College in High School Alliance Adds Achieving the Dream and Advance CTE to Steering Committee

The College in High School Alliance (CHSA) is excited to announce the addition of two organizations to the coalition’s Steering Committee: Achieving the Dream and Advance CTE.

They join Bard College, JFF, KnowledgeWorks, the Middle College National Consortium, and the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP) who launched CHSA in 2017.

Since its founding, CHSA has grown to become a coalition of more than 85 national and state organizations focused on how public policy at the federal and state level impacts equity, quality, and student success for college in high school programs such as dual enrollment, concurrent enrollment, and early college high school.

Achieving the Dream (ATD) and Advance CTE join CHSA’s Steering Committee at an important time. As the nation continues to grapple with the health crisis created by COVID-19, and as we enter the rebuilding phase for our economy, college in high school are more important than ever in preparing students for college completion and workforce readiness.

“ATD is proud to join the Steering Committee of CHSA,” said Karen Stout, President & CEO of Achieving the Dream. “When dual enrollment and early college programs are designed as supportive on ramps to postsecondary education, specifically for students of color and low-income students, they become powerful pathways for dismantling systemic racism and supporting individual and community recovery from the current pandemic.”

“Career Technical Education plays a critical role in providing and expanding early postsecondary opportunities for learners in high school. These opportunities are more important than ever to ensure that each learner across the country has access to both college and career success,” said Kate Kreamer, Deputy Executive Director, Advance CTE. “We are thrilled to join the CHSA Steering Committee and partner with other organizations to advance equitable access to college in high school programs across the nation.”

“NACEP is excited to welcome Achieving the Dream and Advance CTE to the College in High School Alliance Steering Committee,” said Amy Williams, Executive Director of the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP.) “These two organizations add important voices to our work as an alliance. This addition further elevates and expands our push for policy discussions prioritizing equity and quality for dual enrollment programs.”

“The addition of Advance CTE and Achieving the Dream to the College in High School Alliance Steering Committee ensures that as we think about college in high school programs like dual enrollment and early college, we are doing so with intentional pathways to college and career at the forefront of the discussion,” said Lexi Barett, Associate Vice President at JFF. “We are excited to engage with the teams at Advance CTE and Achieving the Dream to advance equity and quality-minded policies for college in high school programs.”

“We are so excited to have Advance CTE and Achieving the Dream join the CHSA Steering Committee,” said Scott Springer, Board Member of the Middle College National Consortium. “Concurrent enrollment opportunities in career and technical fields are a terrific gateway for high school students first exposure to college course work. Career and Technical Education (CTE) provides multiple “on ramps and off ramps” for students to receive a credential and jump into the work force, and allows for reentry to education to pursue additional degrees.”

About CHSA

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.

About Achieving the Dream

Achieving the Dream (ATD) leads a growing network of more than 277 community colleges committed to helping their students, particularly low-income students and students of color, achieve their goals for academic success, personal growth, and economic opportunity. ATD is making progress in closing equity gaps and accelerating student success through a unique change process that builds each college’s institutional capacities in seven essential areas. ATD, along with nearly 75 experienced coaches and advisors, works closely with Network colleges in 44 states and the District of Columbia to reach more than 4 million community college students.

About Advance CTE

Advance CTE is the longest-standing national non-profit that represents State Directors and state leaders responsible for secondary, postsecondary and adult Career Technical Education (CTE) across all 50 states and U.S. territories. Established in 1920, Advance CTE supports visionary state leadership, cultivates best practices and speaks with a collective voice to advance high-quality CTE policies, programs and pathways that ensure career success for each learner.