User:SchuppeUSA/sandbox/Puente

Puente (or The Puente Project) is an educational program founded in California, USA, that aims to increase four year university enrollments by traditionally underrepresented students.

The Puente Project operates at 65 community colleges, 42 high schools, and 4 middle schools in California. The program is co-sponsored by the University of California and the California Community College Chancellor’s Office. It is headquartered at and administered by the University of California at Berkeley.

Contents Mission History Program Components Program Outcomes Participating Schools Awards

Mission
The Puente Project links accelerated English and career classes in a one or two year learning community that advances the Puente mission to increase the number of educationally underrepresented students who:
 * Enroll in four-year universities
 * Earn college degrees
 * Return to the community as leaders and mentors

According to San Bernardino Community College, “Puente is a statewide transfer program consisting of counseling, mentoring, and writing components.”

History
The Puente Project was co-founded and directed at Chabot College in Hayward, CA in 1981, by Felix Galaviz and Patricia McGrath, when Galaviz was a counselor and Assistant Dean of Student Services at Chabot and McGrath an instructor in English and Interdisciplinary Studies in Letters and Science.

The program began with 25 students and 25 mentors from the Latino community, with a stated mission of increasing the number of Mexican American students transferring to four-year colleges and universities, earning degrees, and returning to the community as leaders and mentors to other students. In 1984, the program expanded to additional community colleges in California.

In 1992, pilot programs were replicated at 18 high schools in the state and in 2014, the program was replicated at 4 middle schools.

Although the Puente Project began as an education program aimed at Mexican-Americans, the program is open to all students. (UC Berkeley)

Program Components
Training Program Puente incorporates a professional development program to train new English teachers and counselors in an academic program and community outreach. These staff training programs have reached over 300,000 students in California. (UC Berkeley) Community College The two-semester program includes a developmental writing course and a college transfer-level course taught by the same Puente English teacher with the same cohort of students. The counselor provides academic, personal and career counseling to prepare students to transfer to a four-year college or university. The counselor also teaches a personal development class. The teacher and counselor team train professionals from the community who volunteer to work with students for 15- 18 hours during the academic year.

High School The program is designed to help students graduate from high school and become eligible to enroll in college. The same cohort of students takes an accelerated college preparatory 9th and 10th grade English sequence with the same teacher. The counselor monitors the progress of students, motivates and encourages them in leadership positions, takes them on college and university visits, and conducts workshops for parents focused on supporting their children in their college and career goals.

Program Outcomes
College The six year graduation rate for Puente students in the University of California system in the 2008-2009 academic year was 87%, compared with 76% of all underrepresented UC students and 84% of all first time UC students. For California community colleges, the six year graduation rate for Puente students was 55%, compared to 39% and 48% of all underrepresented and first time students, respectively.

High School The A-G Graduation Rate (completion of 15 high school level courses with a C grade or above) of high school students enrolled in the Puente Program in 2016 was 72%, compared with 35% of all underrepresented high school students in California, and 45% of all California high school graduates. (Rick Luna’s email)

Participating Schools
Community Colleges Chabot College, Hayward Las Positas College, Livermore Merritt College, Oakland Ohlone College, Fremont Contra Costa College, San Pablo Diablo Valley College, Pleasant Hill Los Medanos College, Pittsburg Fresno City College College of Marin, Kentfield Merced College Napa Valley College Sierra College, Rocklin American River College, Sacramento Cosumnes River College, Sacramento Sacramento City College City College of San Francisco San Joaquin Delta College, Stockton Cañada College, Redwood City College of San Mateo Skyline College, San Bruno De Anza College, Cupertino Foothill College, Los Altos Hills Gavilan College, Gilroy Mission College, Santa Clara San Jose City College West Valley College, SaratogaCabrillo College, Aptos Shasta College, Redding Shasta College, Tehama Campus Solano Community College, Suisun City Santa Rosa Jr. College, Santa Rosa Santa Rosa Jr. College, Petaluma Campus College of the Sequoias, Visalia Yuba Community College, Marysville Cerritos College, Norwalk East Los Angeles College, Monterey Park El Camino College, Torrance Long Beach City College Los Angeles Harbor College Los Angeles Mission College Los Angeles Southwest College Los Angeles Trade-Tech College Los Angeles Valley College, Valley Glen Pasadena City College Rio Hondo College, Whittier West Los Angeles College, Culver City Cypress College Fullerton College Golden West College, Huntington Beach Orange Coast College, Costa Mesa Santa Ana College Chaffey College, Rancho Cucamonga San Bernardino Valley College Victor Valley College, Victorville Grossmont College, El Cajon MiraCosta College, Oceanside Palomar College, San Marcos San Diego City College San Diego Mesa College Southwestern College, Chula Vista Alan Hancock College, Santa Maria Mt. San Jacinto College, San Jacinto Moreno Valley College, Moreno Valley Norco College, Norco Riverside City College, Riverside

High Schools Bret Harte MS, Hayward Castro Valley HS, Castro Valley Hayward HS, Hayward James Logan HS, Union City Mt. Eden HS, Hayward Newark Memorial HS, Newark Ochoa MS, Hayward REALM Charter, Berkeley Tennyson HS, Hayward Winton MS, Hayward Antioch HS, Antioch Pittsburg HS, Pittsburg Ygnacio Valley HS, Concord Everett Alvarez HS, Salinas Andrew Hill HS, San Jose Roberto Cruz Leadership Academy, San Jose W. C. Overfelt HS, San Jose Pioneer HS, Woodland Woodland HS, Woodland Blair HS, Pasadena California HS, Whittier John Muir HS, Pasadena La Serna HS, Whittier Marshall Fundamental HS, Pasadena Pasadena HS, Pasadena San Fernando HS, San Fernando Whittier HS, Whittier Anaheim HS, Anaheim Estancia HS, Costa Mesa Katella HS, Anaheim Loara HS, Anaheim Magnolia HS, Anaheim Orangeview JHS, Anaheim Savanna HS, Anaheim Western HS, Anaheim Centennial HS, Corona Citrus Hill HS, Perris Corona HS, Corona Desert Mirage HS, Thermal Eleanor Roosevelt HS, Corona Poly HS, Riverside Rancho Verde HS, Moreno Valley Arroyo Valley HS, San Bernardino

Awards
Innovations in American Government Award : Puente Project, Winner, State of California, 1998. Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Ford Foundation, Council for Excellence in Government.

“Example of Excelencia” Award 2009. Excelencia in Education.

Puente was one of six model programs nationwide to help guide policy makers to improve college access and success by Pathways to College Network in 2004.

National Hispanic Employees Association (NHEA) Workforce Leadership Award from the National Hispanic Mentor Association, 2007.

Patricia McGrath and Felix Galaviz, co-founders and co-directors of Puente, were among seven Distinguished Partners in Learning honored as important contributors to the profession in an award ceremony sponsored by Scholastic and the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), November, 2003

In addition, Puente has received over 20 awards from state, county, and local organizations and educational institutions in California.