Dear County and District Superintendents, Charter School Administrators, and High School Principals:

Steps To College 2023 Event and Scholarship Opportunity

On behalf of the California Department of Education (CDE) and the Consulate General of Mexico in Sacramento, we are pleased to invite you, your students, and their families to the Twelfth Edition of Steps to College (STC), the largest bilingual and binational University Fair in Northern California, which will be held once again in person on February 4, 2023.

This unique University Fair is a long-term educational project organized on a yearly basis by the Consulate General of Mexico in Sacramento in partnership with the CDE, the California Student Aid Commission, the University of California System, the California State University System, the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities, the Community College System, the Mexican Universities, the Cien Amigos advocacy group, and the Mexican Cultural Center of Northern California.

Since its implementation, STC has served more than 15,000 students from Northern California through specialized workshops on how to apply to college and access financial aid. The students have also benefited from personalized support from counselors and Cash for College advisors, as well as legal and health experts.

Our goal for the Twelfth Annual STC Fair is for students and their families to take advantage of in-person workshops, personal consulting, educational and legal advice, and free assistance in applying for financial aid. We want to reach out to rural school districts and encourage higher participation from these students, many of whom are "Dreamers" under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. In this regard, we ask that you please share this information with your students.

In the meantime, we are sharing with you STC’s latest edition at https://stepstocollegesac.org/. We hope you find this information both helpful and inspiring.

If you have further questions, please feel free to contact Consul for Political Affairs, Yúriko Garcés at 916-329-3516 or ygarces@sre.gob.mx.

Sincerely,

Tony Thurmond
State Superintendent of Public Instruction

Liliana Ferrer
Consul General of Mexico
Sacramento, California