Pathways, Persistence, and Promise: Helping Underserved Youth Succeed in College

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2012 CFES National Conference

 - Five hundred educators and community leaders from across the country will be gathering for the 16^th annual College For Every Student (CFES) National Conference to explore the challenges and strategies for guiding low-income students onto a path to college success. Calvin Mackie, Bertice Berry, and Salim Ismail are among the globally renowned speakers slated to address the 2012 CFES National Conference, November 2-3, at the Desmond Hotel & Conference Center in Albany, NY.

Calvin Mackie will kick off this year's event on Friday afternoon.  Mackie, a Louisiana native, graduated from McDonogh #35, the first high school for African Americans in New Orleans.  From remedial student to college professor, Mackie graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in mathematics and was simultaneously awarded a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Georgia Tech, where he earned his masters and Ph.D.  Drawing from his inspirational memoir A View from the Roof: Lessons for Life and Business, Mackie will offer insight for encouraging underserved youth to achieve their dreams.

Friday evening Bertice Berry will take the podium. Told by a high school teacher that she was "not college material," Berry not only succeeded in college but went on to earn a Ph.D. and author a best-selling memoir, I'm On My Way, But Your Foot Is on My Head .

Saturday's featured speaker Salim Ismail, founding Executive Director of Singularity University, in the Silicon Valley, will talk about the global imperative of moving low-income children through college and the implications for America's future.

Mackie, Berry, and Ismail headline two days of concurrent workshops, panels, and discussions that reflect College For Every Student's three core practices: Leadership through Service, Mentoring, and Pathways to College.  Topics include preparing students for careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math), aligning CFES practices with the Common Core State Standards, helping students become financial-aid literate,  and introducing a compilation of best practices and resources using modules. 

The CFES National Conference has been described as one of the best professional development opportunities for K-16 educators. Learn how the CFES approach can help your school ensure college access and success for every student.  It's an investment of two days that will bring significant returns for you and your students throughout the entire year.

November 2-3, in Albany, New York – plan to join us! www.collegefes.org/conference

If you'd like to participate in or help send an educator or school to the CFES National Conference, call CFES at 518-963-4500.  

CFES is a nonprofit organization based in Essex, NY, that helps underserved students prepare for, gain access to, and succeed in college.  Currently, CFES works with 200 schools in 24 states to help its 20,000 students move toward college success.  Over the last six years, 96 percent of CFES high school seniors have gone on to college.  (www.collegefes.org)

SOURCE College For Every Student

CONTACT: Aubrey Bresett, [phone], [e-mail]

Web Site: http://www.collegefes.org

SOURCE: ESSEX, N.Y., Aug. 29, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/