FEATURE STORIES
Cal State University Takes Big Steps To Close Graduation and Equity Gaps
As part of its Graduation 2025 Initiative, the California State University system is working to improve postsecondary student success. One major effort currently underway is to eliminate non-credit remedial classes, replacing them with credit-bearing courses accompanied by additional supports for students who may need them. Dr. Timothy P. White, Cal State Chancellor, hopes that this reform will boost graduation rates within the CSU system from 19% in 2015 to 40% by 2025, and there is reason to be hopeful. After one year of implementation, the CSU is reporting a sharp increase in the number of students who would have previously been deemed unprepared completing college-level math - from 950 last year to 7,787 this year. The L.A. Compact sees this as a strong step in closing graduation gaps by eliminating unnecessary barriers that slow down pathways to a bachelor’s degree, increasing student success and saving students significant amounts of money.
L.A. Area Chamber CEO Maria S. Salinas Op-Ed on Education
“We applaud Gov. Newsom for the initial investments he has proposed in the state budget when it comes to higher education. His new investments to fund enrollment growth, address student success initiatives and re-engage adults with no degree are good starts to getting students in the door. His expansion of the California College Promise and increases in need-based financial aid will help tackle some of the financial obstacles that keep low and middle-income students from pursuing a college degree.” Continue reading in the Daily News.
WORKGROUP HIGHTLIGHTS
Stewardship Group Applies an Equity Lens to L.A. Compact Work
With generous support from the Lumina Foundation, UNITE-LA partnered with the National Equity Project (NEP) to design and facilitate a half-day seminar on racial equity for members of the L.A. Compact Stewardship Group. NEP is a respected talent and organizational development group committed to increasing leadership capacities in order to eliminate racialized outcomes and achieve thriving, self-determining, and educated communities. Over half of Stewardship Group members participated in NEP’s Leading for Equity seminar on January 24, 2019. Through a series of reflective activities, NEP guided Stewardship Group members to think about the conditions and forces contributing to racial inequities throughout the cradle-to-career continuum in the L.A. region and what will be required of Compact partners to advance racial equity. Stewardship Group members will play a key role in helping Compact staff and workgroup members integrate equity into our ongoing Compact work, so that every child receives what they need to develop their full academic and social potential.
Los Angeles Educator Pathways Partnership (LAEPP)
At the latest Los Angeles Educator Pathways Partnership (LAEPP) meeting in January, representatives from LAUSD and local colleges of education came together to explore how we can improve STEM teacher preparation programs. Workgroup members developed a working definition of STEM teachers to guide future analyses. The partners will move forward with matching teacher candidate and employment data to better understand how local programs are preparing STEM Teachers alongside non-STEM teachers. The next meeting in March will focus on developing the guiding research questions to determine what data will be collected in the project’s next phase.
EDI Expansion Continues in Los Angeles County
As school districts are getting ready to collect a new wave of Early Development Instrument (EDI) data in their kindergarten classrooms, both First 5 LA and UNITE-LA have started planning for the launch of the L.A. Compact Early Childhood Stewardship Group in June 2019. To understand how the Early Childhood Stewardship Group can use the EDI to drive innovation in early childhood policy and service delivery in Los Angeles County, UNITE-LA interviewed 5 EDI pilot communities funded by First 5 LA and a representative from First 5 Orange County. Orange County is the first county in California to use the EDI across all public elementary schools. The findings from the interviews will guide First 5 LA and UNITE-LA in defining the vision, role and membership of the Early Childhood Stewardship Group. L.A. school districts participating in EDI data collection include: LAUSD, Compton USD, Lowell Joint School District, Mountain View School District, Pasadena USD, Pomona USD, Rosemead School District, El Monte School District and Santa Monica-Malibu USD.
OYC Foster Youth College Advancement Project
Check out what’s happening across all of the L.A. Compact workgroups, including the Joint Advocacy Workgroup, Student Success Workgroup, Health Sector Collaborative, L.A. Performance Partnership Pilot and more in our L.A. Compact Workgroup January/February Update
PARTNER HIGHTLIGHTS
Creating supportive environments for young children in Los Angeles County is a top priority for the Board of Supervisors. They want to strengthen and expand the early education, care, and home visiting systems that support young children and their families. The Supervisors sent Governor Newsom a letter expressing their support for his 2019-20 budget proposal, which includes significant investments in early care and education programs, home visiting and other supports for families with young children, while also encouraging him to provide additional investments in infant and toddler care--a population that is underserved throughout the state. The Governor’s budget proposal closely aligns with the County’s efforts to support the healthy development of our youngest residents and, if approved, can bring in significant resources to the county.
WHAT WE'RE READING
CSUs Partner with Local Community College to Streamline Nursing Pathway [CSU]
California Community Colleges #RealCollege Survey [The Hope Center]
L.A. Councilman Floats Idea of Ballot Measure to Fund Child Care [L.A. Times]
What it’s like to go to school when dozens have been killed nearby [L.A. Times]
California’s black students lag in college completion despite some gains [EdSource]
COLLECTIVE IMPACT RESOURCES
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