5.  Outreach programs are more effective when they are well-integrated with K-12 schools, instead of operating at the margins.
As outreach programs have added components focusing on academic enrichment and support, many programs have also become much more collaborative with K-12.  The quality or strength of intersegmental collaboration in all of these programs appears to be a factor in their success.  Programs which operate only at the margins of a K-12 school may effect some change in individual students but are unlikely to contribute to overall increases in college preparedness of students at that school.  On the other hand,  student-centered programs can have positive effects, school-wide, if the K-12 leadership and faculty have a sense of ownership.

The evaluation of ACCESS, a program with both student-centered and school-centered strategies, demonstrates how dramatic improvements in student performance can occur when a program really becomes involved in the life of a school.

One study of the College Readiness Program found that the programs which obtained the best student outcomes were those that were most integrated into the overall instructional program of the host middle schools. Those CRP programs which had the greatest proportion of CRP students recommended for college-preparatory classes in the ninth grade were distinguishable from the least effective CRP programs on the following characteristics: 1) school leadership and commitment to the program; 2) strong and consistent involvement from the school staff; 3) supplementing of the schools instructional program by the project; and, 4) parental involvement in the educational lives of their children.

6.  Some components of student-centered programs seem effective and especially feasible for higher education institutions to provide.
We have noted previously that there has been no systematic evaluation of the components of student-centered programs.  Since there are persuasive arguments supporting comprehensive approaches to preparing disadvantaged students for college, we do not recommend that the University select single activities or program components as the basis for future outreach programs.  Nevertheless, in the context of a comprehensive overall approach in which there would be a well-coordinated division of responsibility among the higher education segments and K-12, there are certain student-centered services that appear to be effective and especially feasible for higher education institutions to provide.  These include the following:

a) Early information about preparing for college.  It is crucial that students and their parents receive early information about what it takes to be prepared for college, including course requirements, the role of admissions tests, and financial aid opportunities. The information about college requirements and the admissions process provided by outreach programs often fills a gap for students and parents who otherwise might be unaware of college requirements and financial aid opportunities until it is too late.

The middle grade years are an especially critical time to ensure that students and parents understand the importance of beginning college-preparatory classes by the ninth grade.  A current project of the Intersegmental Coordinating Committee (ICC) of the Education Round Table seems especially well-designed to address this need.  A comprehensive set of multi-media materials have been developed to inform students and parents about college opportunities and requirements.  This project goes beyond informational leaflets and makes the message come alive in a video, a handbook, and a packet for middle schools containing how-to materials such as suggestions on how to organize college awareness days. 

b) Family involvement.  In addition to early information about college opportunities, there are other key aspects of family involvement that can be effectively addressed in outreach programs.  We note that the 1996 CPEC report includes a recommendation to increase activities that enhance family involvement in students educational progress. 

We were especially impressed by the activities in some programs to encourage parents to support their child in completing the college-preparatory sequence.  In AVID, for example, parents of ninth grade students sign a "contract" promising to keep their student in AVID and in the college track program throughout high school.

Many outreach programs provide evening and weekend events for parents to recognize academic achievement and to become familiar with a campus environment.  Such activities supplement the student-support activities of outreach programs by bringing academic pursuits and university life closer to the personal experience of parents who may not have attended college themselves.

The evaluation of the High School Puente Project suggests that there is a need for sustained efforts to give parents the skills needed to support their children in preparing for college.  Patricia Gandara (personal communication) states that .in spite of high attendance at parent workshops, parents appear to have internalized very few of the lessons presented and remain uncertain of how to help their children achieve their academic goals. Gandara further states that the evaluators are recommending that Puente shift its parent- involvement strategy away from workshops and in the direction of involving parents in conversations with each other and with others from the communities who have experienced successful educational outcomes for their children. 

c) Academic counseling.  It is crucial for students to begin a college-preparatory sequence by the ninth grade and to complete that sequence.  All of the student-centered programs report that they currently provide some form of academic counseling.  To be most effective, such counseling should be part of an ongoing relationship between the student and a knowledgeable and caring adult.  In other words, academic counseling consists of much more than informing and encouraging students to take college-preparatory courses at one point in time.  A good academic counselor should also monitor the student's performance, provide support and assistance when needed, and have periodic meetings with the student to discuss progress and postsecondary opportunities.

One very unfortunate trend in California public schools has been the enormous reduction in the number of school counselors.  Due to budget reductions in K-12 over the past 10-15 years, many counselors have been sent back to the classroom.  It is not unusual now for high school counselors to have caseloads of 500 or more students.  Notwithstanding some recent increases in funding for K-12, it is unlikely that this trend will reverse dramatically.

Since there is such an acute need for academic counseling to help more disadvantaged students prepare for college, this may be an area where higher education institutions can make a key contribution.  Campus staff could help organize and provide academic and college counseling services for secondary schools within their regions.  All of the student-centered programs already provide such service to some extent.  For example, Cal-SOAP consortia supplement the counseling function in local schools.  As another example, K-12 students in the vicinity of UC Santa Cruz can communicate with EAOP staff through the Internet.  However, our impression is that there is currently no overall design for coordinating such services across programs within a geographic or campus service region.

There is also a potential role for business in helping to support counseling services. The College Horizons Program coordinated by the Sacramento County Office of Education is an example of a non-profit organization providing college counseling on a regional basis. 

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