access

Mason’s Early Identification Program celebrates new high school graduates headed to college

Melanie Balog — Thu, 09 Jun 2022 15:04:51 +0000

Mason’s Early Identification Program celebrates new high school graduates headed to college Melanie Balog Thu, 06/09/2022 - 11:04

Learn more about EIP

Nora Kurtishi

Nora Kurtishi, a Manassas Park High School graduate headed to ��AV in the fall, credits Mason’s Early Identification Program for her success in high school. Kurtishi, who plans to study biology, is a University Scholar and received a College of Science Promise Scholarship. She will be attending Mason’s Honors College.

“The program was really grounding to me since I was meeting like-minded students on a regular basis,” said Kurtishi. “They, along with the EIP mentors, helped me not lose sight of my goal of college.”

Kurtishi, who spoke at this year’s EIP graduation ceremony, was one of 112 graduating seniors from high schools across Northern Virginia who participated in EIP. The program has helped first-generation college bound students achieve academic success for more than 30 years.

Donovan Cloud

EIP provides access to educational resources, mentoring and programming for students from seven local public school systems, including Fairfax County, Manassas City, Prince William County, Arlington County, and Alexandria City. The program is intended to equip students with skills that will help them become lifelong learners, leaders and responsible global citizens. Mason students, many of whom are first-generation college students themselves, help with mentoring.

Last month, the students celebrated their graduations from EIP and their respective schools. Ninety-five of the 112 graduating seniors have been admitted to college. Ninety-two of EIP seniors applied to Mason, 82 were admitted, and 41 have decided to attend Mason.

Donovan Cloud, who graduated from Unity Reed High School, said EIP allowed him to gain confidence in himself. Cloud has more recently developed an interest in graphic design.

“EIP helped me blossom,” said Cloud, who will be attending Mason’s Honors College and is exploring what his major will be. “I was more insecure about myself, but EIP lifted that off of me.”

Khaseem F. Davis, EIP director, said this group of graduating seniors is special because of their awareness of social issues and determination to do something to change the world.

“Collectively, they’ve witnessed a great deal of social struggle,” Davis said. “They are more self-aware and socially aware than a lot of the students I’ve witnessed graduate from EIP. Many of them want to pursue careers that will allow them to make societal change. I see many of them doing great things in the years to come.”

Kalkidan Negussie

Kalkidan Negussie, who graduated from West Potomac High School, plans to study medical laboratory science at Mason.

Negussie said EIP’s summer academy helped her get a head start on her classes for the fall and intensified her interest in the STEM field.

“I’m interested in the medical field because I have a passion for helping others,” said Negussie, who also will be attending the Honors College. “I want to help people in dire need.”

Monica Amaya, another Manassas Park High School graduate, plans on studying information systems and operations management as an Honors College University Scholar. Amaya said that EIP mentors were inspirational.

Monica Amaya

“The mentors supported us with any questions we had about academics and colleges,” Amaya said. “They also got us emotionally. They weren’t just random people, but actual students at Mason who had gone through what we went through to get there.”

Amaya, who works part-time in a restaurant to help her family financially, says she’s looking forward to meeting new people in college and continuing her goal of finding a fulfilling career.

“It still hasn’t hit me that I’ve graduated,” Amaya said.

Topics

Early Identification Program (EIP)

Tech Talent Investment Program

TTIP

Tech Talent Investment Program (TTIP)

Mason expert says that book banning hurts students’ access to learning

Colleen Rich — Thu, 20 Jan 2022 18:22:48 +0000

Mason expert says that book banning hurts students’ access to learning Colleen Rich Thu, 01/20/2022 - 13:22

Maoria Kirker. Photo by Creative Services

Maoria Kirker, lead of the Teaching and Learning Team at ��AV Libraries, answered questions about book banning, the benefits of a diverse curriculum, and issues pertaining to access to higher education.

This spring Kirker is teaching a section of the Honors College course, HNRS 260 Society and Community Engagement, on “Access Issues in American Education" this semester through.

What do you see going on across the country when it comes to book banning?

Book banning has a long history, not just in the United States, but throughout the world. While we see a national movement aimed at banning certain texts in schools and libraries today, books are continually challenged at local school boards and libraries. Challenges happen so frequently that the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom keeps track of the most challenged books each year. While new books appear on the list each year, there are some standards that are regularly challenged, such as “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

What are the benefits of having diverse perspectives and characters in the K-12 curriculum?

Many K-12 students do not have the luxury of being able to travel beyond their local communities. Books help students learn about the vast world they may not be able to physically access. Stories help students build empathy. Diverse characters and points of view bring the world to life. Beyond building empathy for others, diverse perspective and characters help children think through history, ideas, and concepts from different angles. This is an essential skill for critical thinking, which serves students throughout their lifetime.

What are the detriments of limiting books and access to books?

Limiting access to books might solve one family’s concerns about their child reading a particular text, but it removes the opportunity from another child. Book banning has a ripple effect that impinges the rights of other readers. While families have the right to restrict their children from reading certain books, they can’t enforce that on other families. Banning books also has the potential to create significant gaps in knowledge for young learners. Whether it is a canonical classic or a new book that is banned, book banning and limiting access have the potential to leave students behind their peers.

How does standardized testing affect education and access to education?

Standardized testing is the de facto measurement of student learning in the United States. These tests often measure how well students take a test rather than their learning. If schools are under-resourced, then scores will likely suffer as well. In this way standardized tests do not reflect how much learning occurred.

Standardized tests like the SAT and ACT are gatekeeping tests that impact access to higher education. Scores often reflect students’ free time to study, access to tutors, and financial ability to take a test multiple times. We’re seeing a small, growing movement away from these college entry tests, but they still possess a lot of power in determining a student’s future. Mason has been notably SAT and ACT-optional for years, leading the way.

To reach Maoria Kirker, contact her at mkirker@gmu.edu

For more information, contact Anna Stolley Persky at apersky@gmu.edu

About George Mason
��AV is Virginia’s largest public research university. Located near Washington, D.C., Mason enrolls more than 39,000 students from 130 countries and all 50 states. Mason has grown rapidly over the past half-century and is recognized for its innovation and entrepreneurship, remarkable diversity and commitment to accessibility.

Connect with Mason's Libraries

In This Story

Maoria Kirker

Topics

Mason recognized as one of 10 universities bucking the downward trend of Black student enrollment

Colleen Rich — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 16:20:18 +0000

Mason recognized as one of 10 universities bucking the downward trend of Black student enrollment Colleen Rich Wed, 04/14/2021 - 12:20

Students at Mason's 2019 Spring Commencement. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

��AV was highlighted as a national leader in Black student enrollment and graduation in a recent report from Eduventures Research.

The report, “Transcending the Current Higher Education Journey for Black Students: Colleges that Buck the Trend,” notes that from 2010 to 2019, overall undergraduate enrollment dropped 9%, but enrollment of Black undergraduates declined by 20%.

In comparison, Mason’s Black first-time undergraduate enrollment increased 73% during this period, placing Mason fourth nationally behind Towson University, SUNY-Cortland and SUNY-Albany.

Eduventures, a research and advisory firm focused exclusively on higher education, is part of the America College Test/National Research Center for College and University Admissions (ACT/NRCCUA).

The report classifies 50 schools as leaders among 191 non-Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) with Black graduation rates equal to or above the national average. Ten are singled out by name for exceeding some or all of these four metrics when it comes to Black students: sustained growth in enrollment, steady gains in graduation rate, a graduation rate above the institutional average over the period, and/or a first-time undergraduate ratio above the national average.

The authors note that none of the top 10 met all four of these goals, but add that “all 10 schools show strong [quantitative] evidence of serving Black undergraduates much more assiduously than average.”

As the report notes, in 2019, the six-year graduation rate for all first-time, full-time undergraduates was 60%; for Black students, it was 40%. At Mason the Black graduation rate trend from 2011 to 2019 was 61 to 74%.

Mason’s Black graduation rate matched or surpassed the institutional average for seven years during the 2011 to 2019 survey period, behind the University of South Florida and SUNY-Stony Brook and tying with SUNY-Albany and Washington University in St. Louis.

The authors noted that although the 10 highlighted schools may not be role models in a traditional or narrow view, “they are role models in that each has managed something very few other schools, of any type, have achieved: to graduate traditional-aged Black undergraduates at a rate far above the national average and close this population’s graduation gap that is the norm at most peers.”