CARS (College Access, Readiness & Success) Employee Directory
Primary and Secondary EducationCalifornia, United States2-10 Employees
CARS (College Access, Readiness & Success) is a Lawndale, California–based program focused on helping first-generation students and their families navigate the college preparation and attendance process. It engages students beginning in ninth grade to guide course choices, support academic performance, prepare for exams, explore higher education options, and research financial aid, grants, and scholarships. The organization targets motivated underserved students from low-income, underperforming high schools in the South Bay region of the Los Angeles area with the aim of enabling enrollment in and completion of postsecondary education at CSU and UC campuses or equivalents, and it identifies Leuzinger High School in Lawndale as its launch campus. CARS operates as an on-campus, one-stop cohort program centered on incoming freshmen. Its activities include altering academic pathways by using A-G tutoring to boost GPAs and involve parents, providing college admissions coaching, and building college literacy for students and their parents starting in the freshman year. The program also promotes peer academic support and community voluntary service to foster a sense of empowerment among participants.