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

Steps to College 2022 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 11^th Annual Steps to College (STC). The STC is the largest bilingual and binational University Fair in Northern California and will be held under a hybrid program, virtually on February 5, 2022, and face-to-face on February 12, 2022.

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, 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 this 11th Annual STC Fair is to take advantage of a microsite containing valuable information; live virtual workshops; online personal consulting; and hosting over 6,000 students. Additionally, we will provide educational and legal advice and free assistance in applying for financial aid. We aim to reach school districts in rural areas and motivate higher participation of these students, many of them “dreamers” from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program. We ask that you please share this information with your students.

In the meantime, please visit the STC website at https://stepstocollegesac.org/ for the latest information.

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

Sincerely,

Tony Thurmond
State Superintendent of Public Instruction

Liliana Ferrer
Consul General of Mexico