The main goal of Consortium for Area Revitalization through Education (C.A.R.E) is to create a federally founded program for minority students in North Long Beach elementary schools to encourage and lead them into the math and science fields in higher education. "The C.A.R.E. Program is set up for an eight-year plan. The first 18 months are for planning, five years for implementation, and 18 months for evaluation," said C.A.R.E Coordinator Lisa Loop.
Multiple community leaders from North Long Beach came to show support for this new program.
Long Beach Vice Mayor Val Lerch joined with the BIKES program in North Long Beach to show their support for the C.A.R.E. Project being implemented in their community. "Lisa wanted to work with the minority community here in North Long Beach, to make a difference in the youth of North Long Beach by helping them to get to higher education," Lerch said.
Dave San Jose, who manages the BIKES program, explained that there is a lack of fruitful after school programming in North Long Beach, but with the help of Lerch, "we are looking for more funding for our program."
The C.A.R.E. project is to follow a model known as the School-Centered Community Revitalization, which focuses on community needs such as business renewal, parent education, children’s health, early childhood education, childcare, and quality housing. A number of students from the BIKES program were invited to the event to show their support, but a few still are not happy with the way that their education system works at their high school.
Jordan Sophomore Ismael Perez, 15, said, "To me they (teachers on campus) tell us but they don’t enforce college education." Some students don’t know where or how to get help at their career center on campus. "They tell you about it but you have to go," said Perez.
Lizette Cruz Jr., 16, mentioned the way the career center works on her campus, "They do what they have to do, the district tells them to come into the classroom and give a presentation but that’s it."
Rev. O. Leon Wood, Jr., director of the McNair Scholars Program at Claremont, is one of the leaders of the C.A.R.E Project. He is the founder of the project, and realized that there is a great deal of help needed in the North Long Beach community. "As I did my doctorate studies I did a report that showed North Long Beach students were performing slower than other students in their district, but especially African-American male students," Woods said.
Through the C.A.R.E. Project, Woods plans on helping his community. " I want young people to grow up in North Long Beach and have a bright future."
