Reimagine Schools, Reimagine Alumni

Gone are the days of reserving community college credit classes foran exclusive few in high school who have high grades and access to transportation. 

In 2015, Monterey Peninsula Unified School District asked each community to “reimagine” its schools, and in Marina, they decided to emphasize early college and career access. 

“We looked at what we had in our community,” Marina High School Principal Rebecca Tyson says. What they had was Monterey Peninsula College’s satellite campus, the MPC Education Center, less than a mile away from Marina High. The district opted to offer courses that were transferable to both UCs and CSUs, as well as general education requirements. 

This levelling of the playing field can be boosted by alumni participation. 73% of high school alumni attend college in-state and are locally accessible role models for today’s students. 33% say they’d return to their alma mater as college and career guides-- if asked. With an increased and unique subject course load, alumni can support students with time management, tutoring, and mentorship. 

Marina High launched the program in the 2017-18 school year and saw 83% of incoming freshman continue with the program after a trial, and 70% received a grade C or higher at the year’s end. Read the full article here.