Teacher Effectiveness Conference
On June 2-3, 2011, in Greensboro, administrators and teachers from 22 North Carolina school districts joined funders from 22 foundations for an education conference entitled, "Creating Community to Enhance Teaching and Learning in North Carolina: A Convening of School Districts and Education Funders” organized by the Network and sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Access presentation materials here.

Postsecondary Success
Between October 2011 and June 2012, NCNG organized a series of events, including nine webinars, highlighting programs and organizations working to increase access to and completion of college. To view an original webinar, click the program title below. To view only presentation slides, click on the name of the presenter. Additional postsecondary success policy and program resources are available here.

Postsecondary Success and Community Colleges
Community colleges are well-positioned to increase postsecondary success. In many ways more accessible than four-year colleges and universities, community colleges enroll the largest number of low-income students. Matriculation, however, does not guarantee completion of degrees or credentials that translate into economic success. On October 3, leaders from two programs working with and in community colleges nationally and in North Carolina will talk about the work their organizations have undertaken to increase the number of students earning marketable credentials from community colleges.

Guest Speakers:

 

Increasing Postsecondary Success: Efforts in High School and Middle School
Efforts to increase the number of students attaining a college degree or certificate are being made at the middle school and high school levels. North Carolina is a leader in the development of early college high schools which allow students to graduate with both a high school diploma and an associate’s degree or two years of transferable college credit. North Carolina is also a project site for Citizen Schools, a Boston-based initiative working to keep kids in low-performing middle schools engaged in learning in part through exposure to career possibilities and the idea of college. Learn more about these two successful programs in this video.

Guest Speakers:

         Tonya Horton, Executive Director, North Carolina Citizens Schools
         Dana Diesel Wallace, Vice President of School Development, North Carolina New Schools Project

 

Learning Differences and Postsecondary Success
Learning differences can create postsecondary success access and persistence issues for students across racial and socioeconomic status lines. Recognizing that students with learning differences will experience challenges that may hinder their success in a postsecondary environment, the University of North Carolina system is developing programs to help this group of students who may otherwise fall through the cracks. Find out more by watching the video below.

Guest Speaker:

Building Community Collaboratives to Enhance Postsecondary Success
Engaging community partners to enhance postsecondary success is an emerging model for helping young people attain educational credentials that will help them succeed in the workforce. Through a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation award, NC State University is leading a community collaborative in efforts to increase the number of low-income students who complete degrees, specialized training, and certificates that will position them for jobs and economic self-sufficiency. Watch the video below to learn more about the community collaborative model and the work being undertaken by the Raleigh Colleges and Community Collaborative.

Guest Speaker:

 

Postsecondary Success: Outreach to Underserved Youth
Creating a college-going culture in underserved communities and schools is a critical part of the challenge to increase access to and completion of postsecondary education. College For Every Student, a national nonprofit organization, targets low-income youth who would be the first from their families to attend college, to help them get to college and obtain degrees. Watch the webinar below to learn more about the College For Every Student model and how it has been scaled to serve an entire school district in North Carolina.

Guest Speakers:

Rick Dalton, founder, CEO and president of CFES

Leroy Nesbitt, CFES program director

Postsecondary Success: Undergraduates Mentoring Low-Income High School Students
One of the biggest hurdles standing between low-income high school students and college is the process of identifying appropriate college programs and navigating the application process. Strive for College is a national organization with chapters based in universities across the country working to correct this college access barrier. By recruiting undergraduate student mentors from local universities to guide low-income high school students through the process of applying to, enrolling in and paying for four-year colleges and universities, Strive for College seeks to fill gaps in college advising and enhance postsecondary success among low income students.

Guest Speaker:

Postsecondary Success: Helping Promising Latino Students Access College
Latino students are part of the fastest growing minority population in North Carolina. But the majority of these students come from families and communities that do not have a college going tradition. Additionally, Latino students often face unique obstacles and challenges that other minority populations seeking access to college do not experience. The Scholars’ Latino Initiative, a program of the Center for Global Initiatives at UNC-CH, is working to improve access to higher education for Latino high school students.

Guest Speaker:
          Paul Cuadros, Co-Founder, Scholars’ Latino Initiative

Postsecondary Success: Education Support Programs for Different Types of Community College Students

Having a college degree is key to success in the job market and community colleges are critical in increasing the population of college educated workers. But barriers to postsecondary success present themselves in a number of ways and vary student to student. Durham Technical Community College is an example of a North Carolina community college trying to meet student needs at different levels of education attainment through implementation of several national programs, including the Breaking Through initiative, a program focused on low-skilled workers needing remediation before pursuing degrees; Project Degree, designed to support 18-26 year olds with high school diplomas or GEDs as they transition into college; and Gateway to College, a drop-out re-engagement program geared toward 16-21 year olds who read at an 8^th grade level or higher.

Guest Speaker:

Dr. Christine Kelly-Kleese, Dean of Student Engagement and Transitions, Durham Technical Community College

Postsecondary Success: Helping Low-Skilled Adults Attain Postsecondary Education
The idea of postsecondary success often brings to mind high school students for whom the next step in the education pathway should be college as a means to employment and economic self-sufficiency. But postsecondary education can also help undereducated adults overcome barriers they face in finding family-supporting employment or advancing their careers. Jobs for the Future (JFF) is a national non-profit organization that identifies, develops, and promotes education and workforce strategies that expand opportunity for youth and adults who are struggling to advance in America today. One of JFF’s initiatives, Breaking Through, strives to enhance economic opportunity for low-skilled adults including those who dropped out of high school and those who have a high school credential or GED but whose skill levels in math and reading are below the eighth-grade level.

Guest Speaker:

         Maria Flynn, Vice President, Building Economic Opportunity Group, Jobs for the Future


Postsecondary Success: Funders Discussion
North Carolina Network of Grantmakers met to talk about the work in North Carolina occurring to increase postsecondary education attainment, what more needs to be done, and how that work might be supported by philanthropy. Discussion was led by Sidney Hacker and Kristy Teskey representing the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Bank of America Charitable Foundation, respectively, philanthropic organizations that are leading in the field in efforts to enhance postsecondary education attainment.

Guest Speakers:
         Sidney Hacker, Senior Policy Officer, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
         Kristy Teskey, Senior Vice President, Bank of America Charitable Foundation