Recommendation to request City Attorney to draft a resolution in support of the City of Long Beach joining the Long Beach College Promise as a formal partner with Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD), Long Beach City College (LBCC), and California State University Long Beach (CSULB); expanding the College Promise to include a goal of universal preschool, expansion of internships for Long Beach students, and support for college completion; and return resolution for Council approval within 30 days.
Item number 13 Communications from Council Member Robert Ringer, Vice Mayor Susie Lowenthal, Councilwoman Susie Price and Councilman Rex Richardson. Recommendation and request. Request City Attorney to draft a resolution in support of joining the Long Beach College Promise as a formal partner with Obie, USD, IPCC and CSU. RB okay, there's been a motion. Is there a second? Okay, there's a motion and a second. With that, I'm going to turn this over first to Councilmember Turanga to say a few comments, and then I'm going to open up for public comment and I'll bring it back to the council. Councilor RINGO Thank you, Mayor, and thank you for working with me on the College Promise Resolution because I think it's a very important item for not only our our kids at schools, in the universities, but for the city as a whole, because it provides an additional it closes the loop when it comes to our educational partners, when it comes to a seamless educational process where they go from the K-12 system into the community college system and into the CSU system, there was a missing item there and that was the city's involvement. And I think that pushing this forward in regards to having the city as a part, as a full partner in a college province , speaks volumes about the commitment that the city as a whole has for not only education, but for the whole economic recovery of our region. Because when we have people who are educated, when we have people who are are being trained through our internships, who are in preschool programs, who are going to the university and then going into into into the work, into the workforce really helps our economy. And and when it comes down to Long Beach, it is we are uniquely situated in terms of what we are able to do here because of the fact that we have a well renowned and well recognized school board, because our community college also has national recognition for what it's done and it is continued to do in in seamless education and in student success and in our university, as well as in providing access for success to our students. So I'm very proud to put this forward. I hope that the City Council will support this and that we can go on full board into developing a seamless education program that provides all the access for our students and for our communities to be successful in not only their their educational goals, but in their professional and and work goals as well. Thank you. Thank you. And I want to thank you also, Councilmember, you've been working on the college promise as a trustee for for over a decade. And so thank you for for your work. And you and I have worked together, I know, on this issue as well. So, Councilwoman Pryce. Thank you. I want to thank the mayor and Councilman Ranga for bringing this forward. I think we have to really acknowledge the efforts of our mayor to make this very natural partnership a reality. Because as a as a mother of two kids who currently go to Long Beach Unified Schools, I think it makes perfect sense to have the city be a partner with the various educational institutions. And our mayor has really pushed that forward. And as a parent in this community, I'm grateful for that and I'm happy to support it. You know, we had this conversation at the dinner table at our house last week because we're looking at middle schools and thinking about where the path is going to lead. Our family and our kids know what the college promise was. And so it felt good to explain it to them and to share with them that they have an opportunity in this city that many cities don't offer children who go to public school. So I want to thank the mayor and obviously to support this motion. Thank you. Councilmember Andrews. Yes, thank you, Mayor. You know, I just want to take the time to think about mayor, you know, on this are in and spearheading the efforts on this program, because our students really need this boost of encouragement as well as the funding of the scholarships. You know, doing the best at this moment, you know, for our youth and at least is putting us in a real good place in their future. So I really want to congratulate you, Mayor, and also Councilman Elanga, for working so hard on this project. Thank you. Thank you. And I like that I have Dr. Feldt Williams, who is a senior member of one unified board, to say a few words. Good evening, Mayor Garcia. Members of the City Council executive staff. I'm here to support the draft resolution, the long college promise. And I do have a few remarks. As the vice president of the Board of Education for Long Beach Unified School District, I encourage the Council to approve the item asking for a draft resolution in support of the city of Long Beach, joining the Long Beach College promise as a full partner. We welcome the efforts by the City Council and the mayor to partner with us on the creation of internships for students and to expand early childhood education opportunities, particularly for families who cannot afford to pay for preschool. The college promise was first sign in 2008 by leaders from Long Beach Unified School District, Long Beach City College and Cal State Long Beach to help students prepare for and succeed in college. And I do recall being at that first signing with the council when you ranga graduating seniors from our school district can receive a tuition free semester at Long Beach City College and guaranteed admission to Cal State Long Beach if they meet minimum requirements at the university. And you should know that there are thousands of students that are turned away by law, by Cal State, Long Beach, just so they can stay committed to the promise of accommodating our students. More than 5000 high school graduates have benefited from free enrollment at Long Beach City College in the fall semester and Long Beach City College and Long Beach Unified School District students have shown that they are more likely to remain enrolled at the university than other students. Each year, the College Proms provides visits to City College and Cal State Long Beach for all fourth and fifth graders in our school district. And I was there just last week as the fifth graders descended on Cal State, Long Beach. And what a moment to see how these kids really get turned on about being in that environment and what a difference it makes for these kids as they get a chance to demystify what that environment is like. And it's not just a tour. They actually get a chance to sit in on some of the classrooms and so forth. So they really get a good understanding of what's transpiring at that at that level. The college promise was described as a national model in a case study by the Washington, D.C. based Business Higher Education Forum and the Little Hoover Commission, an independent agency that recommends ways to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of state programs, cited the college promise as a success as a successful model, saying more. Long Beach Unified School District Students. Graduates are enrolling postsecondary courses at the City College State University. They are better prepared than their peers from other school districts, and fewer are dropping out after their first semester. As you know. In October this year, Mayor Garcia joined the leaders of Long Beach Unified School District, Long Beach City College and Cal State Long Beach in signing a renewed and expanded Long Beach College promise. And we're pleased to see tonight's agenda item, which would provide additional support of this community wide effort. And we want to commend Councilman Urunga by supporting such a resolution. You are supporting an effort that has been two decades in the making. The Long Beach College promise is the legacy of our seamless education partnership that began in 1994 with our K-12 and higher education institutions partnering with businesses and community organizations to develop a world class education system. One of the results is that the Long Beach Unified School District has been named one of the top five school districts in the world in terms of efficiency and productivity. Our school district also has a long and proud history of partnering with the city. Our superintendent of staff would be happy to work with the city attorney. To assist with the drafting of the resolution to suggest the item is a logical extension of our ongoing collaborative work, which is why my colleagues on the board are pleased to recommend approval this evening. Thank you for your consideration. Thank you, Dr. Williams. And is there any other public comment on the item? Casey Anthony, thank you for for for your service. Filton and we have a motion on the floor that's been made. Members, please go to cast your vote. Motion carries six zero. Motion carries. Thank you very much. And thank you for for coming by. We are now going to move into our our other presentation that had a time certain tonight at 6:00, and that is a presentation for now. Assemblyman Patrick O'Donnell, who just joined us with his beautiful other half, Jennifer O'Donnell, who is sitting next to him over