"Much if not all of my academic and life success developed through my participation with College Is Real. As a disoriented teenager entertained by the fast life, I was not interested in furthering my post-secondary education. However, College Is Real introduced an urge and the importance of completing college, and such support is responsible for my success at an elite university like University of California, Berkeley."

- Rodrigo Corona Flores

The goal

The goal of the program is to identify, motivate, educate and mentor the “college-aspirational” students at Richmond’s three public high schools in order to have as many students as possible apply to, attend, and graduate from four-year colleges. We want to change the lives of the students in the program so they can ultimately improve the lives of their families and change their communities.

Long-term success

It is important to the long-term success of the program that particular attention is paid to freshmen and sophomore students’ attendance and academic performance to get them on the right track and keep them there. There is a trend for many low-income students’ academic performance and commitment to diminish toward the end of their sophomore and into their junior years due to peer pressure to not achieve, economic pressures to work, boy-girl relationships and an attitudinal shift toward apathy. This is a common evolution with teenagers at many high schools, but is particularly pronounced in low-income areas. Long term success is achieved through holding students accountable, providing emotional and financial support, regular contact and communication, showing students someone cares about their success.

“CIR supports long-term success by showing you the path to strive and be successful at an institution of higher learning. In addition, it sets you up with opportunities to network with individuals with similar aspirations and a solid support system.”

– Fabian Martinez, San Jose, State University Class of 2017