reach higher-washington Announces a collective Commitment to

Expand College Access

Washington State Action Plan

January, 2015

Washington State supports the Reach Higher Initiative to help make sure all students understand what they need to complete their education, including:

· Exposing students to college and career opportunities

· Understanding financial aid eligibility that can make college affordability a reality

· Encouraging academic planning and summer learning opportunities

· Supporting high school counselors who can help more kids get into college

Upon their return from San Diego, the Washington team who included representatives from College Success Foundation (CSF) and Washington College Access Network (WCAN) tapped additional agencies and leaders including the Washington School Counselor Association (WSCA), the Washington Student Achievement Council (WSAC) and the Office of the Superintendent for Public Instruction (OSPI), to join a collective effort to coordinate, track and expand existing programs. Adopting the name, “Reach Higher Washington,” the group has planned meetings in February and March to gain commitments from additional partners in college and career access. All K-12 schools, college access advocates, and agencies who are committed to Reach Higher goals, will be encouraged to join the collective efforts to increase student access and success.

We align our work to the following Outcomes of the Reach Higher Initiative:

1.  Reach Higher Initiative #4 “Supporting professional development in districts for school counselors and CCR service providers ensuring a collaborative scaffolding of agreed upon roles and services.”

Currently during this legislative session, a proposal from OSPI to provide more support and statewide professional development for college and career readiness is being considered. Based on the fact that students who find it difficult to create educational meaning in their K-12 lives struggle with post-secondary planning in high school and often do not take rigorous courses necessary to prepare for post-secondary education and training programs. The remediation rates of students attending post-secondary institutions one year after graduating from high school remains at more than 50% in WA. Research is clear that students who take remedial courses in college do not persist and their completion rates are much lower than students who take college-level classes at the beginning of their post-secondary career. Comprehensive guidance needs to be made available to all students across the state. This – coupled with the High School and Beyond Plan graduation requirement, and the new 24-credit career and college ready diploma starting with the Class of 2019 – creates a need for students to have a plan and be college and career ready.

Solutions with statewide professional development provided for each include:

1) Comprehensive career guidance for all students to develop personalized educational/occupation plans (High School and Beyond Plan) in a program called Career Guidance WA. The purpose is focused guidance to support students as they navigate their education and plan their future; encourage an ongoing and personal relationship between each student and an adult in the school, and involve parents in students’ educational decisions and plans;

2) An intervention program that provides supports for traditionally vulnerable youth (e.g., foster care, juvenile justice, homeless) and a behavioral health wrap-around enhancement to establish a school/community safety net for students struggling with substance abuse and mental health issues; and,

3) Data analytics to assist school personnel in reviewing the outcomes and assessing the progress of programs and efforts.

2.  Reach Higher Initiative #6 “Providing opportunities to develop strategic partnerships with donors, funders, and researchers interested in evaluating or supporting any or all of this work, promoting new systemic change models, and discovering evidence based practices to support school counselors and the students they serve.”

Washington commits to building strategic partnerships for collective impact, using state-wide actionable data to achieve college access and success for all Washington students. The team pledges to actively seek partners who share the commitment. Partners will then establish a task force to move our commitment forward that represents all the various geographies and college/career readiness partners around the state. This includes K-12 school leaders, college/access and success non-profit providers, professional organizations, and key stakeholders.

WCAN and its parent organization the College Success Foundation, as part of a coalition of Washington state education advocates, has made a commitment to promote a set of goals to increase college completion. The goals included:

  • By 2020, 80 percent of all Washington schools provide college and career-readiness training to staff and college-access practitioners.
  • By 2020, 80 percent of all schools utilize the federal Department of Education’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) data system to improve FAFSA completion rates by double-digits.
  • By 2025, 70 percent of all Washington adults (including low-income and first generation students) obtain a degree or certificate

For more information about the making a commitment to Reach Higher Washington, visit WCAN, collegesuccessfoundation.org/wcan/home.