On August 20, Excelencia in Education — an organization that works to accelerate Latino student success in higher education — announced that SBCC’s Math Tutorial Lab has been named a finalist for the 2020 Examples of Excelencia. Of this year’s 112 national submissions from 24 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., the SBCC program was one of six at the community college level recognized for its leadership in effectively serving Latino students.
According to Excelencia in Education, “Closing the current equity gap in degree completion for Latino students requires vanguard leadership in replicable strategies that work for Latino students. Programs recognized through Examples of Excelenciaare accelerating degree completion and attainment through intentional, culturally relevant and effective high-impact practices tailored to Latino students.”
SBCC’s Math Tutorial Lab provides a computer lab for students to receive individual tutoring in all math and statistics courses through faculty and peer tutors. The Lab serves as a transformational space where collaboration, culturally relevant approaches, academic and social support empowers diverse learners — a significant number who are Latino — to achieve their academic goals. As of Fall 2019, when compared to Latino non-program participants, Latino program participants passed 23 percent more of their math courses at the end of the semester.
Upon receiving word from Examples of Excelencia, Bronwen Moore (Faculty Director of the Math Lab and Co-Director of both the Title III Grant and the BSSOT Grant) acknowledged, “This culturally responsive, hands-on and impactful work would not have been possible without the support of the SBCC Foundation, the state Basic Skills Student Outcome and Transformations (BSSOT) Grant, and the federal Title III Grant: Removing Barriers to STEM Success.”
Elizabeth Imhof (Dean of Arts, Humanities, and Social Science and Co-Director of the Title III Grant) added, “We are honored to receive this well-deserved recognition for the work of Bronwen Moore, Allison Chapin, Nina Grimison and all of the dedicated faculty and tutors who make the Math Lab a national model for student centered best practice.”
Examples of Excelencia will feature the Math Tutorial Lab program in their 2020 “What Works for Latino Students in Higher Education Compendium: Growing What Works” database — the only national online, searchable database — to promote effective institutional practices for Latino students. Inclusion in that database provides SBCC the opportunity to showcase the Math Tutorial Lab program to a national audience dedicated to Latino student success.
Since 2005, Excelencia in Education has received over 1,000 program submissions, recognized over 300 programs and awarded $2 million to programs making a difference for Latino students. As one of the 2020 finalists for Examples of Excelencia, SBCC joins a national community of practitioners committed to Latino student success.
