The Los Angeles Hispanic Youth Institute is targeting 100 high school seniors in an effort to improve college matriculation rates for underserved students. Additional programming has served an additional 1,500 youths since August, according to a news release.
Hispanic College Fund (HCF) staffers have provided individualized academic counseling to approximately 100 students from Belmont, Roosevelt, and Santee high schools in downtown Los Angeles, as well as workshops on essay writing and college preparation.
The effort is part of the Los Angeles Hispanic Youth Institute, a program to improve the graduation and college-going rates of low-income students in underserved public high schools with predominantly Hispanic populations.
"It's overwhelming to see how much support these students need," said Jason Acosta, director of the Los Angeles Hispanic Youth Institute. "Some of our students are just beginning to understand the significance of their GPAs, and that a 'D' is not going to count towards their Cal State or UC applications, even though it will allow them to graduate from high school."
As part of the ongoing commitment to build relationships with the students and schools, the HCF staff has established a weekly presence in the offices of college counseling centers. The schools have requested assistance in delivering additional programming, including college and career fairs, workshops on college readiness, career exploration and financial literacy.
Following the summer kick-off, all students will be enrolled in year-round programming through the Hispanic Youth Institute, a program of the Hispanic College Fund.
"We expect to reach more than 4,000 students and parents with programming this year," Acosta said.
Community partners and sponsors of the 2011 Los Angeles Hispanic Youth Institute include The Partnership for Los Angeles Schools, UCLA, Google, Darden Restaurants Foundation, National Nuclear Security Administration and the Social Security Administration.
