Reopening Washington Schools 2020: Dual Credit and Postsecondary Planning DUAL CREDIT AND POSTSECONDARY PLANNING FOR THE 2020–21 SCHOOL YEAR 2020 Chris Reykdal Superintendent of Public Instruction Prepared by: • Tennille Jeffries-Simmons, Assistant Superintendent of System and School Improvement [email protected] • Katherine Mahoney, Assistant Director for Policy, System and School Improvement [email protected] Page | 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................................................................. 4 OSPI Vision, Mission, Values, and Equity ..................................................................................................................... 5 About This Resource ............................................................................................................................................................ 6 Letter From Provosts and Colleges ................................................................................................................................ 7 Summary of Recommendations ...................................................................................................................................... 9 A Deeper Dive ..................................................................................................................................................................... 11 Dual Credit Awareness, Access, Advising, and Supports ............................................................................... 11 Grading and Transcripts ............................................................................................................................................. 14 Postsecondary Planning ............................................................................................................................................. 16 Appendix A – Washington College and University Contacts by Topic Area ............................................... 19 Appendix B – Dual Credit Overview ............................................................................................................................ 23 Appendix C – Community-Based Organizations .................................................................................................... 24 Appendix D – Compiled Resources ............................................................................................................................. 25 Legal Notice ......................................................................................................................................................................... 28 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This resource was created in collaboration and partnership with a broad range of state agencies, education member associations, community-based organizations, and students. In particular, the Washington Student Achievement Council provided the infrastructure to plan, convene, and execute on developing this document. Many thanks to Amelia Moore, Heather Hudson, and Mike Meotti. Our deepest appreciation to the organizations listed below who provided leadership, resources, and time to ensure districts across the state have the information they need to support closing equity gaps in dual credit and postsecondary planning during the 2020–21 school year. Association of Educational Service Districts Seattle Pacific University Association of Washington School Principals Seattle University Black Education Strategy Roundtable St. Martin's University Bootstraps Fund State Board for Community and Technical Colleges Central Washington University State Board of Education College Success Foundation The Evergreen State College Community Center for Education Results University of Puget Sound Council of Presidents University of Washington Eastern Washington University Walla Walla University Education Reform Now Washington Education Association Equal Opportunity Schools Washington Federation of Independent Schools FuturesNW Washington MESA Gonzaga University Washington State School Directors’ Association Independent Colleges of Washington Washington State University Office of the Governor Washington STEM Partnership for Learning Western Washington University Professional Educator Standards Board Page | 4 OSPI VISION, MISSION, VALUES, AND EQUITY Vision All students prepared for postsecondary pathways, careers, and civic engagement. Mission Transform K–12 education to a system that is centered on closing opportunity gaps and is characterized by high expectations for all students and educators. We achieve this by developing equity-based policies and supports that empower educators, families, and communities. Values • Ensuring Equity • Collaboration and Service • Achieving Excellence through Continuous Improvement • Focus on the Whole Child Equity Statement Each student, family, and community possess strengths and cultural knowledge that benefits their peers, educators, and schools. Ensuring educational equity: • Goes beyond equality; it requires education leaders to examine the ways current policies and practices result in disparate outcomes for our students of color, students living in poverty, students receiving special education and English Learner services, students who identify as LGBTQ+, and highly mobile student populations. • Requires education leaders to develop an understanding of historical contexts; engage students, families, and community representatives as partners in decision making; and actively dismantle systemic barriers, replacing them with policies and practices that ensure all students have access to the instruction and support they need to succeed in our schools. Page | 5 ABOUT THIS RESOURCE This guidance focuses on how school districts can plan and respond to the challenges of the 2020– 21 school year, specific to closing equity gaps in dual credit access and success and postsecondary transitions. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the significant inequities inside of education systems that districts across the state have been fighting to close for years. In Washington, our students of color, students from low-income backgrounds, students with disabilities, and students who are English learners are more likely to be left out when it comes to dual credit and postsecondary enrollment (see OSPI’s 2019 report, Covering the Costs of Dual Credit for Students and their Families, and the High School Graduate Outcomes dashboard). As school resumes for the 2020–21 school year, we risk these gaps growing if we do not have a specific focus on undoing existing practices that drive these inequities, and design against the impacts of disrupted instructional delivery on our most vulnerable students. If districts take one step, it should be this: use disaggregated data to identify students furthest from educational justice and deploy tiered supports to increase dual credit access/ success and postsecondary planning. Districts should use asset-focused universal screeners, High School and Beyond Plan data, local data on grades and course-taking, and longitudinal data to implement tiered supports for students specifically related to increasing dual credit access and postsecondary awareness and planning. Districts should focus in on students who are traditionally underserved in their district and prioritize the most intensive efforts and supports on them. Districts are not alone in this work. This guidance was developed collaboratively with community- based organizations across Washington that are focused on these topics (particularly among our most underserved students), as well as public and private postsecondary institutions. These organizations share your commitment to ensure each student can thrive through high school and beyond. In the context of dual credit and preparing for postsecondary enrollment, K–12 and postsecondary institutions have a shared responsibility to students. It will require collaboration at local, regional, and state levels to ensure students are aware of their options and supported in their decisions. While building student supports, rely on these partners to help lighten the load on building awareness, readiness, and support for students in dual credit and postsecondary planning. This guidance includes a high-level summary of the recommendations, a deeper dive into each of the recommendations paired with resources for K–12 educators, and appendices with additional contacts and tools. Page | 6 LETTER FROM PROVOSTS AND COLLEGES A Message from Washington’s Colleges and Universities to Washington’s Students August 6, 2020 Washington is full of outstanding postsecondary opportunities beyond high school. Students may choose among internationally and nationally recognized, accessible and high-quality community, technical and four-year colleges and universities. We know that many Washington students want to further their education after high school or transfer to a four-year college or university. Together Washington’s public and private not-for- profit four-year colleges and universities and community and technical colleges are committed to meeting the college and career goals of Washington’s students. We are excited to welcome Washington students who have chosen a college or university in their home state. We also want students who have yet to decide where they will enroll—or are re- thinking or just now making their college plans—to consider the terrific options available in their own backyard. Everyone—students, families, communities, and institutions—is experiencing the extraordinary circumstances around the COVID-19 pandemic together. We recognize the hard work of making college a reality; we mourn with you what has been missed and may be missed—ceremonies, recognitions, research, study abroad—and we understand the uncertainty that still lies ahead. We also strongly believe weathering this crisis and moving forward with their educations will strengthen the resiliency of Washington students for years to come. We are here collectively, and as individual colleges and universities, to help current and future students achieve their goals, navigate this crisis, and plan for their futures. You are not alone. We are in this with you and for you. Michelle DenBeste, Ph.D. David May, Ph.D. Provost and Vice President of Academic and Student Life Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Central Washington University Eastern Washington University David McAvity, Ph.D. Mark Richards, Ph.D. Interim Provost and Academic Vice President The Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Evergreen State College Affairs University of Washington Page | 7 Elizabeth Chilton, Ph.D. Brent Carbajal, Ph.D. Provost and Executive Vice President Washington Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs State University Western Washington University Deena J. González, Ph.D. Kazuhiro Sonoda, Ph.D. Provost and Senior Vice President Gonzaga Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs University Heritage University Joanna Gregson, Ph.D. Kathleen Boyle, Ph.D. Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Affairs Pacific Lutheran University Saint Martin’s University Laura Hartley, Ph.D. Provost Shane P. Martin, Ph.D. Provost Seattle Pacific University Seattle University Laura L. Behling, Ph.D. Provost Volker R. Henning, Ph.D. University of Puget Sound Vice President for Academic Administration Walla Walla University Alzada J. Tipton, Ph.D. Gregor Thuswaldner, Ph.D, MHEA Provost and Provost and Dean of the Faculty Whitman College Executive Vice President Whitworth University Carli Schiffner, Ph.D. Deputy Executive Director of Education Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges Page | 8 SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS Use this high-level summary of recommendations as an at-a-glance guide to decisions districts can start making now. More detail for each recommendation is provided in the A Deeper Dive section later in the document. Some of these recommendations are very specific to the 2020–21 school year, while others are steps districts were already taking prior to the pandemic but are even more important now. If districts take one step, it should be this: use disaggregated data to identify students furthest from educational justice and deploy tiered supports to increase dual credit access/success and postsecondary planning. Dual Credit Awareness, Access, Advising, and Supports • Review local policies and practices around dual credit access. Use disaggregated student data to identify students and student groups historically or systematically excluded from dual credit opportunities and remove policies and practices that act as barriers for students. • Support students in updating their High School and Beyond Plan as a tool to help build awareness for dual credit opportunities. • Leverage the statutory requirements to inform students about dual credit opportunities to meaningfully engage students and families around your district’s dual credit programming, using disaggregated student data to identify students most in need of the information and doing it more than once a year. • Expedite student transcript information for aspiring Running Start students in lieu of placement tests or Smarter Balanced Assessment scores. • Ensure school counselors and other educators are connected to the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction’s (OSPI’s) dual credit supports as well as the dual credit contacts at postsecondary institutions (see Appendix A). • Develop an expedited process to communicate grades/transcripts to Running Start postsecondary institutions in lieu of disrupted placement testing. • Adopt a plan with colleges serving your Running Start students to monitor student progress and address barriers to success, including students in regular check-ins at critical points in the college quarter. Page | 9 Grading and Transcripts • Adopt standards-based grading practices while narrowing and deepening standards across content areas to increase the meaningfulness of student grades. • Schedule time with postsecondary institutions with whom your district has strong feeder patterns. Build a shared understanding of your district’s grading and transcribing practices to assist admissions and placement professionals fairly evaluate your students. • Continue to align transcripts with the requirements of the standardized high school transcript so that students are not unintentionally disadvantaged during the college admissions or placement process. • Provide information to all high school seniors and their families about the process for obtaining official high school transcripts. Explore ways to provide official transcripts electronically. • Eliminate equity gaps by accepting online payments and/or waiving the fee for transcripts. Postsecondary Planning • Use disaggregated student data to identify students most in need of a nudge or extra support to engage in postsecondary planning and implement a tiered support model to prioritize resources for those students. • Support school counselors in scheduling virtual advising appointments with students (individuals and groups), using the High School and Beyond Plan as a guide and prioritizing students needing the most support. • Adopt a high-quality electronic High School and Beyond Plan to increase student access and engage families in their student’s plan, especially during remote and/or hybrid learning. • Identify and invest in community-based organizations that can directly support individual students in planning for postsecondary activities. • Provide FAFSA and WASFA completion supports and awareness, relying on resources from community-based organizations and postsecondary partners to share the load. • Adopt plans with local colleges and universities to continue college fairs and admissions visits, including virtual opportunities and campus tours during social distancing requirements. • Update understanding of college admissions and enrollment practices. 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