Jobs for the Future Convenes State Leaders to Create College-Connected Schools

In April, NACEP Executive Secretary Adam Lowe attended a conference organized by Jobs for the Future, an organization that develops and promotes new education and workforce strategies to ensure that the US becomes globally competitive. Connect to College brought together states interested in dual enrollment and Early College as well as other initiatives that “integrate college coursework and expectations into high school.” The focus of the conference was on financing and ensuring program quality and highlighted efforts in two states: North Carolina, where 70 early college programs have been created, and Texas, where a variety of different programs “promote completion of college-level courses by low-income high school students.”

According to Lowe, one of the most important messages from the conference was that “for students underrepresented in higher education to succeed in concurrent enrollment and other college level coursework, schools need to provide academic supports and create pervasive college-going cultures.”

Jobs for the Future CEO Marlene Seltzer defined the overarching message of the conference: “Inclusion of college courses in the high school curriculum is a growing strategy for improving the success of high school students underrepresented in higher education, including low-income and students of color. The continued efforts of leaders from government, state education agencies, and secondary and postsecondary institutions will allow thousands more students to access the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in high school, college, and career.”

Seltzer’s talk defined common elements of “college-connected” schools:
• An academic program that is untracked, with college course work part of the core curriculum for all students and explicit instruction in successful academic behaviors;
• academic supports including catch up support, engaging and scaffolded instruction, social-emotional support, and formal tutoring; and
• a college-going culture featuring shared responsibility between secondary and postsecondary partners, counseling on college pathways, and defined postsecondary transitional supports.

For Lowe, the most important aspect of attending the conference was the opportunity to “share information with state leaders about NACEP’s role in promoting quality concurrent enrollment prams and to learn more about the challenges that states face in trying to develop and implement policies related to dual enrollment.”