NACAC - Spring 2020 - 10

CBO SPOTLIGHT
space and resources. Now Westridge School
hosts girls in fifth and sixth grade, while
Chandler School hosts boys of the same ages.
Mayfield Junior School hosts seventh and eighth
graders, and Polytechnic hosts students in ninth
grade through their pre-college summer.
The program also works to expand mentoring
beyond the summer months. They offer tutoring
throughout the school year and host community
events to make sure their students keep
returning every summer.
"It's a commitment from all parts," he said.
Partnership for Success! is truly a partnership,
not a one-sided relationship, he added. He
believes Polytechnic and the other participating
independent schools get just as much out of it as
the public schools and their students.
"I think one of the benefits to the independent
schools is that it helps in recruiting teachers

who are thinking about teaching in independent
schools but are worried that they are just going
to be teaching to elite students, who, quite
frankly, don't always need quality teachers. They
are going to be okay regardless," Melgoza said.
"I was a person who taught at public schools
and I was on the fence about teaching at an
independent. When I found out about Poly and the
fact that it had this program and that I could work
in the program, I was sold. That's kind of what
brought me here and I know a lot of my faculty,
especially the younger faculty that are socially
conscious, it's a big attraction for them to be able
to come and work in a program like this."
Partnership for Success! boasts a 100 percent
high school graduation rate and a nearly 100
percent college enrollment rate.
As they move into their 30th summer and
beyond, they are now looking to track their

students throughout their college experience.
They want to make sure program participants
graduate with a college degree.
"One of my biggest hopes is that they start
understanding pretty early on that college is
a reality and, regardless of where they are at,
if they push themselves, they can go beyond
what they thought was possible. We know that
whatever their dreams are, it's most likely going
to require a college education and unfortunately,
a lot of students start to think about college a
little bit too late," Melgoza said.
"Our hope is that they do the legwork to
prepare themselves so they're able to go there
and then thrive."
Ashley Dobson formerly served as NACAC's
senior manager of communications, content
and social media.

High school students
involved in Partnership
for Success! gather on
the first day of summer
programming.

Visit NACAC's CBO database at casp.nacacnet.org.

10

THE JOURNAL OF

COLLEGE ADMISSION
http://casp.nacacnet.org
NACAC - Spring 2020

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