K-16 Education Collaborative

UC Davis is the UC partner in 3 Regional K-16 Education Collaboratives, taking new steps to invest in our students and serve the state of California

 

The Background

California’s institutions of higher learning have an obligation to keep pace with the state’s workforce demands and with the changing needs of California’s racially diverse population. The Campaign for College Opportunity estimates that “raising college attainment to 60 percent for all by 2030 will generate $133 billion in additional federal and state revenue.”

Investment in communities underrepresented in our higher education system—particularly at our R1 (highest research output) institutions in the University of California will support our ability to create global citizens and solve local-global problems.
 

The Grant Program

One program that is taking up this challenge is California’s Regional Education K-16 Collaboratives Grant Program, which has pledged to distribute a $250M appropriation from the California legislature with the goal of supporting occupational pathways to reduce inequities.

Learn More

UC Davis in Partnership

In 2021, UC Davis partnered with lead agencies in three regions: Redwood Coast (lead agency: Cal Poly Humboldt), North State (lead agency: Shasta College), and Sacramento (lead agency: Los Rios Community College District) to apply for grants under this opportunity. Subsequently, UC Davis was delighted to learn that it is a collaborator in all three regions.

As the northernmost UC, UC Davis will be working across these Northern counties to:

  • Establish streamlined career pathways in healthcare, engineering, and education
  • Address inequities through improvement in college preparation, awareness and readiness
  • Focus on student retention
  • Support inclusive learning environments
  • Address college affordability

Across UC Davis' three K-16 grant awards, UC Davis will be serving 23 of 58 California counties—that is 40% of California counties.

What does this this mean for UC Davis?

Together, the grants represent $54 million in funding to these regions, with funding split among many partners, including K-12 school districts, CSUs, Community Colleges, and UCs. UC Davis received approximately $3M, and is dedicating that funding to projects that might be scaled up, to filling gaps, and to other strategic investments, including:

However, this is a great opportunity for many programs at UC Davis to develop and strengthen relationships in these regions with intersegmental partners. We are engaging with projects that have existing synergies or ongoing plans to build out in this region or with target populations where partnerships add value to their offerings.

The framework of the K-16 Collaboratives is incentivizing us to think inter-segmentally, to focus on equity, and to address accelerated pathways that respond to California’s workforce needs. It’s exciting but also complex and ambiguous. As we proceed, we will want to ensure that we connect with key stakeholders in a community-minded way. 

Staff Support Team
  • Principal Investigator: Renetta G. Tull, Vice Chancellor, Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
  • North State Regional Lead: Laura Cerruti, Chief Impact Officer, Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion 
  • Redwood Coast Regional Leads: Lina Mendez, HSI Director; Charlene Green, Assistant Dean of Admissions, Outreach, and Diversity for the School of Medicine
  • Sacramento Regional Lead: Ebony Lewis, Chief Strategy Officer, Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; Project support: Elaina Lopez, Program Analyst, Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion 
  • Administrative and Grants Management: Robbielyn Tesnado, Chief Administrative Officer, Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; Elvia Mayes, Research Analyst, School of Education
  • Data and finance support: TBD [currently Sunny]
     
UC Davis Advisory Team

Our advisory group meets monthly to ensure that we are meeting the project’s goals and milestones.

View the Current Advisory Group

 

UC Davis Campus Stakeholders - Coffee Chats

All campus stakeholders are invited to a quarterly “coffee chat” (virtual—BYOC!) to hear updates, track progress, and share ideas. Please contact Elaina Lopez to be added to the mailing list for future invitations.

From the December 13, 2021 Coffee Chat:

Coffee Chat Recording

PPT Presentation

Meeting Agenda

 

Making a Collective Impact

Bringing together a group of partners with differing missions but all working on the same goal is complex. UC Davis will be utilizing a Collective Impact framework to enhance its participation in this grant.

Learn more about Collective Impact