A BluePrint for Success: Case Studies of Successful - Educational ...

A Blueprint for Success
College Track structures the core programs and advising; c) the ratio of tutors and other support
staff to students, which used to be arbitrary and now it is more intentional and almost formulaic; d)
a clear set of expectations for students, parents, and staff; and, e) a consistent and effective cycle of
inquiry process. Further, CT has a disciplined approach for entering a new site. Once a site is selected,
the first step is to hire the academic affairs person and the site director. Next, CT has guidelines
for selecting facilities and hiring and training staff. Training is a major component and there is a
formal longitudinal training on-site, observations at other sites, and time with the evaluation team to
learn the benchmarking, goals, and accountability measures. CT has developed an effective personnel
evaluation process that aligns staff goals and review to the goals and benchmarks for CT.
One obstacle College Track encountered over the years was the ability to have enough tutors for the
programs. A clear example of this involves the cost of tutors in the Bay area, which ranged from $12
to $25 per hour. When tutoring around 120 students a day every day of the week, this expense was
not sustainable for the program. Internally, the College Track staff debated about the quality and
reliability of volunteer tutors. The organization went through a transition period for about a year
when the new recruiting and training mechanisms were put into place to prepare volunteers to tutor
CT students. That process, while it felt like a long learning curve, has significantly improved staff
member skills in volunteer recruitment, training, development – which are all crucial to the success
of CT.
If given the opportunity to change one thing about College Track, Geraldine Sonobe, Executive Officer
of Programs, indicated that she would “strengthen the staffing structure.” She noted that the
culture of College Track is highly entrepreneurial and that they frequently come up with “some incredible
solutions for addressing the achievement gap and getting more students to graduate from
college,” but that in some cases they do not have the staffing capacity to implement new ideas as effectively
as they want. She felt that College Track could do even more for the students it serves if CT
could make a “few additional hires in strategic areas.” She also acknowledged that for the organization
to grow and serve more students, great care has to be given for additional costs. Thus far, it has
been part of the strategy to be conservative in hiring new staff. Through the cycle of inquiry process
as well as student results, CT will have appropriate information for staffing structure going forward.
Regarding potential challenges in the future, Ms. Sonobe replied:
The biggest challenge I see is in the shifting in the college landscape, especially in California
where tuition is rising exponentially while classes and services are cut. For our students,
this could be devastating. An increasing number are selecting community colleges
purely for financial reasons; either directly enrolling as freshmen or transferring from a 4yr
college. The chances of a community college student eventually graduating from a 4-yr
college are extremely low.
Educational Policy Institute 60 www.educationalpolicy.org