This June, two Philadelphia-based National College Attainment Network (NCAN) members convened city and state education leaders, college access professionals, community organizations, educators, administrators, and community members, demonstrating the collaborative nature of college attainment in the City of Brotherly Love. The Philadelphia Higher Education Network for Neighborhood Development (PHENND) hosted “The Warm Handoff: Successful Student Transitions to High School, College, and the Workforce” while the Philadelphia College Prep Roundtable (PCPR) hosted their annual spring symposium “From Degree to Career.”
For me, the Philadelphia region is both where I grew up and the place where college-going started in my family; both my maternal grandparents graduated from Temple University as first-generation students, changing the trajectory of their lives and ultimately of mine. My Bubbe then went on to teach in the School District of Philadelphia, and I know would have enjoyed the conversations that took place among PHENND and PCPR convening attendees about supporting students.
PHENND is a consortium of over 30 colleges and universities in greater Philadelphia that is focused on capacity building for mutual improvement of the institutions and the communities they serve. This year’s June Institute was book-ended with panels from leaders in the field and region and included breakout sessions with practitioner leaders.
Starting off the day, Dr. Debora Borges-Carrera, Chief Education Office of the City of Philadelphia moderated a discussion between Dr. Alycia Marshall, president of Community College of Philadelphia (CCP) and Dr. Elaine Maimon, retired former president of Governors State University in Illinois. Their discussion highlighted the positive power of collaboration between two- and four-year institutions, and Dr. Maimon reminded participants that four-year institutions should both make it as seamless as possible for associate-degree earning students to go on and earn their bachelor’s degrees and that one-size does not fit all when it comes to partnerships. Dr. Marshall, new to her role at CCP but not to the institution, shared how CCP’s expanded transfer partnership with Cheyney University aims to reduce barriers for students. This panel charged four-year institutions especially to consider how partnerships can improve outcomes for students.
NCAN members are working to create partnerships between community based organizations and higher education institutions to improve community college transfer outcomes. At June Institute, Philadelphia Education Fund’s (PEF) Madeline Birkner shared her learnings from the organization’s efforts to leverage their partnership with CCP to improve outcomes for their enrolled students. National Student Clearinghouse data led Birkner to focus her efforts on supporting PEF’s students who matriculate to CCP, and she shared the practical programming she uses for their “Launch Day”, such as how to practice planning out schedules and time management, to support student success.
We know that most community college students matriculate wanting to go on to earn their bachelor’s degree, and fewer than 20% are successful in that endeavor. We also know that most students attend college within 50 miles of where they grow up. So being in a room full of Philadelphia practitioners committed to improving the pathways for students from high school to an associate's degree to a bachelor’s degree at a regional level was exciting. PHENND Director Hillary Kane emphasized that strong partnerships are key to building up the entire region, which was embodied at the June Institute. PHENND’s K-16 Partnerships Manager and June Institute organizer Janine Wright reflected, “At PHENND we've been thinking a lot about how to describe our approach to our work and we've landed on Connect. Convene. Catalyze. I think the June Institute was a good example. Bringing people and organizations together around a common cause and having them share their insights, perspectives and solutions can often help to push the work forward in a way that can't happen when you're working alone.”
Two weeks later, PCPR gathered practitioners for their Spring Symposium: From Degree to Career - What College Access and Success Professionals Need to Know About Today's Workforce Landscape. PCPR is a network of professionals from non-profits, higher education institutions, and school districts in the greater Philadelphia region. Each of those sectors plus representatives from state-wide government were represented at the day’s events. The symposium started with three plenary sessions and a moderated panel:
Raphael from Lumina reminded attendees that there is a significant gap between students who consider college to be valuable and students who consider it to be accessible. She noted that for today’s students, college is increasingly viewed as an investment in their future, and that practitioners should help students consider which pathway will best help them build the future they want.
The panel of regional institutions emphasized that early exposure to is key to student success. Their discussion around connections that can be made as early as middle school as well as a reminder that relationships with employers in the region can improve student pathways after college echoed the PHENND warm handoff theme.
Terri White, PCPR Operations Team member and retired Higher Education Advisor emphasized the event’s focus on partnerships: “The Philadelphia College Prep Roundtable has a long history of linking K–12 and higher education to expand opportunities for students. This year’s Spring Symposium highlighted the evolving pipeline between K–12, higher ed, and the workforce — showing how partners across Philadelphia are aligning to ensure career development starts early, so students are prepared, engaged, and ready to take advantage of the opportunities these partnerships create.”
Warm handoffs can support students in moves from middle to high school, high school to college, and college to career. The work being done in Philadelphia shows the area’s educators, access organizations, institutions, and industries are collaborating to improve lives for their students and improve the region as a whole.