The Chabot-Las Positas Community College District and its partners have been selected to receive one of the most notable grant opportunities in the state.
As part of the Regional K-16 Education Collaboratives Grant Program, CLPCCD and its partners will receive one of four $18.1 million grants awarded by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The Bay Area K-16 Collaborative is a regional network focused on positively impacting educational and professional opportunities for students and young minds, from San Francisco to Livermore. The group has an emphasis on supporting college preparation, equity-oriented learning environments, and student retention.
With the additional funds, leaders say they are looking forward to expanding their impact and involving more regional partner organizations.
"Our cross-regional collaborative will focus on student retention and on removing barriers between educational institutions," said CLPCCD chancellor Ronald Gerhard in a statement detailing the recent award.
"Strengthening our partnerships will allow us to deliver early college preparation programming and systems changes to support degree completion and career entry," added Gerhard.
Newsom announced the fund recipients on Nov. 2 through the Department of General Services, Office of Public School Construction, and the Foundation for California Community Colleges.
A total of $72.5 million was distributed towards creating education-to-career pipelines as part of a $250 million investment from the 2021 Budget Act.
Since March 2022, CLPCCD leadership has brought together a diverse group of partners to establish the foundation for collaboration.
A council of co-principal investigators representing California State University East Bay, San Jose State University, San Francisco State University and others will work together to guide the collaborative's vision and work on the implementation of its goals.
“Over the last year and a half our planning focused on increased access and systems that support first-generation college and low-income students to complete baccalaureate degrees and enter high-skill local jobs," said Theresa Fleischer Rowland, vice chancellor for Educational Services and Student Success at CLPCCD in the statement.
Rowland will also serve as the lead principal investigator for the implementation.
"The Bay Area K-16 Collaborative Implementation Grant allows us to build deeper connections with industry, including the expansion of accelerated pathways and work-based learning for students who can benefit the most," she added.
The collaborative operates within the five San Francisco Bay Area counties and includes two University of California campuses, three California State University campuses, seven community college districts, fourteen unified school districts, the Alameda County Office of Education and five nonprofit organizations.
They have noted plans to work with other regional networks in education, engineering, healthcare and biotech to facilitate additional education-to-career pathways. The program will require its collaborators to meet certain criteria, such as partnering with at least one K-12 school district, CSU, UC or CCC campus, and to commit to taking recommendations from the 2021 Recovery with Equity report.
CLPCCD serves the East Bay region with its two campuses, Chabot College in Hayward and Las Positas College in Livermore. The group is run by a seven member board of trustees who oversee partnerships and major organization decisions.
To find out more about the Bay Area K-16 Collaborative, visit their website at https://www.bayareak16.org/.
