Editor’s note: This excerpt comes from the current issue of the Community College Journal, published by the American Association of Community Colleges since 1930.
In 2014, the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) and AASA, The School Superintendents Association, began collaborating to improve college readiness among students.
Teams of K-12 superintendents and community college presidents have attended AACC/AASA-hosted meetings to shared promising practices that have increased student success. Much of the discussion in the past few years has centered around dual enrollment.
AASA Executive Director Dan Domenech spoke with Community College Journal about the importance of K-12/community college collaboration, overcoming challenges and striving for K-14.
Why is it important for K-12 leaders and community college leaders to collaborate?
I’ve always felt that there is a line between K-12 and community colleges that stands in the way of the kind of continuity and collaboration that should be a part of education. We strive for K-14, as opposed to K-12.
That’s one of the primary reasons why (AACC President and CEO Walter Bumphus) and I decided to do the convenings we’ve now been doing for five years. What we’ve seen in that period of time is significant growth. The collaboration and the communication that now exists has really been rewarding and effective. It’s important to blur that division line between K-12 and community colleges, and have it be a continuous operation.
What are some positive practices you’ve seen come from these collaborations?
We have seen a significant increase in the number of programs that require and call for collaboration between the two systems. Most critical and important are the dual-enrollment programs that have grown significantly as a result of the work we’ve been doing. Along with that, we’ve seen the number of K-12 students graduating high school with an associate degree grow, as well as the number of K-12 students going on to college after graduation.
Collaboration also has led to more opportunities for students to become more familiar with higher education by touring campuses and visiting college classes. It’s a motivational tool to get these kids to think about going on to get a degree.
What are common challenges to such partnerships? And how have schools and colleges approached or overcome them?
The challenges when we began were many. It’s not to say that they have disappeared, but what we have seen is a desire and a willingness on the part of superintendents and presidents to resolve these issues. Particularly when it comes to dual enrollment, a key issue then, and still today, is who pays for this? Is it the high school or the students and parents, or the college? That’s a key issue, but it’s been resolved in different ways, depending on the community.
The issue here is that we’re coming together to resolve these challenges. Another issue is who teaches it? A high school teacher or the college faculty? These are logistics that need to be resolved. It’s a smorgasbord of how it’s done; sometimes it’s a combination of both.
The issue of accreditation also is still a concern. It mostly requires that if a college course is taught by a high school teacher, the teacher needs a master’s degree in subject they’re teaching. Sometimes that’s a problem, particularly in smaller school districts.
Again, as we see more teams come together and come to these (AACC/AASA) meetings, these issues are being resolved because of a desire to collaborate and do what we have to do. It’s great to see the desire on the part of the K-12/community college teams to attack the issue, learn from others and bring those lessons back to their home districts.
How has the relationship between K-12 and community colleges changed or grown?
At the most recent (AACC/AASA) meeting, I kind of joked about how at the first meeting we had superintendents on one side of room and college presidents were on the other. They were looking at each other, pointing fingers. There was suspicion. Several meetings later, that’s not there. They sit side-by-side, looking to learn from each other; looking to collaborate. It’s very rewarding to see what’s happening. We’re grateful to AACC and Walter Bumphus for this collaboration.