Nourishing Minds and Bodies: An Uncommon Program

Income inequality

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

CCC’s student population, (100% low-income and 98% Latinx) faces significant hurdles in trying to break free of poverty. These statistics focus on Pomona Unified School District (PUSD), where 70% CCC students attend school. High concentration of poverty, English Learners, and foster youth (“high need”). 92.3% of PUSD students are high-need.
Poor student-to-counselor ratios. The American School Counselor Assn recommends a 250:1 student-to-counselor ratio. PUSD’s ratio is 594:1.
Low college eligibility. 44.9% of PUSD high school seniors complete their college prep courses.
Low math achievement. 90.4% of PUSD 8th graders are below grade level in math.
Low English Language Arts achievement. 69.8% of PUSD 8th grade students are below grade level.
Food insecurity and malnutrition. 54% of PUSD 5th graders are overweight or obese and 8% meet all fitness standards.
Lack of affordable/appropriate mental healthcare. Local state/county-funded provider offers only 6% of workshops in Spanish.

CCC is an after-school college access & completion program that is unlike others. CCC is highly effective because of seven factors. Intensity: CCC provides extensive one-to-one guidance through mentoring, tutoring & academic counseling, including the only free specialized tutoring for students with dyslexia in our region.
Length of engagement: Most students enroll in 4th grade and remain in program through high school & college graduation (13+ years), providing time to build authentic academic skills, emotional strength & an extensive network of tutors, mentors, staff & peers. Quality Enrichment: CCC enrichment programming offers classes in STEM (computer coding, math, environmental science), writing, reading, music & art.
Expert Academic Counseling: CCC’s staff guide students in high school course selection, major & college selection, college/financial aid applications. CCC alumni provide customized college visits. CCC college students have access to on-going one-to-one guidance & emergency funds. Parent engagement: Because parent involvement is key to student success, CCC trains parent program leaders & fosters extensive parent education/engagement.
Food: Nutrition is key to learning; Our CAUSA urban farming/gleaning project provides every family free, farm-fresh food year-round. Social/emotional Learning (SEL). With a first-of-its kind, free low-intensity cognitive behavioral therapy program & additional wellness services CCC provides SEL support for the whole family.

CCC’s vision of success: students & families are unshackled from systemic barriers that restrict their educational & career pathways.
In 2025, 860 CCC participants will have access to comprehensive educational & enrichment programming, healthy food & mental health support. All CCC high school graduates will be accepted to college & 20-30 students will graduate from college, improving their earning potential & that of future generations.
Looking to the future: Our dyslexia work over the past 5 years has earned the respect of the largest school district in our region. We contribute monthly to their Reading & Dyslexia Task Force, provide professional development & community workshops. We aim to earn this same trust from the other 14 districts we work with. With 2025 state law requiring all schools to screen students for reading difficulties by 2025, schools will need more support in a hurry; CCC can provide access to that support. CCC offers an effective program model for replication.

School performance data and the National Student Clearinghouse provide key CCC student metrics: 77-80% achieve a minimum 3.0 GPA, 100% of high school grads are accepted into college; of 93% alums tracked, 89% have earned their degree or are on track to do so; 59% STEM degrees. Monthly dyslexia progress reports for students, families & schools confirm 100% of students improve their reading accuracy.
Service audits indicate 125 school personnel participated in dyslexia training and 26K students /educators benefited from dyslexia capacity building.
Regular student program evaluations, parent program surveys, and one-to-one conversations with students & parents provide invaluable feedback on individual needs and program design.
CAUSA staff weigh harvested/distributed food: 25 tons fresh produce from 9 farms and 135 gleaning locations; 23K lbs. of nonperishable food; 660 individuals fed per mo. Parent surveys confirm demand for nutrition and health support such as annual diabetes clinic.