By Rachel Makabi
Daily Bruin Contributor
Members of the Jumpstart committee met with the director of
BruinCorps Thursday to voice disapproval with the intention to end
affiliation with the program.
BruinCorps implemented, and has funded the Jumpstart program for
three years at UCLA.
Among other things, Jumpstart members are upset that BruinCorps,
whose leaders have known of the decision to withdraw for more than
a year, only told the staff two weeks ago.
BruinCorps director Celia Cudiamat, who said at the meeting it
did not occur to her to notify the staff earlier, said she was not
aware of the $5,000 annual fee the university must pay to affiliate
with Jumpstart until after making the commitment.
“That label is costing us $5,000,” she said.
“We can have a pre-school program, just not with
Jumpstart.”
But according to Jessamyn Luiz, director of Affiliate Operations
at Jumpstart, Cudiamat met with Aaron Liberman, chief executive
officer of Jumpstart, in August 1995 and was aware of the fee
before making any commitments.
Jumpstart is an early childhood program that pairs college
students with pre-schoolers from low-income families to prepare
them for success in kindergarten.
It was initially based in Boston, but after UC Berkeley and the
University of Southern California refused to start the program
three years ago, UCLA offered to see if it would be effective on
the West Coast. Cudiamat said the university only intended to
implement the program on a three-year trial basis.
Though ending affiliation with Jumpstart will not affect the
work-study or education awards of current members, some students
are still upset with the news.
Erick Casallas, a third-year sociology student working with
Jumpstart, said affiliation with the program is necessary because
any replacement would only replicate what Jumpstart has already
done.
“The $5,000 gives us the ability to go to important
conferences in order to get training and be a part of a national
network. No other program offers that,” Casallas said.
BruinCorps has been receiving grants, but no permanent fund has
been established to support the Jumpstart program.
The financial strain, coupled with UCLA’s belief that the
university can implement its own program, are main factors for its
intention to withdraw.
Rescinding affiliation from Jumpstart does not mean the
university will no longer be committed to offering a pre-school
level program, Cudiamat said, later citing the graduate school of
education as a campus resource for providing the same goal as
Jumpstart.
“Working with children to help them succeed in school is
the big picture here,” she said. “We are only trying to
help children in the L.A. community, whether we are affiliated with
the program or not.”
She said the university is willing to work with students to
implement the most effective aspects of Jumpstart into an ideal
pre-school level program.
Jumpstart has not been effective, Cudiamat said, because of
changes in the program model and disparities in tutoring some
children over others. She also said that many parents and teachers
are offended by students who come into the schools and try to
implement their own style of teaching.
But members of the Jumpstart committee cited drastic improvement
and a list of parents and teachers that want to keep the program as
proof of achievements. They also said Cudiamat, who has not
attended a Jumpstart session in two years, is not aware of changes
the program has undergone since it began three years ago.
Cudiamat said that people report to her about what goes on and
that it is not her job to attend the sessions.
After the meeting, members of Jumpstart indicated their
intention to take their case to Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs
Winston Doby to see if the university will continue funding the
Jumpstart program.