Education
BARRIO LOGAN
COLLEGE INSTITUTE
f
rom the moment he visited Barrio Logan College
Institute (BLCI) as a kindergarten student to drop off his
older brother and sister, Jayden couldn’t wait to get into
the program. His older siblings were learning all about
college and careers through this after school program.
Jayden knew that every student who graduated from this program
would be among the first in their families to go to college. But to
him, it just looked super fun! He just needed to wait a few more
years to apply in third grade.
Third grade literacy scores are strong predictors of whether or not
a student will graduate from high school. Low-income students
like Jayden are at a higher risk of falling behind, because many
of them end up in under-resourced schools and their parents are
sometimes limited in the academic support they can provide. This
is where BLCI comes in.
BLCI teaches parents about choosing a school that is right for
their kids, prepares them to support their children’s learning at
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home, and even helps them improve their financial outlook. Most
importantly, BLCI makes sure their children do well in school and
learn life skills that will make them successful in the workplace and
as engaged citizens. At BLCI, going to college is a family affair.
Like Jayden and his parents, each year dozens of families apply
to BLCI, but the majority are placed on a waiting list because
enrollment is capped at 20 students per grade level. BLCI is
now partnering directly with schools to impact more lives. This
program that started with only 12 third graders now serves over
580 students from third grade through college across four sites
throughout San Diego County.
There is still a lot of work to do to make sure more students like
Jayden reach their college and career goals and BLCI relies on
donations and grants to inspire and prepare students. Jayden has
been in BLCI for three years and he is well on his way to becoming
a successful computer engineer. To support Jayden and other
students like him visit www.blci.org.