BACKGROUND

During the 2007-08 school year, a 27-member team of principals, counselors, district leaders, parents and students analyzed district demographics, student data, and current college access programs.  The team met several times during the spring and held a major event for the Cypress Lakes High School community. This event provided parents and students of the newly forming high school an opportunity to offer input on the barriers and gaps that exist in current college preparation efforts, as well as receive information on effective practices. Results from this event revealed that 69% of students and 86% of parents wished that the school district had provided more information about college.

INITIATIVE OVERVIEW

Focusing on the newly formed Cypress Lakes High School feeder pattern, Cypress-Fairbanks ISD plans to create an infrastructure utilizing a scope and sequence (grades 6-12) that will guide, connect, and coordinate strategies for developing a college-going culture.  As part of this infrastructure, the District is establishing a College and Career Center at Cypress Lakes High School staffed by a specialist and designed to serve all students, targeting low-income and first-generation students. The Center also will serve Watkins and Thornton middle schools. Additionally, the District will improve data collection and evaluation measures to determine effectiveness. Successful implementation of the grant, as evidenced by the evaluation measures, will determine the amount and source of future funding for college and career centers and the staffing of additional college and career specialists on all other high school campuses in the Cypress-Fairbanks school district.

PARTNERSHIPS

Through the course of this initiative Cypress-Fairbanks ISD will strengthen its partnership with Houston area institutions of higher education. Lone Star College-Cy-Fair, in collaboration with Cypress Lakes High School, will implement the McCabe Bridge Program and provide support services for the high school's College and Career Center. Prairie View A&M's Collegiate G-Force will assist high school students as they prepare for college or a career by advising them on application procedures, financial aid, and other strategies needed to successfully negotiate the "going to college" process. Additionally, a northwest Harris County P-16 council of key stakeholders will be formed to develop a plan for establishing a community-wide college-going culture.

OBJECTIVES

• Project outcomes include an increase in the proportion of first-generation, low-income students at Cypress Lakes than at Cypress Springs (a district high school with similar demographics) that:
• Interact with staff (teachers, counselors, and specialist) on college and career preparation
• Participate in college and career/technical training program
• Enroll in a college or career/technical training program

TEAM MEMBERS (click here to see the full list)

TEAM REFLECTIONS

"The PTD grant process served as the catalyst that we needed to assess, catalogue and coordinate all of the practices that we had depended on to serve the needs of our college-bound students.  We learned that our efforts were not focused and that we had not shared best practices.  Now, we can see that the end result of this project will result in all of our students, regardless of their perceptions about going to college, to receive the benefit of identified best practices.  That is exciting and should be the ideal goal for every pilot project!"

            - Dr. David Anthony, Superintendent, Cy-Fair ISD

"This is an exciting opportunity to work with others in our District to enhance programs and services that help students access post-secondary opportunities, especially first-generation and low-income students. We look at this grant project with a broader view - we see this initiative as something that will eventually impact the whole district."

            - Dr. Marie Keith, Director of College and Career Readiness, Cypress-Fairbanks ISD

MORE INFORMATION

Contact Marie Keith

(281) 517-2639 or marie.keith@cfisd.net