The University of Arizona is a comprehensive, Public Research 1 and the only land grant, four-year Hispanic Serving Institution in Arizona. UArizona offers traditional on-campus undergraduate, masters, doctorates, and professional degrees. Located in Tucson, the University serves the state’s southern regions as well as northern Mexico. There are several local high Hispanic-enrolling high schools, with Hispanic student populations ranging from 25% to 92%. These schools seek to expand high quality dual enrollment offerings in pre-calculus as well as strengthen early college-going outreach activities, including fiscal wellness, with the University.

The purpose of Project Outreach FAMILIA (Forwarding Academic Mechanisms Integral to Learning In the Academy) is to expand and enhance institutional capacity to increase the number of Hispanic and low-income students entering higher education and earning postsecondary degrees. Developing the Los Gatos Hispanic Serving Pathway will fulfill this purpose by:

1. Expanding quality dual enrollment pre-calculus mathematics courses
2. Creating or expanding college-going outreach at participating high schools

By preparing Hispanic and minority students in pre-calculus, this project will increase the likelihood that students persist through STEM coursework in college and obtain a STEM degree. Outreach efforts will promote the skills that prepare students and their families to be well-informed college-bound knowledge including financial literacy required in planning. Through a tiered-mentorship approach, graduate fellows, mentored by UArizona faculty scholars, will in turn mentor Hispanic and low-income high school students.