By Dianne Anderson

Black parents and students are invited to jump into the collegiate mix and learn how to scale all those tall walls facing first generation college-goers.

About the only big restriction for students is the one thing that almost everyone in the underserved community easily qualifies for. They must be low-income and the first in their family to go to college. The program also asks that students be on track or maintain a 3.0 GPA.

“We want to make sure that you are also invested in your college goals as much as we are,” said Rebecca Ridge, community outreach supervisor with Operation Jump Start.

Through the nonprofit program, more money and resources are helping to smooth the academic journey for over 250 students in grades 8-11 in the Long Beach Unified School District. The nonprofit program goes out into schools to recruit students directly, tables information at community events, and works with school counselors to set up presentations to let students know resources are ready and available.

Ridge said over the last few years, there has been increased emphasis on better serving Black students in Long Beach.

“The LBUSD heightened focus on schools with predominantly Black students and efforts to reach students better to ensure that success. We have very similar goals as them in terms of trying to reach students who need our support in the Black community,” she said.

The program tracks all students through college to completion, also keeping in close contact and monitoring grades throughout higher education. They offer academic advising to make sure students stay focused to get what they need to succeed.

“We actually work with them throughout their college experience until they complete their time at the university. We want to make sure that we’re really supporting student success — not just student access,” she said.

Among their recent travels, they took students across country for a fully paid three free days of all-inclusive sightseeing and tours of college campuses in Virginia and Howard University.

Students in her program are up against numerous generational hurdles, not only the lack of finances, but also no higher education role modeling so that they can have family help with navigating all that student life entails.

She said their program wants students to realize that their college dreams can become reality. Those who are participating in the program can also start earning funds in middle and high school based on their academic performance.

“Our students having access to the resources they need is an obstacle in and of itself. [There is] hindered finances, or not having exposure to other folks in their lives that have gone down the college path,” she said.

Learning loss is another concern and a strain on most age groups through the past two years of the pandemic. Worse, parents are often left out of the loop on information resources.

But she said their regular meetings keep students on track, and help parents learn more ways to help their students. The program hosts numerous events, some on weekends. One consistent activity, the Tutoring Center after school runs from 3:30-6:30 p.m. to provide students with a safe place to come and access computers, or whatever they need.

“We do have bus passes available for students who need transportation to attend our site learning resource center. Another great resource for transportation is with our mentorship program. They provide their 8th through 11th grade students with rides most of the time. It’s a nice service,” she said.

They are also calling out for more mentors, and the door is always open for more volunteers.

“We do have programming centered around parents, helping them be supportive in the college process for their students. Bringing in new mentors is a huge part of our need for outreach and being reached by the community. We have a really strong little community, but we can always reach more people,” she said.

They are accepting applications for new students from grades 8 through 11. From there, a quick interview will get students set up in the program.

Outreach through their parent academy is also ongoing, held each month in the evenings when many parents are off work and the kids are home.

“Now, it’s happening virtually to ensure parents have access to it without coming to our office. These monthly workshops for our parents is to make sure they’re in the loop for what their students need to be successful, how to apply to FAFSA, talking about the college application process,” she said.

For more information to apply, see operationjumpstart.org
or call, 562.988.2131