Media Advisory: Chancellor to visit Hayward, Tennyson high schools on Oct. 16 to promote college access

ATTENTION: Reporters covering education, local news

NOTE: Excellent visuals for TV crews

WHAT: University of California, Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas Dirks and top campus administrators will visit Hayward High School and Tennyson High School in the Hayward Unified School District (HUSD) to promote college readiness, inspire potential UC students and offer teens practical tools for college success.

The visit is part of Achieve UC, a series of coordinated stops this fall by senior University of California leaders to select state high schools. The program will reach 30,000 high school students in low-income communities where college attendance rates are lower than average. Achieve UC visits are being organized across the state by the UC Office of the President.

WHEN: Thursday, Oct. 16, from 8 to 10:30 a.m. (Hayward High School) and 10:45 a.m. to noon. (Tennyson High School)

WHERE: Hayward High School, 1633 East Ave., Hayward, CA 94541 (8–10:30 a.m.)

Tennyson High School, 27035 Whitman St, Hayward, CA 94544 (10:45 a.m.–noon)

DETAILS: Chancellor Dirks and other top UC Berkeley administrators will join leaders from the Hayward and Tennyson high schools, the school board and the HUSD school district in an effort to improve college awareness, readiness and access among students at the schools.

The program at Hayward High will include:

• 8-8:45 a.m. — A breakfast reception with remarks by Hayward High School Principal David Seymour, HUSD Superintendent Stan Dobbs, UC Berkeley Chancellor Dirks and student speakers.
• 8:50-9:35 a.m. — Classroom visits
• 9:40-10:25 a.m. — Dirks will address 200 students who are members of the PUENTE, AVID and Advanced Placement achievement programs at the school. The program also will include a review of the college admissions process by UC Berkeley Admissions Director Amy Jarich, and an overview of financial-aid opportunities from UC Berkeley Associate Director of Financial Aid Silvia Marquez.

The program at Tennyson High will include:

• 10:45-11:10 a.m. — Reception with remarks from Tennyson High School Principal Lori Villanueva, Superintendent Dobbs, Chancellor Dirks and student speakers.
• 11:15-12:00 p.m. — Dirks will address juniors and seniors involved in PUENTE, EAOP and DCAC, the college-access and advising programs at Tennyson. UC Berkeley Admissions Director Jarich and Associate Director of Financial Aid Marquez will also speak.

BACKGROUND: UC Berkeley, through its Center for Educational Partnerships, has been in partnership with HUSD since the 1980s. The Early Academic Outreach Program (EAOP) was one of the earliest efforts to motivate and educate students and families in accessing higher education. EAOP has been at Tennyson and Mt. Eden high schools since the program began.

Beginning in the 1990s and in response to the passage of Proposition 209 in 1996, the university strengthened its ties with school districts to increase the numbers of students traditionally underrepresented in higher education who are eligible to apply for four-year colleges and universities.

With funding from the California Legislature, the PUENTE Project’s statewide high school program was begun in 1993 and was implemented in all three comprehensive Hayward high schools in 1995.

The on-site contact on the day of the event will be Gail Kaufman, deputy director of UC Berkeley’s Center for Educational Partnerships. Contact her at (510) 681-7962 or [email protected].