CENCAL : Educational Programs that Work!
Last Updated: Monday, June 8, 2009
The Central California WESTOP Chapter is a network of members interested in furthering access to educational opportunities for economically and educationally disadvantaged persons and persons with disabilities by enhancing members' professional development and equipping members with the right tools necessary in promoting institutional approaches at the local level and furthering policies at both the state and federal level which would advance educational equity.
This chapter is located in the geographical center of California’s most productive agricultural region, Central California (Monterey, Kern, Stanislaus, Tulare, San Joaquin, Madera counties, Kings, San Luis Obispo, Merced and Fresno county) is home to approximately 4 million people. The target area is one of the fastest growing areas in California, but this growth has been accompanied by escalating poverty rates, chronic unemployment, limited urban exposure and excessively low levels of educational attainment that far surpass levels in other major metropolitan and rural areas. In fact, given its extensive size, Central California is perhaps the neediest region in the West in terms of its economic and educational opportunities.
Amongst the programs we serve are: EDUCATIONAL TALENT SEARCH, UPWARD BOUND, STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES, GEAR UP, EOC, AND MCNAIR PROGRAMS. We welcome all Trio programs to participate in our CENCAL activities.
A disproportionately high percentage of rural residents first migrated to the region seeking seasonal farm employment. Farm workers are among the least educated and poorest members of the American labor force, and their educational and economic disadvantages are historically passed along to the vast majority of their children. By contrast, urban residents in the target area are far more diverse, comparable in many respects to those residing in other major California cities. Nevertheless, a significant percentage of this latter group is also unemployed or underemployed.
Our target counties have high unemployment rate. The Central California WESTOP Pilot Chapter serves over 30 TRIO programs. We believe there is an intense need for our Central California WESTOP Chapter.
We thank you for visiting our website and hope you learn and become more interested in how we network amongst each other and continue to serve our educational programs
Welcome to Westop: CenCal Chapter!
TRiO Students from across Central California march to a CSU San Jose Spartan vs. Fresno State Bulldogs game, promoting TRiO along with Congressman Jim Costa.
Martina Granados, Helena Orozco, and Jesse Reyes-Murray receive awards at the Professional Development Seminar held at West Hills College in Lemoore, California.
Students of Educational Talent Search visit the Golden Gate Bridge close to Pier 39 after a tour of UC Berkeley.
Upcoming events
7/26/09 summer Jam 2009
National hispanic university
SAn jose, CA
CONTACT: Arnold Melgar
10/09 8th ANNUAL professional dev CONFERENCE
location to be announced
Historian: Dennis Adkins, Fresno City College:
“There was a drive within the collective identity of the TRiO family who hailed from the geographical middle of the Golden State that sparked the genesis of what would become Central Cal. Today its members generate a vitality within their programs and for their students that speaks to the distinctiveness of their region and affirms Central Cal’s unique place within the WESTOP organization.”
“In 1999, certain TRiO program staff members, who would eventually have their own Central Cal identity, reasoned that due to the large geographical area that is California, our state’s TRiO organizations’ meetings tended to talk specifically (and not unexpectedly so) to northern or southern concerns and issues. The central valley and central coast concerns and issues were often neither north relevant nor south relevant: They were both and neither, and therefore central and unique.
And so was born from this geopolitical dynamic the fledgling Central Cal,
of the parent WESTOP TRiO Organization”
