Higher Education

Local teams from 10 cities across the nation assembled in Indianapolis on October 5-6 to learn about innovative, multi-sector strategies that promote postsecondary access and completion and the opportunities for municipal leadership in such community partnerships. 

Since the Communities Learning in Partnership was launched in 2009, implementation sites and affiliated cities have made impressive progress in developing and carrying out comprehensive local plans for helping more students attain postsecondary degrees and credentials.

Mayors’ education advisors from 45 of the nation’s largest cities gathered in Denver recently for a meeting of the YEF Institute's Education Policy Advisors Network (EPAN).  EPAN members discussed new developments in education policy and emerging opportunities to shore up the birth-to-career educational pipeline in their communities.

Teams of city, community college and school district partners convened in San Francisco in May as part of the Communities Learning in Partnership (CLIP) initiative.  San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee spoke about his city's Bridge to Success initiative, which aims to increase the college completion rates of high school freshmen from 30 percent to 50 percent by 2020.

Two YEF Institute Initiatives to Help City Leaders Boost Postsecondary Completion Rates

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the YEF Institute announced $12 million in grants to help four cities boost college completion rates. Through the Communities Learning in Partnership initiative, New York City, San Francisco, Mesa, Ariz., and Riverside, Calif., are each receiving $3 million over three years to increase the number of students who earn a postsecondary degree or credential.  Supported by Lumina Foundation for Education, the YEF Institute's Municipal Leadership for Postsecondary Success will engage and assist city leaders from other communities in helping students complete their postsecondary education. 
Communities Learning in Partnership initiative | Municipal Leadership for Postsecondary Success initiative

Responding to cities’ growing interest in raising college completion rates, the YEF Institute has launched the Postsecondary Success City Action Network (P-SCAN) as part of the Municipal Leadership for Postsecondary Success initiative supported by Lumina Foundation for Education.

A convening of city teams in Louisville, Ky., marked the beginning of the Communities Learning in Partnership initiative’s implementation phase. The four project cities are implementing their postsecondary plans in collaboration with school districts, community colleges and other institutions of higher education, and a range of other community and workforce partners.

Municipal and education leaders from seven cities participating in the Communities Learning in Partnership initiative gathered in Philadelphia to develop plans for boosting local college completion rates.

Mayor R.T. Rybak has made progress toward fulfilling his goals for the Minneapolis Promise - an innovative cluster of coordinated programs designed to eliminate barriers to college and career success. 

Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, city councilmembers, school board members and local funding partners celebrated the opening of a new, full-service college planning center at the Burton Barr Central Library in downtown Phoenix. Developed through a partnership between the city and three higher education institutions, College Depot will provide access to a range of free services to help high school students prepare for postsecondary education.

The YEF Institute's first-ever report on The State of City Leadership for Children and Families identifies the nation's most cutting-edge city strategies to help children and families thrive. This chapter highlights the broad range of innovations and trends in municipal leadership around education. 
Full report (PDF) | Education chapter (PDF) 

This report outlines seven key policy conditions that facilitate the expansion of alternatives and options for dropouts and other students who struggle in traditional high school settings, as well as promising collaborations among mayors, school district officials, and alternative high schools program innovators.  The report showcases municipal leadership in Atlanta, Boston, Corpus Christi, Hartford, Phoenix, San Jose, and Seattle, and includes examples of alternative high schools that use dual enrollment and other strategies to expand college access. 

Responding to cities’ growing interest in raising college completion rates, the YEF Institute has launched the Municipal Leadership for Postsecondary Success initiative with support from Lumina Foundation for Education.  The creation of the Postsecondary Success CIty Action Network (P-SCAN) as an affinity network within the Mayors' Education Policy Advisors' Network (EPAN) is a vital component of this initiative.  Contact Marjorie Cohen at (202) 626-3052 or cohen@nlc.org to learn more.

The YEF Institute is serving as managing intermediary for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's Communities Learning in Partnership project, which seeks to boost postsecondary graduation rates by better coordinating the services that colleges, schools and cities provide to students. The initiative is part of the Foundation’s postsecondary success strategy aimed at doubling the number of low-income young adults who earn postsecondary degrees or credentials by the age of 26.  Selected implementation sites include Mesa, Ariz.; New York City; Riverside, Calif.; and San Francisco.  For more information about the project, contact Kate Sandel at (202) 626-3046 or sandel@nlc.org.  

Formed in May 2003, the Mayors’ Education Policy Advisors Network (EPAN) is a national network that facilitates communication among senior municipal staff who are working with mayors on key issues related to education reform and school improvement.  EPAN is only open to senior mayoral advisors from the 75 largest cities.  For more information, contact Marjorie Cohen at (202) 626-3052 or cohen@nlc.org.

The YEF Institute serves as managing intermediary for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's Communities Learning in Partnership project, which seeks to boost postsecondary graduation rates by better coordinating the services that colleges, schools and cities provide to students. The initiative is part of the Foundation’s postsecondary success strategy aimed at doubling the number of low-income young adults who earn postsecondary degrees or credentials by the age of 26.

In September 2010, the cities of New York City, San Francisco, Mesa, Ariz., and Riverside, Calif., were selected to each receive $3 million over three years to align academic standards between high school and college, strengthen data systems, implement early assessment and college prep strategies, and create support systems to help dramatically increase the number of students who earn a postsecondary degree or credential. These four cities were selected from seven sites that received $250,000 planning grants in September 2009.

With support from Lumina Foundation for Education, the YEF Institute launched a two-year initiative to engage cities in efforts to help young adults complete postsecondary education. The Municipal Leadership for Postsecondary Success initiative will stimulate and strengthen local collaborations to increase the rate and shorten the time within which residents finish higher education with a degree, certificate, or other credential.