Considered as the equivalent to the Academy Award for community colleges nationwide, Long Beach Community College District (LBCCD) placed in the top 10 of more than 1,000 community colleges as a 2019 Bellwether finalist for its Long Beach College Promise 2.0 Program at the Community College Futures Assembly in San Antonio, Texas. Of the 1,000 programs reviewed by Bellwether, this puts LBCCD in the top one percent of all community colleges nationwide.

A team presented “Promise 2.0: Partnerships Championing a Decade of Student Success” to a panel of judges on February 4. This was an in-depth examination of the ground-breaking partnership between Long Beach Unified School District; LBCCD; California State University, Long Beach; the City of Long Beach; and the Port of Long Beach.

“This honor puts the Long Beach Community College District and our community on the national stage, proving once again that there is no better place when it comes to providing the very best for our students and our citizens,” said LBCCD Board of Trustees President Sunny Zia. “The thought that a child could be born in communities such as Avalon, Lakewood, Long Beach, and Signal Hill and have a seamless pipeline to universal pre-school, high-quality K-12 education, excellent higher education, and a rewarding career is nothing short of amazing.”

The team from Long Beach included: LBCCD Superintendent-President Dr. Reagan Ferragamo Romali; LBCCD Executive Vice President/Academic Affairs Dr. Kathy Scott; LBCCD Vice President of Student Support Services Dr. Mike Muñoz; LBCCD Executive Director of Public Affairs and Marketing Joshua Castellanos; LBCCD Senior Director of Community Relations and Academic Partnerships Marcia Parker; California State University, Long Beach Associate Vice President of Research & Sponsored Programs Dr. Simon Kim; and Port of Long Beach Communications and Community Relations Director Kerry Gerot.

“This was a monumental team effort in both making Promise 2.0 a reality for our students and in capturing this tremendously impressive honor,” said Romali, who was one of the few community college presidents to present with her team at the Assembly. “The way our LBCCD team can collaborate with our wonderful College Promise partners, forming bonds between the institutions, expanding on ways to help students succeed for this effort was proof to why this partnership is so exceptional.”

Promise 2.0 offers a wide range of benefits. By attending LBCCD, students have access to the Port of Long Beach, other industry partners, and their vast employment network. Long Beach Unified School District seniors who attend LBCCD the fall semester immediately following their spring 2019 graduation will also receive two years of free tuition at LBCCD (students should demonstrate successful progress towards a certificate, degree, or transfer each term).

For LBUSD seniors who enroll at LBCCD and are interested in transferring to CSULB, Promise 2.0 also offers the following benefits:

• Dual advising under a “cohort” model from both LBCCD Counselors and CSULB Academic Advisors.
• Access to special events and a student ID card for both LBCCD and CSULB.
• Career exploration activities with both LBCCD and CSULB.

The Bellwether College Consortium is a group of colleges charged with addressing issues facing community colleges and recognizing excellence and innovation in one of three categories: instructional programs and services; workforce development; and planning, governance, and finance. Annually, the Community College Futures Assembly reviews over 1,000 community college programs in the areas of workforce development, instructional programs and services, and planning governance and finance. Peer-reviewed committees judge entries in each of the three categories to select 10 finalists to showcase their projects, one of which was LBCCD’s entry. As a finalist, LBCCD will now be included as a member of the Consortium.