College Spark E-Newsletter

College Spark Washington funds programs across Washington state that help low-income students become college-ready and earn their degrees.

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Navigation 101: A Report Card
This infographic highlights the results of the report for schools participating in Navigation 101 at College Spark Washington funded schools.   
 
Upcoming Events

 

National College Access Network and Washington College Access Network

Spring Training: How to Participate in Collaborative Partnerships

Join NCAN March 26th at Pacific Lutheran University for their first year of Spring Trainings! The meetings will focus on the role of college access/success programs in collaboratives that aim to increase degree attainment and align postsecondary education with workforce and civic needs.  The focus for the 2014 training will be building partnerships with businesses - presented by experts from the Institute for Coalition Building - and using data to inform collaborative work - presented by experts from NCAN.

  

 

Washington State Educational Access Coalition for HB1079 Students
Save the date for a convening June 20th at the University of Washington Ethnic Cultural Center to join educators, policy makers, and community leaders to share research findings, promote best practices, and share experiences of practitioners and advocates who serve undocumented students.  
  
  
    
In the News
  

State Senate Republicans voted to allow financial aid for students who were illegally brought to the United States as children, a stunning reversal that paves the way for passage.

  

College and career counselor at Bremerton High School recognized 

Chris Swanson earns the Compass Leadership Award in recognition of his students' college and career readiness.

 

Nearly half of high school sophomores in 2002 had no college credentials 10 years later 

The Education Week blog reports on new federal longitudinal data finding 48 percent of students who started 10th grade in 2002 had not earned any kind of college degree or certification in the decade since, even if they did take some postsecondary credits.
 

 

AVID and Navigation 101 Programs help low-income students become college- and career-ready 

 
A recent report, College Readiness Initiative: AVID and Navigation 101, conducted by The BERC Group, provides evidence of impact of two programs on students at schools that received College Spark Washington funding from the nine-year, $9.5 million College Readiness Initiative which was implemented by OSPI.       
 

Navigation 101 is a guidance and counseling program for middle school and high school students that helps students make choices for their future, including course selection, goal setting and career and college planning.

 

AVID - short for Advancement Via Individual Determination - is an academic preparation program designed to prepare students for college and success by focusing on creating a school-wide college readiness culture through increased learning performance.
  • Navigation 101 schools had a 20 percent higher graduation rate than comparison schools with similar demographics. Both AVID and Navigation 101 schools have higher graduation rates than comparison schools with similar demographics.  See data trends for 8th grade Algebra, college enrollment, and college transcript eligibility here. 

  • A significant improvement in the percentage of high school seniors who graduate with a four-year college eligible transcript.See college eligible transcript rates for participating schools here.
Real Learning for Real Life campaign builds awareness for Common Core State Standards         

The Ready Washington coalition, comprised of state education agencies and advocacy organizations, is using its "Real Learning for Real Life" slogan to build public awareness and understanding of Common Core State Standards. 

 
The campaign has produced materials and videos to help parents and the public learn about and understand Common Core.  Resources include a Common Core handout (translated in six languages), brochure, PowerPoint and poster for use by schools and parents. 

 

You can also follow Ready Washington on Twitter and on YouTube.

 

Council of the Great City School: Three-Minute Video Explaining the Common Core State Standards
Council of the Great City School: Three-Minute Video Explaining the Common Core State Standards

 

 

 

 
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