Foster Youths Can REACH for College

August 14, 2019 - 02:55 PM

Mt. SAC exists to lift people up and help them achieve their goals and, maybe, what they did not think was possible. For current and former foster youth, they face such educational, financial and emotional barriers, that a higher education may very well seem like an impossible dream. This is why Mt. SAC created the REACH Program.

REACH (Reaching, Empowering, Achieving & Completing with Heart) held its Student Orientation this week to welcome new students and welcome back returning students. Each student met their Success Coach, as REACH centers around a mentorship program. Each student is assigned a coach, who does an assessment and builds a plan to make sure they succeed in college and after.

“It is critical for these students to hit the ground running,” explained Jeze Lopez, Program Coordinator for REACH. The student orientation begins two weeks before classes start for this reason. “Each student has a different background, and we have to make sure the ups and downs of their life are out of the way so they can focus on starting and attending classes.”   

REACH students are offered free printing, field trips, workshops, book and equipment loans, a study area, snacks, a computer lab and a place to hang out and meet other students who may have the same type of struggles as they do.   

Started in 2015, data shows REACH students having higher attendance levels, grades and better retention rate than foster youth not electing to go into the program. The program is growing as well, with a 78% jump in the number of returning students in 2019 than in 2018. Last academic year, the program serviced 250 students, with even more expected this year.  

REACH holds a foster youth conference each year in April and works with local school districts and the Department of Social Services to identify high school students who may want to attend Mt. SAC and join REACH.

Please visit https://www.mtsac.edu/reach/ for more information.