May 19

Written by: Greater Louisville Project
5/19/2010 7:50 PM

Recognizing that achieving the Goal requires adding at least 40,000 more bachelor’s degrees and 15,000 more associate’s degrees, we commit to bring about the following Objectives:  

• Create and support a college-going culture.
• Use the business community's unique points of leverage to accelerate attainment.
• Prepare students for success in college, career, citizenship, and life.
• Make postsecondary education accessible and affordable.
• Increase educational persistence, performance and progress.

We will undertake the following Strategies to initiate this effort with the full intention to expand the scope and scale of the effort as it unfolds:

1.      Develop and deliver go-to-college themes and messages to promote positive attitudes toward education through practices such as the following:

• Use survey results and data to identify the themes.
• Develop messages for media campaigns.
• Mobilize a network of personal advocates to support students to go to college.
• Provide students with experiences to enhance college-going aspirations and understanding.

2.      Create a community of education-oriented employers who will encourage education attainment through practices such as the following:

• Support employees in returning to school.
• Promote the value of education for all students.
• Develop programs that expose students to the connection between education and workplace success (internships, job shadowing and worksite visits).

3.      Align education systems to better enable students and adult learners to move successfully from one level to the next through practices such as the following:

• Create a shared rubric for determining college readiness based on Common Core readiness standards and factors identified by colleges in the region.
• Implement, evaluate and accelerate initiatives and interventions to improve college readiness.
• Support the work of college and university faculty to enhance the quality of teaching of first year students.

4.      Ensure that all individuals in the region can access and afford postsecondary education through practices such as the following:

• Provide 10th through 12th graders and their families with effective, accurate information about affordability.
• Establish scholarship funds to help more students go to college and earn degrees.
• Leverage employers' ability to increase college access and affordability for their employees.

5.      Provide retention and transition-planning and supports for students throughout their academic careers:

• Expand the use of best practices for retention of students.
• Expand the use of best practices on transferring among institutions.
• Update and communicate articulation agreements.

In undertaking this Joint Commitment, we will adhere to the following Values and Principles of Collaboration:    

• Commit to equity in education attainment. To succeed, we will be intentional in removing barriers based on race, ethnic origin, gender, socio-economic status, and other factors.
• Embrace diversity as a resource for learning in P-16 education.  We will support programs that foster equitably diverse schools, colleges, and universities.
• Start Early. Recognizing that school success begins with school readiness and that school readiness begins before birth, we will support student success from cradle to career.
• Engage all sectors. Rather than asking educators to bear sole responsibility, we will involve all sectors of the community and align our efforts around common goals of preparing 21st Century workers, entrepreneurs, leaders and citizens.
• Leverage the power of collaboration through honest and mutually respectful communication. We will work together to address issues and challenges, shape dynamic and sustainable partnerships, and develop systemic solutions.
• Use data to guide action and investment. We will use local data and effective practice research to guide our work, make evidence-based decisions to improve it, and continually measure and report our progress.
• Design effective approaches. Because this Joint Commitment requires working across sectors and institutional boundaries, it will require devising new approaches to forge partnerships, remove institutional barriers, and re-allocate resources.  
• Acknowledge and support programs that advance the goal. Collaborating within a larger community of organizations and programs already focused on education, we will seek additional partners, promote related programs, and advocate for collective efforts.

Agreed, this day of May 13, 2010.

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