Summer 2006
California state assemblymembers Karen Bass and Jackie Goldberg, UC Regent Eddie Island and nationally acclaimed artist Simon Silva were among the speakers at a recent statewide student leadership conference at the state capitol in Sacramento attended by over 40 MESA students.
The students, from MESA programs at Capitol Center, CSU Chico, UC Santa Cruz and the University of the Pacific, joined others from The Puente Project and the Early Academic Outreach Program (EAOP) in the two-day conference last May. Students learned how to effectively communicate with legislators, as well as acquired nuts-and-bolts information on the way state government works.
Students had an opportunity to practice their skills by visiting legislators to share how MESA, Puente and EAOP prepared them to go to college and advance toward successful careers.
Students also shared the results of a recent study that revealed 66 percent of graduates from EAOP, MESA and Puente attend two- or four-year colleges and universities right after high school, compared to the statewide average of 46 percent.
Sixty-one percent of EAOP, MESA and Puente students from among the state's lowest performing schools take the SAT, compared to 29 percent of non-participants at the same schools.
Most UC Student Academic Preparation and Educational Partnership programs spend less money per student than comparable federally funded programs. For instance, the average amount spent per student in state and UC funds for EAOP, MESA and Puente is $256, compared to $377 and $4,721 for comparable federal programs.
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