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Date: Mon, 29 Sep 2008 18:11:54 -0700
From: Tomasa Mauricio <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: [WESTOP] CA: SB 890 is signed into law! Early Commitment to College
	program will be implemented.
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Thread-topic: SB 890 is signed into law! Early Commitment to College program
	will be implemented.
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FYI

Tomasa Mauricio, M.S.
Director, Service Learning
Pre-College Institute
College of Education
San Diego State University
Phone: (619)594-1899
Fax: (619)594-7821



-----Original Message-----
From: Campaign for College Opportunity [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Mon 9/29/2008 5:36 PM
Subject: SB 890 is signed into law!  Early Commitment to College program will be implemented.
 
>From the Desk of Executive Director Michele Siqueiros

September 29, 2008

Dear Friends and Supporters,

I am happy to share that yesterday Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger signed Early Commitment to College SB 890 into
law. SB 890 was authored by State Senator Jack Scott
(D-Pasadena). For the first time, California is taking the
promise of college opportunity found in the Master Plan for
Higher Education of 1960, and making that promise directly to
students and parents beginning in middle school. 

There could be no better time for the passage of this
legislation as the growing demand for educated workers by
industries across our state coincides with a disturbing decline
in the number of students that go directly from high school into
college. Early Commitment to College is especially critical for
the ever-increasing numbers of young Californians who would be
the first in their families to go to college and may not be
aware of their opportunities to attend a community college or
four year university and receive financial aid.

Over the past two years, the Campaign worked in collaboration
with hundreds of business, labor, community and civic leaders to
build strong bi-partisan support for this bill including that of
50 Democratic and Republican co-authors. We were able to:

*Engage over 118 organizations
*Lead one-on-one delegation meetings with over 100 legislators
in Sacramento and in their district offices; 
*Host regional briefings throughout California
*Secure a number of supportive editorials and significant media
coverage
*Share the voices of over 20,000 middle and high school youth
that participated in the "Save Me a Spot in College" scholarship
contest with the public and policy makers
*Culminate this effort with a rally that included over 500
students, parents, and community supporters on August 6th at the
State Capitol

Passage of Early Commitment to College would not have been
possible without the support of so many of you who wrote
letters, made calls, joined us on visits with legislators and
brought others with you on this journey. Thank you for your
efforts! Please see our website for a list of organizations and
legislative co-authors who championed this bill.

I am thankful to Senator Jack Scott (D-Pasadena) for his
tireless leadership on this bill, we look forward to working
with him as he becomes Chancellor of the Community College
system. I would also like to thank Assembly Speaker Karen Bass
(D-Los Angeles), Assemblyman Anthony Portantino (D-Pasadena),
and Senator Mark Wyland (R-Carlsbad) for their crucial support. 

We look forward to working closely with the California
Department of Education, the Intersegmental Coordinating Council
and local school districts who have pledged their strong support
for implementing this legislation. We will be taking Early
Commitment to College directly into middle schools across our
state beginning in the Spring of 2009. 

Finally, our work would not be possible without the generous
support of our funders who help us raise public awareness,
publish critical research and best practices, and build a strong
bi-partisan coalition of supporters. They are key partners in
our efforts to press California leaders to will ensure a strong
California economy. 

*William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
*James Irvine Foundation
*Ford Foundation
*Koret Foundation
*California Wellness Foundation
*College Access Foundation of California
*Walter S. Johnson Foundation
*Lumina Foundation
*Citigroup Foundation
*Stuart Foundation
*McConnell Foundation
*Kaiser Permanente
*Rosalinde & Arthur Gilbert Foundation
*California Business Roundtable
*Southern California Edison 

My best, 

Michele Siqueiros
Executive Director
--------------------------------------------------

Visit the web address below to tell your friends about how they
can support college opportunity.

http://ga4.org/join-forward.html?domain=collegecampaign&r=gp2ukCsqxioS

If you received this message from a friend, you can sign up for
Campaign for College Opportunity at:

http://ga4.org/collegecampaign/join.html?r=gp2ukCsqxioSE

--------------------------------------------------
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