Compact program honored

When biology sophomore Diana Barreto started at San Diego State last year, she became a first-generation college student and one of the first Compact for Success scholars. Compact for Success helped guide Barreto and many other students from the Sweetwater Union High School District on a college-bound path and now the program has received national recognition as one of the three 2007 Example of Excellence awardees. The awards were given by ¡Excelencia! in Education, a national education non-profit organization, at the annual symposium "What Works for Latino Students in Higher Education: Compendium of 2007 Examples of Excelencia" yesterday in Los Angeles. The distinction is given to three higher-education programs each year as a way of identifying and promoting programs and departments that have supported and contributed to the achievement of Latino students in higher education. Of the college-age population in California, more than one-quarter is Latino, but nationally less than 12 percent of Latinos over 25 hold bachelor degrees, according to ¡Excelencia! in Education. SDSU received other distinctions for its diversity in recent months. In May, SDSU was ranked eight in the nation and fourth in California for awarding the most bachelor's degrees to Hispanics, according to a ranking published in The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education. The Compact for Success is a partnership between SDSU and Sweetwater Union High School District - where Latinos make up 78 percent of the student body - in South County. Through the compact, all students who enter the district in ninth grade and complete program requirements are guaranteed admission to SDSU. The first class of 628 Sweetwater graduates enrolled at SDSU last fall, which was a 104 percent increase compared to the number of Sweetwater graduates who enrolled as freshman six years before when work in the district began. The largest freshman class in SDSU's history enrolled this fall and 695 of the 5,480 freshmen were Sweetwater graduates. Barreto, who had been with the Compact for Success program since seventh grade, said the program informed and helped her get involved with the idea of going to college and go through with it. It even helped Baretto's parents. "They had workshops (for parents) and my parents they didn't have college in mind for me," Baretto said. "But they realized that it's a reality. My mom wants to go back to school now." Baretto said her experience at SDSU has been everything she could have expected from college and more. "Having the Compact Scholars there for you is just an extra support group for when times get tough," Barreto said, "or even just furthering your college experience." The Compact for Success program should continue through the class of 2013.

Comments

Be the first to comment on this article!

Add comment


I am not posting spam. I understand posting spam or other comments that are unrelated to this article will cause my comment to be flagged for deletion and possibly cause my IP address to be permanently banned from this server.

Verify you are human:

Enter the characters in the image above: