Joyce Foundation To Award $4 Million for Career Pathways
The Joyce
Foundation will award $3 million
in grants over the next two years to advance college and career
pathways,
structured approaches that link high school to postsecondary education
and
training.
Typically,
a pathways program will combine rigorous
academics with career-based learning and real-world experience.
Four
communities in the Great Lakes region will form a new
regional partnership, the Great Lakes College and Career Pathways
Partnership,
aimed at expanding high-quality college and career pathways. The
communities
are Rockford, IL; Columbus, OH; Madison, WI; and Districts 211 and 214 and
Harper College in the northwest suburbs of Chicago.
Each
of those communities will receive $400,000 over the next
two years and technical support from national leaders in the field.
In
additional, three other pathways programs will share an
additional $1.4 million in grants: Partnership
ConnectEd: The California Center
for College and Career in Berkeley, CA; Jobs for
the Future in Boston; and the Education
Systems Center of Northern Illinois University in Chicago.
"College
and career pathways transform high school by making
the experience far more relevant for students and helping to ensure
lasting
success in education, careers and life," said Joyce Foundation Vice
President
for Strategy and Programs Beth Swanson, "and they turn out more
knowledgeable
and skilled workers to fuel regional economies."
The
communities and programs were chosen for demonstrating committed
leadership and
strong connections across K-12 and postsecondary schools to support
college and
career readiness. Other requirements included having a vision for
expanding and
improving college and career pathways, meeting the needs of students
and having
supportive, engaged local employers.
Heading
up the
Great Lakes College and
Career Pathways Partnership as executive director will be Jay Steele,
former
chief academic officer of the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools.
About the Author
Michael Hart is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and the former executive editor of THE Journal.