College in High School Alliance Celebrates Its Five Year Anniversary

Today, the College in High School Alliance (CHSA) turns five years old. Launched on March 2, 2017 by the original five founding members of the Steering Committee - Bard College, JFF, KnowledgeWorks, the Middle College National Consortium, and the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP) - CHSA has spent the last five years supporting national and state policymakers to advance policy supporting college in high school programs like dual enrollment and early college.

In addition to expanding our wider network to more than 90 national and state organizations who have participated in CHSA's activities, CHSA has also been privileged to welcome and work closely with Achieving the Dream and Advance CTE as part of our Steering Committee over the last three years.

Highlights of the last five years of work include:

• Publishing a number of major national resources on college in high school program policy, led by Unlocking Potential: A State Policy Roadmap for Equity and Quality in College in High School Programs.

• Hosting two national convenings for state policymakers in partnership with the National Governors Association, with teams attending from over 25 states.

• Launching a national peer learning network for state policymakers from 25 states.

• Directly working in partnership with more than ten states to advance their policies around college in high school programs.

• Major progress in securing more support for college in high school programs at the federal level, including through Perkins V reauthorization and COVID-19 relief funding.

And that is just the beginning. As CHSA looks ahead to the future, we remain committed to our mission of supporting equity of access, high quality, and student success in college in high school programs and have more exciting resources and initiatives in development.

"The College in High School Alliance is a true collective impact model, sustained by the close collaboration of our Steering Committee partners and the support of our wider network of policymakers, practitioners, and advocates," said Alex Perry, Policy Advisor at Foresight Law + Policy and Coordinator of CHSA. "College in high school programs are an important part of the educational ecosystem, and we look forward to continuing to support policymakers in advancing them."

“JFF has been proud to serve as a founding member and Steering Committee participant of the College in High School Alliance. It’s been a pleasure working collaboratively with our Steering Committee partners, national and state organizations, and policymakers to advance policies supporting college in high school programs like dual enrollment and early college,” said Joel Vargas, Vice President at JFF. “There has been a lot of progress across the field over these past five years. We look forward to continuing to work closely with our partners to advance equitable access, ensure alignment across systems, and promote student success in dual enrollment.”

"This partnership, 5 years strong now, is a great example of the value of collective impact in advancing the field and elevating recognition and support of college in high school programs," said Amy Williams, Executive Director of the NACEP.

“As we look to understand the future of work and how to ensure we are setting all learners for lifelong success, Advance CTE has been pleased to serve on the Steering Committee of the College in High School Alliance to advance policies that support high-quality dual enrollment options, including those with a Career Technical Education focus,” said Kate Kreamer, Deputy Executive Director of Advance CTE. “There is important work still to be done, and we look forward to the future of this exciting partnership with our colleagues on the CHSA Steering Committee, as well as national and state partner organizations and policymakers.”

About the College in High School Alliance

The College in High School Alliance (CHSA) is a coalition of leading national and state organizations that works towards a future in which every state, and the federal government, has a policy framework that ensures that student access, participation and success in college in high school programs accurately reflects the geographic, demographic, and economic make-up of the nation’s high school students.