PROGRAM OFFERS A JUMP-START ON COLLEGE; POLY HIGH STUDENTS EARNING FRESHMAN CREDITS.Byline: Sherry Joe Crosby Staff Writer Jessica Santin hasn't graduated from high school yet but already has completed her freshman year of college. The Sun Valley teen-ager is one of nearly 65 juniors and seniors from Polytechnic High School's mathematics, science and technology magnet who are taking classes at Valley College. Called Early Start, the program allows students to simultaneously earn high school and college credit while taking courses at the Van Nuys college. ``We can get a head start,'' said Santin, 17, an A student who juggles honors physics and Advanced Placement calculus calculus, branch of mathematics that studies continuously changing quantities. The calculus is characterized by the use of infinite processes, involving passage to a limit—the notion of tending toward, or approaching, an ultimate value. at Poly with honors courses in political science and statistics at Valley College. The tuition-free program aims to boost minority student enrollment at UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX and other California universities while reducing the number of college freshmen who need remedial math and English courses. While minorities are encouraged to participate, it is open to all Poly students. ``We need to do something to get our kids ready and competitive for college,'' said Patricia Flenner, Poly's magnet coordinator. Last year, 1,851 of 2,303 incoming freshmen at California State University, Northridge CSUN offers a variety of programs leading to bachelor's degrees in 61 fields and master's degrees in 42 fields. The university has over 150,000 alumni. It's also home to a summer musical theater/theater program known as TADW (TeenAge Drama Workshop) that leads teenagers through an , needed remedial math and English courses, she said. And of 4,000 entering freshmen accepted to UCLA last fall, only 154 came from the Los Angeles Unified School District The Los Angeles Unified School District (the "LAUSD") is the largest (in terms of number of students) public school system in California and the second-largest in the United States. Only the New York City Department of Education has a larger student population. , said Thomas Yacovone, director of Valley College's Transfer Alliance Program, which seeks to place community college graduates at four-year universities. Flenner is determined to prevent her students from falling through the cracks. ``I don't want them to be a statistic when they walk into their freshman year of college,'' she said. Poly is the most ambitious in the Los Angeles Unified School District, allowing students to take classes at Valley College and complete more than a year of college credit while in high school. At seven other San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. high schools, 455 students are taking college courses this semester - on their home campuses. But unlike Poly's program, those high school-based programs do not offer a wide enough array of courses to allow them to complete their first year of college. The schools participating in the program are Burbank and Burroughs high schools in Burbank, El Camino Real El Camino Real (Spanish for The Royal Road or The King's Highway) was the name of a series of pre-automobile highways linking the various New World colonies of Spain:
preparatory school School that prepares students for entrance to a higher school. In Europe, where secondary education has been selective, preparatory schools have been those that catered to pupils wishing to enter in Van Nuys, Monroe High in Sepulveda, North Hollywood High
In the Poly program, about 54 percent of Early Start students who take courses at Valley College are Latino and 44 percent are immigrants, Flenner said. Before students are accepted into the program, organizers recruit incoming ninth- and 10th-graders, many of whom need to strengthen their math and writing skills. This summer, more than 300 students took basic math and English courses at Valley College. ``Writing and math - those are the two biggies students need to succeed in college,'' said Yasmin Delahoussaye, vice president of Student Services and administrator of the Early Start program for Valley College. Early Start is open to juniors and seniors at Poly who have a 3.5 grade point average and who are able to pass entrance tests in math and English. All college courses, books and transportation are provided free by the Los Angeles Unified School District and Valley College. Under the program, students split their time between Poly High and Valley College, taking rigorous college courses such as art history, oceanography oceanography, study of the seas and oceans. The major divisions of oceanography include the geological study of the ocean floor (see plate tectonics) and features; physical oceanography, which is concerned with the physical attributes of the ocean water, such as and statistics in the early afternoon. By year's end, they are expected to complete 43 college credits - more than enough to qualify as college freshmen. ``All of them will be UC eligible by the time we're finished with them,'' Delahoussaye said. What's more, Early Start students are practically guaranteed admission to UCLA if they join Valley's honors transfer program. During the past five years, 98 percent of Valley's honors transfer students have been accepted at UCLA. ``Pat's students are going to be exceptionally well-prepared for UCLA. They won't flounder flounder: see flatfish. flounder Any of about 300 species of flatfishes (order Pleuronectiformes). When born, the flounder is bilaterally symmetrical, with an eye on each side, and it swims near the sea's surface. ,'' Delahoussaye said. In fact, the students are off to a great start. Last spring, about 45 percent of Early Start students had an overall cumulative grade-point average of 3.5 to 4.0. And 45 percent of them made the dean's list dean's list n. pl. deans' lists A list of students in a high school, college, or university who have attained high academic rank. at Valley College. ``That's astonishing a·ston·ish tr.v. as·ton·ished, as·ton·ish·ing, as·ton·ish·es To fill with sudden wonder or amazement. See Synonyms at surprise. ,'' Delahoussaye said. ``Only 10 percent of our population makes it to the dean's list.'' Students in the Early Start program said they relish the challenging course load. ``I can't imagine anything else. School is my life,'' said Nora Pulskamp, 17, who plans to attend UCLA and perhaps become a psychiatrist. ``By taking classes now, you can figure out where you want to go. It gives us more time to experiment.'' At times, students said they have had to sacrifice some pleasures to make room for their studies. ``I used to be involved in drama class. Now I don't have time to do that,'' said Katherine Delgado, 17, whose course load includes Advanced Placement statistics, physics and the Academic Decathlon decathlon (dĭkăth`lŏn), in modern Olympic games, a contest for men held over two days and composed of 10 track-and-field events. team. Students said they have no regrets. ``It's our choice,'' said Santin, who is on the dean's list at Valley College and spends four hours a night on homework. ``This campus, the bus and Poly is our life.'' PROGRAMS FOR HIGH SCHOOLERS Los Angeles Valley College LAVC redirects here. For the software library, see libavcodec. The university is adjacent to Grant High School. Often called "Valley College" or simply "Valley" by those who frequent the campus, it opened its doors to the public on September 12, 1949, at which time the campus was offers a number of special programs for high school students, including the Early Start Program, which: Is open to students in grades 9-12. Offers college classes on high school campuses. Allows students to earn college credit while satisfying high school requirements. Offers academic challenges and unique courses not available at high school. Is tuition-free. For information, contact Yasmin Delahoussaye, vice president of student services at Los Angeles Valley College, (818) 947-2691. Students in the Los Angeles Unified School District are allowed to attend community college courses with the permission of their parents and a school counselor A school counselor is a counselor and educator who works in schools, and have historically been referred to as "guidance counselors" or "educational counselors," although "Professional School Counselor" is now the preferred term. . Students are responsible for books, fees and transportation to the community college unless their high schools can cover part of those costs through grants or private donations. Under the Step-to-College Program, students at high schools with heavily minority populations can attend, tuition-free, California State University, Northridge; California State University, Los Angeles California State University, Los Angeles (also known as Cal State L.A., CSULA, or "'CSLA"') is a public university, part of the California State University system. ; and California State University, Dominguez Hills California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) is a campus of the California State University system. It is located in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California. . Students are responsible for books and transportation to the campuses. In the Valley, the following high schools participate in the program: Canoga Park, Cleveland, Grant, Kennedy, Monroe, North Hollywood, Polytechnic, Reseda, San Fernando San Fernando, city, Argentina San Fernando (săn fərnăn`dō), city (1991 pop. 144,761), Buenos Aires prov., E Argentina. It is a district administrative center in the Greater Buenos Aires area. , Sylmar and Van Nuys. For information on the programs, students should contact their high school college counselors. CAPTION(S): Photo, Box Photo: From left, students Zainab Noah, Jessica Santin, Katherine Delgado and Nora Pulskamp - all from Polytechnic High School's magnet program - made the part-time-students dean's list for their advanced classes at Valley College. David Sprague/Staff Photographer Box: PROGRAMS FOR HIGH SCHOOLERS (See text) |
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