StepFive
BuildSeamlessConnections
Link programs and institutions so that students have smooth programs of study through school
Often,secondaryand
learnbest,butfewschoolshavetruly
postsecondaryschoolsare
committedtoit,particularlyatthehigh
schoollevel.
islandsuntothemselves.
Thismeansthatstudentstransitioning LinkingSecondaryand
amonginstitutionsoftenhitbumpsasthey PostsecondaryEducation
trytotransfercreditsandavoidrepeating AchieveTexasalsocallsforclosertiesamong
classestheyhavealreadytaken.Itleadsto secondaryandpostsecondaryinstitutions.
inefficientdeliveryofeducationbecauseof Initssimplestform,thiswouldmean
thelackofcoordinationandalignment creatingarticulationagreementsthatalign
amongdifferentinstitutions. highschoolprogramsofstudywiththoseof
collegesanduniversities.
EstablishingSeamlessTransitions AHealthScienceclusteratyourlocalhigh
AchieveTexasseekstoremedythissituation. school,forexample,mightflowseamlessly
Thevisionistocreateaseamlesseducation intoaHealthScienceprogramatthelocal
inwhichcurricula,instruction,and communitycollege,withstudentsmakingan
assessmentareconnectedandcoordinated. easytransitionbetweenthetwoinstitutions.
Thiswouldmeanthatnostudentwould Inamoreadvancedform,articulation
Getting a Head Start
repeatlearningandthatcreditswould amongsecondaryandpostsecondary
on College transfereasilyfrominstitutionto
institutionsmeansco-developingcurricula
institution.Theideaistobuildaprogram sothattheyarenotjustaligned,butarea
Seamlessnessincludescreating thatprovidessmootheducationalroutesfor
singlecoherentprogramofstudythatspans
opportunitiesforstudentstogetan studentstofollowfromelementaryschool,
grades11–14or9–16.Oneexampleof
earlystartonpostsecondary intomiddleschool,ontohighschool,
seamlessnessinactionisTechPrep
education.Thisincludestraditional throughpostsecondaryeducationor
programs,inwhichstudentstakeclassesin
AdvancedPlacementand training,andintotheworkplace.Seamless
11thand12thgradesthatleaddirectlyinto
InternationalBaccalaureateclasses transitionincludescreatingopportunities
associate’sdegreeprogramsattwo-year
aswellasdualcreditcoursesin forstudentstogetanearlystarton
colleges.AchieveTexasimagines
whichstudentsearnbothsecondary postsecondaryeducation(see“Gettinga
unprecedentedlevelsofcooperationamong
andpostsecondarycreditforcollege- HeadStartonCollege”atleft).
secondaryandpostsecondaryeducators,all
levelcoursestaughtinhighschools. Undersuchaprogram,curriculafor
inthenameofprovidingstudentswith
gradesK–12wouldbeprogressiveand clearandcoherentprogramsofstudy.
Thereisalsoagrowingtrendtoward cumulative.Knowledgeandskillsacquiredin
“middlecollege,”whicharehigh earlygradeswouldbebuiltuponand
RollUp Your Sleeves
schoolsoncollegecampuses. expandedinlatergrades.Allclasseswould
There’snodenyingthatcreatingatruly
Studentsworktowardhighschool integrateacademicssuchasEnglishand
seamlesssystemthatintegratesacademicand
graduationwhilealsoearning mathematicswithcareereducation.This
technicaleducationwillbehardwork.That’s
college-creditstuitionfree.According wouldmeanredesigninginstructionto
whyitiscriticalforyouandyourpartnersto
totheEarlyCollegeHighSchool hands-on,interdisciplinary,problem-and
communicatewithallstakeholdersand
Initiative,therearenowmorethan70 project-basededucation.Weknowthatthis
convincethemthatsuchaprogramisthe
suchschoolsacrossthecountry. kindofactiveinstructionisthewaystudents
rightthingtodoforstudents.
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