MBX Next Aims to Bridge High School/Community College Transition
Apr 13, 2021 09:59AM ● By Jeanne Fratello
South Bay students who enroll at El Camino College may have a lot of questions about coursework, social life, and staying on track to transfer to a four-year college. That's where MBX NEXT - a new program from the MBX Foundation comes in.
MBX NEXT is designed for any graduates of South Bay high schools, including recent graduates, students taking a gap year, and any graduate of a South Bay high school who is recommitting to higher education.
The program is aimed at helping make the transition over the summer in getting ready for study at El Camino College. It will help students with course registration, planning, and managing the transition to independence.
"Our
community in general puts a lot of pressure on students to take the
first path – going away to college – although that is not always the
best choice for the student," said MBX Executive Director Jennifer Williams. "In fact, we have two very, very good
community college options serving our students, and for some, this path
is the best choice for them."
Williams continued: "Some students may have gone off to college and not
had the most successful experience. Or, changing circumstances have
meant coming home and attending community college. No matter how or why
they made the decision to go to community college, we wanted to create a
program that brought these students together so that they could learn
together and support each other."
The program places students in cohorts and each gets assigned an "ambassador." Over five weeks during the summer, they engage in interactive classes and receive support with all aspects of the transition.
"We
know that when students feel supported and connected, they do better," said Williams. "We want them to feel the connection
of having other students around them who are going through this same
transition. We want to connect them to mentors who can help them take
the next step."
MBX NEXT Programming
The MBX NEXT program will run for five weeks, from June 28 through July 29. Students will meet with their classmates for two hours a day, two days a week (Monday/Wednesday or Tuesday/Thursday) in the morning. Tuition is $1,500 for the summer.
Once a student enrolls, the program director will reach out to
the student and find out where they are in their registration process.
According to Williams, El Camino staff has
told MBX that many students have trouble completing all of the priority registration steps in a
timely manner. (These steps are important because priority
registration is what allows students to get the classes they need
to progress and be able to transfer in two years.)
Once students complete these steps, they fill out a survey to describe their strengths, weaknesses,
interests and their expectations for college and future goals. The survey will help determine
the best placement in a cohort for each student (with about 10 students in each cohort).
Workshops will start the week of June 28. Students will meet at Kinecta’s training site,
behind Arclight Theater in El Segundo. Each workshop is approximately 2 hours long.
Led by Dr. Toni Brown, students will do reading and research on learning styles,
motivation, meta-cognition, goal-setting, time management, and how all of
these concepts apply to their future education and goals.
In the fall - and each semester thereafter - students can re-enroll to stay connected with their cohort friends and ambassador. The will also get help staying on track for transfer and course registration; attend monthly workshops in topics like career exploration, life skills, networking, and resume writing, etc.; hear from volunteer mentors in various career fields; get help managing coursework; and get access to tutors as needed.
According to Williams, approximately 65 students from each Mira Costa High School graduating class go
to El Camino College. Approximately 200 go to El Camino from Redondo Beach, and approximately 50 go from El Segundo.
(Although Santa Monica College is also a popular choice for local students, the MBX NEXT program is currently just working with El Camino College.)
For more information, visit MBX NEXT or contact Jennifer Williams ([email protected]) or Dana Lindley ([email protected]).
