2014 Educate Texas Leadership Forum February 23, 2015 Pathways to College Completion and Meaningful Careers College and Career Summit

About Educate Texas Improving the public education system so that every Texas student is prepared for success in school, in the workforce, and in life. Vision Strengthen the public and higher education system so that every Texas student is prepared for educational and workforce success. Mission Increase postsecondary readiness, access and success for all students by building partnerships, leading innovation and scaling practices and policies.

Four Key Impact Areas

Our Partners The Educate Texas public-private partnership includes: the Texas Education Agency; Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board; Office of the Governor; Texas Legislature; Communities Foundation of Texas; Michael & Susan Dell Foundation; Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Greater Texas Foundation; Houston Endowment; The Meadows Foundation; National Instruments and Texas Instruments Foundation. Greater Texas Foundation

Texas College Access Network TxCAN

6 Texas College Access Network Overview and Goals Texas is a National College Access Network (NCAN) member and is developing the Texas College Access Network (TxCAN) EdTX and its public-private partnership will work together to:  Establish a sustainable Texas network of agencies and organizations designed to increase student access and success in post-secondary education  Create a platform for aligning national, state, and local organizations activities and core competencies

Our Focus 7 Given historical investments at the secondary level and the challenges students face in postsecondary completion, Educate Texas through TxCAN is increasing its focus on addressing: Postsecondary Access – Developing the Texas College Access Network (TxCAN) to identify and connect effective organizations committed to driving greater postsecondary access

TxCAN has Three Primary Areas of Focus Awareness Alignment Impact Measurement TxCAN mission will focus on increasing college readiness, access and completion by building awareness, alignment and impact measurement

9 Who is doing what in college access and success? What does a student need to have “college access”? How do we know if what we are doing is working? TxCAN Will Answer Three Fundamental Questions

10 KEY QUESTIONS: POTENTIAL TxCAN OBJECTIVES: Awareness: transparency of college access services across state/region Alignment: common college access “standards“ and/or goals aligned with regionally provided services Impact measurement: more accessible data on college access and performance measurement Who is doing what in college access? What does a student need to have “college access”? How do we know if what we’re doing is working? If these are the right questions, what should be the TxCAN objectives?

Regions in Texas Dallas Rio Grande Valley El Paso San Antonio Tyler Houston Austin Corpus Christi Lubbock Amarillo Abilene

 Increase the access, retention and success of students from TX  Collaborate, partner and network with community, government, business and others  Champion the cause of college access, retention and completion  Become a clearinghouse and filter for information  Support and improve resource and staff development including sharing best practices TxCAN’s success will be dependent on the engagement and participation of key stakeholders Our Shared Goals TxCAN (illustrative ) Philanthropy P-16 CouncilsISDs Workforce IHEs Community Orgs

5 Key Criteria Identified to Support TxCAN Objectives Primary Criteria: Questions Considered for Each Region: What are the current trends, based on available data, in college access and success? Is there a demonstrated interest in a college access network? Does region have sustainable leadership? Is local leadership well-connected to wider region? Is there a commitment to a successful network? Are partnerships well-established with a diverse representation? What type of data is collected and analyzed? Does data inform decisions and regional strategic efforts? How sustainable is data management and analysis? What support systems are in place to ensure sustainability? What is the financial support in place? Need for college access support Leadership Partnerships Data systems & capability Sustainability

TxCAN – Next Phase of Work Representatives from 8 regions around the state will convene on March 5 th Initial conversation on collaborating ideas to increase College Access for Texas students College Readiness Assessments (TSI, SAT, ACT) Apply Texas Completions FAFSA/TASFA Completions Create High Strategy Impact inventories to share across the state network 14

In 2012, RGV FOCUS was launched to transform college readiness, access, and completion across the four counties of Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr, and Willacy. VISION: All RGV learners will achieve a degree or credential that leads to a meaningful career. rgvfocus.org / Collective Impact Initiative RGV FOCUS – A Collective Impact initiative established by a cross- sector group of leaders, the “Leadership Team”, meet regularly to: identify assets and needs in the RGV, adopt a common vision, establish shared goals, strategies, and metrics

RGV FOCUS – 2015 FAFSA/TASFA Targets January March December Notes and Sources: Data from U.S. Department of Education. Data limited to high school seniors as defined by the DOE. There is no Texas state target for FAFSA completion %. Data is portrayed for 1/31/2013, 1/30/2014, 1/30/2015, 3/28 of displayed years and 12/31 of displayed years.U.S. Department of Education

RGV Super Saturday 17 Awareness Alignment Impact Measurement

Texas College Access Network (TxCAN)Partners 18 2ND FAFSA/TASFA SUPER SATURDAY Financial Aid Workshop – Pinkston High School

TxCAN & RGV FOCUS Working Towards the Same Big Goal 19 To increase the proportion of Americans with high-quality degrees, certificates and other credentials to 60 percent by the year 2025.

More Information on TxCAN 20 Alma Garcia, Program Officer Educate Texas Denise Davis, Associate Program Officer Educate Texas