What Makes Bay Ridge Different from Other Colleges?
Cognitive Restructuring™ ... Student Transformation

Cognitive Restructuring™ is the process of deprogramming and reprogramming our youth for academic success. Roman 12: 2 reads, "Be transformed by the renewing of your mind." The college completion rates in America provide us with disturbing and harsh statistics about how postsecondary schools are failing our children. Only the top (elite) colleges that select academically successful students (talented tenth) show some measure of success (70% completion rate). The average college completion rate for students of color nationally, and specifically in Texas, is 33 percent. These reports are not acceptable, and we must look at alternative higher education models if we are to ensure that our students receive their college degrees. Parents with limited finances are investing significant parts of their household incomes, generally sacrificing their retirement savings, to make sure their children have an opportunity to earn a college degree in a system where the deck is often stacked against them from Day One.

Cognitive Restructuring™ is needed if students are to achieve their full academic potential. The process of Cognitive Restructuring™ requires a highly structured educational environment. Research has shown that many colleges have open admissions policies. They accept students who probably would not be admitted into their state universities because of their academic under-preparedness. Upon completion of their degrees, however, they are as academically competent as the students who were admitted to state universities. One of the reasons cited for the colleges' ability to help students close academic gaps is that these institutions have highly controlled college environments guided by their religious organization's standards and norms.

Bay Ridge College has a highly structured, academically disciplined environment. Companies hire their employees because of their skills and abilities, but fire them because of their attitudes and habits. Many students who manage to earn a certificate of attendance (diploma) from their high schools not only lack the academic skills needed to be successful in college or at work, but do not have the disciplined mind-set that is needed to successfully complete a rigorous and relevant college curriculum or function on high-performance teams in the workplace. Cognitive Restructuring™ at Bay Ridge College will consist of the following elements:

• Two-week orientation structured as an "Academic Boot Camp" (Brat Camp). Our military does an excellent job of achieving outstanding results in transforming young people into responsible and disciplined individuals.
• Many in our target population have not been educationally prepared for college. This is one of the major reasons for the low college completion rate nation-wide. During the orientation period, the students will be addressed as student scholars and participate in activities that build self-confidence, team work, study skills, a strong work ethic, and a commitment to service to others.
• Students today also come from homes where they are often the center of attention, possessing the "me" attitude. The Brat Camp concept is designed to work on addressing the issue of self-centeredness and help students develop leadership skills grounded in the Biblical principles that Christ modeled as a "servant leader."
• This research-based orientation approach is grounded in the knowledge that habits are created or eliminated if practiced consistently for 21 days. We believe that the first 14 days at Bay Ridge will begin a process that will be reinforced throughout the school year, with weekly sessions focusing on the principles established during the intensive two-week session.
• Ability-Based Curriculum and Transformational Teaching and Learning for Change ™ will be the foundation of our academic approach. Students must demonstrate their mastery of the academic and career competencies needed to be successful in a high-performance, technological society. It will not be enough for faculty to "teach" content; students must learn-internalize and use-it. The Bay Ridge curricula will be characterized by an interdisciplinary, problem-based approach, where students are clearly able to see the connections across and among academic disciplines and between these disciplines and the "real world."
• Instructors will participate in ongoing professional development that prepares them to be excellent teachers, utilizing student-centered pedagogical approaches that focus on mastery of content and practice, an approach similar to the successful Japanese model for teaching and learning. This ongoing professional development model will ultimately help faculty develop and sustain their own learning community, a community designed to continuously improve teaching and learning at Bay Ridge.
• Students will be grouped into teams, the basis for study groups and academic and social support. To develop leadership skills, each student will be called upon to serve as team leader throughout the academic year. It will be the team leader's responsibility to ensure the proper functioning of the team and to engage the team in helping each team member overcome whatever challenges may arise throughout the year. Each student team will also be assigned an adult mentor, a faculty or staff member who will oversee the team's activities, to help the team problem-solve and provide additional support and resources.
• Staff and faculty will further support this team concept by meeting regularly in cross-disciplinary, cross-functional teams themselves. These faculty/staff teams will discuss the progress of student teams and individual students. This will empower staff and faculty to intervene as necessary when problems arise, another strategy for promoting and maintaining student success. These meetings will also provide staff and faculty with opportunities to discuss their own work, in order to get feedback on their professional practice and to use discussion and reflection to continuously improve the programs and services provided for students.
• Transferring Skills Concept: Many of our students have mastered skills in athletics or the arts. We will demonstrate to them that if they can master the fundamentals of their chosen sport or art (rapping/dancing), they can apply the same energy and strategies to mastering the basics of math, science and writing.
• Community Service: Students will participate in community service-learning projects, such as tutoring at the local elementary school and/or on campus, working with food distribution programs, helping seniors in the community, and participating in various political (voter registration) and social justice initiatives.
• Workplace Service: In addition to community service, students will have opportunities to intern at businesses and industries, to augment their classroom study and apply what they are learning in the "real world." Partnerships will be formed with local business councils in order to secure internship and work/study opportunities for students and to recruit business leaders and workers to serve as workplace mentors for students.
• Religious Activities: Students will participate in our campus student ministry program and will be expected to attend and participate in the education programs at one of the local churches of their choice in the Fort Bend County area. We are ecumenical and do not promote a specific religious doctrine. We do, however, expect that students and faculty will abide by basic tenets (as spelled out in the student and faculty handbooks) and sign the Community Covenant (a code of conduct).
• We believe that students should be exposed to the Arts and will seek to expose them to the vast array of cultural activities occurring in the greater Houston metropolitan community.
• Attire: Students will wear Bay Ridge Gear. Research has shown that clothing is a distracter in the educational environment, especially with the students in our target population. Students will have both professional and casual wear for outings promoting the college; and shorts, pants and polo shirts for class wear. Students will be allowed to wear clothing of their choice outside of class and on weekends, as long as their dress is modest.

Supported by a close-knit, supportive community and guided through a variety of classroom-based and experiential academic, community service, workplace, and social/cultural activities, students will experience the positive results of constructive efforts. Through measured steps that lead students to experience success, through opportunities for reflection about their successes and failures, and through exposure to new and different ways of thinking and behaving, the process of Cognitive Restructuring™ will ultimately transform Bay Ridge students, particularly our African-American males.

Students who complete our unique curriculum and educational programming will be able to complete their collegiate studies at Bay Ridge and pursue their career objectives, confident that they are equipped to be successful lifelong learners, to pursue additional education and to use their skills in the workplace. It is our objective that Bay Ridge College establish the reputation as an institution where students of color, specifically African-American males, and all students, generally, excel and successfully accomplish their educational goals. Bay Ridge College has the opportunity to become an international beacon of educational opportunity and a model for education at its best.