Teacher TRAC Grads Look Ahead to CSULB

Cerritos College News Releases -- May 2004

Cerritos College Teacher TRAC Grads Look Ahead to CSULB, Credentials, and Employment

Fast-Track Program Provides Completion of General Education Requirements, Transfer to CSULB, a Teaching Credential and Employment within Four Years

NORWALK, CA – May 18, 2004 – Cerritos College honored 47 Teacher TRAC (Training Academy) program students Thursday, May 13 as they graduated this semester with their associates in arts degrees and moved closer to gaining a bachelor’s degree and teaching credential from California State University Long Beach.

Honoring Teacher TRAC students with their presence at the recognition ceremony were Board of Education Trustees, senior members of Cerritos College administration, Sue Parsons, director of Teacher TRAC, Teacher TRAC faculty members and friends and family of the students. Each graduate received a certificate and a commemorative golden apple in recognition of their completion of the first leg of the Teacher TRAC program.

“Our Teacher TRAC program is vital to the community as it partners with CSULB to provide dedicated, talented individuals to the field of K-12 education,” said John Grindel, interim president at Cerritos College. “Quality educators are in demand. Once these Cerritos graduates obtain their bachelor’s degrees and credentials, they’ll be highly desired as good hires by state school districts.”

During the ceremony, Dr. Jean Houck, dean of the College of Education at CSULB, welcomed the students to their new college and received a commemorative gold apple from Parsons. As she handed Houck the award, Parsons explained that it represented the Teacher TRAC graduates who had spent time at Cerritos and were now being entrusted to CSULB for the completion of their bachelor's degree.

“Each year, Cerritos College’s Teacher TRAC grows exponentially,” said Sue Parsons, director of Teacher TRAC. “As additional cohorts begin here at Cerritos and continue their studies at CSULB next fall, I know that faculty at both schools will be rewarded by insightful perspectives the students bring to the field. Everyone who’s had a hand in their education celebrates once they are placed in a teaching job following completion of the program.”

Two scholarship awards, the Fred Gaskin Scholarship and the Esther Espinoza Scholarship, were awarded to two Teacher TRAC students at the recognition program.

Nicole Gutierrez was presented with the 2004 Fred Gaskin Teacher TRAC scholarship. Saraid Mesta, 2002 Fred Gaskin Scholarship recipient and recent CSULB graduate from the Teacher TRAC program, presented the award and encouraged the graduates with advice about life after school and in the workplace. Mesta shared that she took a job teaching kindergarten and has since been offered four different teaching positions for the 2004-2005 academic school year.

Sara Chavez received the Esther Espinosa Memorial Teacher TRAC Scholarship, presented by the Honorable Peter Espinoza, Norwalk Superior Judge and a board member for the Cerritos College Foundation. Judge Espinoza and his siblings, all of whom graduated from Cerritos College, founded the scholarship in memory of their late mother, Esther Espinoza, a teacher in the Norwalk-La Mirada School District for 35 years.

Cristina Hernandez, also a recent CSULB Teacher TRAC graduate, provided closing remarks by sharing her vision for the Cerritos graduates. Hernandez, an immigrant to the United States from Mexico, read a poem she authored about her journey through school, her trials in learning English and her establishment of personal goals that led her to become an educator. She encouraged the Teacher TRAC students to believe in themselves and to believe that they could accomplish their endeavors.

Cerritos College’s Teacher TRAC program offers many services, programs, and pathways for students interested in teaching K-12. For students interested in becoming an elementary school teacher, Teacher TRAC's flagship program is a partnership with California State University Long Beach. As a student in the integrated, standards-based Teacher TRAC / CSULB program, students can earn their bachelor's degree and multiple subject teaching credentials and complete their student teaching within four years. For more information about the program, visit www.teachertrac.com.

For nearly 50 years, Cerritos College has served as a comprehensive community college for southeastern Los Angeles County communities including Artesia, Bellflower, Cerritos, Downey, Hawaiian Gardens, Lakewood, La Mirada and Norwalk. The college offers degrees and certificates in more than 180 areas of study in nine divisions. Annually, more than 1,200 students successfully complete their course of studies, and enrollment currently surpasses 24,000 students. Visit Cerritos College online at www.cerritos.edu.

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