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A $50,000 Wal-Mart Foundation SEMILLAS grant has been awarded to SUNY Fredonia from Excelencia in Education, a non-profit organization dedicated to raising the success rate of Latino students in higher education.
One of just 20 colleges and universities across the nation awarded funding under Excelencia in Education’s Growing What Works initiative, SUNY Fredonia will use its grant to launch LEAP2Success/ Éxito, an innovative three-stage program designed to demystify the pathway to a college education for Latino students, including those enrolled in the Dunkirk School District, and their families.
"To be selected as one of only 20 successful grant proposals out of over 200 applications across the nation is quite an honor," said Dr. David Herman, vice president for Student Affairs at SUNY Fredonia. Twelve of the 20 grants went to public universities.
Created by a team of administrators and staff at SUNY Fredonia together with off-campus partners, LEAP2Success/Éxito will expand outreach efforts to reach low-income, first generation Latino students and their families through a partnership with the Dunkirk School District and Dunkirk’s 21st Century grant program. Existing pre-collegiate programs, admission outreach and matriculated student programs will be enhanced to achieve program objectives. In addition to working with younger students, the program will offer encouragement to Latino students who are applying to college and their families, while enhancing support for Latino students already enrolled at SUNY Fredonia.
"We are eager to reach out to this population, which does have distinct needs, and we recognize that Latino student success in college means planting the idea of college going early, providing information to families as well as to the students about what they need to do to be successful in getting into college, and supporting them once they’re there," said Dr. Virginia Horvath, vice president for Academic Affairs at SUNY Fredonia.
Three stages, or leaps, comprise the LEAP2Success/Exito formula. The first, developing a concept of college going, is designed to help students transition from the thought that “no one in my family goes to college” to “that could be me, so what do I have to do academically so that a college path might be possible?” This shift can be achieved through interactions between middle-school students, along with their families, and the university campus, its students and faculty. An introduction of the processes leading to college enrollment is an integral part of the strategy.
The second leap calls for acting on the concept of going to college by applying targeted outreach to prospective college students and their families to reduce barriers through the use of bilingual pre-admission materials and bilingual events, such as an annual open house where translation is provided, for prospective college applicants and their families.
“Although students applying to Fredonia will be proficient in English,” Dr. Horvath explained, “English may not be the first language in some of these families.”
Making connections that result in college success, the third leap, enables Latino students to make social, intellectual, spiritual and emotional associations that are necessary for both short- and long-term success during the first year of study — a critical time for students from all backgrounds.
A graduate assistant, serving as a Latino outreach coordinator based in SUNY Fredonia’s Office of Multicultural Affairs, will direct various on- and off-campus activities that support the program’s goal.
There were 153 Latino students, representing 3 percent of SUNY Fredonia’s undergraduate population of 5,175, enrolled in the 2008 fall semester, the most recent year that figures were available. Approximately 25 to 30 percent of Dunkirk students are of Latino descent.
The SUNY Fredonia program was developed with input from 21st Century Program administrators at Dunkirk Schools and Rev. Carlos Llera, of the Assemblies of God of Western New York, representing the local Latino church community, along with support from the local Wal-Mart Supercenter, which will promote the program both internally and to the general community.
Wal-Mart store manager Brad Balentine said college brochures and general literature that explore higher education programs and opportunities will be placed in the store’s employee break room. A display, staffed by SUNY representatives, is also planned in the store to present information to customers.
“We’re excited to be able to work with the university to help our community,” said Balentine, now in his ninth year as manager of the Dunkirk store.
Excelencia in Education is the most recent example of the local Wal-Mart’s association with SUNY Fredonia. The store assisted students with a sustainability project for a SIFE (Students In Free Enterprise) competition and also supported the Fred Ruterbusch Memorial 5K Run.
“The grant application evaluators were impressed that our local Wal-Mart manager was involved with the proposal from the outset,” Dr. Herman said.
As members of the SUNY Fredonia grant development team, Drs. Horvath and Herman gained insight into successful Growing What Works programs established at other institutions during an Excelencia in Education honors gathering in Washington, D.C. The program included a keynote address by Dr. Martha Kanter, Under Secretary of the Department of Education. Another Obama Administration member explained how the program may tie into other administration plans that address academic success of all students, including the growing Latino population.
The two SUNY Fredonia administrators also made key contacts with public and private foundations that support various educational initiatives. The program was held Sept. 30 at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 8 percent of Latinos had earned an associate or undergraduate degree by the age of 24, compared to 14 percent of the general population at that age. The figure climbed to 19 percent for those 25 years or older, but it still trailed the general population. The U.S. Census Bureau projects that Latinos will comprise 22 percent of the nation’s college-age population by 2020.
The Wal-Mart Foundation is providing a total of $1.49 million to Growing What Works to fund four types of programs designed to increase the higher education success rate of Latinos. Money is distributed in the form of Wal-Mart SEMILLAS grants. The acronym SEMILLAS, which is Spanish for seeds, stands for Seeds for Educational Models that Impact and Leverage Latino Academic Success.
“We are hopeful that with the help from the SEMILLAS grants this impressive group of colleges will be able to build the foundation for successful programs that will serve as models for universities across the nation,” said Michelle Gilliard, senior director of Workforce Development and Education for the Wal-Mart Foundation.
