Greetings!
We enter Spring celebrating the recent news that almost half of California’s eligible population has received a vaccine to protect against Covid-19. We are cautiously optimistic and hopeful that students will be able to return to class and that we will be able to hug our loved ones. We also celebrate the appointment of former California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the first Latino to hold this position. Watching our homegrown leaders who actively supported the work of the Campaign for College Opportunity over the years, including Secretary Becerra, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Senator Alex Padilla, move into national leadership roles makes us enormously proud.
As we celebrate good news, we are also disheartened by the more insidious and active virus of racism and racial injustice across our nation. This is especially true as we watch the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin for killing George Floyd, the protests near Minneapolis for the death of Daunte Wright at the hands of the police, the brutal murder of Asian Americans in Atlanta, and the senseless attacks against members of our Asian American community in our own state.
Our anti-racist and racial equity-focused work must continue and must be inclusive of Asian Americans. Specifically, the Campaign for College Opportunity will continue to call for racial justice in higher education for Asian American students, which includes advocating for data disaggregated by race/ethnicity and dispelling the model minority myth that hinders many Asian students from receiving the targeted support they need to succeed and often is used to pit minoritized communities against each other. Later this year, we will be releasing our updated State of Higher Education for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Californians report, which will include both policy and campus-level recommendations to better serve all Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander students. In the meantime, you can click here, here, and here to find resources to combat anti-Asian racism. I encourage you to review these resources.
In the midst of this challenging time, we've been able to find light in our growing Campaign family. Three of our team members had children in 2020 and are now watching their babies take their first steps, celebrating their first birthdays, and experiencing many special milestones. Seeing the new Campaign babies on their mothers’ laps during our Zoom meetings gives me hope and purpose in fighting for a more just California so all children can reach their dreams.
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Michele Siqueiros
President
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Recovery with Equity: A Roadmap for Higher
Education After the Pandemic
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President Michele Siqueiros was selected by Governor Gavin Newsom to serve on the California Higher Education Recovery with Equity Taskforce, a taskforce with the goal to ensure that California makes a recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic that courageously addresses inequities embedded in higher education. When California redesigns higher education with equity at its core, California will thrive. The taskforce identified four principles that will guide our state to recovery while prioritizing the needs of our most vulnerable populations.
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Fostering Inclusive Institutions: Institutional cultures and approaches to teaching and learning that work for all learners, particularly Black, Latinx, Indigenous, Asian Pacific Islander, and adult learners.
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Streamlining Pathways to Degrees: An integrated statewide system for admission and transfer to provide clear, easy-to-navigate pathways to degrees.
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Facilitating Student Transitions: High-touch, high-tech guidance and improved academic preparation for college access and success.
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Simplifying Supports for Student Stability: Resources and structures packaged and simplified to help students meet basic, digital, and financial aid needs.
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California’s Biggest Return on Investment: Raising college attainment to 60 percent for all by 2030 will generate $133 billion in additional federal and state revenue |
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California stands to gain $133 billion in additional state and federal revenue and residents will gain $435 billion in additional income by 2030 by increasing college degree production and closing racial equity gaps, according to the findings of our latest publication California’s Biggest Return on Investment. To reap billions in state and federal revenues, California must ensure 60 percent of Black; Latinx; Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander; and white residents hold a degree or high-value credential by 2030.
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State of Higher Education for Black Californians
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Our State of Higher Education for Black Californians report provides comprehensive data on the current state of college preparation, access, and success for Black residents and concrete steps to ensure a system of higher education in which Black students matter and racial equity is realized. Coupled with the release of the report, we hosted a webinar that brought together state experts to address some of the greatest education barriers that Black students in California face and shared recommendations to ensure the success of Black students.
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The Possibility Report: From Prison to
College Degrees in California
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Earlier this year, we released The Possibility Report, authored by our former Program Analyst Danny Murillo, which centers formerly incarcerated students and the challenges they face transitioning from incarceration to a college campus. Ensuring college opportunity for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated students is part of our state’s obligation to racial justice. We encourage you to read the brief and take action using the recommendations for college leaders and policymakers. With the report release, we joined a webinar hosted by the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office to discuss the findings and heard from currently and formerly incarcerated students.
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IN THE STATE CAPITOL
New Legislation Aims to Transform Transfer
Assembly Bill 928 (Berman), also called the Student Transfer Achievement Reform (STAR) Act of 2021, is a critical piece of legislation that strengthens the Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT), a landmark pathway that has promoted transfer access and success for over a decade at the California Community Colleges. Transfer is key to producing the workforce we need in California, particularly at this moment of financial uncertainty. Since the inception of the ADT, community colleges have conferred over 280,000 ADT degrees. Although the state has made significant progress in transfer, persistent barriers remain in implementation of and access to the ADT. By faithfully implementing the Associate Degree for Transfer through AB 928, California will support thousands more students to achieve their college dreams.
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Redesigning Cal Grant
Assembly Bill 1456 (Medina and McCarty) seeks to address longstanding structural inequities within the Cal Grant program that have harmed some of our state’s most vulnerable students by keeping far too many from accessing aid and providing insufficient support with non-tuition costs for those who do receive an award. The bill would increase access to Cal Grant awards for more students, including low-income, first-generation, returning students, and student parents.
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Inside Higher Ed
Ed Source
Diverse
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MEET OUR NEW TEAM MEMBERS
We are proud to introduce the 2020-2021 Cohort of our Steve Weiner and David Wolf Founder Fellowship Program. This year, we welcomed Tylar Campbell (Research Fellow), Josefina Flores Morales (Research Fellow), Alma Orozco (Research Fellow), and Laura Madera (Policy Fellow). Learn more about our fellows and the program here.
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Tylar Campbell
Research Fellow
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Josefina Flores Morales
Research Fellow
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Alma Orozco
Research Fellow
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Laura Madera
Policy Fellow
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2020 NEWBORNS!
Although last year brought tumultuous change, the Campaign was proud to welcome three new faces to our family. Meet our 2020 Campaign babies: Francisco, Giana, and Camila.
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Francisco and mother Raquel Gonzalez |
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Giana, child of Jackie Rodriguez |
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Camila, child of Sara Arce |
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THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS AND FUNDERS
We wish to thank our generous sponsors for their support of our events celebrating sixteen years of advancing racial equity in college opportunity.
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We are also grateful for renewed funding from our partners in philanthropy who stand with us in supporting college success for all California students.
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