History

Puente was founded in 1981 by the co-directors, Felix Galaviz and Patricia McGrath, at Chabot College in Hayward, California. The program's mission was to increase the number of Chicano and Latino community college students who transfer to four-year college and universities. As an outgrowth of its success as a community college program, Puente was awarded funding in 1993 to replicate the program in 10 California high schools. Puente is open to all students.

Outstanding Results

• Over 7,000 students have enrolled in the Puente community college program.
• Over 2,500 professionals donate over 18,000 hours annually to Puente students.
• An estimated 200,000 non-Puente students have benefitted for Puente's staff development programs.
• Community colleges with Puente programs transfer 44% more Latino students to the University of California than colleges without Puente programs.