Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
What Is Central Valley Promise? 1,600 Students Find Out.
By admin
Published 6 years ago on
December 17, 2018

Share

When Matthew Rodrigues grows up, he wants to attend college to become a nurse or a doctor.
“I think going to college is very important in life,” said Rodrigues, a sixth-grade student at Jefferson Elementary School in Dinuba.
Friday morning, Rodrigues and 1,600 other sixth-graders got a taste of what it will take to achieve their career goals at Reedley College’s second annual Central Valley Promise event.

Tour of Reedley College Campus

To promote the mindset of going to college among students, teachers from Kings Canyon, Cutler-Orosi, and Dinuba Unified school districts took them on a tour of Reedley College.
Rodrigues said the tour was very helpful.
“Now I know what to expect when I go to college,” he said. “I know what I will have to do.”


“We are really trying to create a college-going culture.” — Donna Berry, president of Reedley College
Getting college on the brain is the main goal of the event, said Donna Berry, the president of Reedley College.
“We are really trying to create a college-going culture,” Berry said. “It really begins when you are in the sixth grade to start thinking about college.”
Getting students excited about college is critical as the state is projected to fall about 1.1 million college graduates short of economic demand if current trends persist, according to a report by the Public Policy Institute of California.
Vincent Vargas said he is definitely thinking about college. In fact, he already knows his major — zoology.
“I want to be a zoologist so I want to study something about animals,” Vargas said.
Lena Gutierrez said she wants to become a teacher.
Promoting college awareness is the main goal of Reedley College’s 2nd annual Central Valley Promise event.
“I decided to participate in the tour because I want to see how college is and what it looks like inside the classrooms,” Gutierrez said.

Getting Students Interested In College

Gutierrez’s teacher, Brad Johnson, said he hopes touring the Reedley campus will get his students interested in going to college.
“It is a great opportunity for our students to get exposure to higher education,” Johnson said. “I think the earlier they get exposure, the more attainable it is.”
Lisa Waide hopes the tour will give her students a better idea of the available educational opportunities.
“Some of our kids don’t have the means to go to college so I hope they come away with a hope that they can do something,” Waide said.

Central Valley Promise

The other goal of the event is to get students familiar with Central Valley Promise, a community effort to guarantee a path to college for students in the region.
The Central Valley is joining 150 cities across the country offering College Promise programs, which aim to increase college readiness, affordability, and success.


“As students know more about what Reedley College offers and the opportunities that they have, I am hoping that we will get a lot more enrollments.” — Kurt Piland, director of college relations and outreach at Reedley College
The CVP ensures students free tuition for their first semester of community college and priority registration, said Kurt Piland, the director of college relations and outreach at Reedley College.
Piland said CVP restricts its funding to colleges within the State Center Community College District.
To qualify, students must graduate from high school with at least a 2.7 GPA.
To stay in the program while in college, students must enroll in 15 units per semester and maintain a 2.5 GPA or above.
Piland said he has 100 students in the first cohort, and expects more in the years to come.
“The numbers are definitely growing,” Piland said. “As students know more about what Reedley College offers and the opportunities that they have, I am hoping that we will get a lot more enrollments.”

DON'T MISS

Live Horse Racing Out for 2025 Big Fresno Fair

DON'T MISS

Fresno Councilmembers Want to End Sending of Homeless People to City

DON'T MISS

Fresno Agencies Scramble for Clarity on Trump’s Ordered End to Federal Aid

DON'T MISS

Trump Offers All Federal Workers a Buyout With 7 Months’ Pay

DON'T MISS

California Shoots Down Trump’s Claim That US Military ‘Turned on the Water’

DON'T MISS

Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks Trump Administration Freeze on Federal Grants and Loans

DON'T MISS

Will You Boycott Super Bowl Because of Alleged Referee Favoritism for Chiefs?

DON'T MISS

Warriors to Retire Andre Iguodala’s No. 9 Jersey

DON'T MISS

Israel’s Prime Minister Says Trump Has Invited Him to the White House on Feb. 4

DON'T MISS

Trump Administration Halts HIV Drug Distribution in Poor Countries

UP NEXT

Fresno Councilmembers Want to End Sending of Homeless People to City

UP NEXT

Fresno Agencies Scramble for Clarity on Trump’s Ordered End to Federal Aid

UP NEXT

Trump Offers All Federal Workers a Buyout With 7 Months’ Pay

UP NEXT

California Shoots Down Trump’s Claim That US Military ‘Turned on the Water’

UP NEXT

Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks Trump Administration Freeze on Federal Grants and Loans

UP NEXT

Will You Boycott Super Bowl Because of Alleged Referee Favoritism for Chiefs?

UP NEXT

Warriors to Retire Andre Iguodala’s No. 9 Jersey

UP NEXT

Israel’s Prime Minister Says Trump Has Invited Him to the White House on Feb. 4

UP NEXT

Trump Administration Halts HIV Drug Distribution in Poor Countries

UP NEXT

‘Doomsday Clock’ Moves Closer to Midnight Amid Global Threats

Trump Offers All Federal Workers a Buyout With 7 Months’ Pay

7 hours ago

California Shoots Down Trump’s Claim That US Military ‘Turned on the Water’

7 hours ago

Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks Trump Administration Freeze on Federal Grants and Loans

8 hours ago

Will You Boycott Super Bowl Because of Alleged Referee Favoritism for Chiefs?

10 hours ago

Warriors to Retire Andre Iguodala’s No. 9 Jersey

10 hours ago

Israel’s Prime Minister Says Trump Has Invited Him to the White House on Feb. 4

10 hours ago

Trump Administration Halts HIV Drug Distribution in Poor Countries

10 hours ago

‘Doomsday Clock’ Moves Closer to Midnight Amid Global Threats

11 hours ago

Trump Wants to Break California’s Sanctuary State Law: 5 Things to Know

11 hours ago

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Steadies After Nvidia, Tech Sell-Off

11 hours ago

Live Horse Racing Out for 2025 Big Fresno Fair

Horse racing, at least for now, isn’t in the Big Fresno Fair’s future. The California Association of Racing Fairs voted not to r...

4 hours ago

4 hours ago

Live Horse Racing Out for 2025 Big Fresno Fair

5 hours ago

Fresno Councilmembers Want to End Sending of Homeless People to City

6 hours ago

Fresno Agencies Scramble for Clarity on Trump’s Ordered End to Federal Aid

President Donald Trump greets a Marine Corps honor guard as he disembarks Marine One upon arrival on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
7 hours ago

Trump Offers All Federal Workers a Buyout With 7 Months’ Pay

California water system
7 hours ago

California Shoots Down Trump’s Claim That US Military ‘Turned on the Water’

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One en route from Miami to Joint Base Andrews, Md., Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP/Mark Schiefelbein)
8 hours ago

Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks Trump Administration Freeze on Federal Grants and Loans

10 hours ago

Will You Boycott Super Bowl Because of Alleged Referee Favoritism for Chiefs?

10 hours ago

Warriors to Retire Andre Iguodala’s No. 9 Jersey

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend