Empowering First-Generation Students: The Summer Bridge and First-Year Experience Program
The Summer Bridge and First-Year Experience Program at Pasadena City College aids first-generation and underrepresented students in transitioning smoothly from high school to college. This program offers a nurturing environment where students engage in intensive courses that build essential skills. Participants form a supportive cohort, enhancing their persistence and success rates. The focus on collaboration and social adjustment helps students thrive academically and socially, paving the way for their future endeavors and careers.
Empowering First-Generation Students: The Summer Bridge and First-Year Experience Program
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Presentation Transcript
.XL – The Summer Bridge &First-Year Experience Program Brock Klein Pasadena City College Pasadena, California
“I did not like high school and I did really bad in high school. And I did not think I would ever graduate and go to college. So right now, I think off it like this is where I can start my life. And then I can go on and do the things I want to and continue on to become a successful person.” .XL3 student
The .XL Mission The .XL program is designed to help first-generation and traditionally underrepresented students make a smooth and successful transition from high school to college in a nurturing, collaborative environment.
Math SI Math, Engl, Counseling Math & English Summer Fall Spring Summer Bridge and The First-Year Experience PCC High School Graduates Summer Bridge: High school graduates take a block of courses in the summer.First-Year Experience: They remain as a cohort for the remainder of their first year.
Program Director Recruiter .XL Student Ambassadors Faculty -- math, English Counselor Instructional Aides .XL Staff
Registration Textbook & parking permit purchase Student IDs Parent and student contracts Financial Aid advisement Orientation
Summer Bridge Data .XL Cohorts 3, 4, & 5
Fall Math Data • Fall to Spring Persistence • .XL 2-5: 88% • PCC: 69% • Hispanic: 67% • Success – No significant difference
An Important Finding Students engaged in an intense and sustained intervention have a greater chance of staying in school and succeeding than those who do not.
.XL 4-6 Findings • .XL success: .XL 4-6 students succeeded in all of their classes at a higher rate (78.5%) than PCC students in all classes (65.9%) and PCC students in basic skills classes (59.4%). • Basic skills to transfer math: A greater percentage of .XL 4-6 students (25%) who began in Level 1,(pre-algebra) registered for a transfer-level math course within 9 semesters than their non-.XL counterparts (11.1%).
.XL 4-6 Findings • College environment: Latino/a .XL students demonstrated more positive perceptions of the college environment than non-.XL Latino/a students. • Social adjustment: Latino/a .XL students demonstrated greater social adjustment to college than non-.XL Latino/a students.
Unexpected but Welcomed Outcomes • The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning • Faculty Inquiry • Development of SLOs • Research and Experimentation • Collegiality • Collaboration with other first-year experience program directors at PCC • New linked courses and programs
.XL Health Sciences .XL STEM .XL Now Reading Jam Math Jam .XL Variations
Questions for Discussion • Is it wise to shelter young, under-prepared students? • Is the program worth the cost/student? • Can the college scale up, offer the same experience to more students, maintain the same standards and level of intimacy, and have the same impact?
A Math Instructor and Her Students “Prealgebra is not so much about teaching math as it is about teaching students that they can do math.”