ACCELERATING ADULT STUDENTS

WELDERS ACCELERATE CAREERS AT LONE STAR COLLEGE

College can be intimidating—especially if you’re 42 years old. 

“I was nervous, mainly scared,” says Patrick Cofield, a Houston native who hadn’t been in a classroom in 20 years. “I’ve worked in construction for a long time. I felt stuck and wanted to train myself for better jobs. But I didn’t want to go sit in a classroom—and with a bunch of kids.” 

But Patrick has learned that college is not just for kids anymore. When his wife Jessica enrolled in Lone Star College to get a nursing credential, she convinced him to look into the school’s building trade programs. He found a very unusual welding class: a 3-month, 80- hour course that integrates basic math with trade skills. 

Lone Star’s course—like 18 other Accelerate TEXAS programs statewide—moves adult students quickly through Adult Basic Ed as well as college and career training and into better jobs. Read more . . . 

TEXAS COMMUNITY COLLEGES CELEBRATE ACCELERATE TEXAS WEEK

Over the past year, Accelerate TEXAS has helped more than 2,000 ABE students like Patrick to earn college credentials. From November 12-16, the community colleges in this initiative are celebrating their students’ achievements during Accelerate TEXAS Week. 

Colleges are offering receptions for the public to explain and promote their Accelerate TEXAS programs, free forums for students to help them apply for internships and apprenticeships, and more. Follow Accelerate TEXAS Week on Facebook to see what’s happening. Read more . . 

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COLLEGE FOR ALL

DUAL ENROLLMENT WORKS, SAYS RIGOROUS JFF STUDY

Students who take college courses while in high school are significantly more likely to attend college and earn college degrees, according to a JFF study of more than 30,000 Texas high school graduates. In Taking College Courses in High School, JFF’s Ben Struhl and Joel Vargas report that 54 percent of graduates who were dually enrolled earned a college degree, compared with 36 percent of non-DE grads. These benefits held for all racial groups and for students from low-income families. 

This report adds to the mounting evidence that dual enrollment is a powerful strategy for enhancing college readiness, especially for low-income students and others underrepresented in college. Read more . . .

JFF RELEASES DUAL ENROLLMENT STATE POLICY TOOL

State policymakers have become increasingly interested in expanding participation in dual enrollment to include low-income students and others underrepresented in higher education, given the research about how it can improve their high school and college success rates. With the right policies in place, states can support high school-college partnerships that create on ramps to college. 

JFF closely analyzed dual enrollment policies in each of the 50 states to determine progress in creating conditions that support the delivery of these strategies, particularly for low-income youth. Our new 50-state policy tool shows how well each state supports dual enrollment, based on six specific policy elements. Read more . . .

EARLY COLLEGE DESIGN SERVICES: CHANGING THE LIVES OF YOUNG PEOPLE

Since 2002, early college high schools have been central to JFF’s and our partners’ work in increasing high school graduation and college readiness rates. JFF’s Early College Design Services takes these successful school designs to a district level to help every student prepare for college—especially low-income populations and others underrepresented in college. 

The Common Core State Standards make Early College Design Services especially valuable: They require schools to encourage all students to master critical skills like problem solving while gaining a deep understanding of subject matter. Early College Design Services helps schools and districts achieve all of this with strategies that prepare students to succeed in college-level courses while still in high school. Read more . . . 

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HIGHER ED SUCCESS

SYSTEMIC CHANGE IN A DECENTRALIZED STATE

State-level policy is key to enacting higher ed reforms that raise student achievement across college systems. But what are states with decentralized systems and autonomous campuses to do? That is why Michigan—a quintessential “non-system” state—is of such great interest. 

Autonomy and Innovation describes how the Michigan Community College Association created a Student Success Center that is promoting and supporting a culture of student success across the state’s community colleges. The report’s author, higher education and workforce development expert Tom Hilliard, explains how the center supports their reforms while respecting their autonomy. Read more . . . 

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CAREER ADVANCEMENT

VIRTUAL SUMMIT: ADVANCING GREENER CAREERS AND CAMPUSES

On November 2, JFF and National Wildlife Federation’s Greenforce Initiative brought together more than 100 employers and workforce experts, college leaders, and environmental advocates for a virtual summit. “Advancing Greener Careers and Campuses” showcased how colleges and their partners are enhancing career pathways that integrate sustainability skills for lower-skilled adults and are offering hands-on training through colleges’ sustainability projects. The summit also featured brief videos from colleges nationwide that have developed and promoted these pathways. Read more . . . 

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JFF IN THE NEWS

• Nov. 9: EdNews Colorado posted a speech by JFF CEO Marlene B. Seltzer and off-track youth expert Lili Allen promoting early college high schools. They said these schools could serve as “the next generation of high school reform efforts in this country” and that Colorado has great policies to support their development. The speech was given at a Hot Lunch Series hosted by the Donnell-Kay Foundation. 
• Oct. 30: In interviews with Chicago Public Radio and EvoLLLution, JFF adult ed expert Barbara Endel described how the U.S. education system slows economic mobility and how seven states are helping lower-skilled adults accelerate their skills and lift their own and their regions’ economic prospects. 
• Oct. 26: JFF VP Nancy Hoffman’s book, Schooling in the Workplace: How Six of the World’s Best Vocational Education Systems Prepare Young People for Jobs and Life, earned high praise in Teachers College Record. 
• Oct. 18: The Hechinger Report cited JFF labor data expert John Dorrer on the importance of real-time data as colleges and corporations team up on workforce development. 
• Oct. 17: Many national observers, including Huffington Post, Education Week, and Eduwonk, recognized the importance of Ben Struhl and Joel Vargas’ study of dual enrolled high school students.  

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ON THE ROAD

Nov. 28, 16th Annual Texas Workforce Conference, Grapevine, TX: 

• Gloria Cross Mwase highlights student outcomes and best training practices from the first two years of Accelerate TEXAS, a statewide initiative to help ABE students gain valuable college credentials by integrating basic skills with career and technical pathways. (Room: Texas 3, Level 3—3:15-4:30 p.m.)

SEE YOU ONLINE!

Talk to us and see what’s new in #edreform, #highered, and workforce development (#wkdev) on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, or visit our blog. 

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