “performance” skills. Through Las Memorias program not only do students grow and develop skills vital to their future development and leadership, but they also participate in the development of a professional produced piece of theater for and about the Latina/o community.

In this session attendees will have the opportunity to learn from The University of Arizona, Office of Early Academic Outreach on engaging K–12 Spanish-speaking families in the college preparation process. Our presentation will focus on sharing the benefits of bilingual outreach, early recruitment, and parent involvement. Our office operates under the principle that a college education begins in the home. In other words, we accomplish this by using a Funds of Knowledge approach.

What happens when the majority of “first-time” students aren’t freshmen? What adjustments need to be made in terms of advising and scheduling? The University of Texas-Pan American has seen significant increases in the number of first-time students entering with prior college hours. UTPA Enrollment Services has assessed the prior college-hours trend over the last several years, and this session will examine the impact on Hispanic students’ retention and graduation rates. Session participants will identify the connection between college readiness and prior college hours. Participants will develop and discuss strategies to prepare for, adjust to, and embrace this trend.

With the exploding population of Latino students entering colleges and universities, the lack of higher education professionals as role models and guides has profoundly affected the long-term prospects for Latino student success in attaining postsecondary degrees. Latina leaders in higher education administration will address key topics such as the current research on Latinas in leadership, the pipeline and pathway to educational administration, as well as challenges and opportunities in leading at institutions of higher learning.

Earning a seat at the leadership table provides you with a position of influence and allows you to contribute to the critical decision making that impacts student lives. Hear from leaders in K–12 and higher education discuss how their own succcesses have supported and impacted students’ success by improving college equity and access on multiple levels. Panelists will share the professional paths they followed to reach leadership positions and explain the rewarding ways in which they have been able to direct conversations, set policy, allocate funding, and influence decision-makers. Session participants will identify practical steps (such as building a professional profile) that they can take to deepen their commitment, build their network, expand their professional development, and increase their influence. Participants will brainstorm and share ways to enhance their professional skill set so that they are ready and able to advance toward their goals.

The journey to college begins as soon as students start to dream about the future. Those dreams can be dashed once students discover how complex and challenging the road to college and career can be. This session will explore the multiple dimensions involved in enabling and readying oneself to access college. Presenters will use inquiry approaches to guide participants toward an understanding of the sociological, physiological, and psychological implications of transitioning from the K–12 universe to a world of total independence. Session participants will analyze how economic, cultural, social, and human capital impact the viability of students’ aspirations for life after high school. Participants will brainstorm ways to connect academic content and skills with the development of critical “soft skills” in order to design plans that will enrich the classroom while simultaneously building bridges to higher education access.

This session offers an in-depth look at the wraparound services that are provided at Addison Trail High School for its Latino student population, which comprises of 63 percent of the student population. Often, under-performing schools cite large numbers of low-income students, large amounts of minority students, and/or an influx of government mandates as reasons their schools underachieve. Presenters will highlight the successes that are shared throughout the school, and put a spotlight on some upcoming programs undertaken moving forward. By no means is this designed to be a "one size fits all" approach for all schools, but rather an inside look at what has been found to be successful in this instance, and the structure and systems in place that support these successes.

AP English, History and Spanish teachers discuss their unique immersion program – The International Spanish Academy – designed to produce effortlessly bilingual non-native Spanish speakers. Aspects of the program include graduated spiraled instruction in both languages and an annual two-week program trip to Spain. The students take a rigorous course load of bilingual honors and AP courses, culminating with the opportunity to earn a diploma from the United States Department of Education and from the Ministry of Education of Spain. Students host Spanish students studying English during the summer, and translate for recent immigrant adults in elementary schools during teacher-parent conferences. Now in their sixth year, presenters will discuss first year implementation challenges, yearly developments, and share the successes of the inaugural graduating class from the program.

“Funds of knowledge,” refers to “culturally based resources of education and knowledge found in Latino families” such as ideas, practices, and traditions (Espinoza-Herold, 2007). The values that provide a framework for expressing the desire parents have for their children’s educational and occupational futures are shaped by the moral values of the home country (Reese, 2001). Drawing upon the higher education student support service model and “wrap-around approach” found in systems of care, this session will share the early stages of a multi-level intervention program that supports first generation and undocumented Latino students in a single-gender (male) Catholic (Jesuit) secondary school. Session participants will explore and understand how student leadership, alumni support / community partnerships, and “funds of knowledge” can support how Latino students navigate the educational pipeline.

The Center for Educational Partnership (CEP) at the University of California, Merced, currently serves first-generation, lower-income students and their parents through the UC Scholars Early Academic Outreach Program and the Parent Empowerment Program. The programs work to strengthen connections among college-eligible students from the Central San Joaquin Valley and to prepare them for postsecondary education. Program staff provide continued assistance throughout students’ educational careers. In this session, participants will examine the way in which services for parents can complement direct student services and positively impact students’ commitment to higher education. Participants will develop strategies to work with “unwilling parents of willing students” and will review effective evaluation methodologies to measure the success of these interventions.

Do you wish that Latino families had a greater presence in your high school? Would you like to have more Latino parents participate in preparing students for college and career? This session will present concrete strategies to foster engagement among Latino families, with the goal of increasing postsecondary readiness for first-generation students. Join us as we explore how to communicate in a variety of manners with Latino families, how to make Latino parents feel welcome in schools, how to promote college and career dreams, and how to facilitate access to postsecondary institutions and scholarships. Participants will examine best practices for reaching out to Latino parents and helping families keep the dream of college alive. Participants will develop strategies for creating a consistent outreach protocol that includes the involvement of the community, families, faith organizations, and related foundations.

According to the United States Department of Education, Hispanics will account for 60 percent of population growth through 2050, yet due to lack of resources and college preparedness, they have the lowest education attainment of any demographic in the U.S. This means that each of our institutions will have to strategically plan and implement recruiting initiatives aimed at a population that has many barriers to overcome to help prepare them for life after high school. It is imperative that we understand that aside from selling our schools, we must also be prepared to offer enhanced services. This may include educating and engaging students and their families on not only the college admissions process, but the resources available to them on our campuses to ensure their success. Come learn ways that you can plan, program, and partner up in an effort to recruit and enroll a diverse and academically prepared class.

The age-old power of storytelling serves to build community and expectations. So what does it mean that first-generation college-going Latinos lack a coherent narrative of “the college experience” that will connect them to the college-bound community and increase their college fluency? In this highly interactive session, participants will apply the potential they have to supply Latino students with missing information about the college experience. After reading, listening to, and watching several models of college storytelling, participants will recount in vivid and engaging detail their stories of undergraduate college life, recalling a wide variety of academic, organizational, and communal college experiences. Participants will weave these moments into a cohesive, well-rounded narrative, constructing their own print or digital college story to inspire the students they interact with every day.

Midwestern State University (MSU) has partnered with a community college, an ISD, and a community-based Hispanic initiative to successfully increase college preparation and enrollment among Hispanic students. In collaboration with the Cafe Con Leche initiative, MSU has been able to promote a culture of high expectations. Hispanic families, including those who lack documentation, can attend financial aid events and forums in churches, homes, neighborhood centers, schools, and local colleges. The six-week Road to College program teaches Hispanic parents with children in the fifth and sixth grades how to start preparing their children for college — leading to significant increases in middle school Pre-AP enrollment. In this session, participants will analyze the effectiveness of community-based recruitment programs in the Hispanic community. Participants will create community-based plans to increase familial involvement in the college preparation and application process.

UCSF SEP High School Intern Program (HIP) combines the rigor of a summer science research experience with culturally relevant college counseling. By doing so, it helps transform students’ expectations for what they can achieve in school, college, and their careers. The majority of our students are from low-income, immigrant backgrounds. Many are from Latino families, and nearly all come from families without a history of college attendance. Yet more than 90% matriculate to college and over 85% continue on to graduate study. In this interactive session, participants will develop and implement concrete strategies to effectively engage first-generation Latina/Latino students in the college conversation and instill a sense of empowerment and ownership in the process. Participants will analyze ways to craft an integrated approach to academic rigor and college guidance that recognizes and reinforces students’ cultural backgrounds while providing a challenging and transformative experience.

Loyola Marymount University established the Cooke Undergraduate Research Scholars Academy (CURSA) in partnership with West LA College and El Camino College to provide educational, financial, and personal support to high achieving, underrepresented community college students through an enriched research and educational curriculum, along with peer and faculty mentoring. Considering how transfer student success has gained more and more national attention, presenters will highlight the importance of effective partnerships between community colleges and the four-year institutions through a case study on a 10-day research program designed to expand educational opportunities for high-achieving, underrepresented community college students whose families, schools, and communities would benefit from additional resources to help students reach their academic and professional goals.

YES Prep Public Schools was founded in 1998 with a simple proposition: all students, including first-generation college students from Houston’s highest poverty neighborhoods, can achieve college success when given access to the same resources and support as students from affluent communities. Today, more than 72 percent of our alumni are persisting in college or have graduated, and our students’ six-year college graduation rate currently stands at 42 percent — more than quadruple the rate of their peers nationwide. But there is still much work to be done. In this session, participants will engage in an honest dialogue about YES Prep’s collective successes and lessons learned, using our recently published white paper, College Initiatives Redefined, as a jumping-off point for discussion. Participants will develop evidence-based strategies that contribute to increased college graduation rates for Hispanic and African American first-generation college students and all students.

Parents from diverse cultural backgrounds often struggle to fully understand the information presented to them during campus visits and orientations. Very often, they are unable to fully communicate their concerns with faculty and staff. Washington State University’s new recruitment initiative meets multicultural parents where they are — understanding that first-generation, non-native speakers may not be familiar with the higher education process in the United States. The initiative offers workshops on topics such as financial aid, health and wellness services, safety and academic support, among other topics, helping parents learn how to support their children financially, academically, and emotionally. In this session, participants will discuss and identify the needs of parent populations in their communities. Participants will assess our conference/visitation program agenda, budget, and handouts with the goal of enacting their own parent program.

To improve teaching and learning for all students, particularly those of color, the teaching workforce needs to reflect the increasing representation of students of color in U.S. classrooms. Yet there is an overall decline in action to improve teacher diversity. The issue is relevant because teacher candidates of color pass initial licensure exams about 20 percent less often than White candidates, representing one source of the teacher diversity gap found to exist across states. Data suggest graduations overall from teacher education programs in states with large minority populations are also in decline. This session will begin with an overview of the issues concerning the teacher pipeline regarding teacher diversity and initial licensure exam performance (average scale scores and passing rates) for 20,000 examinees across 27 states and then discuss a proposed program to work with minority serving institutions to improve candidate exam performance and teacher workforce diversity.

Hispanic Access to College Education Resources (¡HACER!) has spearheaded a dynamic community collaborative with the primary goal of increasing the percentage of Latinos with postsecondary degrees in Miami-Dade County from 38 to 60 percent by 2025. Over the past three years, !HACER¡ has adopted a targeted, resource-based approach to collectively impact college readiness and completion in six low-performing high schools in Miami-Dade County. !HACER¡ has established more than 15 diverse partnerships throughout the community to expand the data-driven resources needed to properly prepare students for college. In this interactive session, participants will evaluate the program’s strategies and assess its efficacy. Participants will identify new and existing partnerships that might be leveraged within their own communities to reach a similar goal.

At Florida International University, the offices of Engagement, Access, and Success; Undergraduate Admissions; and Financial Aid collaborated to create the Golden Scholars Bridge Program and Fostering Panther Pride. The two programs provide first-generation, underrepresented, and/or former foster-care, and homeless students with the tools they need to achieve their dreams of attaining a college degree. In this session, presenters from all the collaborating offices will attend and share their experiences. Session participants will examine how these partnerships were formed and how they are funded in order to determine the best ways to overcome financing obstacles. Participants will identify offices at their own institutions that could work together and brainstorm strategies for bringing more students into higher education, mentoring them properly, and ensuring that they earn a degree.

The University of Texas-Pan American is located in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas, an area with more than one million Hispanic residents and approximately 62 percent of the state’s migrant farmworker students. To serve this unique population, UTPA has collaborated with local school districts to provide numerous and varied educational support services to help students complete high school, transition to higher education, and persist past their first year. In this session, participants will examine the complex social and cultural paradigm of the migrant farmworker: a paradigm that includes low educational attainment, poverty, high unemployment, English as a second language, and a cultural norm of self-sacrifice to support the family. Participants will evaluate strategies to help migrant students form college aspirations early in life, receive accurate and timely information on admission and financial aid, and connect with migrant role models who have attained educational success.

This session will examine the unique role of the University of California’s Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement program and its partnership with students at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) and community colleges within Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. Through a partnership network, the MESA Program provides innovative strategies (summer bridge programs, tutoring, industry tours, etc.) to students across the P-20 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) pipeline. UCSB’s Office of Education Partnerships will discuss how important college related information is disseminated to students via an innovative social media campaign. Participants will understand how working with undergraduates to employ innovative strategies across different segments (K–12, community college, and four-year institutions) is integral to the success of STEM academic preparation programs.

Schools face an increasingly difficult challenge of preparing every student to succeed in a rapidly changing world. This session will focus on a local approach to making Advanced Placement the cornerstone of the college and career readiness process. Topics include academic preparedness, mitigating cultural and linguistic issues and engaging community outreach to impact college ambitions. Participants will learn practical ways to embrace cultural and linguistic diversity as they increase AP participation and success as a means for improving college readiness. The presentation will highlight professional development, parent involvement, summer enrichment and curricular improvement.

Chavez Prep is revolutionizing Houston. Redefining student accountability and expectations, Prep revises mindsets about students’ potential, helping them develop self-advocacy skills necessary to be successful in rigorous collegiate environments. It provides a distinctive cohort experience grounded in innovative, interdisciplinary Pre-AP/AP curriculum across the four core content areas. In its fourth year, Prep has already helped students improve AP scores and gain admission to elite universities. This session will showcase an advanced academic program inside a comprehensive urban high school designed to level the AP playing field for students from low socioeconomic backgrounds who begin high school significantly behind grade-level. We will focus on how to adapt the Chavez Prep model to meet the needs of any high school, how to brand and develop culture to promote academic achievement, and how to set up a faculty advisor program that facilitates admission to top-tier universities.

Education for the 21st Century: Creating a Climate of Success for All Students

From Deferred to Thriving: Fulfilling the Dream of STEM Student Success

Despite higher education’s potential to level the playing field, large inequalities still exist in college enrollment, persistence and completion by race and income. The College Board launched Access to Opportunity to address the barriers that prevent low-income, first-generation, and underrepresented students from engaging in the type of challenging high school course work that would prepare them for acceptance, success and completion at a best-fit college. The panel will engage in dialogue around the various ways to break down these barriers. Furthermore, panelists will discuss how schools, districts, colleges and universities, and community-based organizations can partner to address these issues at scale.

This colloquium will feature a panel of teachers and administrators who have demonstrated great success increasing minority student enrollment and success in Advanced Placement coursework. The panelists will describe specific steps they have taken, and will respond to questions from the audience. In addition, the session will provide an overview of new teacher and student supports the AP Program is providing to help identify and address specific content and skills in AP courses that many students are struggling to master.

Many underrepresented and low-income students lack awareness of available scholarship opportunities or the local support to apply for them. In this session you will hear from three of the nation’s leading scholarship providers who award a combined $150 million in scholarship funding annually, and how new partnerships with the College Board are helping these providers expand their reach to eligible students.

As African American and Latino men involved in the counseling and recruitment of diverse student achievers and leaders, the panelists have worked with colleges, community organizations, national nonprofits, corporations, government and public school districts. The panel will present actionable recommendations for counselors (public, private & CBO) and administrators to empower students to navigate a world where they will be evaluated on academic and metacognitive variables. The panel will present ways that student influencers can develop students to make them more competitive for a range of college options.

The College Board and Khan Academy are partnering to create the most effective SAT practice platform ever created – and it happens to be free. Learn how to incorporate SAT readiness into your own work, and see a sneak-peak of the tool before its launch in May.

Over the past few years, the Houston Independent School District has significantly increased college readiness levels among Hispanics and other under served student populations. More Hispanic students in the district are participating in AP classes, taking the SAT, and receiving scholarship and financial aid funding. An innovative district program called EMERGE has exponentially increased the number of Hispanic students attending Ivy League institutions and top-tier colleges. In this session, participants will analyze the key strategies and initiatives that allowed HISD to realize these gains. Participants will develop strategies for adapting such programmatic solutions at their own schools.

One in nine African American children and one in thirteen Hispanic children have a parent in prison. How can we — as educators, counselors, and admission professionals — best support and encourage this population of students to pursue higher education? How can we intervene in the corrosive cycle of intergenerational incarceration that ensnares so many multicultural families? In this session, participants will develop a profile of students with incarcerated parents — identifying the unique challenges and needs that such students face. Participants will evaluate tips, models, case studies, and peer-reviewed literature and analyze a range of mentoring and intervention strategies. There will be numerous takeaways, including recommendations for community collaboration.

UNC Charlotte was recognized by the Education Trust in 2010 and 2012 as one of 11 universities to close the achievement gap between Caucasian students and both Hispanic/Latino and African American students. This trend continued in 2014 with a report from the Center for American Progress that highlighted UNC Charlotte as one of three Universities to assist first-generation and minority students in achieving their goal of graduating from a university. These accomplishments have been the result of administrative support at the highest levels, in addition to strategic campus and community partnerships. This session will focus on building administrative support and the development of campus and community collaborations.

To improve teaching and learning for all students, particularly those of color, the teaching workforce needs to reflect the increasing representation of students of color in U.S. classrooms. Yet there is an overall decline in action to improve teacher diversity. The issue is relevant because teacher candidates of color pass initial licensure exams about 20 percent less often than White candidates, representing one source of the teacher diversity gap found to exist across states. Data suggest graduations overall from teacher education programs in states with large minority populations are also in decline. The session will begin with an overview of the issues concerning the teacher pipeline regarding teacher diversity and initial licensure exam performance (average scale scores and passing rates) for 20,000 examinees across 27 states and then discuss a proposed program to work with minority serving institutions to improve candidate exam performance and teacher workforce diversity.

Nationally, the SAT scores of Hispanic and African American students are significantly lower than the scores of their white counterparts. One socioemotional explanation for test score disparities involves the notion that minority student groups suffer from a phenomenon known as stereotype threat (Steele & Aronson, 1995). That is, they unconsciously underperform because of the perception that their race stereotypically performs poorly on the SAT. This session will present a novel intervention strategy created by the Pittsburgh Public School district and some of its community partners to combat students’ low test scores. Session participants will review the latest research literature on stereotype threat among Hispanic and African American SAT takers. Participants will evaluate Pittsburgh’s intervention strategy and brainstorm ways to replicate the strategy in their respective school districts and nonprofit organizations.

Orange County Public School’s Minority Achievement Office launched the Behavior Leaders Initiative to close the achievement gap among underserved students and to decrease the disproportionate number of school suspensions issued to black and Hispanic youths. The initiative’s collaborative approach focuses on establishing positive student expectations and embedding positive behavior within the school culture. In this session, participants will identify and assess programs, partnerships, and professional development strategies that schools use to build culturally responsive environments and increase student achievement. Such strategies include individual behavior modification, schoolwide behavior expections, behavior agreements, classroom management techniques, and counseling options for students with chronic suspensions. Participants will develop a framework for constructing a Behavior Leaders Consortium based on the needs of their schools or districts.

Over the past five years, the United States Naval Academy (USNA) has achieved four-year graduation rates of over 81 percent for students of color. While the USNA is different from most civilian colleges and universities, many of its successful support mechanisms can be replicated by any institution. In this session, participants will assess tangible, actionable interventions that directly impact retention, performance, and engagement among students of color. Using USNA’s holistic, campuswide approach as a model, participants will develop strategies for building a “campus community”; monitoring academic performance; engaging students, faculty, and athletic staff in timely academic interventions; encouraging personal development; providing effective counseling; and optimizing post-graduation planning.

The College Board is committed to ensuring that all students benefit from the educational opportunities they have earned. Low-income, first generation, and underrepresented minorities face significant barriers to college access and students with disabilities from these communities face even greater challenges. Learn about efforts designed to identify and break down barriers that prevent students from applying to and enrolling in colleges, and accessing College Board services. Panelists will discuss the Access to Opportunity and All In initiatives; SAT and college application fee waiver programs; and accommodations and services for students with disabilities.

There’s something special about being the first in your family to attend and graduate from college. Approximately 4.5 million students — 24 percent of those enrolled in postsecondary institutions today — are low-income, first-generation college attendees. Unfortunately, nine out of 10 will not earn a bachelor’s degree by age 24. The dropout rate for these students is four times higher than that of peers whose parents have a postsecondary education. The College Board partnered with Roadtrip Nation to create “Why Not Us?”, a documentary that highlights first-generation college students and their roads to success. In this session, the students as well as the Film Director of the project will share their experiences while on the road as well as their perspective on the barriers first-generation college students face. Finally, the students will share their future plans and keys to success.

The University of Arizona continues to successfully raise Latino students’ retention and graduation rates through multidimensional and collaborative partnerships that involve early outreach, focused recruitment, a bridging first-year experience, mentoring services, and community-building efforts. Despite minimal state funding of K–16 public education, underperforming schools, and a political climate that demonizes a large segment of the population, the university has managed to foster an inclusive campus climate that respects and values Latino students and invests in their academic achievement. In this session, participants will assess how the university’s strategic framework of engagement, innovation, and partnership supports Latino students’ success. Participants will examine targeted initiatives that can be implemented at their institutions, and will construct collaborative strategies to advance the interests of Latino students in their communities.

Learn how YES Prep Public Schools has rethought and redesigned their college counseling model by implementing a developmental approach to college and career readiness that is based on the work of Mandy Savitz-Romer and Suzanne Bouffard. In this session, participants will assess how a developmental counseling approach positively influences college and career readiness. Participants will evaluate the role that reflection plays in forming a college-going identity and will develop strategies that will enable students to envision themselves as capable of college success.

Over the past few years, the Houston Independent School District has significantly increased college readiness levels among African American and underserved student populations. More African American students in the district are participating in AP classes, taking the SAT, and receiving scholarship and financial aid funding. An innovative district program called EMERGE has exponentially increased the number of African American students attending Ivy League institutions and top-tier colleges. In this session, participants will analyze the key strategies and initiatives that allowed HISD to realize these gains. Participants will develop strategies for adapting such programmatic solutions at their own schools.

The University of Northern Colorado is a predominately white institution; however, in seven years, our Latino enrollment has grown from five to 17 percent as a result of specific recruitment and retention efforts. Such efforts include new curricular offerings, multicultural advising and student support, co-curricular activities, and campus–school–family connections. In this session, participants will critically examine our strategies — which involve admission officers, administrators, student affairs professionals, faculty, academic programs, peer advisors, and student services. Participants will identify specific, achievable actions that they can take to further support Latino recruitment and retention on their campuses and will discuss the challenges of achieving a collective impact.

English Department data collection and discussion of student mastery upon entering and exiting grade levels. Lessons establish unity between courses creating an environment for students to thrive. Our school is 90 percent Hispanic and African American; we have noted engagement increases with vertical alignment. These are interconnected, high school level lessons that could also easily be facilitated in entry level college courses. All lessons connect to familial identity, social issues, community problems and require both technology use in multimedia capacities and writing showing mastery of common core narrative and argumentative standards.

Hillsborough County Public School’s Gender Awareness Module helps build a pipeline for vertical articulation between middle and high schools in order to increase equitable enrollment in AP courses, especially for our minority students. In this session, participants will examine the ways in which male and female students learn differently and will develop strategies that encourage all students to fully engage in rigorous Pre-AP and AP course work. Participants will analyze Hillsborough’s use of professional learning communities and advanced academics teams to boost college and career readiness among all students, regardless of gender.

Just because you may be the "multicultural recruiter" in your office doesn’t mean you are alone in the profession. Come learn about key organizations that can help you in the profession, how to utilize those support networks, how to get more involved in professional development organizations, and learn what New England Counselors of Color Bridging Access to College (NECBAC) is, and how it has helped private colleges in New England in the recruitment and retention of underrepresented students.

The College Board's Access & Diversity Collaborative has developed a new tool to assist colleges and universities to achieve their mission-driven enrollment diversity goals. Colleges and universities inhabit different “leagues” when it comes to the use of race-conscious enrollment practices. Many use race-conscious policies and practices. Some are forbidden from using race and ethnicity due to state laws. Others may use race and ethnicity but choose not to. But all of them have a common interest: identifying those policies and practices that will lead to a dynamic, diverse, and successful student body. Learn how the new Playbook can assist with those goals.

The College Board is redesigning its college readiness assessments to focus on the few things that research indicates matter most for success in college and career. Join College Board Assessment Program experts to ensure you know all there is to know about the timeline for the implementation of the redesigned SAT, PSAT/NMSQT, PSAT 10 and PSAT 8/9 in K12 schools. This nuts and bolts session will give you a sense for what we’re doing to support you and what actions you need to take to support your schools and students. Bring your questions and we’ll do our best to answer them!