Cal State San Bernardino was one of 45 colleges and universities chosen to be part of the #CaliforniansForAll College Corps, a historic program where students will have the opportunity to serve their communities and help pay for their college.

“California is a world leader in both higher education and service,” said Gov. Gavin Newsom in a news release issued by the California Volunteers. “The #CaliforniansForAll College Corps advances these priorities by connecting Californians of different backgrounds with enriching service opportunities throughout the state while making college more affordable for our state’s future leaders. We hope the Corps will be replicated across the nation.”

Under the two-year fellowship program set to begin in the fall, CSUSB will recruit, train, place, supervise and evaluate each year 75 full-time undergraduate students, including 25 eligible Dreamer students, at both the San Bernardino and Palm Desert campuses. The fellows will receive over two academic years of service opportunities in areas such as K-12 education, COVID-19 recovery and climate recovery, said Summer Steele, director of the CSUSB California Student Opportunity and Access Program (Cal-SOAP).

At CSUSB, the program plans to coach 3,500 K-12 students, and for the tutoring aspect, 5,000 students will be tutored to help them increase and/or improve their academic performance, Steele said.

“We are honored to be part of this wonderful program where our student fellows serve our communities and K-12 schools, while at the same time our fellows are aided with their tuition and school costs,” said CSUSB President Tomás D. Morales. “The #CaliforniansForAll College Corps program complements CSUSB’s DNA of helping those in need both on campus and in the communities we serve.”

Students who complete one year of service will receive a $7,000 living allowance and up to a $3,000 in education award at the end of service. The amount will cover what program recipients are expected to come up with by either taking out a loan or working long hours in a job while they are in school. They will also have the opportunity to receive academic credit for their service and engage in cutting-edge service-learning academic service curriculum on campus.

Each fellow must commit to 450 service hours per year, according to the program.

Statewide, the program will provide up to 6,500 students with the fellowship.

Cal State San Bernardino is one of 16 CSU campuses in the inaugural program. The CSU participated in an earlier pilot program.

“The California State University students who participated in the pilot program over the past year took their world-class CSU education and translated that into on-the-ground tutoring and mentoring in their communities,” said CSU Chancellor Joseph I. Castro. “This program is an invaluable opportunity for our students to not only give back to their communities, but also to help prepare the next generation of CSU students for success. We look forward to even greater opportunities for the students selected through the inaugural year of the Corps.” 

CSUSB is participating as part of a regional consortium that includes the Riverside Community College District; San Bernardino Community College District; the College of the Desert; the University of California, Riverside; and Growing Inland Achievement, which will serve as the coordinating agency.

CSUSB will focus primarily on K-12 education in response to the learning loss and social-emotional challenges experienced due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

CSUSB fellows will be positioned throughout the region at high-need elementary, middle and high schools. These fellows will utilize coaching and tutoring methods to engage students in the learning process and help students develop the skills necessary to set and achieve goals. Coaching sessions may be delivered individually, in small groups or classroom settings. Given the COVID-19 pandemic, the project will utilize hybrid delivery methods, as needed, to ensure equitable access to services.

All K-12 fellows will be trained in effective coaching strategies, AVID academic support techniques including Focused Note Taking, Critical Reading, WICOR, and tutoring techniques, mandated reporting, Federal Education Rights Privacy Act, Praesidium child abuse prevention, school-site procedures and data collection and entry.

In addition, select fellows will be identified and provided specialized training to support historically marginalized (or disproportionate) populations, including students who identify as LGBTQIA+, students with disabilities, undocumented and mixed status students, youth in foster care, youth experiencing homelessness, Black/African American students, and Native American students. In addition, 10 of the fellows will be sent to various food banks to meet the community needs.

Visit CalifornianAllCollegeCorps for more information.

For more information about the CSUSB #CaliforniansForAll College Corps Fellows program, contact Summer Steele, director of the CSUSB California Student Opportunity and Access Program (Cal-SOAP) at bivenss@csusb.edu.