Preteens go to college for a day

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You can tell Maricopa Elementary School fourth-grader Chasadee Sims enjoyed her "I'm Going to College" day at California State University, Bakersfield.

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Azrielle Schafer and Maya Wagnor, students at La Hacienda Elementary School, had a tough time deciding which free book to choose during their tour of the California State University, Bakersfield, campus

If you looked from a distance at the California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB), campus, it might have appeared as though it had been transformed into a scene from the "Wizard of Oz" on May 13. Dozens of white t-shirted "munchkins," dotting the landscape, could be seen scurrying in and out of buildings. Once you got closer, it was easy to see these were instead preteen students and across the front of their t-shirts the words "I'm Going to College" were silk-screened.

Actually, it was all planned. "I'm Going to College" is an early awareness program in which rural fourth-graders become honorary college students for a day at CSUB. The program is administered by the Southern San Joaquin Valley California Student Opportunity and Access Program (Cal-SOAP) through the Kern County Superintendent of Schools Office with sponsorship from the California Student Aid Commission.

After spending the semester in the classroom learning about higher education and college opportunities, 320 fourth-grade students from Maricopa, La Hacienda (California City), Hamilton (Rosamond) and Cuyama (Santa Barbara County) elementary schools traveled to CSUB to experience what it is like to be honorary college students for a day.

"There is one constant in all of this - all of the students come from small towns where frequently a high school education is the end of their education," said Cal-SOAP Project Director Alyse Barrios. "Often, the mindset is that finishing high school is all that is expected of them. We introduce them to college to show the endless possibilities a higher education can provide."

This culminating event of the semester allowed students to attend specialized classes, receive a tour and eat lunch on the CSUB campus. All students received an "I'm Going to College" T-shirt, CSUB Outreach information packet and a fourth-grade reading level book.

A smiling Chasadee Sims, a student at Maricopa Elementary School, took time away from scanning a free book she had received on the tour to express her feelings about the day. "I've learned going to college is not cheap," Sims said. "There is a lot to pay for and even the textbooks are expensive. But, they told us financial aid is available and that can help make it affordable. I definitely want to go to college, but I also learned I am going to have to get good grades and work really hard with my studies to make it."

The Cal-SOAP consortium seeks to raise achievement levels of students from low income families in areas with documented low eligibility or college preparation rates and in which they would be the first to attend college. Students in the "I'm Going to College" program and their parents are encouraged to make a commitment to education and to seek higher education opportunities after high school.

"For many of these students it is the first time they have seen a real college campus - it is the closest one to their homes, too," Barrios said. "The frequent comment we hear once they first step off the bus at CSUB is, ‘wow.' Going through the classes today, they learned about financial aid, the college system, entrance requirements, and they were even introduced to budgeting. ‘I'm Going to College' is not just for the students' benefit. We encourage them to share what they have learned with their parents - to tell them how important it is to start a savings account for college and to make sure they keep encouraging their children to study so they can get the good grades needed for college."


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