In September, the L.A. Compact's postsecondary transitions work was featured at two different conferences dedicated to K-12 and higher education policy and practice – the 2022 National College Attainment Network (NCAN) conference in Atlanta, GA, and Ed Trust-West's Education Equity Forum in Los Angeles. They highlighted a collaborative effort between LAUSD's Office of Intervention and Support (housed within the Division of Instruction), and Compact partners – CSUN and LACCD – to strengthen district-wide student completion of financial aid applications and postsecondary planning. This effort, which began in October 2021 in response to an LAUSD School Board resolution, has led to an implementation plan with student-informed recommendations to help the district to augment their postsecondary readiness strategies. Additional partners include government agencies, direct student service providing non-profits, and students, parents, and alumni of LAUSD.

At the 2022 NCAN conference in Atlanta, GA, Associate Director of Postsecondary Initiatives, Adam Gottlieb led three different roundtable presentations and conversations around the initiative. Participants got to learn about LAUSD's engagement in the L.A. Compact and how that long-term partnership enabled UNITE-LA to work closely with the district in convening an advisory group to gain a better understanding of college transitions and eventually use that knowledge to develop a college and career readiness implementation plan for LAUSD to implement in the following school year.

A week later, Matt Moor, Manager for Postsecondary Initiatives, and Micaela Vasquez-Hahn, College Readiness Coordinator with the LAUSD Division of Instruction, joined Adam in presenting at the Ed Trust-West's Education Equity Forum in Los Angeles. Their presentation further expanded on the value of LAUSD's partnership with the L.A. Compact and how this facilitated the coming together of different stakeholders to review baseline data on college-going rates, and feedback from LAUSD students, alumni and parents, as well as to learn from other communities that lead in this work.

The college and career readiness plan is slated for Board approval in the next few weeks.

For more information on the process, research, and outcomes, please contact Associate Director of Postsecondary Initiatives, Adam Gottlieb, at [email protected].