California

Aerospace (Antelope Valley)

Global Logistics (Long Beach)

Computer Science (Oakland)

Vision

Using high-quality, integrated Linked Learning pathways as a springboard toward postsecondary completion, learners across California will be supported by their communities as they earn up to 30 hours of pathway-aligned, transferable college credit in high school that enables them to complete an Associate degree within one year of graduation.

Overview

Building on a variety of current dual enrollment strategies across three participating communities (e.g., early college high school, credit by exam, dual enrollment at the high school, concurrent enrollment on college campus), the California design team is mapping a set of pathways that meet California’s A-G 4-year institution entrance policies, connect to community-specific industry fields, incorporate work-based learning for credit in a package that leads to the attainment of an associate degree by the end of students’ 13th year.

Organizations / Entities Represented on Design Team

Linked Learning Alliance

Oakland Unified School District

Long Beach Unified School District

Antelope Valley Union High School District

Peralta Community College District

Long Beach City College

Antelope Valley College

Lao Family Youth Empowerment Program

Unity Council

Treasure Island

Youth Uprising

Pacific Gateway

Antelope Valley Boys & Girls Clubs

Alameda Health Systems

The Port of Long Beach

Antelope Valley Economic Development and Growth Enterprise

The Career Ladders Project

Long Beach College Promise

Student Voice

I chose to take the 'double-up classes' because it is very beneficial and you get college credit and high school credit. You do not have to take a test (like in AP) and you are with your high school friends.

- High School Student

Highlights

Employer partnerships in each of the three communities (Northrup Grumman in Antelope Valley, The Port of Long Beach in Long Beach, and Tech Exchange in Oakland) are directly connected to each of the pathways of focus. These partnerships provide work-based learning opportunities as well as supplies and materials for current students and may expand along with the pathways efforts.

California’s most recent budget contains $700M in investments designed to support this work: Golden State Pathways ($500M) and Dual Enrollment Expansion ($200M). These dollars, along with other state-level investments, can be used to launch and scale high-quality college and career pathway experiences that include a minimum of 12 postsecondary pathway-aligned credits. The CA team will leverage these new funding opportunities to drive implementation in the coming years.

The design team identified three main barriers that can be addressed through policy: a lack of teachers credentialed to teach dual enrollment courses; the limited dual enrollment course offerings; and the inability of articulated courses to transfer to four-year public institutions in the state. The team is working to advocate for proactive policy solutions to minimize these barriers and enable scale beyond the three initial participating communities.

California: Accelerate ED Blueprint Presentation

The California design team's presentation at the Nov. 2022 Accelerate ED convening.