Community College Programming
Transfer Ready. Degree Bound. Community First.
Community college is where dreams get tested, and where Puente shows up. For students who are the first in their families to pursue higher education, the transfer pathway can feel overwhelming. The Puente Community College Program surrounds students with what they need most: a teacher who knows them, a counselor who champions them, and a mentor who has walked a similar road. Across 75 campuses in California, the result is students who not only survive the process, but grow to lead it.
The Puente Community College Program is an academic, counseling and mentoring program of support for students to build the skills necessary for success in both academic and career goals while in community college.
English
Students enroll with the same Puente instructor for classes over one academic year which creates a supportive environment for students through the curriculum. The courses integrate Latino and other multicultural literature in combination with skill-appropriate scaffolding for texts that build in rhetorical and thematic complexity. Students are also provided with an opportunity to use mentors and their communities as a resource for writing and to develop their relationships with their mentors. The courses offer an environment that provide students with the support and motivation likely to enable them to transfer.
Counseling
The Puente counselor provides academic, personal, and career counseling to prepare students to transfer to a four-year college or university. To help build the educational support network necessary for the students’ success, the counselor also integrates the students’ families into the program.
The Puente counselor teaches a personal development (PD) class designed to enhance the students' college success. Relevant college and career success skills, information, and resources are available to assist each student in examining, planning, and setting her/his personal, academic, and career goals.
Mentorship
Our Puente mentors support the Puente counselor and English instructor by motivating Puente students to build the social and cultural capital they will need for their future success as college students and career professionals. All Puente Mentors are trained to follow mentoring guidelines and serve as successful career role models to their student mentees. Our experience shows that mentoring is inspiring to Puente mentors and their Puente student mentee.
Math and Science
In Development and Available at Select Sites!
Puente MaS (Math and Science) seeks to empower Puentistas by cultivating confidence in math and science — reconnecting students to the ancestral knowledge and scientific thinking they already carry. Currently piloting at 9 community colleges, Puente MaS formalizes a math and science component to the Puente experience, building STEM pathways and helping more Puentistas pursue the degrees and careers they've always been capable of. (Currently in development at select sites.
Outcomes that Speak for Themselves
At 75 community college campuses across California, the Puente model consistently produces students who persist, transfer, and succeed at rates that outpace their peers statewide. These outcomes are the product of a deliberate, evidence-based approach, combining rigorous English instruction, transfer-focused counseling, and professional mentorship to keep first-generation scholars on track from enrollment to degree. The data below reflects what happens when students are given not just access, but real, sustained support.
92%
of Puente community college students enroll in two consecutive terms
(compared to 67% of all California community college students statewide)
100%
of Puente community college students report a transfer goal of BA/BS degree completion, and 49% report a goal of attending graduate school.
9 in 10
Community College Puentistas are First Generation Scholars
93%
of students report that their involvement in Puente helped them succeed academically
"Puente made me feel seen, helped me realize my value, provided the space for me to continually grow, and Puente recognized my brilliance even when I couldn't see it."
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Ready to Bring Puente to Your Campus?
Puente's community college program is growing, and we're looking for campuses committed to closing the transfer gap for first-generation scholars. Whether you're a dean, faculty member, or counselor, we'd love to explore what Puente could look like at your institution. Every new site receives full implementation support, ongoing professional development, and access to a statewide network of Puente educators with decades of experience building student success.