OneGoal, an NCAN member, and the Illinois State Board of Education announced a partnership in mid-October that will bring OneGoal’s postsecondary success support to districts and high schools
across the state.
The two-year contract is driven by OneGoal's District Partnership Program, an initiative that integrates the nonprofit's proven postsecondary success
model into the fabric of school districts by embedding the OneGoal class into high schools. The partners are leveraging $7.5 million in federal pandemic relief funds, which means no cost to inaugural partner districts.
Other states, districts, and schools should take note and think about how their own pandemic relief funding could similarly support students in pursuing postsecondary pathways.
The collaboration will support district leaders to strengthen postsecondary enrollment and persistence in their communities and bolster other leading indicators for college and career readiness, including FAFSA completion and early college coursework
enrollment. Ultimately, the partnership will ensure more first-generation students from low-income communities can explore multiple postsecondary pathways that lead to economic mobility and family-sustaining wages.
In the first year of partnership, OneGoal will offer its Postsecondary Leadership Series – a range of leadership development services aimed to build capacity at the system level to ensure more equitable outcomes for students, district leaders, and
school leadership teams – in 30-50 districts in high-priority areas across all six geographic regions of school districts in Illinois.
In the second year, leadership development services will continue, and approximately 80 schools across 15-20 districts will adopt OneGoal's core school-based model, which pairs a teacher with a cohort of about 25 students.
“Most high-paying
jobs require some postsecondary education, whether a degree or other credential. For too long in postsecondary success we have seen opportunity gaps by race and family income—unacceptable gaps that the pandemic has only made worse," said State Superintendent
of Education Dr. Carmen I. Ayala in a press release. “Partnering with OneGoal is a critical step to close opportunity gaps and equitably support college and career success for all our students across the state. This new collaboration directly supports
ISBE's core principles – equity, quality, collaboration, and community – and our responsibility to pursue educational equity for all of our students in all of our classrooms, schools, and districts."
“We are so excited for what
this partnership means for students across Illinois," shared OneGoal CEO Melissa Connelly, who herself attended high school in an Illinois district. “Postsecondary success is a system-level challenge. With the right skills, knowledge, and support,
leaders across the state can improve the quality and quantity of support students receive so all students in Illinois have an equitable opportunity to achieve their long-term career ambitions."
OneGoal is a national postsecondary access
and success organization dedicated to closing the degree divide in America and creating a more equitable future for all students whose career aspirations require a postsecondary degree, certificate, or credential. The organization does this by building
adult capacity across schools and districts and by providing robust one-on-one advising to students so that more institutions can equitably support their students' postsecondary aspirations. Eighty-four percent of OneGoal high school graduates enroll
in a postsecondary institution, and 75% of those who enroll persist one year after high school. In the 2020-21 school year, OneGoal reached more than 12,000 students through partnerships with schools and districts across the country.
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