EL MONTE – More than 500 El Monte-area middle and high school students and their families learned skills on how to succeed in high school, prepare for college and achieve their personal goals during El Monte Union’s second annual College and Career Family Conference, called “The Places You’ll Go!”

Held in partnership with El Monte City and Mountain View school districts, the El Monte Promise Foundation, Rio Hondo College and UC Irvine, the Oct. 19 conference offered over 30 workshops in English and Spanish covering a range of topics, including financial aid, college entrance requirements, resources for Dream Act students and a review of the UC and CSU systems.

“Our goal is to ensure the El Monte community exudes a college- and career-going culture by providing our students – from our young seventh-graders to our graduating seniors – the tools to succeed in their future paths,” said Edith Echeverria, El Monte Union’s Director of Assessment, Accountability, and Family Engagement. “It’s not only important for our students to have these skills, but it’s also imperative that our parents support their children with college readiness at every level.”

The conference featured workshops tailored to specific grade levels: Life Skills to Survive High School (grades 7-8); Pathway to College (grades 9-10); Understanding College Options (grade 11) and Senior College Timeline (grade 12). Other workshops covered topics on career technical education, how to make college applications stand out, at-home strategies for student success, costs of attending college, SAT and ACT exam explanation and foster youth resources.

The conference was followed by a college and community outreach resource fair featuring Foothill Family Services, Bridges Mental Health, Spiritt Family Services and Pasadena City College’s Upward Bound program, among other community partners.

“Preparation and knowledge are key to student success as they begin their ascent to high school and college, and parent engagement is critical to ensuring our students achieve their goals,” Superintendent Dr. Edward Zuniga said. “I want to thank our students and parents for being so involved, our team of educators for providing resources and options to our El Monte families and our community partners for supporting our efforts to foster a college-going culture.”

PHOTO CAPTIONS:

102319_EMUHSD_FAMILYCONFERENCE1: El Monte Union Superintendent Dr. Edward Zuniga greets parents and participants who attended the District’s second annual College and Career Family Conference on Oct. 19 at Mountain View High School.

102319_EMUHSD_FAMILYCONFERENCE2: Parents and students attend one of several workshops offered at the College and Career Family Conference designed to provide resources and skills on how to ensure student success in high school and college.

102319_EMUHSD_FAMILYCONFERENCE3: Families attend a college and community resource fair featuring Foothill Family Services and Pasadena City College’s Upward Bound program, among other community partners.