REMOVING BARRIERS & CREATING OPPORTUNITY With less than 30% of Colorado high school graduates receiving the education they need to access economic success and mobility, public policy is a critical lever for scaling the promising practices that set students up for success. Colorado Succeeds champions policies that promote equitable access to high-quality education experiences, from early childhood through career. The organization focuses on co-creating policy alongside learners, families, educators, and community and business leaders, and leveraging the business voice to advocate for their successful passage. From there, ensuring these policies are implemented in a meaningful and impactful way is where real, lasting change occurs. One such implementation project impacting thousands of students across the state is the Homegrown Talent Initiative. Launched in 2019 in partnership with the Colorado Education Initiative, the Homegrown Talent Initiative is a statewide effort to develop career-connected learning experiences for K-12 students in rural communities.
To better prepare for life after graduation, schools and communities strategically focus on skill development, career-connected learning experiences, and flexible, relevant opportunities that align to student interests and local industry needs. Through this project, community design teams made up of superintendents, business leaders, educators, students, and community members came together to build unique plans to provide real-world experiences and skill development for their students, based on the strengths and needs of their local communities. What started five years ago as an eight-district, three-year, $4M+ pilot has now, through legislative advocacy that led to the state’s more than $15 million Rural Coaction grants, expanded to a larger network of more than 60 districts committed to co-creating and expanding career- connected learning opportunities for students, and developing a shared vision of the future of education based on the strengths, needs, and aspirations for their unique contexts. The Homegrown Talent Initiative is one of many examples where policy and practice are coming together to ensure all Colorado learners have pathways to success.
37 The Acumen
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