Citrus Earns $4.2 Million Grant to Aid Hispanic, Low-Income Students

With a disproportionate amount of Hispanic and low-income students placed in basic skills courses in colleges, Citrus College is hoping a hefty $4.2 million grant will help change that.

The community college was one of 122 community colleges and universities from across the nation to receive the federal five-year Title V  Hispanic Serving Institution grant from the Department of Education.  Using funds from the grant, Citrus College will initiate its Race to STEM program, aimed to increase the number of Hispanic and other low-income students in attaining degrees or transferring to programs in science, technology, engineering or mathematics.

Under the program, the STEM Academy allows the college to track student academic progress.

“We want, if anything, to have the next generation of scientists and engineers come out of Citrus College, so we prepare them for transfer to go onto some of the best institutions,” said Citrus College President Dr. Geraldine Perri.

Some of the major features of the program include a support and tracking system with a focus on the college’s Hispanic community. This includes expanded math and science programs for middle and high school students, informational workshops and presentations in both English and Spanish to parents and an accessible degree audit system and online education plan for students.

“It’s a maze of requirements for students to transfer and this will be a great help,” said Program Director Sylvia Smythe.

On campus, students can also benefit from peer support and tutoring programs, expanded supplemental instruction, math labs and counseling.

Although he struggled in one of his chemistry classes, Citrus student Fonter Loera credits the STEM program for helping him improve his grades.

“I went from a D to an A and a B,” Loera said. “Now I’m tutoring the subject I used to struggle with.”

The program would also partner more closely with CSU and UC programs and increase student research opportunities in STEM.

With the grant, of which $870,000 will go toward for the first year, the college will hire more counselors and student aids for the program, although no new faculty will be hired.

The college, which roughly 50 percent of its students are Hispanic, was recently named one of the top 100 colleges in the US in terms of degrees awarded to Hispanic students.