Examples of Excelencia

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This is year 19 for Examples of Excelencia, an annual recognition given by Excelencia in Education. Founded in 2004 by Dr. Deborah A. Santiago and Sarita E. Brown, Excelencia in Education has the stated mission to accelerate Latino student success in higher education.

“The intent is to bring attention to evidence-based practices that are making a positive difference for Hispanic students,” says Santiago, chief executive officer of Excelencia in Education. “This is a population where there is still a great deal of ignorance about what it takes to serve this population well. So much of the conversation is often on what is not being done to better serve them.

“There is lots of good work across the country that understands the strengths and the opportunities of Hispanic students,” she adds.
These four Examples were selected from 103 program submissions from 20 states representing institutions of higher education and community-based organizations. The 18 finalists announced in August all serve Latino students across the country with culturally relevant, asset-based programming. A selection committee of experts and people in the field decided on the final four.

Five crucial things that these four are doing: increasing affordability, addressing academic barriers, creating a sense of belonging, experiential learning and wraparound services.

Associate Level
English for Academic Purposes
Reading Area Community College (Reading, PA)
The English for Academic Purposes (EAP) at Reading Area Community College (RACC) began in 2012 to strategically reduce credit requirements and accelerate student progression with the goal of boosting enrollment and success rates. It has done that with an 86% success rate for the 2022-23 academic year. Also, that year the program’s retention rate of Latino students was 18% higher than the college’s general retention rate. The focus on English skills needed in an academic setting and tailored support services through the Academic Literacy & Language (ALL) Center have proven beneficial.

Assistant professor and program coordinator Eleisha Moreno, who has worked with EAP since 2016, says this recognition from Excelencia in Education is validating. “We’re doing what works for Latino students in our community, and it gives us the opportunity to show the community this is where you can come, learn and be successful,” says Moreno.

“Here is a community college that sees the asset and opportunity of Latino students who might have language challenges but are academically ready and wanting to get a college education,” says Santiago. “This kind of focus on students shows they’re committed, they want to learn, and they just need that opportunity. They are staying in the program and they’re doing well.”

Moreno says the program takes an asset-based approach with students and there is constant reflection and intentionality on how to improve EAP. In 2016, EAP reduced the number of courses in its course sequence, increased tutoring services and added embedded tutoring. It also added professional development for all the tutors and faculty.

Approximately 80% of the students who access EAP are Latino. In all matters, culturally responsive strategies are utilized that foster trusting relationships and a sense of belonging. Also, instructors encourage risk taking and assure students that it is OK to make mistakes. After students have completed the EAP courses, a support system is still provided to them through the ALL Center, which is staffed by professional tutors.
Finding the students who would benefit from EAP and getting them into the program at times is challenging, notes Moreno, because some students are concerned it would carry a stigma. Therefore, the program works closely with other departments of the college, particularly admissions and advising, to identify students who would benefit from EAP.

“We take a case management approach in that we look at individual students—their high school transcripts, if they had ESL (English as a Second Language) in school, if they self-designate as English language learners, and writing samples that they do to see if they need some language support,” Moreno says. “The students coming in have varying levels of proficiency in English. In [EAP] classes, we are building up students’ English skills along with their academic skills and preparing them for the types of assignments that they will encounter in their college classes.”

The average number of students participating in EAP each year is about 170. EAP is a sequence of three courses, all credit-bearing, but not all students need to take all three courses because some place in at a higher level. 

Among the issues addressed are reading academic text and managing assignments, which can be especially challenging when the students are still developing their command of English. They are taught essential skills, like paraphrasing. Santiago says that is a culturally responsive strategy and approach to meet the needs of the students.

There are two points on evidence of effectiveness that stand out for Santiago. One is a very high college success rate. Not only are students taking these language proficiency and academic success courses, but they are also succeeding at a high rate for a community college and for students who are acquiring language proficiency.

“The second is, they compared the Latino students that are in this program with the overall retention rate of the college, and the retention rate of Latino students in the program was almost 20% higher than the college overall,” says Santiago. “They’re creating safe spaces and a sense of belonging. We know that helps students retain and persist.”

Moreno says the programming has changed students’ lives. “We’ve heard from students who have gone on to become teachers, nurses, accountants in our community,” she says. “Our job as a program is to make sure when they exit our program, they are still successful, graduate and make it.”

Baccalaureate Level
The College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP)
Washington State University (Pullman, WA)
The College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) is a federal program established in 1972 to help students from migrant and seasonal farmworking backgrounds obtain a college education. There is a structured approach to CAMP, which exists at colleges and universities around the U.S., involving holistic wraparound services to help these students who might have had an inconsistent educational experience given that their families are migrant workers. The aims of the CAMP at Washington State University (WSU) are first-year completion, second-year retention and successful graduation. All of the participants in recent years have been Latinx.

“As you work with people closely, you know that you’re making a difference,” says Michael Heim, director of CAMP and of WSU’s Migrant Education Student Access & Support. “[This recognition] means a lot.”

WSU’s CAMP was founded in 2006. There is a designated recruiter. Among the services it provides to first-year students are individualized academic advising, tutoring and community-building events. It accepts 50 students per year, who receive a $1,000 financial stipend, priority registration, personalized academic and life coaching, and a Spanish-language orientation for parents.

“With our staff, we’ve engaged in professional development through International Coaching Federation, which is one of the largest governing bodies for coaching,” says Heim. “It is a way to get to the heart of the matter with students very quickly, to build rapport, to help people feel we’re there to support them in a comprehensive way. The conversations are great. From those conversations, we can have a better understanding…and help them find the services to overcome barriers.”

Santiago says CAMP at WSU was very powerful in its efforts and strategies to be culturally relevant and supportive of students. This program’s wraparound services stand out as do the stellar retention rates. Over the past three years, CAMP participants maintained an average retention rate of 85.9% compared to 68.21% for the control group, which is made up of other WSU students whose families are engaged in migrant and seasonal work.
“Serving and targeting students, providing holistic supports, the students are staying in college and are more likely to complete,” says Santiago.

“The purpose of CAMP is to ensure that there is community-building,” says Heim. “We’re able to provide that cohort feeling, which we like to say builds familia with everybody. We also try to get them to feel connected to the university as a whole.

“CAMP isn’t just about taking a group of students in a cohort and being insular, but really building connections between the other resources on campus, departments, majors, programs, other student groups,” he continues. “There are different ways that they can connect on campus, and CAMP’s job is making sure those students are exposed to a lot and they get to branch out and understand how to navigate the whole university.”

The financial aspects of CAMP end after the students’ first year, but general supports remain available through their time at WSU. Students can participate in events and come into the CAMP office and discuss questions they may have. They also remain on a priority registration list for classes. Some work at CAMP as upperclassmen.

The average four-, five- and six-year combined graduation rates for CAMP participants is 68.78% versus 50.85% for the control group. The data clearly shows the impact. CAMP participants also have a 16.03% graduate school completion rate. Heim says the data tracked over 18 years shows that the impact of a freshmen program, which builds their identities as students, continues through their whole educational journey.

“That really does matter,” Santiago says. “That helps advance the families’ economic situations and also their social mobility down the road.”

One of the CAMP projects for the 2024-25 academic year is getting at least half of the participants selected for internships for their sophomore year. CAMP staff are officially reaching out to WSU programs with internships to make sure students in CAMP get the most of their college experience.

There is also a desire to raise awareness about CAMP, so there is collaboration with the Latinx student center on campus and other student organizations to come up with meaningful ways to celebrate Latinx heritage during National Hispanic Heritage Month.

Graduate Level
Project upGRADS
California State University,
Fullerton (Fullerton, CA)
Less than 10% of college and university faculty in the U.S. are Hispanic. Project upGRADS at California State University, Fullerton (CSUF), begins at the undergraduate level preparing students for graduate school. Excelencia in Education sees this as a program that is helping develop professionals and future faculty. 

“They shine a light on what is possible for Latino undergraduates to let them know that the graduate level is possible,” says Santiago. “The fact that they are very proactive in letting students know their potential of going to graduate school and being successful is high, and then aligning them with funding, mentors and support to get there is incredibly powerful.”

That intentionality makes an impact on the lives of talented students who may not fully understand the possibilities of graduate school as well as what is needed to find a relevant program, apply and then succeed. Project upGRADS, which is funded by a federal grant, aims to improve access to and success in graduate education.

“Putting attention on the work that we’re doing…helps to bring the conversation up to another level,” says principal investigator Katherine Powers about the Example of Excelencia designation.

“This is not just a matter of visibility or the fairness of representation…but it’s also about the diversity of experiences that people bring both into academia and into the professional world,” says project director Dr. Volker Janssen. “The experiences that they bring to their professional fields matter significantly in the way they exercise their work. … Also, advanced degrees are increasingly important for lifetime career advancement.”

The program reaches out to undergraduate students and serves as a resource for those who want to apply to graduate school. CSUF is a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). While the program is open to all students of color, Project upGRADS participants are largely Latinx.

Project upGRADS addresses academic barriers that could hinder students’ progression to graduate school. There is proactive advising, a fellowship program (Pa’lante Fellowship) and workshops that address everything from the graduate school application process to financial aid. Fifty-five percent of students who attended two or more graduate school prep workshops enrolled in graduate school, 68% at CSUF. Its most significant program is META (master’s early transition and access), a summer bridge program for students entering graduate programs at CSUF, which includes mentoring, networking, scholarships and professional development. Fall 2022 data shows Latinx META participants had a 3.73 GPA and a persistence rate of 94.4%. The summer 2024 META had almost 200 participants. META is in person, but the participants included both those who will be taking on-campus courses and those in online graduate programs. It is open to people who did their undergraduate studies at CSUF as well as students who earned their bachelor’s degrees at other institutions. Most of the individuals leading sessions are faculty of color.

“They learn about what we call the hidden curriculum of grad school,” Janssen says. “They learn about writing and research experiences and practices. That’s where they receive their validation and affirmation that they really belong and are part of the graduate community.”

As students near the end of their graduate studies, there are resources to help them finish the last stretch between completing classwork and finishing all their degree requirements, such as exams and theses.

Another element of professional development is for faculty so that they can be more effective mentors and advisors. Faculty members must attend four required workshops to be mentors with the program.

“To build real change in institutional practice means to engage with faculty, and faculty development has been a big part of Project upGRADS,” says Janssen, who adds that faculty must be intentional in creating a sense of belonging for graduate students. 

“We’re focusing on cultural humility, cultural competency,” Powers says. “Faculty involvement is embedded into the structure. Faculty play key roles as coordinators leading various activities within the entire Project upGRADS.”

Faculty also learn how to better recruit, on board and retain graduate students in their departments and make those students feel that they matter. There is a Certificate in Supporting Graduate Students of Color program that any faculty—not only mentors and advisors—can earn through a series of workshops.

“At Excelencia, that kind of structural change that is student-centered is very powerful,” says Santiago. “They can show with their evidence of effectiveness that it’s having an impact.”

Community-Based Organization Level
Career Pathways: Empowering Students to Succeed
The Immokalee Foundation, Inc. (Immokalee, FL)
Located in Southwest Florida, 72.7% of the Immokalee population is Hispanic. It has a large migrant farmworker population and the area faces considerable intergenerational poverty. The Immokalee Foundation (TIF) works with over 1,000 local youth per year. Its Career Pathways: Empowering Students to Succeed helps them build pathways to success through transformative learning experiences and comprehensive support, including prepaid college scholarships to Florida institutions. 

The president and CEO of TIF, Noemi Y. Perez, grew up in Immokalee in a family with nine children, so she understands the challenges and barriers that students face. “Having been named an Example of Excelencia is a very high point,” she says. “Being recognized gives recognition and praise to everyone on our staff that has worked very hard in order to accomplish our mission.”

The foundation has existed for 33 years. In 2004, it expanded its programming with the goal of preparing students for college throughout middle school and high school.

“We’re 100% focused on providing education, career readiness and professional development for our students,” says Perez. “We take pride in making sure that we not only use our own data, but also collaborate with other organizations and the school district to see how we can better serve as a partner. What items can we supplement in order to help our students reach success.”

In 2019, TIF introduced an innovative career education model that prepares students for high-demand careers. Every participating student receives academic support, tutoring, career introductions, experiential learning opportunities and useful credentials.

“We definitely pride ourselves on being on the forefront of collaboration when it comes to the school district, businesses and the community as a whole,” says Perez. “It takes time and a lot of effort to build trust within a community. “

In creating the Career Pathways program, TIF did research on both the present and anticipated future needs of local institutions, businesses and organizations.

“We wanted them to know and understand that we were here to help them meet some of their goals, the things they were trying to find solutions for,” Perez says. “We came up with a plan that we shared with them and then together we were able to roll out what we have today with Career Pathways.”
Santiago praises TIF’s emphasis on experiential learning. For students not aware of a diverse range of career options, this is extremely valuable.
“The students see what is possible with a college degree and what they can shoot towards,” says Santiago. “So many students go to college because they want to have a good paying job to help with their parents, their community, themselves. This makes it real.”

There is also career guidance and engagement with mentors as well as career panels and networking events. “They can see others who’ve done it, so they know that they can do it,” Perez says.

The early exposure to careers and the possibility of college allows students to start planning their futures. “That can be a significant gamechanger,” Santiago says. “Their data bares that out. They’re doing well and right by students and community. Setting them up for success in concrete ways. Every community organization has that opportunity. For us, Career Pathways is one that others should be emulating.”

Eighth-grade students who participate in TIF programming work with career counselors to develop a career action plan for high school and after. One hundred percent of the high school students graduate, receive industry certification(s) and have internships. Ninety-three percent of TIF participants graduate college and 89% work in their field of study.

“It truly takes a village for us to be able to execute our Career Pathways program,” says Perez. “For our afterschool programs, we have to use the facilities at the schools. We hire their teachers after school to provide the curriculum. Our summer programs are held at Florida Gulf Coast University. When we go into our internship component for our students in their junior year, these businesses come together and open their doors and host our students as interns to give them experience.

“Our local institutions then come around and help with providing scholarships and other opportunities for our students once they decide where they’re going to go for post-secondary education,” she adds. “We’ve been so blessed that we have such a caring community. Ultimately, we’re able to help with some of the workforce needs that they have.”