The Exito! class titled Culture. Learning and Academic Achievement in a Diverse Society is designed for entering freshmen as Doña Ana Community College transitioning from the ENLACE schools and other incoming students to the university. The class emphasizes the development of culturally responsive learning strategies and skills to enhance academic achievement. Moreover, it prepares individuals to be grounded thinkers, problem solvers, technology proficient educators, and effective practitioners.
The mission of the course is to increase student’s capacities to respond to problems, issues and struggles that they and the communities to which they belong to experience. The course is community based and practices social justice, democratic and critical multicultural constructivist pedagogies to build upon students’ funds of knowledge, voices, lived experiences, multiple intelligences, strengths, and socio-cultural, linguistic, and historical capital. The course seeks to prepare multicultural-multilinguistic students to engage with diversity, identify and respond to social injustices, advocate for, and struggle along with vulnerable peoples in society.
In order to enhance the probability for success, Exito! students are provided with added supports. One of these supports is mentoring. Every student is provided with a faculty/staff mentor who the meet with several times throughout the course and to provide expert guidance and support.
Another added support is ethnic student monitoring. Former Exito! students who are ENLACE participants contact students and provide ENLACE activity information, scholarship information, asses their progress and then refer them to appropriate support services.
All students in Exito! are encouraged to participate in the DACC leadership program and in the Latinos for Education and Achievement student organization. By their participation, students are provided opportunities to experience and develop leadership abilities.
The mission of the course is to increase student’s capacities to respond to problems, issues and struggles that they and the communities to which they belong to experience. The course is community based and practices social justice, democratic and critical multicultural constructivist pedagogies to build upon students’ funds of knowledge, voices, lived experiences, multiple intelligences, strengths, and socio-cultural, linguistic, and historical capital. The course seeks to prepare multicultural-multilinguistic students to engage with diversity, identify and respond to social injustices, advocate for, and struggle along with vulnerable peoples in society.
In order to enhance the probability for success, Exito! students are provided with added supports. One of these supports is mentoring. Every student is provided with a faculty/staff mentor who the meet with several times throughout the course and to provide expert guidance and support.
Another added support is ethnic student monitoring. Former Exito! students who are ENLACE participants contact students and provide ENLACE activity information, scholarship information, asses their progress and then refer them to appropriate support services.
All students in Exito! are encouraged to participate in the DACC leadership program and in the Latinos for Education and Achievement student organization. By their participation, students are provided opportunities to experience and develop leadership abilities.