Community Colleges

Briefs

06/22/10

Preparing College- and Career-Ready Students: Elements of Successful Programs: This webinar examined the elements of program models that have demonstrated effectiveness in preparing students for postsecondary access and success, based on the results of rigorous evaluations. This event was a follow up of the Success at Every Step forum from February 5, 2010. Presenters included Sarah hooker, Program Associate, American Youth Policy Forum (DC); James connell, President, Institute for Research and Reform in Education, (NJ); Ryan Reyna, Policy Analyst, Education Division, Center for Best Practices, National Governors’ Association (DC); and Joel Vargas, Senior Project Manager, Jobs for the Future (MA). (Webinar). This event was recorded and is now available on the webinar page.

02/05/10

Success at Every Step of College and Career Preparation The American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF) has recently released a new publication, Success at Every Step: How 23 Programs Support Youth on the Path to College and Beyond, which profiles programs that have been proven to help young people complete high school and be prepared for success in postsecondary education and careers, based on the results of recent, high-quality evaluations. This half-day event provided an overview of the findings of the report, showcased a variety of programs that support college- and career-readiness, explored implications for federal and state policy, and included a networking lunch. Speakers included Greg Darnieder, Special Assistant to the Secretary on College Access, U.S. Department of Education (DC); RYAN REYNA, Policy, Analyst, Education Division, Center for Best Practices, National Governors’ Association (DC); Katharine Oliver, Assistant State Superintendent for Career and Technical Education and Adult Learning, Maryland State Department of Education (MD); michael wotorson, Executive Director, Campaign for High School Equity (DC); James Connell, President, Institute for Research and Reform in Education (NJ); Rachel Singer, Director of Academic Affairs, Kingsborough Community College (NY); Joel Vargas, Senior Project Manager, Jobs for the Future (MA); and david sinski, Executive Director, After School Matters (IL).(Forum BRIEF)

06/01/09

Preparing College-Ready High School Graduates: A Case Study of San Jose, CA:  This forum is the third in our forum series entitled “Laying the Groundwork for  a College-Going Culture,” focused on efforts to ensure more high school students graduate, both understanding their options for continued education and training and ready to succeed in college and careers.   This forum will examine the efforts of the San Jose Unified School District in California to ensure all students are prepared for success beyond high school, including through requiring all students to participate in a college preparatory curriculum and providing the necessary resources and support to ensure students are successful.  The San Jose Unified School District is a diverse urban district with 70% of students representing racial/ethnic minority groups. Efforts to increase the rigor of high school coursework for all students have been underway in San Jose since the mid-1990s. In 1998, San Jose became the first school district in the state of California to elevate its high school graduation requirements to match the requirements for entry into the University of California system. Don Iglesias, Superintendent of the San Jose Unified School District, Linda Murray, Acting Executive Director of Education Trust-West and former Superintendent of San Jose Unified School District, and Mark Walker, Managing Director of Community Affairs for Applied Materials, a community-based partner in college readiness initiatives in San Jose.  (Forum)  RSVP HERE!

05/29/09

Academic and Support Strategies for College and Career Readiness:  This forum is the second in our three-part series entitled “Laying the Groundwork for a College-Going Culture,” focused on efforts to increase the number of young people who graduate from high school prepared to make informed decisions about continued education and training, and ready to succeed in college and careers.  Viewing education as continuum that allows all Americans to access additional education and training is critical to ensuring our ability to emerge from the current economic downturn and compete in a global society.  Presenters will include: Cecilia Cunningham , Executive Director, Middle College National Consortium, Angela N. Romans, New England Network Manager, Diploma Plus, Commonwealth Corporation, Nicole Farmer Hurd, National College Advising Corps, and Cassandra Castillo, Early College  High School student. (Forum) RSVP HERE!

04/27/09

Redefining College Readiness: Efforts from Leading States This forum is the first in our series entitled “Laying the Groundwork for a College-Going Culture” focused on efforts to ensure more high school students graduate, both understanding their options for continued education and training and ready to succeed in college and careers.   At this event, presenters will both define critical indicators for college readiness as supported by the research and describe efforts in two states, Arkansas and Indiana, to create statewide high school graduation standards more closely aligned with expectations for success in postsecondary education and work. (FORUM)

7/20/2007

The Role of Career and Technical Education in High School Reform: Linking Secondary and Postsecondary Education through CTE with Dr. Laurel Adler, Superintendent, East San Gabriel Regional Occupational Program, West Codiva, CA and Mark Whitlock, CEO, Central Education Center, Coweta County, GA (Forum Brief and webcast)

04/13/07

Opening the Door to the American Dream: Increasing Higher Education Access and Success for Immigrants with Wendy Erisman, Senior Research Analyst and Director of Evaluation, Institute for Higher Education Policy, and Deborah A. Santiago, Vice President for Policy and Research, Excelencia in Education, and Margie McHugh, Co Director, National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy, Migration Policy Institute. (forum Brief)

03/08/07

Philadelphia’s Project U-Turn, Citywide Efforts to Address the Dropout Problem with Paul Vallas, Chief Executive Officer, School District of Philadelphia, Ruth Curran Neild, Research Scientist, Center for Social Organization of Schools at Johns Hopkins University,  Courtney Collins-Shapiro, Director, Multiple Pathways to Graduation, School District of Philadelphia, Laura Shubilla, President of the Philadelphia Youth Network. (forum Brief)

09/29/06

Secondary-Postsecondary Learning Options: Best Practices in the Field with Ron Kindell, Director, Miami Valley Tech Prep Consortium, Chery Wagonlander, Principal, Mott Middle College High School, and Jennifer Brown Lerner, Program Associate, American Youth Policy Forum (FORUM Brief)

09/08/06

Dropout Reconnection as a Local Economic Development Strategy with Andrew O. Moore, Senior Consultant, National League of Cities, Deborah Feldman, Administrator, Montgomery County, Ohio, and Karen Sitnick, Director, Mayor’s Office of Employment Development, Baltimore, Maryland. (Forum brief)

03/17/06

The Toolbox Revisited: Paths to Degree Completion from High School Through College with Cliff Adelman, Senior Research Analyst, Department of Education (forum brief)

03/9/06

Inventing Hispanic Serving Institutions: The Basics with Congressman Ruben Hinojosa, Sarita Brown, President, Excelencia in Education, Deborah Santiago, Vice President for Policy and Research, Excelencia in Education, Ricardo Fernandez, President Lehman College, Jose Jaime Rivera, President, Universidad Sagrado Corazon (forum brief)

10/21/2005

Coordinated Efforts Focused on Workforce Development for Out of School Youth in Portland with Carole Smith, Director of Alternative Education, Portland Public Schools, Linda Huddle, Director, Alternative Programs/PCC Prep, Portland Community College, and Andrew Mason, Executive Director, Open Meadow Alternative Schools (forum Brief)

10/17/2005

Increasing Transitions from Adult to Postsecondary Education with Forrest Chisman, Vice President, Council for the Advancement of Adult Literacy, Gail Mellow, President, LaGuardia Community College, and Bob Bickerton, Associate Commissioner, MA Center for Lifelong Learning (FORUM Brief)

4/8/1994

Forum: Reinventing Community Colleges for the 21st Century, with Cathryn Addy, President of Tunxis Community-Technical College, Connecticut, and Paul Elsner, Chancellor, Maricopa County Community College District, Arizona. (Forum Brief)

Trip Reports

03/24/10-
03/26/10

State Strategies to Ensure All Students Graduate This study mission, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will enable participants from Alabama, Delaware, Kansas, and South Carolina to learn from Massachusetts' comprehensive efforts to improve support systems for high school students at risk of dropping out.  Panel discussions, presentations, and site visits will showcase the state's use of early warning systems, alternative education, community partnerships, and longitudinal data systems in their prevention and recovery strategies.  In conjunction with this learning experience, participants will also attend a conference in April focused on policy implementation and technical assistance provided by America's Promise Alliance and the Everyone Graduates Center at Johns Hopkins University. (Field Trip)

11/12/08-
11/14/08

Infusing Career and Technical Education into High School Reform Sacramento, California,  The focus of this trip to Sacramento was to learn about California’s efforts at improving career and technical education, to witness the interaction between state initiatives and district implementation, and to examine the impact of the reform at the school level by visiting schools and hearing from principals, teachers and students.(Field Trip)

12/2/2002 -
12/3/2002

Career Preparation and Workforce Development in Springfield, MA, and Hartford, CT with visits to Springfield Technical Community College, the Hartford Workforce Investment Board, Hartford YO program, Connecticut Business and Industry Association and other youth and career education programs. (Trip Report)

Publications

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The College Ladder: Linking Secondary and Postsecondary Education for Success for All Students This compendium identifies and describes schools, programs, and policies that link secondary and postsecondary education to help students earn college credit or take college-level courses while in high school. It raises issues for practitioners and policymakers to consider as these program grow and target a wider range of students.

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Whatever It Takes: How Twelve Communities Are Reconnecting Out-of-School Youth This report documents what committed educators, policymakers, and community leaders across the country are doing to reconnect out-of-school youth to the social and economic mainstream. It provides background on the serious high school dropout problem and describes in-depth what twelve communities are doing to reconnect dropouts to education and employment training. It also includes descriptions of major national program models serving out-of-school youth.