By Bill DeBaun, Senior Director, Data and Strategic Initiatives
Reading time: Three minutes
A new framework for school district leaders highlights the conditions that appear most often in district and schools that successfully support their students to take their next, best step after high school. The “District Framework for Enabling Postsecondary Success” was recently released by representatives of 17 leading college access organizations across the country, including the National College Attainment Network (NCAN).
This tool, designed specifically to help districts and schools create the right environment for students to thrive, is now available for your use. The partners urgently encourage you to share it with your district and school partners, especially superintendents, principals, and counselors, who play a key role in shaping the educational landscape.
A new mini-site at NCAN.org houses the framework and will also feature resources, case studies, and interviews with district leaders who have focused on implementing the enabling
conditions in their schools and for their students. Check back often, we’ll be continuing to add great content here!
This framework focuses on creating the foundational supports necessary to increase postsecondary success. It highlights five key conditions that districts should strive to create:
District Leadership is Publicly Committed to Students’ Postsecondary Success
District Sets Strategy and Allocates Resources to Reach Postsecondary Goals
District Ensures That Schools Have Capacity to Support Students
District Collaborates with Postsecondary Institutions and Community Partners
District Uses Real-Time Data to Continuously Improve Postsecondary Advising and Outcomes, Empower Students and Families
Superintendents, principals, and school counselors in K-12 environments are critical to student success. The partners hope this framework will support their efforts. The conditions identified can help district and school leaders compares their current
practices and find areas where improvement could have a significant impact. Sharing this framework with them can foster stronger partnerships and support a unified vision for student success.
Use Cases for the Framework
District and school partners can apply the framework by doing the following:
Strategic Planning: School districts can use the framework to inform their strategic plans for improving college and career readiness. Leaders can identify gaps and prioritize resources more effectively by aligning goals with the five enabling
conditions.
Professional Development / Building Capacity: Superintendents and principals can introduce the framework as part of professional development for counselors and teachers. It serves as a roadmap for growing their role in supporting students’
postsecondary aspirations.
Collaboration Between K-12, Postsecondary, and CBO Sectors: Both the lift and the importance of students’ postsecondary pathways are too big for any one stakeholder to take on alone. “Many hands make light work,” after all. By working together,
partners can streamline the transition for students and provide the support needed for success.
The partners involved in the development of this new framework include:
We collectively encourage NCAN members to start conversations with your school and district partners. By working together and utilizing these enabling conditions, we can ensure that more students are not only prepared for life beyond high school but equipped
to succeed in it.
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