High School & Community College Partnerships 1 Running Head: High School & Community College Partnerships

Meeting Student Postsecondary Needs: Developing Partnerships between High School and Community College Erin Moore University of the Pacific

High School & Community College Partnerships 2

Abstract The number of students attending community colleges is on the rise, but many of these students are unprepared for the demands of community college academic work. In addition, students often lack the non-academic skills necessary to help them succeed in their post-secondary education. Partnerships between high schools and local community colleges provide opportunities to familiarize students with post-secondary academics, processes, and expectations. Developing these programs requires the exploration of the following questions. What information do students need to transition from high school to community college? What opportunities do high schools and community colleges have to work together? What challenges do high schools and community colleges need to overcome in order to develop partnerships.

High School & Community College Partnerships 3 Meeting Student Postsecondary Needs: Developing Partnerships between High School and Community College Community colleges have recently gained a place in the forefront of education. Kurlander and Larsen (2013) point out that the Obama Administration recognizes the importance of community colleges in building academic and workforce skills. Students attend community colleges for a variety of reasons; regardless of the reason, students need preparation during high school to help ease their transition to community college. Community colleges are non-selective institutions. In other words, they accept nearly all students who apply and do not have a rigorous application process. Consequently, students often assume that community colleges courses do not reflect academic rigor (Kirst & Venezia, 2001). Despite this misperception, students attend community colleges across the country underprepared for the academic and non-academic skills necessary to navigate postsecondary education (Roderick, Nagaoka, & Coca, 2008), jeopardizing their success in community college and beyond. For many high school students, community college is the next step after graduation. Richard Grotegut, professor of computer networking and emerging technology at Ohlone Community College in California says The strongest connection right now between K-12 and higher education is the community college community colleges serve as an academic bridge between high school and the universities (Waters, 2008, n.p.). This academic bridge becomes significant since high school students are seeking to further their education more than ever as Roderick and colleagues (2009) notes. Students are choosing community college to meet their educational needs, like in California, where as Kurleander and Larsen (2013) indicate, two-thirds of all college students attend a community college (p. 16) Even though students

High School & Community College Partnerships 4 increasingly seek postsecondary education, Nunley, Shartle-Galotto, and Smith (2000) suggest that there is a growing gap between high school and college readiness (p. 60). This gap has made the transition from high school to community college increasingly difficult. Partnerships between secondary and post-secondary institutions have the potential to help students develop college readiness skills and succeed in college. Conley (2005) defines college readiness as the level of preparation a student needs in order to enroll and succeed, without remediation, in a credit-bearing general education course at a postsecondary institution that offers a baccalaureate degree or transfer to a baccalaureate program (p. 5). Despite many high schools best efforts, students do not have the academic skills or college knowledge to be prepared for courses and the entire post-secondary experience. Often, high school teachers do not have the connections with post-secondary institutions in order to provide students with accurate information (Venezia & Kirst, 2005). Building connections between the two types of institutions will benefit high schools, post-secondary schools, and more importantly connections and partnerships between institutions will benefit students. Reasons Necessitating Partnerships The expectations for students in high school differ greatly from the expectations of students in community college. For instance, Conley (2008) describes the skills expected for students in all content areas of college level courses as research, writing and reading. This is unlike high school where students usually write one or two research papers for a Language Arts class before they graduate, and they are given a lengthy amount of time to complete those papers. Research skills are just one area in which high schools and postsecondary education are disconnected. As a result, after high school, students are placed in a world that Callahan, Finney, Kirst, Usdan, and Venezia (2006) describe as a maze of disconnected curricula and assessments

High School & Community College Partnerships 5 that are reinforced by state policies that are themselves unconnected and often at cross purposes with each other (p. 4). As students prepare to graduate from high school, they often discover they have not received the academic and life skills needed to succeed in community college. Even though Callahan and colleagues (2006) assert that a high school diploma should be the evidence students need to demonstrate their preparedness for college, many students skill levels require that they take remediated community college courses in order to prepare them for college-level courses. McCabe (2000) found that 41% of students entering community college are underprepared in at least one of the basic skills of reading, writing, and math (Byrd & MacDonald, 2005, p. 22). Remediated courses offer students additional skills, but Kurlander and Larsen (2013) reinforce that these courses decrease student success in their performance, persistence, and degree completion (p. 4). Barnett and Hughes (2010) indicate many students are placed in remediated coursework because community college placement tests have little to no connection to what students have learned in high school. Thus, students are not well prepared to take the placement tests, and are surprised afterward to find that they are not deemed college ready (3-4). Farrell and Siefert (2007) assert that partnerships between high schools and community colleges will help align community college placement tests and prepare students for college-level learning (72). In addition to lacking academic skills, students often do not have what Conley (2008), and Roderick et al. (2009) describe as college knowledge. So often, high schools focus on building students academic skills and miss what Roderick et al. (2009) call non-cognitive skills. These are the self-awareness, self-monitoring, self-control, study skills, work habits, time management, help-seeking behavior and social problem-solving skills (p. 190). These skills are necessary for students to navigate admissions, access resources like financial aid, and adjust to

High School & Community College Partnerships 6 an environment much different from what they experienced in high school (Conley 2010; Roderick, Nagaoka, & Coca, 2009). High schools often try to provide students with information in order to prepare them for their transition; however, this information is often inadequate and according to Venezia and Kirst (2005) sometimes even inaccurate. Obstacles in Developing Partnerships The possibilities for partnerships between high schools and community colleges are great, but developing and implementing these partnerships involve many obstacles. Both high schools and community colleges have to consider many factors when working together. Amey, Eddy, and Campbell (2010) note the benefits of partnerships between high schools and community college; however, they also establish that partnerships are often difficult to establish and sustain because of fundamental differences between educational organizations (n.p.). Since these systems work in isolation from one another, Kirst and Venezia establish that students have difficulty transitioning from one to the other which diminishes educational opportunity (92-93 High school and community college curriculum work independently from one another while being influenced by different factors. High school curriculum has traditionally been determined by individual school districts (Azinger, 2000). This means that each high school within the same community college district teaches students its own curriculum. Students leave these individual school districts with varying curricular knowledge among a variety of content areas. Although high school and community college curriculum is disconnected, Azinger (2000) and Barnett and Hughes (2010) point out that that at one time, community colleges acted as extensions of high school. Students had the curricular knowledge to succeed in community college courses because the courses were a natural progression from what students learned in high school. Now, community colleges are being shaped by four-year colleges and

High School & Community College Partnerships 7 universities (Azinger, 2000, p. 19), which has altered the progression from one institution to the next. This shift in progression has increased the gap between high schools and community colleges. Building connections between high schools and community colleges is necessary to prepare students and provide them with opportunities to succeed. High schools and community colleges have different priorities when looking at their students and institutions as a whole. Unfortunately, high schools, or their school districts, often lack the time to meet with representatives from local community colleges. Azinger (2000) points out that in two years of professional leadership conferences for school administrators, none of the sessions involved high school community college partnerships. On the other hand, in two years of the equivalent type of conferences for community college leaders high school community college partnerships were on the agendas at least eight times. This does not mean that high schools are unwilling to work with community colleges, nor does it mean that college preparation is not a priority for high schools. It does indicate that high schools have a different focus from community colleges. Even though high schools often set goals to prepare students for life outside of high school, numerous challenges inhibit building a college-going culture. Helfgot (2001) explains the difficulty in coordinating recruitment efforts between the high school and community college schedule which impedes opportunities for high schools to help students transition from one institution to the next. In all, this results in frustration, especially for the high schools (Helfgot, 2001). In addition, high schools and community colleges use technology differently. Ameetha Palanki, Edgenuitys chief technology officer, explains that high schools use technology to administer standardized tests while community colleges encourage the use of technology for collaboration, learning management, and the delivery of content (Waters, 2008, n.p.). Amey

High School & Community College Partnerships 8 and colleagues (2010) describe one of the largest factors impeding partnerships. High schools and community colleges have significantly different structures, values, and cultures which result in different goals and priorities and prevent partnerships from progressing. High schools may work to develop college-going cultures; however, high school is still not community college, and students transitioning from one to the other need to make environmental adjustments that high schools cannot offer as part of post-secondary preparation. Upon starting community college, students are often taken by surprise when the relationships they are used to with instructors have changed (Conley, 2008). In addition, Conley (2008) describes additional abilities students need in order to succeed in community college, like independent work habits, motivation, and a variety of learning strategies. Amey and colleagues (2010) point out that high school and community college educators can work together to help ease the transition from one institution to the next. College Readiness High schools need to work with community colleges to provide students with academic and social skills, as well as personal qualities necessary to succeed in classes and navigate a community college system, including persistence, and critical thinking and reflection (Conley, 2008; Hooker & Brand, 2010). Byrd and McDonald (2005) discuss the skills non-traditional students observed that are necessary for community college success. These students identified math, reading and writing as the academic skills students should develop for college-preparation, with reading and writing being the most mentioned academic skills. In addition to academic skills, these students discussed a variety of life and social skills necessary for post-secondary success. Those indicated a most important were time-management, focus, and self-advocacy.

High School & Community College Partnerships 9 In addition to skills necessary for attending community college, students also need familiarity with admissions processes. According to Venezia and Kirst (2005), high school students are not given information on how to prepare for college placement exams, and information teachers and counselors provide about college expectations is not current. Farrell and Siefert (2007) indicate that K-12 policy makers test for what they think students should have learned, and postsecondary educators test for what they think students need to know before attempting college-level courses (72). Kurleander and Larsen (2013) reinforce the importance of familiarizing students with placement tests by explaining that each of Californias community colleges uses different placement tests and different scoring methods to determine students preparedness for college-level courses. These are the tests that determine student placement in college-level or remediated courses. Instead of focusing on preparation though, high schools often focus on admissions (Venezia & Kirst, 2005). Thus, students can be admitted, but not prepared for their postsecondary experience. High schools and community colleges use many factors to determine college readiness. Unfortunately, students dont know about other pertinent information relating to college readiness, like the classes they should take in high school, and how placement tests work (Venezia & Kirst, 2005). Callahan and colleagues (2006) also indicate that the courses students take in high school often do not determine college readiness. This creates confusion for students about the skills they need to not only get into, but also to succeed in community college. In addition, Venezia and Kirst (2005) point out that students receive inconsistent messages about what it means to be college ready. This makes it even more imperative for high schools to work with community colleges establish a college-going culture that helps foster student preparation for post-secondary education.

High School & Community College Partnerships 10 Community college faculty indicate that most students do not have the academic or college-going skills needed to succeed in college level courses (Roderick, Nagaoka, & Coca, 2009). In response to this observation, many high schools have increased the rigor of their courses and pushed students into Advanced Placement (AP) and honors courses to prepare them for college-level work. Despite their best efforts, high schools are not meeting the needs of their college-bound students, especially since not all college-bound students enroll in AP and honors courses. In fact, Venezia and Kirst (2005) indicate that students enrolled in accelerated curricular tracks receive clearer signals about college preparation than do their peers in other tracks (293). Regardless of the track, Haycock (2010) argues that students who followed all the rules in high school taking all courses they were required to take and earning decent grades often ended up in remedial courses in college (p. 16). This is a primary example of why high schools and community colleges need to develop partnerships in order to work toward more consistent curriculum and expectations for students. Considerations when developing partnerships Although they may not realize it, high schools and community colleges have many opportunities to work together to help ease student transition from one system into the next. Fowler and Gaye (2009) describe three different types of existing partnerships: Singleton programs that allow students to take community college courses as electives; Comprehensive programs in which students take a series of course, or a curriculum in their last two years of high school; and Enhanced Comprehensive Programs which focuses on course work, counseling, application assistance, and mentoring for low or middle achieving students (68). Regardless of their structure, effective partnerships provide an opportunity for colleges to maximize

High School & Community College Partnerships 11 resources while responding to needs in the community and in doing so, advance the mission of their institutions (Sink & Jackson, 2002, p. 35). Some already established partnerships are part of nationwide initiatives. Lindahl, Long, and Arnett (2002) describe one such partnership called Keeping Options Open, which links academic readiness with career enhancement. High school counselors representing five different school districts, and community college counselors developed a series of workshops for high school sophomores and juniors to discover post-secondary options, set goals, and develop lifeplans. These counselors were building connections and providing resources to one another which Watson (1993) suggests helps develop professional connections between institutions. Overall, the involvement from the community college in the Keeping Options Open partnership helped further the communitys familiarity with the community college while also providing students with post-secondary support (Lindahl, Long, & Arnett, 2002). Keeping Options Open offered high school counselors more insight to community college planning through collaboration with community college counselors. Azinger (2000) supports these types of partnerships by asserting that they develop important connections between the two educational systems; however, Azinger also points out that these partnerships need careful planning. In his study, Azinger describes a partnership between two school districts and a local community college in which classes were offered for high school students after the regular school day. The schools in each district had similar student demographics and socioeconomic status; however, because of proximity to campus and availability of classes at the community college, students from one school district had more opportunities to take advantage of the partnership than students from the other school district. Amey and colleagues (2010) discuss the importance of flexibility within partnerships while also clarifying individual roles and

High School & Community College Partnerships 12 responsibilities within the partnerships. The partnership described by Azinger follows the singleton model explained by Fowler and Gaye (2009); however, the partnership neglected to make adjustments and clarify institutional roles and responsibilities which Amey and colleagues (2010) identify as essential to successful partnerships. Helfgot (2001) discusses the steps taken by one community college to develop relationships with local high schools. The community college recognized that if they were going to be actively supported by principals, counselors, and teachers, they would have to develop a balanced and equitable relationship with local high schools (p. 45); thus, building partnerships with high schools. As part of this partnership, the community college organized meetings with principals initiated by letters and follow-up phone calls. These meetings provided an opportunity for principals to request a single contact person at the college and network with one another about the partnership process. Ultimately, this program worked to develop trust between institutions. Trust has been essential to developing and maintaining partnerships as determined by Amey and colleagues (2010). As a result of these meetings, Helfgot (2001) indicated the community college developed a number of programs with the local high schools that impacted student college-readiness including high school peer counselors, college night, and senior preview day. Even when partnerships and preparation exist, students may still not have the skills and information necessary to help them transition to community college. Sometimes as is the case in Nunley, Shartle-Galotto, and Smiths (2000) study of another school district and community college high schools believe they are preparing students, but the community college thinks differently. Students in the high school in this study scored well on the high schools academic assessments, but the local community college determined these same students were

High School & Community College Partnerships 13 underprepared. While this example shows the disconnect between a high school and community college, it is also an example of how the two institutions worked together to align curriculum and expectations to prepare students for their community college education. This partnership reflects Roderick et al.s (2009) idea that high school curriculum needs to be aligned with collegereadiness standards. In addition, it also supports Spences (2009) argument that in order to prepare students, schools need to develop new courses, implement support systems, and provide teachers with professional development opportunities that determine and define college readiness (p. 97). Haycock (2010) also discusses communication between institutions, especially pairing community college faculty with spectacularly good teachers teachers who know how to engage their students in rigorous intellectual work to create robust curricular materials (p. 19). These types of connections build consistency between the explicit and implicit information students receive about college readiness. In order to develop high school community college partnerships, Kurleander and Larsen (2013) recommend that partnerships encourage community colleges to look at K-12 standards while also building stronger connections between high school assessments and community college placement tests to determine college readiness. Likewise, Venezia and Kirst (2005) explain that students dont receive enough information on the placement exams because the organization of high schools and postsecondary institutions has set up boundaries that have limited communication and collaboration. Haycock (2010) recommends that high schools and community colleges ask what students need to know in order to be successful in college (17). This will clarify the expectations for students and allow high school teachers to provide more consistent information specific to their local community colleges. In addition, the standards for high school course-work differ greatly from college-level standards.

High School & Community College Partnerships 14 High schools and community colleges need to work together in order to overcome the challenges they face. Watson (1993) points out the importance of developing collaboration as a method to identify the unique challenges [each institution] face[s] and determine the most effective ways of meeting those challenges (p. 57). Thus, in working together, high schools and community colleges can work together to develop solutions that can ultimately serve students best interests. This is especially important in partnerships that provide high school students with the opportunity to take community college courses. Since high school students are not adults, Azinger (2000) asserts that community colleges need to build confidence of school districts that students will be supervised and attended to as teenagers (19). One method for building confidence between institutions is for community colleges to invite local high schools and universities to professional development activities as Watson (1993) recommends. Not only does this open the lines of communication, it provides institutions with opportunities to develop additional plans for defining and developing college-readiness. The community college high school partnership observed by Helfgot (2001) integrated concurrent enrollment in which high school teachers meeting the minimum community college qualifications were recruited to teach college classes in the high school. This familiarized these teachers with the culture of the college which they were able to include in their classes. The community college also encouraged high quality instructors to teach courses at the high school allowing for myths about community college courses to be dispelled and improved the colleges image and reputation (p. 49) while also increasing overall enrollment. The practice established in the partnership models the importance of communication, relationships, and commitment that Sink and Jackson (2002) point out as essential for maximizing partnerships.

High School & Community College Partnerships 15 Partnerships are helpful in overcoming challenges and aligning curriculum, and they also can continue building college-readiness. Spence (2009) encourages post-secondary institutions to provide college-readiness information to high schools so that students can achieve collegereadiness in high school, not in remediated courses. This requires coordination for between both the community college and the high school. Similarly, Watson (1993) recommends that community college orientations involve representatives from both the high school and community college and educate the students and each other about the expectations of college life (56). Both of these methods have the potential to combat the student apathy Venezia and Kirt (2005) discuss in their study. They found that students receive information on postsecondary options, but teachers merely handed students the materials. Students wanted someone to present the information to them (292). Much work still needs to be done to develop partnerships between high schools and community colleges. These partnerships involve many representatives from both types of institutions and even more time and dedication do develop and follow-through. Who should represent high schools and community colleges in these types of partnerships? While faculty representation seems logical, faculty from which content areas should play a role in the decision making? Furthermore, how do high schools and community colleges overcome obstacles in order to make decisions in the best interests of each institution and students? As high schools and community colleges work together to bridge the gap in collegereadiness skills for students, they need to ask what each institution needs as well as what students need. Aligning systems and standards often involves more questions than answers, and when partnerships are developed, both institutions need to be prepared to make adjustments to the partnership and goals based on student and institutional needs. In working together, high schools

High School & Community College Partnerships 16 and community colleges can build common practices for preparing college-ready students who can easily transition into higher education.

High School & Community College Partnerships 17 References Amey, M.J., Eddy, P.L., & Campbell, T.G. (2010) Crossing Boundaries Creating Community College Partnerships to Promote Educational Transitions. Community College Review. 37(4). 333-347. Azinger, A. (2000). A K-12 Perspective on Partnerships with Community Colleges. New Directions for Community Colleges, 111, 17-21. Barnett, E., & Hughes, K (2010). Issue Brief: Community College and High School Partnerships. The White House Summit on Community College. Teachers College Columbia University. Byrd, K.L., & MacDonald, G. (2005). Defining College Readiness from the Inside Out: FirstGeneration College Student Perspectives. Community College Review, 33(1), 22-37. Callahan, P.M., Finney, J.E., Kirst, M.W., Usdan, M.D., & Venezia, A.C. (2006). Claiming Common Ground: State Policymaking for College Readiness and Success. National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. Conley, D.T. (2008). Rethinking College Readiness. New Directions for Higher Education, 144, 3-13. Farrell, P.L., Siefert, K.A. (2007). Lessons learned from a dual-enrollment partnership. New Directions for Community Colleges, 139, 60-77. DOI: 10.1002/cc.294 Fowler, M., Gaye, L. (2009). High School and College Partnerships: Credit-Based Transition Programs. American Secondary Education, 38(1) 62-76. Haycock, K. (2010). Building Common College-Ready Standards. Changemag.org, 14-19. Helfgot, S.R. (2001). Concurrent Enrollment and More: Elements of a Successful Partnership. New Directions for Community Colleges, 113, 43-49. Hooker, S., & Brand, B. (2010). College Knowledge: A Critical Component of College and

High School & Community College Partnerships 18 Career Readiness. New Directions for Youth Development, 127, 75 85. Kirst, M. & Venezia, A. (2001). Bridging the Great Divide Between Secondary Schools and Postsecondary Education. The Phi Delta Kappan, 83, 92-9 Kurleander, M., & Larsen, M.F. (2013). K-12 and Postsecondary Alignment: Racial/Ethnic Differences in Freshman Course-taking and Performance at Californias Community Colleges. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 21, 1-25. Lindahl, S.J., Long, P.N., & Arnett, R. (2002). Academic Readiness and Career/Life Planning: A Collaborative Partnership Focused on Student Learning. Journal of Career Development, 28, 247-262. Nunle, C., Shartle-Galotto, M.K., & Smith, M.H. (2000). Working with Schools to Prepare Students for College: A Case Study. New Directions for Community Colleges, 111, 5971. Roderick, M., Nagaoka, J., & Coca, V. (2009). College Readiness for All: The Challenge for Urban High Schools. www.futureofchildren.org, 19, 185-210. David W. Sink Jr & Karen Luke Jackson (2002) Successful Community College Campus-Based Partnerships. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 26:1, 35-46, DOI: 10.1080/106689202753364990 Spence, D. (2009). State College Readiness Initiatives and Community Colleges. New Directions for Community Colleges, 145, 95-101. Venezia, A., & Kirst, M.W. (2005). Inequitable Opportunities: How Current Education Systems and Policies Undermine the Chances for Student Persistence and Success in College. Educational Policy, 19, 283-307. Watson, L. (1993). Working with Schools to Ease Student Transition to the Community College.

High School & Community College Partnerships 19 New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 82, 53-58. Waters, J.K. (2008). A Pathway to Achievement. T.H.E. Journal, 35(9). 32-36.