HRD-9453903 Cal State University Los Angeles, CA Cobb, Jewel "Southern California Science and Engineering Access Center & Network" The ACCESS Center has made significant progress since 1989 in addressing the under-representation of minority students in the Science, Engineering, Mathematics (SEM) Pipeline in the Greater Los Angeles Basin. To that end, ACCESS has provided programs that are coordinated, providing continuity and smooth passage through the pipeline using strategies centered on teacher enhancement and direct student intervention. This 6th year Continuation Grant, continues the work of the ACCESS Center and especially examines the programs and practices of the past five years to identify those that were successful for future replication. The major thrust of ACCESS during this 6th year will be to engage in a three pronged approach that includes reflective evaluation, direct student intervention and teacher enhancement. ACCESS has identified two primary goals: 1) To determine what works by evaluating a sample of ACCESS sponsored programs; 2) To strengthen programs at existing sites by focusing resources on our most successful programs. To accomplish this first goal, ACCESS will convene an outside evaluation committee that will be responsible for providing a "snap-shot" of model programs as they have evolved over time. In addition to general demographic data, questions relating to direct student intervention and teacher enhancement will be included. MOS data, school records, test scores, interviews and other sources will be utilized in the evaluation plan that will be developed by the implementation evaluation team. Direct student intervention will continue with the College Prep program. ACCESS will be working with three spin-off site replicated from the Lincoln High School model program in years 4 and 5. This program targets students entering high school who are under-represented minorities and are "B" or "C" students. This program is a classroom based direct intervention program that focuses on rigorous academic work with tutoring support, enrichment activities, and parental involvement. The third major activity will be to continue our Teacher Enhancement programs in math and science for middle school teachers. Teacher enhancement directly supports our direct student intervention efforts. Included in our Teacher Enhancement program is the Robert Moses Algebra Project, that is evolving as a national model for systemic reform as evidenced by the Chicago and Mississippi Delta Projects. Participating teachers will receive training with specific curriculum along with follow-up support during classroom implementation. Additionally, middle school teachers will receive training in hands-on science through our joint venture with CalTech called the Teacher Summer Science Academy which will be funded from external sources. During Year 6, there will be increased interaction with the Long Beach Unified School District, which has shown a high level of interest in the Algebra Project as part of their systemic reform efforts. Additionally, ACCESS will be working with the Inglewood School District and collaborating with the Urban Systemic Initiative (USI) if funded in Los Angeles. ***
