Santa Barbara City College increasing Latino student success

There are plenty of achievements taking place in the education of Latinos in America.

Excelencia in Education, which boasts a mission to create a national platform promoting institutions of higher education of note, recently released its 2014 edition of “What Works for Latino Students in Higher Education Compendium.”

The report highlights the associate work of Santa Barbara City College and its Express to Success (ESP). The innovative program targets the success and completion rates for developmental math and English for Latino students who place one to two levels below college level courses.

SEE ALSO: Hispanics go to college, but do they actually graduate?

ESP Project Director Kathy Molloy told VOXXI the idea of the Title V-funded program is simply to target and embolden post-high school Latinos.

“The goal is to get them through their college level math and English so they can start taking their degree transfer classes,” Molloy said. “The other goal is to get them to a degree. With the grant, we’re trying to open up more articulation agreements with four-year schools and to continue to provide programs to get the students more focused and directed once they get out of the program.”

Basically, ESP students have one teacher for their classes in all of the math and English learning communities and take two classes together. Thus working collaboratively, they form study groups outside of class to support their learning.

Beginning in the Fall 2011, Santa Barbara City College offered 10 accelerated learning communities. This school year there are 41 with 1,200 currently enrolled. Furthermore, more than two-thirds of participants are Latino students showing impressive results.

• In the Spring 2013, Latino ESP students achieve higher success rates (79 percent) than non-ESP Latinos (58 percent) in comparable courses.
• Latino students are more likely to complete two levels of math or English in one semester of accelerated format at a rate of 48 percent (Spring 2013) than Latinos not enrolled in the program.
• Students enrolled in the program in 2013 were registering for the next semester at higher rates than students not enrolled: 83 percent versus 73 percent).
• In the Fall 2013 exit survey, 93 percent of math students reported their skills are now good or strong, while 97 percent of English students (many of which with ESL backgrounds), noted their skills are now good or strong.

ESP English Skills Professor Lou Spaventa is seeing positive results with the program.

“What are the odds they’ll stick with school?” Spaventa said. “I’d say much, much greater because they know they can succeed and they know hard work and motivation are the keys to unlock the doors of academia. And with that degree, they can do anything.”

Added ESP student Mark Mansfield, “I am 46 years old and made the decision to return to school after a 27-year absence. This decision was a frightening and difficult endeavor…The program provided me with a strong support system and a community of individuals all focused on the same goal. It was such a positive experience that it has set an exciting and confident can-do attitude for the work I have ahead of me in my pursuit of a degree.”

Looking ahead, Molloy said Santa Barbara City College continues to fine tune and tweak ESP while thinking grander. This involves opening up the program more favorably to part-time students and even offering nighttime classes to better accommodate those Latinos working full-time.

“We have limitations on classrooms and teachers, but it’s much more rewarding,” Molloy said. “We do have support from our administration and when grant ends we’ll continue to fund those counseling positions.”

As for the ESP program, which targets those adults still reeling from an education gap, it appears as though Santa Barbara City College is establishing a new baseline of sorts when it comes to needy students not only attending but completing college.

“I hope so,” Molloy said.

SEE ALSO: Excelencia in Education: Promoting Hispanic excellence in school