Pathways to College Completion and Meaningful Careers
2014 Educate Texas Leadership Forum
College and Career Summit
February 23, 2015
About Educate Texas
Vision
Strengthen the public and higher
education system
so that every Texas student is
prepared for educational and
workforce success.
Mission
Increase postsecondary readiness,
access and success for all students
by building partnerships, leading
innovation and scaling practices
and policies.
Improving the public
education system so
that every Texas
student is prepared
for success in school,
in the workforce,
and in life.
Four Key Impact Areas
College-Ready Standards and Practices
Promoting college-ready standards and practices
throughout Texas schools to improve teaching and
learning
Human Capital Strategies
Advancing innovative human capital strategies to
attract and retain top-quality teachers, principals and
superintendents
Collective Impact
Developing concrete action plans that align regional
K-12, higher education and workforce needs to
achieve common outcomes
Our Partners
The Educate Texas public-private
partnership includes: the Texas
Education Agency; Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board;
Office of the Governor; Texas
Legislature; Communities
Foundation of Texas; Michael &
Susan Dell Foundation; Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation; Greater
Texas Foundation; Houston
Endowment; The Meadows
Foundation; National Instruments
and Texas Instruments Foundation.
Greater Texas Foundation
Texas College
Access Network
TxCAN
Texas College Access Network Overview and Goals
Texas is a National
College Access
Network (NCAN)
member and is
developing the
Texas College Access
Network (TxCAN)
EdTX and its public-private partnership
will work together to:
 Establish a sustainable Texas
network of agencies and
organizations designed to increase
student access and success in
post-secondary education
 Create a platform for aligning
national, state, and local
organizations activities and core
competencies
http://www.collegeaccess.org/
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Our Focus
Given historical investments at the secondary level and
the challenges students face in postsecondary
completion, Educate Texas through TxCAN is increasing
its focus on addressing:
Postsecondary Access – Developing the Texas College Access
Network (TxCAN) to identify and connect effective
organizations committed to driving greater postsecondary
access
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TxCAN has Three Primary Areas of Focus
Awareness
Impact
Measurement
Alignment
TxCAN mission will focus on
increasing college readiness, access and completion
by building awareness, alignment and impact measurement
TxCAN Will Answer Three Fundamental Questions
Who is doing what in college access and success?
What does a student need to have “college access”?
How do we know if what we are doing is working?
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If these are the right questions, what
should be the TxCAN objectives?
KEY QUESTIONS:
POTENTIAL TxCAN OBJECTIVES:
Who is doing what in college
access?
• Awareness: transparency of
college access services across
state/region
What does a student need to
have “college access”?
• Alignment: common college
access “standards“ and/or goals
aligned with regionally
provided services
How do we know if what
we’re doing is working?
• Impact measurement: more
accessible data on college
access and performance
measurement
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Regions in Texas
Dallas
Rio Grande Valley
El Paso
San Antonio
Tyler
Houston
Austin
Corpus Christi
Lubbock
Amarillo
Abilene
TxCAN’s success will be dependent on the engagement
and participation of key stakeholders
Our Shared Goals
 Increase the access, retention and
success of students from TX
 Collaborate, partner and network
with community, government,
business and others
 Champion the cause of college
access, retention and completion
 Become a clearinghouse and filter
for information
 Support and improve resource and
staff development including sharing
best practices
TxCAN (illustrative)
Community Orgs
Philanthropy
IHEs
P-16 Councils
Workforce
ISDs
5 Key Criteria Identified to Support TxCAN Objectives
Primary Criteria:
Need for college
access support
Leadership
Partnerships
Data systems &
capability
Sustainability
Questions Considered for Each Region:
• What are the current trends, based on available data, in
college access and success?
• Is there a demonstrated interest in a college access
network?
• Does region have sustainable leadership?
• Is local leadership well-connected to wider region?
• Is there a commitment to a successful network?
• Are partnerships well-established with a diverse
representation?
• What type of data is collected and analyzed?
• Does data inform decisions and regional strategic
efforts?
• How sustainable is data management and analysis?
• What support systems are in place to ensure
sustainability?
• What is the financial support in place?
TxCAN – Next Phase of Work
• Representatives from 8
regions around the state will
convene on March 5th
•
•
Initial conversation on
collaborating ideas to increase
College Access for Texas
students
• College Readiness
Assessments (TSI, SAT,
ACT)
• Apply Texas Completions
• FAFSA/TASFA Completions
Create High Strategy Impact
inventories to share across the
state network
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Collective Impact Initiative
In 2012, RGV FOCUS was
launched to transform college
readiness, access, and
completion across the four
counties of Cameron,
Hidalgo, Starr, and Willacy.
RGV FOCUS – A Collective Impact
initiative established by a crosssector group of leaders, the
“Leadership Team”, meet
regularly to:
• identify assets and needs in
the RGV,
• adopt a common vision,
establish shared goals,
strategies, and metrics
VISION: All RGV learners will achieve a degree or
credential that leads to a meaningful career.
http://rgvfocus.org/
RGV FOCUS – 2015 FAFSA/TASFA Targets
RGV Counties FAFSA Completion %
Performance and Targets December
80%
70%
70%
64%
60%
51%
March
50%
37%
40%
28%
30%
20%
January
10%
7%
6%
6%
3%
3%
3%
37%
29%
60%
51%
40%
0%
2013
2014
2015
2013
Texas
2014
2015
Target
2013
2014
2015
Target
RGV Counties
Notes and Sources: Data from U.S. Department of Education. Data limited to high school seniors as defined by the DOE. There is no Texas state target for FAFSA completion %. Data is portrayed for
1/31/2013, 1/30/2014, 1/30/2015, 3/28 of displayed years and 12/31 of displayed years.
RGV Super Saturday
Awareness
Impact
Measurement
Alignment
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Texas College Access Network
(TxCAN)Partners
2ND FAFSA/TASFA SUPER SATURDAY
Financial Aid Workshop – Pinkston High School
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TxCAN & RGV FOCUS Working Towards
the Same Big Goal
To increase the proportion of Americans with
high-quality degrees, certificates and other credentials to
60 percent by the year 2025.
http://www.luminafoundation.org/goal_2025
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More Information on TxCAN
Alma Garcia, Program Officer
Educate Texas
agarcia@cftexas.org
Denise Davis, Associate Program Officer
Educate Texas
ddavis@cftexas.org
http://www.texascollegeaccess.org/
https://twitter.com/TxCollegeAccess
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