Before a crowd of Sacramento community leaders and nearly 100 beaming fourth-graders, Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef last week unveiled a model long-term partnership to prepare economically and educationally disadvantaged students for a future in higher education-with the potential reward of a grant to attend the campus. The Reservation for College program, made public at a June 10 celebration at Father Keith B. Kenny Elementary School in Sacramento's Oak Park neighborhood, will guide students--and their families--on a path toward college from the fourth grade through high-school graduation. Upon completion of the nine-year program, Reservation for College students who graduate from a UC Davis partner high school, and who achieve admission to the campus, will receive a grant to help defray their undergraduate costs. This unusual public university commitment is unique to UC Davis and made possible by a $1 million endowment from the university. In addition, schools throughout California will be able to implement Reservation for College instruction using curriculum materials developed at UC Davis. "Our hope is that we can make an immediate and lasting difference in the lives of the students and families involved in Reservation for College, by making available the practical tools they need to understand the importance of an education and what it takes to get to college," Vanderhoef said. "We hope that this program can be expanded, opening the doors of higher education, and reversing a pattern of educational disadvantage in many communities throughout the state." Reservation for College is a permanent addition to UC Davis' numerous K-14 outreach initiatives and partnerships with local schools. It is a cooperative public/private outreach effort among UC Davis, the Sacramento City Unified, Grant Joint Union High and Del Paso Heights Elementary school districts, and the Pacific Gas & Electric Co., the program's founding corporate sponsor. The Reservation for College inaugural class, the entire fourth grade at Kenny Elementary, were congratulated at a punch-and-cookies event by the chancellor, Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante and Assembly Member Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento. Television news crews from six local channels documented the festivities, as did leaders of Sacramento's education community and African American organizations. "I am glad to know that UC Davis is committing a significant portion of its outreach funds to this particular project, and that the university plans to expand the idea of 'Reservation for College' to other similar classrooms," Bustamante said. "The importance of the university's making the earliest possible connection to young people, and using all the persuasion, cajoling, mentoring and guidance that it can bring to bear to make young children college-ready, cannot be diminished. The children at Father Keith B. Kenny Elementary School--and similar elementary schools in Sacramento, the valley and across the state--need and deserve this amount of care and attention from the university." Special after-school program The fourth graders at Kenny Elementary spent 20 hours this spring in a special after-school program, developed by UC Davis and taught by their classroom teachers, to learn why education is important for success in life, and the path they need to follow to achieve admission to college. "College is important, because you can't get through life without it," said Iessa Burton, 10, who is already aiming to attend UC Davis in the fall of 2007. "I know if I want to go to UC Davis, I need to get good grades, study hard and do all my homework. And I want to." Family members of the Kenny students also met individually with counselors from UC Davis and signed a commitment to the Reservation for College program. The program relies upon heavy involvement from families. UC Davis staff members have prepared an academic plan for each child that will follow them through high school, and the progress of each child will be monitored as a participant in UC Davis' Early Academic Outreach Program. "The mutual involvement of student, teacher and family-that in itself is a tracking mechanism," said Shelley Davis, director of Early Academic Outreach, which administers Reservation for College. "All three are working hand-in-hand in this process called college readiness. This reminds the student that college is where they are going, and it keeps students on track." Future grants for Reservation for College partner school graduates will be funded through the interest income of a $1 million initial endowment from UC Davis. The Legislature and governor, through state funds designated to the University of California's outreach programs, provide ongoing annual operating support of $100, 000. And as the founding corporate partner, PG&E Co. has committed $57,500 over three years to help fund Reservation for College curriculum materials. PG&E in leadership role PG&E, which has contributed over $900,000 in support to UC Davis over the past decade, will also take a leadership role in recruiting future corporate sponsors for the Reservation for College program. More private donors will be needed to endow future grants and to expand the program to more schools. "Pacific Gas & Electric Co. is dedicated to helping the children of today become the leaders of tomorrow through the power of education," said Gordon Smith, the company's president and chief executive officer. "We are delighted to be a partner in this innovative program that combines work in the classroom and activities at home to make a university degree an attainable goal for all children." PG&E helped finance the production of a series of workbooks that serve as the foundation of the Reservation for College curriculum --20 hours of instruction at each grade level through eighth grade. Each lesson builds up to the next, beginning in the fourth grade with an introduction to the many lifetime opportunities children have, and an explanation of how the choices they make today will influence their future success. Ongoing counseling and academic advisement will continue through high school, with particular emphasis on Scholastic Aptitude Test preparation and the college application process. "The curriculum is designed to make clear the essential link between education, career opportunities and adult life options, to help students understand that they have to work to make themselves an educated person,'' said Faith Paul, director of educational outreach. "We want to show them, in each grade, the defined pathways that will give them the keys to open the doors to college and lifetime opportunities." Teachers are vital to the program's success, and Reservation for College includes teacher training in the college preparation instruction--yet also allows flexibility for teachers to incorporate the concepts into their everyday lessons. Field trips part of instruction "Reservation for College gives an added dimension to college preparation that, even as teachers, we can't duplicate," said Kenny teacher Gail Johnson, who accompanied her fourth-graders on a May field trip to the UC Davis campus as the final piece of their instruction. "In elementary schools, so much is abstract for kids. This gives them a very clear picture, it helps them set goals and see the path." The Reservation for College curriculum being developed at UC Davis is designed to be expanded statewide. It is available to any school site or school district in California that would like to incorporate the program into its instruction. The only cost would be the reproduction of the workbooks and materials. The program, and the undergraduate grant portion of Reservation for College, is also designed for potential expansion to targeted, disadvantaged schools through private sponsorships and corporate adopt-a-school programs.