CLP joined the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office (CCCCO) and the California Department of Education (CDE) at a State Dual Enrollment Academy convened by the College in High School Alliance in Washington D.C. last month. The California state team included Dr. LaTonya Williams, Dean of Academic Affairs in the CCCCO; Diane Crum, Education Programs Consultant in the High School Innovations and Initiatives Office of the CDE, and Dr. Naomi Castro from CLP.
The academy focused on intersegmental coordination and alignment for equitable dual enrollment expansion, and the team got to engage with other states and hear from leaders in the field about diverse strategies. It also provided a collaboration space to reflect on what California’s state systems have done so far, discuss challenges we’re tackling together, and identify areas for improvement.
Over the past few years, the state’s collective efforts have made strides. Both K-12 and community college systems have centered equity in scaling dual enrollment with focus on students of color and students who wouldn’t otherwise have come to college. Colleges and high schools have worked to integrate dual enrollment with other redesign and strategic planning efforts—such as guided pathways and basic skills reform on the college side, and in Local Control and Accountability Plans (LCAPs) on the K-12 side. The recent California dual enrollment exemplar awards and CDE dual enrollment grant rubrics are moving the state closer to consensus on what high quality, equitable dual enrollment is in California.
Looking forward, the team identified a number of current challenges and areas to improve including: operationalizing equity; navigating the intersegmental space from the system perspective; supporting students, particularly those farthest from opportunity; engaging parents and communities, especially California’s underserved and under-resourced communities; and continuing to develop and communicate a unified vision for the state’s education systems.