Intentionally Inclusive & Enlightened Educators UC Merced—A Hispanic Serving Institution Dr. Linda Prieto October 12, 2015

Barriers and Bridges to Student Success in Higher Education BarriersBridges Language Loss Campus-Home Cultural Mismatch Academic Tracking Standardized Testing Lack of Professional Role Models ▫First Generation ▫Low-Income Balanced Bilinguals Culturally Efficacious Teaching Enacting High Expectations Care for the Whole Student Involvement in Extracurricular Activities Role Models Mentors and Advocates

Supporting Students’ Desire and Drive for Success Latina StudentsLatino Students Making Education Work for Latinas in the U.S.Making Education Work for Latinas in the U.S. 80% of Latinas aspire to go to college but one in three drops out of high school only 15% earn a college degree 27% of Latinas live below the poverty line ▫Full ReportFull Report Junot Díaz Project MALES (Mentoring to Achieve Latino Educational Success)Project MALES (Mentoring to Achieve Latino Educational Success) Latino males have the lowest high school graduation rates and the lowest college enrollment and completion rates of any subgroup

Factors that Improve Educational Outcomes for Students Encourage me Believe in me, so I can believe in myself Inspire me to dream Praise me, so I can demand more of myself Give me something to look forward to ▫opportunities to lead Give me as sense of belonging Provide opportunities for me to learn about my culture and express cultural pride Help me to pay it forward

Insights into Ourselves Help us Understand Others Mexican American Child of immigrants ▫transnational Emerging bilingual learner Christian ▫Catholic home Blended family ▫mother, father, 3 siblings, 1 half sibling Cisgender female Free lunch recipient

Insights into Ourselves Help us Understand Others Dr. Linda Prieto Bilingual/Bicultural Educator Single MomChicana/LatinaSpiritual Native Spanish Speaker U.S. CitizenCisgender Female List the various identities that inform how you experience the world. What are the many aspects that make up who you are? What discrepancies exist between how you self identify and how others perceive you? How can you learn about, learn from, and honor the various identities of UC Merced students? Be prepared to share.

Intentionally Inclusive & Enlightened Educators What does it mean to be intentionally inclusive? What does it mean to be an enlightened educator? How do I, through my own work or in collaboration with others, positively impact the recruitment and retention of students at UC Merced?

Brainstorm What do I need, and from whom, to help me positively impact the experiences of UC Merced students? How will I recognize and embrace students’ diversity, acknowledge their struggles, and work to bring social justice and academic excellence to their experiences at UC Merced?

Action Items Establish one short- and one long-term goal you will pursue to positively impact the experiences of UC Merced students? As a Student Affairs Team at UC Merced, develop objectives to help you achieve the goals of… ▫being intentionally inclusive and enlightened educators ▫enhancing student success at UC Merced.

Reflective Practice Self Evaluation: Where am I now? Target Setting: Where do I want to be? Action Planning: How will I get there? Action and Practice Reflection: How well did I do? Recognize Personal Development & Acknowledge Achievements

Designing a co-curriculum without student input is unlikely to be successful, as will any attempt to be educationally purposeful in the absence of important contextual information concerning what students do, who they are, how they perceive and respond to the environment, what conditions facilitate productive learning, and a host of other related topics. (Harper, 2011, p. 294) Dr. Linda Prieto Cell: (210)