THE GAZETTE
Page A-8
Wednesday, April 9, 2014 p
Montgomery College takes aim at achievement gap n
Task force recommends hiring more Latino faculty
BY
LINDSAY A. POWERS STAFF WRITER
Following a fresh look at performance gaps among its student groups — in graduation rates, transfer rates, individual courses and elsewhere — Montgomery College is making a new, schoolwide push to close them. The college’s efforts are based on a range of recommendations from the Closing the Achievement Gap Task Force comprising college, community and county school system representatives. Task force members met for about nine months to develop a report that was presented to the Montgomery College Board of Trustees on March 24. Beverly Walker-Griffea, the college’s senior vice president for student services, said the college plans to phase in and fully implement the task force’s recommendations by 2020. Tony D. Hawkins — instruc-
tional dean of arts, humanities and social science at the college’s Takoma Park/Silver Spring campus and a co-chairman of the task force — said the college has looked at students’ academic achievement for years but the task force’s work and report was a unique effort to examine the information with the intent to close performance gaps. “I don’t think we’ve really looked at the data quite this way,” Hawkins said. Among other recommendations in the report to address the gaps, the task force calls for increased mentoring services, new factors to predict student success and a greater insistence when it comes to matching students with opportunities. At Montgomery College, black and Latino students are generally falling behind their white and Asian peers in several areas of academic achievement. According to the report, the college’s black and Latino students graduate in three years less often and transfer to a fouryear school less often than white and Asian students. Among its fall 2009 cohort,
11 percent of black students and 15 percent of Latino students graduated within three years compared with 20 percent of Asian students and 19 percent of white students, the report said. About 22 percent of black students and 17 percent of Latino students transferred to a four-year school within three years compared with 30 percent of Asian students and 28 percent of white students. Students are also arriving at the college unprepared. In the college’s 2008 cohort, 85 percent of Latino students and 81 percent of black students were not “college ready” and therefore needed to take developmental courses, according to the report. Hawkins said he thinks the “most exciting” task force recommendations include those aimed at coordinating efforts across the college’s three campuses and expanding the work done in “small pockets of the college.” Hilda Decena Smith, a Montgomery College professor and the task force’s other cochairwoman — said the college wants to help students access
“It’s important for students to see people that look like them in the classroom.” Hilda Decena Smith, Montgomery College professor supports that already exist. “It’s trying to create a sense of community so that they can find the people, the resources that can help them achieve whatever their goal is,” she said. One recommended measure will institute mentoring more widely across the college’s three campuses, though not as one college-wide program, Hawkins said. “Each of the campuses may have different niches and requirements and student populations,” he said. Smith said existing programs — including one for black male students — has helped boost students’ grades and graduation and transfer rates, and sense of involvement. The report also calls for a more “intrusive” approach to working with students.
Hawkins said this approach involves college staff actively pushing students to take advantage of good opportunities they might otherwise not respond to. “We’re really putting it in front of them and making it almost unavoidable for them to get around it,” he said. Smith said the approach also requires involvement from a range of staff — counselors, advisors and others who interact with students. Following another recommendation, the college is also planning to take a new approach when it comes to predicting how a student will perform at the college. Rather than exclusively looking at what a student does and does not know, staff would also take into account “non-cognitive” factors such as leadership, communication and resourcefulness, Hawkins said. The task force also recommended the college hire more
Latino faculty members. “It’s important for students to see people that look like them in the classroom and throughout the institution,” Smith said. Hawkins said more Latino administrators, faculty and staff would also mean more individuals who can share voices from the different ethnic communities in the college. While the college is now focusing on how to implement the measures, some efforts are already in place, Walker-Griffea said, such as the intrusive advising approach with students. Another example is the college’s continued work in the Achieving Collegiate Excellence and Success program that helps county high school students prepare for and get into college, she said. Hawkins said the college aims to start workshops this spring covering a variety of a topics to share the task force’s findings with college staff. Walker-Griffea said the college’s work to improve the performance of certain student groups will translate to a larger impact. “This will help all students,” she said. lpowers@gazette.net
1910310
Obituary Emilio “Milo” Naranjo, of Rockville, MD passed away on Thursday, April 3, 2014. Beloved husband of Evelyn “Evie” R. Naranjo. Father of Brian R. Naranjo, Russell E. Naranjo, Shevaun L. German, Robert D. Naranjo and Patricia “Patsy” T. Whittington. Grandfather of Jason C. German, Jr., Marissa S. German, Miles Naranjo, Elle E. Whittington and Caroline Naranjo. Mr. Naranjo is also survived by his siblings, Benny Naranjo, Lorraine Lopez, Barney Naranjo, Susie Salazar, David Naranjo and Jeanette Salazar. Friends were received at PUMPHREY’S BETHESDA-CHEVY CHASE FUNERAL HOME, 7557 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, MD on Sunday from 3 to 5 PM. Mass of Christian Burial was offered at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, 4101 Norbeck Road, Rockville, MD on Monday, April 7 at 11AM. Interment private. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to NAMI Montgomery County, 11718 Parklawn Drive, Rockville, MD 20852 or to Sheppard & Enoch Pratt Hospital, 6501 N. Charles Street, P.O. Box 6815, Baltimore, MD 21285. Please view and sign online guestbook at www.pumphreyfuneralhome.com 1910377
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