Back in February, more than 1,000 practitioners from hundreds of universities across the country gathered in Orlando, Florida to exchange evidence-based approaches to promoting student success and equity.
DREAM is the signature annual event of Achieving the Dream, a nonprofit organization working to close the achievement gap, and the go-to for community college educators and policymakers interested in system change. It's a meeting.
From the conference's opening panel to the workshops and breakout sessions held throughout the four-day event, the importance of focusing on equity was a central theme of the conference. There was also an emphasis on the humanities.
“ATD is more than just a conference,” says Dr. Karen A. Stout, who has led the organization since 2015. “There are cohorts and special groups,” she says, adding that for the past seven years, there has been a focus on the visibility of tribal universities, for example, and members of the network have been working to advance the organization's focus on equity and student success. has contributed to
Thanks to funding from the Kresge Foundation, ATD has partnered with the Siyapumelera (“We Will Succeed”) initiative to strengthen the data capabilities of South African universities to boost student success. Over the past 10 years, this effort has expanded from his original five participating universities to his 17 universities. A delegation of South African educators traveled to this year's conference to learn and share best practice.
Florida remains a battleground in the ongoing battle to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, as some organizations and associations choose to boycott holding rallies in the city. , Stout said it was especially important for ATD to join the Sunshine State. this year.
“This is a values-based decision,” she said, adding that although there was considerable concern and anxiety, key stakeholders ultimately came together behind the idea and held a meeting there. He added that he has decided to move forward with support. “We're not going to leave Florida behind. We're not going to leave Florida's universities behind, and most importantly, we're not going to leave Florida students behind.”
Stout, who has been a driving force behind ATD's success over the past nine years, said he is encouraged by the organization's growth, which now includes more than 300 colleges and universities as part of ATD's network, which serves nearly 25 percent of the nation's communities. The university has taken Foundations of Transformation, his three-year program at the core of his ATD, taught by expert coaches, designed to build fundamental competencies for student success. Masu.
With more than 50% of this year's registrants attending ATD for the first time, “our movement is still young,” Stout said.
“What we're seeing is a ripple effect of the work that these universities have been doing over the years,” Stout said, noting that ATD has high retention rates among participating schools. “Most of the universities that got into ATD he stays at ATD.”
Even after three years of work, many institutions choose to pursue other areas and dig deeper into issues related to teaching and learning, overall campus support, and student enrollment.
ATD's existence is the result of the Lumina Foundation's invitation to select organizations in 2003 to form a partnership focused on community colleges. At this year's conference, his CEO at Lumina, Jamie Melisotis, delivered the keynote address, confirming his ATD success over the past 20 years. Year.
“Philanthropic ideas rarely last,” Stout says.
Stout said financial support from Lumina, Kresge, Ascendium, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Mackenzie Scott has helped move the organization's work forward.
The addition of experienced coaches, including the addition of new coaches who are practitioners, will help ATD diversify its offerings and make it more similar to the diverse populations that community colleges traditionally serve. I did.
“I think it's injecting new energy and new thinking into this movement,” said Stout, who led Montgomery County Community College in Pennsylvania from 2001 to 2015.
“We have a whole new generation of young leaders who need support like ATD,” she says.
Dr. Mordecai Brownlee, president of Aurora Community College, is one of the newer presidents.
“For the past 20 years, Achieving the Dream has been a leader in highlighting the responsibility higher education institutions have to address the academic and non-academic needs of low-income students, students of color, and students in the elementary grades. It has served as an institution for the college-age generation,” Brownlee says. “I can think of no other organization that has consistently put equity for all students at the forefront and made an impact around the world like ATD.”
Aurora Community College is the first institution in the Colorado Community College System to join the ATD network.
“Our partnership with ATD has led to systemic change across the institution and unified our approach to increasing equity with our students and communities,” Brownlee said.
What is unique about ATD is that faculty and senior administrators (particularly presidents) often attend meetings together and work together to develop plans to improve outcomes at their institutions. This design has remained at the heart of the organization's activities for the past 20 years.
The president of a university brought a team of 30 people to a conference. Another team had a team of 25 people.
When Mr. Stout asked presidents what their biggest takeaway from this year's General Assembly was, their answer was simple. It's validation and the feeling that we're on the right track.
“When you're here, all the energy is right there in front of you and you feel validated, and then when you go back to campus you realize that change is difficult at the local level,” Stout explains. He says he remains hopeful, especially after what he saw at university. At the state level, support community colleges with new and innovative funding models.
“I think states are becoming more bold in creating policy and funding frameworks that help colleges and universities stay focused on student success,” she continues.
Emphasizing dual enrollment has proven to be a game-changer, she notes.
“Our universities are thinking more intentionally about not just serving high schools, but reaching students who otherwise would not have been able to pursue post-secondary education,” Stout said. say. “I think community colleges can really advance equitable benefits by partnering with high schools.”