SCHOOL MATTERS: Will Community Colleges Save California?

OAKLAND -- Nearly every week, mainstream media outlets spotlight a new study that highlights huge disparities in educational attainment between youth and young adults in low-income neighborhoods and their more successful counterparts in more affluent communities. These stories confirm the public’s belief that some students are not capable of high academic achievement and create a sense of hopelessness among families and community leaders in neighborhoods with under-performing schools.

Meanwhile, little or no attention is focused on the young women and men who, against all odds, are succeeding in their efforts to attain a degree in one of California’s colleges or universities. Stories of Latinos and African Americans who graduate each year with bachelor’s degrees do not typically lead nightly news programs. We don’t get to learn about Noemi Soto’s educational journey--from being denied access to California State Univ. Los Angeles because of her undocumented immigrant status, to her decision to attend L.A. Trade Tech College to earn an Associate Degree in Community Planning and Economic Development, to the support she received to transfer to Occidental College where she completed a bachelor’s degree in political science. Today, Noemi is the associate director of a community-based organization that is dedicated to improving economic development opportunities in South Central Los Angeles.

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