Stories & Case Studies
Professional learning communities (PLCs) are a powerful tool for collaboration among educators. Although typically used within a single organization, Achieving the Dream is deploying PLCs as a strategy to increase collaboration among college educators, workforce and K–12 partners, and community college professionals. When designed with clear student and community success goals in mind and a commitment to facilitative leadership in which everyone has a voice, PLCs can be transformative.
Effective regional collaboration requires deep engagement and trust among multiple constituencies who share a stake in student success and community vitality. To do this work well takes patience, a common language and goals, and sustained effort and commitment from all involved to effect sustainable change. Professional learning communities can be leveraged to examine the student experience from high school through college and into employment.
Participating Colleges
Business and IT Pathways
- Austin Community College District
- Alamo Colleges District
- Dallas College
- El Paso Community College
Pre-Health Care Pathways
- Lee College
- Temple College
- Brazosport College (Lake Jackson)
- South Texas College
In typical professional development, we tend to believe that experts are necessary. However, when we invest in professional learning in the form of one-off workshops, we don’t always get the long-term systemic changes we are hoping for. Instead, when we aspire to create professional learning opportunities that are designed to bring colleagues from across sectors together to grapple with the complex issues facing communities, in time we will see practices, resources, and student and community engagement transformed.
This spring, my colleagues and I launched two professional learning communities designed for small cohorts of community colleges in the Lone Star State to work closely with ATD experts in designing educational experiences aligned with industry demands. The PLCs will focus on teaching and learning, holistic student supports, and K–12 and workforce partnerships to elevate completion rates and equip students with market-ready skills.
Aligning business and IT programs with industry standards
We have the pleasure of working with teams from eight Texas community colleges to facilitate learning across teams and communities with K–12 and workforce partners at the table. One PLC project centers on aligning the college experience with industry standards in the business and information technology (IT) fields. Participating colleges are using innovative approaches, such as stackable credentials, flexible course modalities, and work-based learning opportunities, to increase both employability and completion rates. They are also employing other novel approaches, including accelerated terms and dual enrollment, to shorten the time to degree completion.
Supported by the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, the work directly addresses the state’s growing demand for skilled professionals in the business and IT industries while helping students obtain jobs in these fast-growing, high-paying sectors.
Addressing barriers to health care careers
The second PLC, supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, is working to prioritize the intentional design of pre-health care pathways that address common barriers to community college students’ pursuit of health care careers specific to their communities.
Historically, higher education health care career pathways are highly competitive, and there is often a lack of awareness about how accessible these opportunities, with the exception of nursing programs, truly are. Other barriers include inflexible curricula; inadequate support, including mentorship; disparities in access; and affordability barriers.
The pre-health care pathways PLC brings together community colleges and community stakeholders, such as school districts, industry and workforce partners, and university partners to explore and address these barriers. Through a culture of continuous learning, innovation, and shared responsibility, the PLC is working to leverage the collective expertise of its members to ensure seamless health care pathways leading to family-sustaining wages in the health care field.
Capitalizing on dual enrollment and early college
The timing of these two PLCs could not be better, as just a year ago House Bill 8 was signed into law in Texas. This innovative legislation underscores and supports the critical role community colleges play in helping Texans earn the credentials needed to access high-demand careers and improves access to dual credit through the Financial Aid for Swift Transfer (FAST) scholarship program for low-income, dual credit students.
As a member of the College in High School Alliance steering committee and host of the Gateway to College network, ATD knows that dual enrollment and early college programs deeply impact students’ ability to persist in college and career pathways. This is particularly true for students who are economically marginalized or otherwise underrepresented in higher education. These students experience the biggest positive impacts on their ability to access and complete college by getting a jump start on taking college classes in high school.
Representation matters and is critical to diversifying career fields. We are excited to work with our Texas partners to reduce barriers to access for marginalized students and work to align internal and external systems to ensure students can easily access pathways to high-demand careers. Over the next two years, we will highlight best practices from within these communities, as well as from other communities, and model the facilitation tools necessary to create trust and establish a culture of collaboration and shared learning across sectors. Our goal is for each community college to establish a regional professional learning community designed to transform the practices, resources, and student and community engagement necessary to ensure more students have what they need to pursue professional pathways in IT, business, and health care.
Learn more about ATD’s areas of expertise, including teaching and learning, holistic student supports, and K–12 partnerships.
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