Reimagining College and Career Readiness: A STUDENT-CENTERED SUPPORT MODEL FOR K-12 DISTRICTS AND SCHOOLS
Chantelle George Consulting works with NCAN to reimagine college and career readiness through the lens of underrepresented students.
The Client
The National College Access Network (NCAN) is dedicated to improving the quality and quantity of support that underrepresented students receive to apply to, enter, and succeed in postsecondary education. NCAN member organizations touch the lives of more than 2 million students and families each year and span a broad range of the education, nonprofit, government, and civic sectors. NCAN provides members with professional development, networking, benchmarking, tools, and news from the field so they can deliver college access and success services more effectively and to more students. NCAN also advocates at the national level for policies to improve access and success for all students.
Opportunity College : Context + Needs
NCAN aspires to create a student support model that centers on what students see, hear, and experience about college and career readiness before high school graduation. The model envisioned would describe students' experiences in being advised, measure their outcomes, and then draw a correlative or causal association between the two.
Chantelle George Consulting Insights + Approach
Through a qualitative research design, Chantelle George Consulting first completed a national and regional landscape analysis that included the current promising practices regarding advising, specifically advising that included student voice. Secondly, the CGC team completed a series of interviews and used a survey instrument that examined students’ experiences, sentiments, and feelings related to postsecondary advising; curricula for shifting said experiences; and case studies about districts and schools that have connected students’ experiences and outcomes.
Organizational Impact
Chantelle George Consulting supported NCAN by recommending strategies that supported a model built on the student experience. This model will eventually advance the goal of dramatically improving student outcomes and working toward a future in which race, ethnicity, and income are not predictors of college and career success.
“Working with CGC was a very positive, thoughtful experience. Being able to collaborate and think our way through a complicated topic (incorporating student voice into advising) and unclear work product was a real asset. CGC’s results continue to shape our thinking about how we can use this work to benefit the college access field.” ”
