New Linked Learning Alliance Governance to Support Quality Linked Learning
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 22, 2016
Media Contact:
Hilary McLean, Executive Vice President | E: hilary@linkedlearning.org | T: 916.248.4848
New Linked Learning Alliance Governance to support Quality Linked Learning
Sacramento, CA – The Linked Learning Alliance has appointed new members of its Board of Directors, Councils, and Panels to guide and support quality implementation of Linked Learning in 2016. The Linked Learning Alliance Board of Directors has adopted a plan to guide the Linked Learning field over the next five years so that more students, particularly underrepresented students, complete high school, college and be career ready; attain a career-ready postsecondary certificate or degree; and be employed in a financially sustaining and personally relevant career. To achieve this vision, the Board has committed to meet the rapidly expanding demand for Linked Learning with systems and support that incentivize, recognize, and result in quality implementation.
“By 2025, California will need to produce an additional 1 million career-ready college graduates to meet employers’ needs,” described Cabaldon, “Today, only 40% of California’s 2.2 million young adults hold an associate’s degree or higher, and many don’t have the skills needed to succeed in the workforce. Quality Linked Learning implementation is the key to bridging the skills gap that will make our young people competitive in a global market.”
New to the Linked Learning Board are Noemi Donoso, Senior Vice President of Education Initiatives for The Wonderful Company, Paul Hirsch, principal of the STEM Academy of Hollywood, Peter Callstrom, president and CEO of the San Diego Workforce Partnership, Ramona Bishop, superintendent of Vallejo Unified School District, Jeanne Fauci, exeutive director of the Center for Powerful Public Schools (CPPS), Liz Guillen, director of legislative and community affairs for Public Advocates and Kathy Booth, Senior Research Associate for WestEd. These new board members bring experience and expertise that will help build and advance Linked Learning in many more communities.
The Linked Learning Alliance Board of Directors is comprised of education leaders, business leaders, research experts, and policy makers, including Tomás D. Morales, President of California State University San Bernardino, Kari D. Decker, Managing Director of Corporate Responsibility for JPMorgan Chase & Co, JD Hoye, president of NAF, and Gary Hoachlander, president of ConnectEd, the Center for College and Career. The chairman of the Board of Directors is Darrell Steinberg, former President pro Tem of the California State Senate. The full Board roster is available here.
“Exceptional educators, industry leaders, and experts in workforce development are leading the Linked Learning movement,” said Steinberg. “I am honored to serve as chair of the Linked Learning Alliance Board of Directors, and to collaborate with the other members serving on the Linked Learning Alliance Board, councils, and panels. We are united in the belief that all students should be prepared for college, career, and life. As our strategic vision for the Linked Learning field is implemented, we will see many more students benefit from Linked Learning opportunities in high school and beyond.”
In addition to the Board of Directors, LLA also receives expert guidance and consultation from expert advisory councils : Council of Chancellors and Presidents, Council of Employers, Council of Superintendents, Council of Capacity Builders, and the Equity Council.
The Linked Learning Alliance also established three affiliated panels to provide input and guidance to advance the Linked Learning movement. Those oversight panels include: the Advocacy Panel that advises the Board of Directors on strategies to advocate for policy recommendations; the Quality Standards Panel that oversees the development of standards for Linked Learning pathway and student certification ; the Research, Data and Evaluation Panel that will develop a research agenda and provide input and oversight for an emerging data system.
Linked Learning is helping to address California’s need to better prepare students to graduate from high school ready for college, and with skills needed to thrive in the workplace. Linked Learning involves collaboration between high school and postsecondary educators, employers and community leaders, and is a strategy for transforming education and regional economic development.
Linked Learning’s power comes from the close integration of four core components: Rigorous academics that prepare students to be admitted to and succeed in college; sequened high-quality career-technical education; work-based learning that provides exposure to real-world workplaces and reinforces the professional skills needed to thrive in a career; and support services to address individual students’ needs and ensure equity.
Research shows that, compared with their peers, students in certified Linked Learning pathways earn more credits in the first three years of high school, report greater confidence in their life and career skills and say they are experiencing more rigorous, integrated and relevant instruction. The data also show students who had low achievement scores in earlier grades make significant progress when they participate in Linked Learning. Linked Learning students graduate with the skills and confidence to thrive in college and career, and to contribute meaningfully to California’s economy and society.
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About Linked Learning Alliance
The Linked Learning Alliance is a statewide coalition of education, industry, and community organizations dedicated to improving California’s high schools and preparing students for success in college, career, and life. Established in May 2008, the Linked Learning Alliance aims to build a collective voice and coordinate efforts to expand access to Linked Learning in California-an approach to high school that integrates rigorous academics with real-world learning opportunities in fields of engineering, health care, performing arts, law, and more. | www.linkedlearning.org