Kings Canyon Unified School District students celebrate the partnership with Fresno State's BulldogBound Program in 2023. Photo contributed

Early this year, Fresno State announced the Bulldog Bound program that will allow high school students direct admission to the university upon graduation.

The program aims to ensure participating students have a structured path to college success while offering support for students grades nine through 12 and their parents as they prepare to enter college.

When the program launched, participating school districts included Fresno Unified, Visalia Unified, Fowler Unified, Sanger Unified, Parlier Unified, Central Unified and University High School.

Kings Canyon Unified School District (KCUSD) was recently added as a partnering school district, allowing direct admission from Reedley High School, Orange Cove High School and Reedley Middle College High School, the existing dual-enrollment school located on the Reedley College campus.

“I’ve seen a lot of positive feedback. I think many people are more interested in applying to college now that they know they have automatic admission to Fresno State,” said Reedley High School senior Gabriella Nava. “To me, that’s a good thing because I want to go to a four-year university, but I would also like to stay close to home just because I feel more secure in that.”

District College and Career Coordinator Sato Sanikian explained how these opportunities have opened doors for the high schools in the district. Since their initial partnership announcement, KCUSD has had 700 students signed up for the program.

The program allows Fresno State to provide more assistance to the school districts, including counselor visits and workshops for every grade level. Once a student joins, they get Fresno State library access, an email account and a Fresno State ID. Campus tours and summer experiences are offered deeper into the program.

In a student’s junior year, dual enrollment opportunities will begin being offered, which will be launched for the 2024-25 school year. If a student continues and is eligible to be admitted, they will receive direct admission once they apply with the California State University system through CSU Apply.

KCSUD ensured that counselors and English teachers helped high school seniors enroll for the Bulldog Bound program before applications opened on Oct. 1. A Fresno State ambassador also visits Reedley High and Orange Cove, answering questions and addressing concerns students may have.

“This is a huge opportunity because it is our Cal State University in the Fresno area. It’s a good peace of mind,” said Sanikian. “I think it’ll increase the commitment students will have not only just to high school, but to secondary, post-secondary options.”

The district ensured parents were included in the information pipeline, providing presentations in English and Spanish. KCUSD held an instructive meeting for parents interested in learning more about the program with a turnout of nearly 600 people.

Sanikian shared how intentional the staff and administrators have been in ensuring that qualifying students sign up for the program. For students working toward meeting the minimum requirements, there are regular progress reports.

Technology and apps that made the pandemic a little easier for the educational process are also being employed to spread the word.

“Almost 100% of our parents do have ParentSquare, whether it’s the phone call, the email or the app, and it automatically translates to their language, whatever their home language is. We do have our parent engagement department that we also tap into, but we have pretty good relations with all of our school communities,” said Sanikian.

On Sept. 18, Fresno State Vice President of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management Kent Willis attended a press conference to celebrate the partnership. Cheerleaders from RHS and OCHS cheered on as they officially announced the new opportunity for students.

After the Bulldog Bound event, the district held a senior parent night with about 150 parents and students in attendance. Translation was also provided for Spanish-speaking parents.

Around 100 students attended the celebration, said Sanikian. Principals of each high school shared the importance of the program for the communities of Reedley and Orange Cove.

“It was great. Then we had them sign off that they were committing to the program. We had certificates for them, and then we had a group signing ceremony,” said Sanikian.