PATHWAYS TO ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY Joel Vargas Jobs for the Future | December 2015 EARLY COLLEGE AND AVID: DUAL STRATEGIES FOR PROMOTING COLLEGE READINESS AND SUCCESS

PHOTOGRAPH © 2008 Jerry Davis ABOUT JFF Our Mission JFF works to ensure that all young people and workers have the skills and credentials needed to succeed in our economy. Our Vision The promise of education and economic mobility in America is achieved for everyone.

HOW WE WORK DEVELOP EVIDENCE- BASED INNOVATIONS >Develop promising models >Pilot, test, evaluate, and continuously improve >Codify strongest strategies BUILD FIELD CAPACITY FOR SCALE >Assist with implementation >Create products and tools >Accelerate knowledge dissemination >Use data to inform decision making ADVOCATE FOR AND INFLUENCE POLICY >Promote policies to drive adoption of solutions >Elevate visibility of solutions >Remove policy barriers >Increase incentives for adoption

WHAT ARE EARLY COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOLS? >Small schools encompassing grades 6, 7-12 or 9-13 created through partnerships between secondary and postsecondary institutions >Designed so students underrepresented in postsecondary can earn an AA degree or up to two years of college credit while still in high school >Located on or near college campuses to build students’ identity as college goers >Built on the principle of acceleration based on mastery, rather than remediation

WHAT ARE EARLY COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOLS? Theory of Change: >A significant number of college credits earned in high school will ensure underprepared students attain the AA degree and are on the path to a BA. >By changing the structure of high school, compressing the number of years to a college degree, and removing financial and other barriers to college, early college high schools will increase the number of underrepresented youth attaining an AA degree and the opportunity to earn a BA.

HISTORY OF EARLY COLLEGE Early College High School Initiative 2002–2012 Funder: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other foundations Managing Partner: Jobs for the Future Intermediary Organizations: >Center for Native Education >City University of New York >Educate Texas >Foundation for California Community Colleges >Gateway to College National Network >KnowledgeWorks Foundation >Middle College National Consortium >National Council of La Raza >North Carolina New Schools >SECME, Inc. >University System of Georgia Board of Regents >Utah Partnership Foundation >Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation

EARLY COLLEGE TODAY

EARLY COLLEGE STUDENT DEMOGRAPHICS 56% of early college students are the first in their immediate families to attend college.

EARLY COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOLS: TYPE OF PRIMARY POSTSECONDARY PARTNER Source: ECHS Integrated Survey 2012

EARLY COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOLS: WHO TEACHES COLLEGE CLASSES? Source: ECHS Integrated Survey 2012

DESIGNING FOR SUCCESS: SUPPORTS FOR ALL, COLLEGE FOR ALL >Examples of Student Support Strategies: -Formal tutoring program -AVID college readiness system -Advisories, houses -College skills center -Mentoring -Summer bridge courses/programs -College readiness/skills/success classes -Cohorts of students receiving common supports together -Parallel courses at the high school for college courses being taken by students -Test prep (graduation, SAT, PSAT, ACT, college placement tests)

DESIGNING FOR SUCCESS: ENGAGING INSTRUCTION >Six Instructional Strategies (Common Instructional Framework): -In Collaborative Group Work, students engage in learning by constructing group solutions, texts, experiments, or works of art. -Through Writing to Learn, students can develop their ideas, critical thinking abilities, and writing skills, with low-stakes writing in every class, every day. -Scaffolding helps students connect prior knowledge and experience with new information and ideas. -Questioning challenges students and teachers to use good questions as a way to open conversations and further intellectual inquiry. -Classroom Talk creates the space for students to articulate their thinking and strengthen their voices. -Literacy Groups provide students with a collaborative structure for understanding a variety of texts, problem sets, and documents by engaging them in a high-level of discourse.

EARLY COLLEGE STUDENTS ARE MORE LIKELY TO GRADUATE HIGH SCHOOL Source: Jobs for the Future,

EARLY COLLEGE STUDENTS ARE MORE LIKELY TO EARN COLLEGE CREDIT IN HIGH SCHOOL Source: Jobs for the Future,

EARLY COLLEGE STUDENTS ARE MORE LIKELY TO EARN AN ASSOCIATE’S DEGREE OR OTHER POSTSECONDARY CREDENTIAL IN HIGH SCHOOL Source: Jobs for the Future,

EARLY COLLEGE STUDENTS ARE MORE LIKELY TO ENROLL IN COLLEGE IMMEDIATELY AFTER HIGH SCHOOL Source: Jobs for the Future,

EARLY COLLEGE STUDENTS ARE MORE LIKELY TO RETURN TO COLLEGE FOR A SECOND YEAR Source: Jobs for the Future,

ECHS 2.0: EARLY COLLEGE DESIGNS EARLY COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOLS Small, autonomous schools, operated in close connection with postsecondary institutions Students can earn an Associate’s degree or up to 2 years of transferable college credit Schools enroll about 100 students per grade and can start in grades 6, 7, or 9 Can be a STEM or CTE- focused school BACK ON TRACK THOUGH COLLEGE Small, autonomous schools and programs targeted toward older youth who are off track from graduation or out of school altogether Adapts Early College Design to graduate students college and career ready Provides supported transition to and through the first year of postsecondary, in collaboration with a postsecondary partner EARLY COLLEGE PATHWAYS Accelerated pathways for all starting in ninth grade, with course sequences aligned to college-ready standards Designed so that as many students as possible complete a minimum of 12 college credits, including gatekeeper courses in math and English composition: grade 7-13, 9-13, 7-14, and 9-14 designs Dual enrollment options may also include STEM and CTE options Aligned with postsecondary programs of study

BUILDING ON SUCCESS: BRINGING EARLY COLLEGE TO MORE STUDENTS NEAR YOU Source: Jobs for the Future,

EARLY COLLEGE AND AVID: FOOD FOR THOUGHT >Notable numbers of Early College Schools are also AVID Schools >Pedagogical approaches and philosophies are consistent – nc11_earlycollegehighschools.pdfhttp:// nc11_earlycollegehighschools.pdf >Effects for Early College-AVID schools on postsecondary entry and 2 nd -year postsecondary persistence may be pronounced >In Early College Design scale up phase, support strategies, and instructional improvement are more critical than ever

JOEL VARGAS TEL FAX Broad Street, 8 th Floor, Boston, MA (HQ) 122 C Street, NW, Suite 650, Washington, DC th Street, Suite 900, Oakland, CA