Oakland Leaders Announce Commitment to Linked Learning

On October 23, 2013, the City of Oakland, the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD), and Peralta Community College District (PCCD) held a press conference to announce their new partnership to better prepare students for success in college and career. Mayor Jean Quan, OUSD Superintendent Dr. Gary Yee and PCCD Vice Chancellor Mike Orkin along with leaders from Oakland Community Organizations and East Bay Asian Youth Center, gathered at East Oakland’s Life Academy to discuss their joint effort.  The partnership will collaborate on an expansion of Linked Learning, a college and career preparatory strategy that integrates rigorous academics with technical education, work-based learning, real-world job experiences, and social support and intervention services.

To lay the foundation for this partnership, the Career Ladders Project (CLP) brought together Mayor Quan, Superintendent Yee and PCCD Chancellor, Dr. Jose Ortiz, to discuss ways to use data to improve post-secondary enrollment, persistence and equity rates for the youth of Oakland.

The leaders identified a five point plan to:

• Sign a data sharing agreement to identify student level data across the Oakland Unified and Peralta Community College systems. This will allow for a deeper look into transitional barriers;
• Working in close collaboration with faculty in both systems, pilot the placement of students using alternative measures — in lieu of a single placement exam — as they graduate from OUSD Linked Learning health academies and enter Merritt College;
• Secure internship placements for students enrolled in Linked Learning Health academies into local hospitals and health centers;
• Conduct a review of the health sector pathway by assessing stackable certificates and entry and exit points at Merritt College as well as alignment between college and high school offerings;
• Convene a workgroup focused on building an improved public service pathway to better connect graduates of OUSD law and justice academies with Merritt College’s Administration of Justice program and the City of Oakland’s police academy.

As part of their statewide California Community College Linked Learning Initiative (CCCLLI), CLP will continue to facilitate leadership meetings, support data exchange and analysis and provide direct technical assistance to both OUSD Linked Learning academies and PCCD colleges.

With support from the James Irvine Foundation, CLP leads the statewide California Community College Linked Learning Initiative (CCCLLI) which works to extend the promise of Linked Learning to post-secondary education and improve student transition to and success in college and career.

To see images from the event, click here.

To read the OUSD press release, click here.