As another school year comes to an end, so does an innovative program for the central San Joaquin Valley’s young learners.
On a recent sunny day in the rural farmworking community of Firebaugh in west Fresno County, two dozen fifth-graders from Mills Intermediate School visited Coalinga College’s satellite campus in Firebaugh.
The vast majority of students at Mills intermediate are Latino and come from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds. Nearly half are English learners. For many, college may seem out of reach.
They were part of a novel program known as Crayons to College. Through the program, K-8 students are invited to the Firebaugh Center campus regularly throughout the spring semester.
It was created through a collaborative partnership between the schools in 2024 to help Firebaugh students become interested in higher education and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) topics early on in their academic careers.
Some research reflects that early exposure to secondary education can help students of color envision themselves in college, help them set educational goals and ultimately increase college and career readiness.
During an hour-long visit to the Firebaugh Center, students receive hands-on demonstrations from professors – ranging from learning about human anatomy, one-on-one conversations with the Firebaugh Police Department, and performing science experiments inside a laboratory.
‘They’re asking questions, they’re engaged’
Chemistry professor Kenneth Henry has seen dozens of classes roll through his campus as part of this program. But each visit is special, he said.
With a large grin, Henry greeted the buzzing group of students at the door of his laboratory.
Henry quickly ran through introductions of the lesson as the students settled into their seats. He asked questions about what the students knew about chemistry and how it works in the world around them.
Soon enough, Henry led the students through a brisk demonstration about the light spectrum, atoms and electrons.
He handed out special lenses called diffraction glasses, and asked the class to observe what colors shine out of a light bulb. Students started calling out the colors they saw – pink, purple, red and blue.
A professor of nine years at the Firebaugh Center, Henry said the younger learners are more fascinated in the classroom compared to his regular college-age students.
“When they first get in there, they're all quiet and they're all like, ‘What is this guy gonna do?,’ Henry said. “After they do the experiment, they're lit up, they're asking questions, they're engaged.”
His hope is that being in real laboratories can inspire younger students to pursue careers in STEM.
“It's good to get these students started early because they're being exposed to sciences,” Henry said. "A lot of times we underestimate their potential, particularly being in a rural area.”
Dual enrollment opportunities
For rural communities like Firebaugh, it’s crucial that community colleges have a strong presence to encourage a “college-going culture” and demystify the route to higher education, saidAmber Myrick, Coalinga College’s spokesperson.
“Even if mom and dad haven't gone to college, these students have been at our center, have seen college classes, have talked to college instructors and the counselors that may enroll them later,” Myrick said.
The partnership between the two campuses also allows Mills Intermediate eighth-graders the opportunity to take a dual enrollment course, under the Junior Falcons program.
Dual enrollment allows high school students to take college-level courses and earn high school and college credit simultaneously.
Participation in dual enrollment has been steadily rising in California, with more than 150,000 students earning college credit through dual enrollment this year.
Research shows this course option can increase equitable access to postsecondary education and improve college readiness. However, data indicates that Black and Latino students are behind in access to dual enrollment. Students who face education barriers – such as English learners and socioeconomically disadvantaged students – also lag behind in enrollment.
Dual enrollment is not widely offered to middle school students. The Junior Falcons program is one of the few in the region to allow eighth-graders to participate.
At the Firebaugh Center, the course eighth-graders can take is career exploration. The one-unit course, so far, has a 100% pass rate with 40% of students seeking dual enrollment as they progress to high school.
“In eighth grade, you may not know what exactly you want to do,” Myrick said. “It sets them up so that they can think about [what they want to] study in the future. And it most definitely sets them up for high school dual enrollment as well.”