Program puts students on fast trak

By Tracey Robertson

Rosa Gonzalez is the youngest of seven children but is already an example to her brothers and sisters. If everything goes according to plan, the Firebaugh High School senior will be the first in her family to graduate from college.

Gonzalez and 35 of her classmates are part of FastForward to Academic Success, a new Fresno State program aimed at increasing the enrollment and retention of rural students. This year’s group also includes 20 seniors from Mendota, Calif. and 28 from Kerman, Calif.

“ I have already learned so much from FastForward,” she said. “We have learned how to use the Blackboard system, discussion boards and how to apply for school.”

Gonzalez, who plans to take liberal studies courses at Fresno State, said she wants to become a teacher. She said college has been important to her since her early teens.

“ Since I was 13, I have wanted to become someone,” Gonzalez said. “I want to graduate and get out of Firebaugh.”

The FastForward online workshops are held once a week in each of the three high schools and once a month at Fresno State. Using the university’s Blackboard system, students can apply for school, study for placement tests and familiarize themselves with other realities of college life such as time management, study skills and career options.

“ FastForward is a fantastic concept,” said Victor Villar, principal of Mendota High School. “All the feedback I’ve had from students and parents has been very positive so far.”

Villar said it is particularly rewarding to see parents so engaged in the future of their children. FastForward includes parents in various stages of the program and allows them the opportunity to visit Fresno State to see, firsthand, the experience their children will have as incoming students.

It is an experience, Villar said, that is unique to most parents from Mendota, a community of about 7,800 people at the western edge of Fresno County. The median household income in Mendota is just less than $24,000.

“ I’d say at least 98 percent of our parents are looking for help to get their kids behind the idea of going to college,” Villar said. “They want something better for their kids.” Villar added that it has been a challenge to help students understand that Mendota is their foundation, but it does not have to been their whole life.

To be eligible for FastForward, a students must: have a strong interest in attending Fresno State, meet California residency requirements, be a first-generation student to a four-year university, demonstrate academic capabilities and motivation to succeed in the year-long program, demonstrate the need for financial assistance, and have a minimum 2.5 grade point average.

The FastForward program is funded through two grants totaling $5 million from the U.S. Department of Education. The five-year grants were available only to “Hispanic Serving Institutions.” About 33 percent of Fresno State’s undergraduates are Hispanic.

According to Villar, about three-fourths of Mendota’s 2002 graduating class went on to post-secondary education, but he said only 5 to 6 percent of Hispanic students complete their degrees.

Villar is certain FastForward to Academic Success will make a dent in those historically low-retention figures.

“ This program will help to reinforce the message that completing college should not be a maybe, but an expectation,” Villar said. “We hope that eventually students will not be asking if they should go to college, but rather what college they should go to.”