U.S. Department Of Education Visits San Antonio For Conference On College Readiness And SA2020 Goal Setting
Online, November 14, 2012 (Newswire.com) - Greg Darnieder, a top advisor to U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, will take part in a two-day conference on November 14 - 15 to improve college readiness in San Antonio and engage the city in the national effort to make the United States the world leader in college degree attainment by the year 2020.
"San Antonio must increase its college attainment to attract the type of jobs that will allow our city to compete in the 21st century global economy," said Mayor Julián Castro. "While we are making bold investments in Pre-K, we must also focus on the critical areas of academic preparation for college and college completion."
Leadership teams from four local school districts (Harlandale, Northside, San Antonio, and Southwest) will work with national facilitators on goal setting, adoption of metrics, identification of strategies, targeted at Latino students, as part of a collaborative plan to reach the SA2020 goal of 85 percent college readiness.
"When we see individual institutions like these school districts committing to tangible plans to achieve the SA2020 vision, we know that we will make good on our promise to achieve the greatest educational turnaround of any city in America by the year 2020," said SA2020 CEO Darryl Byrd.
The conference will culminate with all four school district superintendents announcing their plans to enter into a compact to increase college completion. They will be joined by Mayor Castro, CEO Byrd, and other key partners on November 15, 1:30 p.m. at cafecollege for the official announcement of a citywide campaign, in support of SA2020, to increase college readiness and college completion of Latinos, known as "Diplomás: More than just an education."
"Our school districts and partners are highly committed. It is only through this type of strategic planning that we will be able to lower the number of Latino students who aspire to attend college and do not graduate with a college credential, setting San Antonio as a national model in college readiness and completion efforts," said Eyra Perez, Executive Director of the San Antonio Education Partnership, the lead agency for the Diplomás Project.
The Diplomás Project was made possible by a $600,000, 4-year grant from the Lumina Foundation Latino Student Success effort to bring together key policy, education, business and nonprofit sectors to build, implement and sustain "place-based partnerships" capitalizing on their local talents. The conference also received support from the P16Plus Council of Greater Bexar County, TG, and the College Board. It is also in support of the city's 2020 goal of 50 percent college graduates, which builds upon goals of 85 percent college readiness for high school graduates and 80 percent enrollment in college.
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At SA2020 we don't ask: "What do you want to see changed in our city?" We ask: "What will you do to make the change you want to see happen?" SA2020 links the demand for an exceptional San Antonio to the talent supply of thousands of citizens who have taken ownership of their future. The mission of SA2020 is to catalyze the entire San Antonio community into passionate, focused, and sustained action to achieve the shared goals that will transform San Antonio into a world-class city by the year 2020 in eleven key vision areas. For more information, logon to http://www.sa2020.org/
Dedicated to providing students in San Antonio with "more than an education," the Diplomás Project unites 16 cross-sector partners to integrate existing programs and partnerships into a systemic approach centered on city-wide data gathering and shared metrics, systems mechanics and bridging transitions, systems navigation readiness for students and parents, and pathways to economic opportunity and workforce alignment. The collaborative partners are committed to achieving a 9 percent increase in postsecondary completion rates of Latinos by the summer of 2015, en route to achieving the city's SA2020 goal of a 50 percent college completion rate by 2020. Other partners in the effort include four area school districts, Alamo Colleges, the University of Texas at San Antonio, businesses and chambers of commerce, community-based organizations and the City of San Antonio.
The San Antonio Education Partnership is a nonprofit organization celebrating more than 20 years of providing key services and college scholarships to at-risk high school students, equipping them for college success. In partnership with the City of San Antonio, the corporate community, school districts, local colleges/universities, Communities Organized for Public Service (COPS) and Metro Alliance, the San Antonio Education Partnership provides direct services to more than 35,000 students and their families in career awareness, college entry and enrollment, financial aid, and college transition through its three programs: Scholarships, cafecollege and Road to Success. For more information, logon to http://www.saedpartnership.org/
Lumina Foundation, an Indianapolis-based private foundation, is committed to enrolling and graduating more students from college-especially 21st century students: low-income students, students of color, first-generation students and adult learners. Lumina's goal is to increase the percentage of Americans who hold high-quality degrees and credentials to 60 percent by 2025. Lumina pursues this goal in three ways: by identifying and supporting effective practice, through public policy advocacy, and by using our communications and convening power to build public will for change. For more information, logon to http://www.luminafoundation.org/