ADVOCATES FOR VALLEY AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS
AVAAS.ORG
REPORTS
Algebra Policy in California
COLLEGE SIGNING DAY WITH FORMER FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA
Mrs. Obama will be joined by more than 9,000 California students to celebrate their pursuit of higher education. (AVAAS STUDENTS ATTENDING UCLA MAY 1 BELOW)
On Wednesday, May 1st, Reach Higher will host the 2019 College Signing Day with former First Lady Michelle Obama and the University of California (UC) on the UCLA campus. The event will be held at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion with over 9,000 students from across California. UC's eight other undergraduate campuses will hold simultaneous events. This is the fifth anniversary of the Reach Higher Initiative, which Mrs. Obama launched at a College Signing Day event in San Antonio, Texas in 2014.
College Signing Day celebrates high school seniors and transfer students choosing to pursue higher education at a professional training program, a community college, a four-year college or university, or the military, and continues Mrs. Obama's efforts to inspire young people to pursue their education past high school.
Livestream will be available with details forthcoming.
The University of California is proud to co-sponsor College Signing Day 2019, an event that reflects UC's commitment to ensuring that college is within reach for all students.
This is a summary of the May 2009 EdSource report, Algebra Policy in California: Great Expectations and Serious Challenges. The report focuses on California’s policies regarding mathematics, in particular, state standards for when students should take Algebra I. It also provides a comprehensive look at state data related to both student participation and performance. The full report is available at
www.edsource.org/
Disclaimer: California abandoned this policy by February 2013. A policy was implemented more in line with the Common Core curriculum. We now have the
California Mathematics Placement Act of 2015. It is believed that the new standard will let schools avoid offering rigorous courses for all and lead some schools to regress and limit placing black and Latino students in advanced math courses even when they’re prepared. This was further reported in
"Held Back: addressing Misplacement of 9th Grade Students in Bay Area School Math Classes". A recent
report indicates that African American students still have less access to math and science classes.
We all know, success in Algebra I is the single best predictor of college graduation. This is why AVAAS over the years has collaborated and provided algebra-prep courses, such as the
AVAAS Summer Algebra Institute. CSU continued the program partnering with faith-based organizations. AVAAS students received priority with our local organization.
College and Career Readiness
The principal goal of education is preparing students for college and careers. As teachers' main focus is on preparing students for college, teachers also indicate that programs that tie the high school curriculum to a specific career pathway as a resource is also welcomed.
Teachers say critical thinking key to college and career readiness opposed to scores on a standardized test, according to Edsource report.
It is important that students as early as Middle School start refining career exploration a match their interest and abilities. They need to understand how their skills and interest relate to career exploration, selection of courses and planning for postsecondary education. Students should also understand that college is a means to an end... a career (job).
AVAAS has in collaboration with community colleges, universities, community and faith-based organization, providing programs to assist students with college readiness like
Bruin Weekend, (SAT/ACT) test preparation and various enrichment opportunities.
AVAAS is exploring a career readiness program in collaboration with the insurance claims industry. We are looking at ways to increase the pool of recruits to include well informed and prepared African American students to an industry that is experiencing a talent shortage. (watch this space)
Posse
AVAAS NOMINATES STUDENTS TO POSSE FOUNDATION
$140,000 Scholarship Opportunity/Posse Foundation
for Rising 12th grade students. Through our collaborative efforts with Minority Educational Task Force, Lyle Jackson has nominated rising seniors to compete for an opportunity to be selected to receive a $140,000.00 scholarship, regardless of parental income to select top colleges outside of the Los Angeles area.
If interested in being nominated by AVAAS:
To be eligible a high school senior must be nominated by their high school or a community-based organization like AVAAS.
Ms. Jackson request that all students view the POSSE Foundation website at www.possefoundation.org and any of the specific college websites to see whether or not there is an interest in attending any of the aforementioned colleges/universities.
Posse Foundation first needs to receive the nomination from Ms. Jackson. Once the nomination is received you will need to contact them directly at 213-239-9590 to sign up for Posse Foundation Open House. If you have any questions about Posse Foundation, please visit their website atwww.possefoundation.org or call them directly at 213-239-9590. You may call Ms. Jackson directly if need to speak directly regarding a student, she can be reached at 818-448-0260.