The Central Valley Regional Pathway to Law was doubly honored at the sixth annual Pathways to Law Summit on February 19, 2021. The Regional Pathway is an innovative collaboration between Bullard High School, Fresno City College, Fresno State, and San Joaquin College of Law to assist diverse students in contemplating and preparing for law school.
Fresno City College received the Community College Diversity Champion Award from the State Bar to recognize its outstanding efforts to promote diversity in the legal profession. SJCL Dean of Students Logan Tennerelli accepted the award on behalf of Fresno City College (FCC). Dean Tennerelli taught at FCC before joining the faculty of SJCL and had been a force in the FCC efforts to promote diversity. In her presentation, Dean Tennerelli explained many students who want to pursue law “don’t even know where to begin” because they do not have family or social connections in the profession. She indicated FCC programs seek to give students that support and clear directions for success.
The Regional Pathway received the State Bar Education Pipeline Award. The award was established in 2008 by the State Bar’s Board of Governors and the Bar’s Council on Access & Fairness to recognize outstanding efforts of law-related educational programs that train and support students to become interested in the judicial system and careers in the law.
Leadership from each institution of the Pathway spoke briefly while accepting the award. Dean Janice Pearson accepted on behalf of the final step of the pathway, San Joaquin College of Law. Dean Pearson acknowledged the institutions creating the pathway saying “They also build a much larger pathway – giving Valley students the chance to attain higher education in any career they choose and keeping much-needed talent in the Valley.”
She then pointed to what the effort accomplishes. “Here is a glimpse of what the Pathway’s does. The SJCL graduating class of 2020 was the most diverse class in SJCL’s history. Most took the October 2020 California bar exam – the most difficult bar exam in the country. Nonetheless, 72% passed on their first attempt, and 78% of those passers were people of color. You are already pushing towards the goal.”
How solid is that Pathway? More than 600 students are currently in the pipeline. Bullard High Principal Dr. Johnny Alvarado says more than half of the students in its pipeline have been there through all four years of high school. As for diversity, Fresno State Interim President Dr. Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval says over 65% of its students in its Pathways Program identify as First Generation. Meanwhile, at Fresno City College, President Dr. Carole Goldsmith says “Fresno’s got a lot of work to do,” but she counts over a hundred currently in the Pathways program. She adds the path can be difficult, but “our students rise to the occasion.”
The award was established in 2008 by the California Bar’s Board of Governors and the Bar’s Council on Access & Fairness to recognize outstanding efforts of law-related educational programs that train and support students to
become interested in the judicial system and careers in the law. Past winners include the Center for Youth Development through Law program at Berkeley, the UCLA Law Fellows program, the Department of Fair Employment and Housing Educational Partnerships, and California JusticeCorps, among others.
This regional pathway is an innovative collaboration between Bullard High School, Fresno City College, Fresno State and San Joaquin College of Law.