About the K16 Bridge Program
The Program, In Depth
The Bridge Program is based on the belief that the community college is the natural home base for most students coming out of high school and other opportunities to all students, including students going directly to four year institutions. With one hundred and nine institutions offering both academic and vocational programs at a cost much lower than four-year institutions, community colleges are the perfect transition partners for high schools. Starting with the premise that everyone is going to participate in the program, we took the application process off of the college campus and brought it to the high schools.
By beginning the program at a much younger age, the program has taken a major step towards increasing the success rate of students . Using the My Mentor web site with EUREKA, and the California Assessment System, we've developed a system that brings career education and knowledge of the educational system to a younger audience.
The program, at its core, is about building relationships between elementary, secondary, and post-secondary institutions. Through technology, training and ongoing support the K-12 will become active participants in the transition to higher education and not just an observer. Standards based K-16 Bridge lessons are taught in core classes with the results of the lessons stored in each studentsÂ’ e-portfolio. Parents are given access to information and are made an active participant in the program. Colleges and the K-12 schools that they represent are told from the beginning that Bridge is what we do, not just something we do, to help our students transition to a better life.
The History
The Bridge Program is the result of a chance encounter between a high school teacher and a former student. While standing in a home improvement store, the teacher noticed the medical shirt the former student was wearing. When he asked the student if he had gone into the medical profession, the student said that he had wanted to, but had found himself facing long lines and a system he did not understand at the local community college.
The high school teacher realized that he had heard an endless stream of such stories.
These stories from former high school and current college students have centered on the problems faced with transitioning from the highly controlled environment of secondary education to the more self-controlled and self-directed life of college. The goal of the Bridge Program then is to create a quality program that uses the latest technology for the preparation and transition of students into a post-secondary educational world.
The program began with a focus on only seniors. Soon the teachers, instructors, counselors, and administrators that had joined this cause realized that if we were going to change the behavior of our students, when it comes to their future, we had to start at a much younger age.
Today, working with elementary and middle school teachers, counselors, administrators and EUREKA, the program is getting ready to launch a 4th-12th program that will take students through a seamless process of discovery, exploration, and transition to a post-secondary institution.
The Lewis Center for Educational Research, a non-profit institution dedicated to helping students is the home of the K-16 Bridge Program. This program is the result of a special partnership between The Lewis Center, The Snowline School District and Victor Valley College.