El Camino Community College District Foundation

Educating the South Bay is the primary goal at El Camino College. Ensuring a high quality, local talent pool for our workforce, and creating a pathway to four-year universities with a reasonable price tag, is the mission of the South Bay Promise.

In answer to the call for workforce and career development in the South Bay, El Camino College has created the South Bay Promise program to promote a college-going culture in the South Bay community. The rigorous academic programs at El Camino College are building tomorrow's labor force and preparing local students for these careers. Strong community college programs can ensure that a state has the skilled workers trained for the professions of the future, including those in manufacturing that can't be filled due to the skills gap. Leaders in both K-12 and higher education are hailing the College Promise approach as among the most promising strategies to increase college-going rates.

In the fall of 2018, El Camino College will launch its new South Bay Promise program to accommodate 500 students who graduate the prior June from one of the service area high schools, or reside in the El Camino Community College District. Beginning in the fall of 2019, all students, regardless of residential location, will be eligible for the South Bay Promise.

The El Camino College Foundation will be responsible for a comprehensive fundraising campaign to fund the South Bay Promise program. The fundraising goal is to establish a $5M+ endowment, which will support 500+ students per school year, and grow to accommodate more students in subsequent years. The program encourages local students to attend college immediately following high school graduation and commit to full-time status of at least 12 units per semester.

With the introduction of the South Bay Promise, an opportunity exists to make a postsecondary education available to all high school students in the South Bay. By creating accessible and affordable higher education, the South Bay Promise will contribute to economic growth in the South Bay, which benefits local businesses, and creates a sense of community pride. The overall goal of the South Bay Promise program is to attract high school students to community college, therefore, creating a more educated and sustainable local workforce.

At El Camino College, we care about our students' belief in their educational dreams and support them by surrounding them with the resources needed to prosper. Well-funded and forward-looking community colleges are key to a state's competitive future and might be the ultimate hedge against structural unemployment. Just as importantly, these local educational institutions attract new businesses and retain changing industries with a sustainable pipeline of skilled workers creating opportunity for local students.

A highly trained and educated workforce must be present for any industry or business to thrive. Too many businesses today are unable to fill open, well-paying jobs. In fact, there are 2 million job openings in manufacturing alone that can't be filled because employers can't find workers with the skills to do them. This skills gap will continue to grow at an unprecedented pace as advances in technology and other structural factors dramatically impact the labor demands of the U.S. economy. Workers and employers must continuously adapt. Local companies have everything to gain by aligning their interests with local community colleges.

The South Bay Workforce Investment Board (SBWIB) is a partner in the South Bay Promise working with our local colleges and universities. The SBWIB will provide services to South Bay Promise students to create workplace readiness skills as they transition into college and career. The SBWIB also offers a variety of services including resume building, interview preparedness, leadership/team building, hiring events and recruitment opportunities in the South Bay.

Opening the door financially to a college education is a great start, but more must be done. To help ensure students' success, programs are in place to provide strong connections to El Camino College for South Bay Promise students. To this end, students entering El Camino College through the South Bay Promise will receive the following benefits:

• Priority early registration
• Educational planning
• Guaranteed placement in required English and math classes the first year
• Additional academic counseling services
• Student Support & Success Program involvement to ensure a sense of community
• Guidance and assistance through follow up activities for continuous support

El Camino College and Foundation executives have met (and continue to meet) with all local elected officials, high school administrators, school board representatives, chambers of commerce, private and corporate donors, and community civic organizations, to raise awareness of the South Bay Promise program and seek funding support. To date, over $300K has been raised for the South Bay Promise initiative.

On May 11, 2018, El Camino College hosted a South Bay Promise Signing Ceremony with all the above mentioned representatives. Local media were invited on campus to document the official MOU signing by the nine local school districts and cities which feed into the El Camino College Community District. This was the publicity launch of the South Bay Promise program. Check presentations by large corporate supporters were announced at the event.

Campus meetings with department heads continue on a monthly basis to plan and discuss South Bay Promise needs and issues.

Marketing, outreach, and collateral materials have been developed, as well as a comprehensive 5 year budget. A preliminary fundraising plan has also been prepared.