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Upcoming events
California State Legislature returns from recess
August 15
Sacramento, CA
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 The Linked Learning Alliance is a statewide coalition of education, industry, and community organizations dedicated to improving California's high schools and preparing students for postsecondary education and career.
SAVE THE DATE: Linked Learning Alliance Fall Convening
It's official! The Linked Learning Alliance will be hosting it's next convening on Wednesday, October 12th in beautiful Long Beach, CA. A special thanks to the Long Beach Unified School District for helping us with the many details of this convening. Being on-the-ground in a community that has implemented high quality Linked Learning pathways has its perks, and the Linked Learning Alliance plans to take full advantage of seeing what Long Beach has to offer. Check your email next week for a survey of potential sites to visit as a portion of our convening agenda.
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Linked Learning in Our Schools: The Education Trust- West
 | The Education Trust-West
Arun Ramanathan, Executive Director, discusses July 2011 report, "Unlocking Doors and Expanding Opportunity" |
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Alliance Spotlight:
Porterville USD
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Porterville Unified School District
Cynthia Brown, Director of Student Pathways, discusses PUSD and their commitment to Linked Learning.
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Event Spotlight: The Education Trust-West releases new report: "Unlocking Doors and Expanding Opportunity," highlighting Linked Learning as a potential solution for California's schools
The Education Trust-West's (ETW) new report documents that while California will need one million more college graduates to fill workforce needs over the next two decades, as a whole, California high schools are not doing an adequate job preparing students for college OR career. A few statistics from the report:
- Just three quarters of students overall earn a high school diploma, and those who do graduate often lack genuine college and career options. This is especially true for the state's Latino and African American students, who comprise 60 percent of the state's public school population.
- Only six out of every ten Latino and African-American students who enter our high schools actually graduate. Of these graduates, less than a quarter complete the coursework necessary to apply for admission into a four year public university in California.
- Less than one in ten students graduate having met both the A-G course requirements and having completed a CTE pathway
The report calls for elimination of the practice of tracking of low-income students and students of color into less rigorous courses than their peers, and for California to ensure that all students graduate with the skills, knowledge, and coursework necessary to access college and career opportunities. The report cites Linked Learning as approach that "promises to increase graduation rates and prepare students for both college and career options by offering an engaging, relevant, and rigorous course of study-one that includes college-preparatory coursework, challenging technical courses, work-based learning opportunities, and supplemental services to support students." The report calls for additional research to evaluate Linked Learning's effectiveness, scalability, and potential to result in greater equity, improved student academic achievement, and college and career access and success.
The report concludes, "High schools serve as gatekeepers to post-secondary choice -- an enormous responsibility that they must meet by expanding, not closing, doors to opportunity. This means offering every student the rigorous preparation needed to succeed in college, the workplace, and beyond."
Read a copy of the full report here.
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Alliance Member Spotlight: Porterville Unified School District
Porterville Unified School District (PUSD) is committed to preparing students for the world of college and careers. PUSD has evolved from a mindset of providing college OR career readiness by implementing the Linked Learning approach of college AND career readiness for all students. PUSD began this work four years ago by partnering with the National Academy Foundation and ConnectEd and opening its first two "open choice" pathways in Fall, 2008. In 2009, Porterville was chosen as one of nine districts in the statewide Linked Learning District Initiative funded by the James Irvine Foundation. PUSD recently received a two-year grant extension to continue their work to ensure that students have access to quality pathways. PUSD now offers nine "open choice" career-themed small learning communities within the five high schools in the district. PUSD has worked diligently to ensure that all students have access to pathways that prepare them for college and careers. Prior to the development and formation of its first pathway, PUSD initiated a systematic approach to examine performance, demographic, and systemic data. Following extensive district-wide discussions by all stakeholder groups and with approval from its local teachers' union, the PUSD Governing Board ratified a variety of policy changes. The first was to increase graduation requirements. Second, the district changed its master schedule from a six to a seven-period day to ensure student access to the additional CTE and college preparatory courses required. The district made this change without the cost increases typically presumed to accompany scheduling changes and with strong support from their teachers. The change in graduation requirements raised expectations for all students and helps ensure that all have an opportunity to meet the a-g eligibility requirements for entrance to the state's universities and complete a sequence of career and technical courses. The change in the master schedule helps ensure students have access to all courses needed for graduation, and offers schools more flexibility in scheduling common planning time for pathway teacher teams, protects elective programs, and addresses pathway needs. PUSD remains committed to "open access and equity for all" and gives middle school students information about pathways and the opportunity to attend any pathway based on interest. To ensure access to pathways for students and families, PUSD provides transportation for all students enrolled in a pathway of their choice. "The role of all stakeholders in implementing reform is crucial," said Cindy Brown, Director of Student Pathways. "PUSD, the Porterville Chamber of Commerce, city leaders and advisory board industry partners are calling on professionals to become meaningfully involved in education and help shape the future of our community. The school system is the most important component of preparing young men and women for success in colleges, workforce, and citizenship. Joining forces with professional leaders raises expectations and enhances the rigor, relevance and relationships in the educational experience so that students graduate prepared for both college and career." More information on Porterville Unified School District can be found here.
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In the News
Preparing students for success in college, career, and life
By Don Gill, Superintendent of the Antioch Unified School District
Appearing in the Contra Costa Times
It has been a great year for Dozier-Libbey Medical High School. In the short span of three years since this high school opened its doors they have amassed an impressive array of awards and recognitions. Dozier-Libbey is a school that is the product of the collaborative efforts of the Antioch Unified School District and its affiliated administrators, teachers, staff, students, parents, businesses and elected officials. The results of their efforts show the depth of their commitment to this school's success.
Click here to read the article.
Connect Teenagers to the World of Work
Opinion Column
By Dana Goldstein, The Atlantic
What's the single best idea to jumpstart job creation? I agree with Frederick Hess that overhauling career and technical education would be the single best way to fight unemployment. According to research from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, between now and 2018, the fastest-growing occupations will be "mid-skill" jobs--like dental hygienist, construction manager, police officer, paralegal, and electrician--that require an associate's degree or occupational certificate, but not a four-year college education.
Unfortunately, if we wait until adulthood to offer workers vocational training, we risk leaving far too many of them behind. Unemployment among young people without a college degree is high, at 22.5 percent, and staggering among young people without a high school degree, at 42.7 percent.
Click here to read the article.
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Policy Watch
The Legislature is in summer recess until August 15. During the Legislative recess, Senate President pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg, in partnership with State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson and UC President Mark Yudof, convened a select group of representatives from each segment of California's K-16 education community and representatives of California's business community to discuss development and deployment of integrated curriculum for Linked Learning. The meeting was remarkable in the scope and depth of its focus on high-value paths to engage industry in successfully preparing students for college and careers, and in the attention paid to identifying barriers to curriculum deployment at the classroom, school, district, and state levels. Senator Steinberg has committed to work with the Linked Learning Alliance to follow up on a variety of ideas that emerged from the session.
When the Legislative session resumes, a number of bills that have potential to impact Linked Learning will be heard by Appropriations Committees in the Senate and Assembly. These committees review bills for potential fiscal impact on state or local agencies, and work in two stages. When a bill is first heard in one of these committees, it is placed on the "suspense" file if it has a significant fiscal effect, a designation which applies to the vast majority of legislation. Then, at the last moment allowed under the Legislature's calendar of deadlines, each committees votes on the entire suspense file of bills in one marathon meeting, with no additional public hearing. But given the state's dire fiscal condition, few bills will survive this suspense file winnowing, and many of those that do will be stripped down.
You can find a list of bills that have potential to impact Linked Learning on our website.
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