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College hosts kickoff meetings for innovative educational partnerships
San Jacinto College administrators Pam Campbell (left), and Dr. Catherine O’Brien coordinated the recent kickoff meetings of two important educational partnerships — Houston Pathways Initiative, and The K-16 Bridge.
San Jacinto College (SJC) recently hosted kickoff meetings for two innovative programs in which the College will partner with area colleges and secondary schools to better prepare students for college.
The two interrelated programs are Houston Pathways Initiative (HPI), and the K-16 Bridge. HPI is a partnership in which San Jacinto College will work with the University of Houston-Clear Lake, Houston Community College (HCC), Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, as well as the Pasadena, Deer Park and Galena Park Independent School Districts. The Bridge is a collaboration between SJC and all of the secondary schools in the San Jacinto College district — Channelview, Clear Creek, Deer Park, Galena Park, La Porte, Pasadena and Sheldon Independent School Districts.
“The two programs are tightly connected,” remarked Dr. Catherine O’Brien, who serves as San Jacinto College’s dean of teaching and learning, and is heading up coordination of the HPI program for the College. “Houston Pathways is going to create a ‘college-ready culture’ by working with faculty to better prepare students for college. The Bridge is going to create a ‘college-going culture’ to help students to understand that everyone needs to go to college.”
The $1.58 million HPI is funded by the Houston Endowment, Inc., and HCC is appointed as the fiscal agent. Through the initiative, educators will develop and share a database that tracks students’ academic progress across institutional levels, from pre-kindergarten through elementary, middle and high school, and on through college.
“The grant initiative will use data to make decisions about student success and will create aligned curricula so that students will be prepared for the next level and for postsecondary work once they leave high school,” O’Brien said.
Research indicates that most new jobs that will be available to students in the 21st century require some form of postsecondary education. The HPI grant will help coordinate college readiness and success plans with strategies for persistence and timely graduation included in the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s “Closing the Gaps” plan. The initiative will also enhance the existing work of Achieving the Dream, an initiative designed to increase academic success for at-risk students.
The Houston Pathways Initiative is based on the successful Cal-PASS program currently in use in the state of California. Cal-PASS links primary, secondary and postsecondary institutions on a regional basis in order to track students from one segment to the next. The program engages faculty across segments in instructional conversation to ensure students are prepared to advance to the next level.
“We are making progress in the area of improving high school graduation rates and preparing students for college,” commented Dr. Laurel Williamson, SJC vice chancellor of instructional programs and services. “However, we know we are missing it in some areas, and there are still some gaps. These partnerships are designed to help close some of those gaps. We’ve really pushed to get students to college, now we need to put more effort into creating a college-ready culture.”
The K-16 Bridge (“Building a Bridge to Postsecondary Education”) is an award-winning program that stresses the importance of college attendance once students complete their secondary education. Research indicates that Texas trails most other states in preparing and sending students on to post-secondary education, and the Bridge program is designed to address the problem. Studies show that several California school districts that have implemented the Bridge program have reduced high school dropout rates, have increased the number of seniors enrolling in college, and have reduced the amount of remediation needed by incoming freshmen.
“We have a vision of a high school graduation ceremony that recognizes every graduating senior as being bound for a post-secondary experience – military service, technical training, or a two-year or four-year college experience,” commented Pam Campbell, coordinator of the K-16 Bridge Program and director of dual enrollment at San Jacinto College South. “This is a community and a family issue, not just a school issue. We think San Jac is the arena in which these students can continue to grow. We also believe that HPI and the Bridge will empower them with knowledge and experiences geared toward being successful in their chosen post-secondary path.”
San Jacinto College serves more than 27,000 students in over 140 degrees and certificates in university transfer and technical programs. The College also serves the community through workforce training. Students come to San Jacinto College with various goals and aspirations and we are committed to their success. San Jacinto College. Your Goals. Your College.
For more information about San Jacinto College, please call 281-998-6150 or visit www.sanjac.edu.
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