Governing Boards and students from Long Beach City College, California State University Long Beach and the Long Beach Unified School District witness CSULB President F. King Alexander, LBCC President Eloy Oakley and LBUSD Superintendent Chris Steinhauser sign the Long Beach College Promise March 20 at the Walter Pyramid.

THE PROMISE:

We promise the opportunity of a college education to every student in the Long Beach Unified School District.

BACKGROUND:

The Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD), Long Beach City College (LBCC), and California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) have created a partnership to make higher education an attainable goal for every student.

The Long Beach education community has a responsibility to prepare its young people for successful careers and productive lives. In the world of today, our regional economy is tied to the global economy. To prepare our young people for success, we must offer nothing less than a world-class education. Each student needs and deserves an opportunity for at least some higher education – and often a college degree. The future of Long Beach depends upon our effectiveness in developing a well-educated workforce to sustain and advance the economy of the city and surrounding region.

OUR GOALS:

To meet this challenge, The Long Beach Education Partnership commits to these goals over the next ten years:

• Provide world-class education from preschool to graduate school that prepares Long Beach students for successful engagement in the global knowledge economy;
• Increase the percentage of LBUSD students who are prepared for and attend college directly from high school;
• Increase the percentage of LBCC students who earn degrees and/or career and technical certificates;
• Increase the percentage of LBCC students who successfully transfer to CSULB or another four-year college or university; and
• Increase the percentage of CSULB students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree and/or advanced degrees.

OUR COMMITMENTS:

1. We promise to provide information, services and resources to help Long Beach students and their families prepare for college.

LBUSD promises that, starting in 6 th grade and continuing through the senior year of high school, students and families will be offered active assistance in:

• Learning about college opportunities and the value of a college education
• Visiting college campuses
• Learning about, taking and completing college preparatory courses
• Preparing for college
• Applying for college admission
• Learning about and applying for college financial aid opportunities
• Applying for college financial aid

1. We promise to help students successfully transition to and succeed in college and to provide opportunities in career and technical education.

LBCC promises that all students from LBUSD will be offered active assistance in:

• A tuition-free first semester of higher education at LBCC (by 2011)
• Learning about and applying for college financial aid
• Transitioning from high school and succeeding in college or career
• Vocational training, technical education, and certification in numerous fields
• Learning about opportunities for transfer to CSULB or another four-year university
• Completing requirements and applying for transfer to a four-year university

CSULB promises that all students from LBUSD or LBCC will be offered active assistance in:

• Applying for admission to CSULB
• Transitioning from high school or community college and succeeding at CSULB
• Meeting requirements for a bachelor’s degree
• Learning about and applying for college financial aid
• Preparing for careers and graduate school

1. We promise to provide the opportunity to earn a high-quality bachelor’s or advanced degree to all LBUSD and LBCC students who successfully prepare for college.

CSULB promises that

• All LBUSD students who successfully complete CSU minimum college preparatory requirements will be offered admission to CSULB and have an opportunity to earn a bachelor’s degree
• All LBCC students who successfully complete CSU minimum community college transfer requirements will be offered admission to CSULB and have an opportunity to earn a bachelor’s degree

1. We promise to work together to deliver these promises for the young people and families of the Long Beach area.

LBUSD, LBCC, and CSULB will work together on all of the activities that comprise the Long Beach College Promise. We will work together to support and encourage success for all students from preschool to graduate school. We will work together to provide, assess, improve and expand high quality, world-class educational opportunities in the Long Beach community.

To read the Press-Telegram's coverage of this event, please refer to the attached article.

 

 

 

 

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