Central Texas’ strategic plan to build the strongest educational pipeline in the country

1. Central Texas’ strategic plan to build the strongest educational pipeline in the country

2. History of the Blueprint • Based on 2 years of research and thousands of hours of engaging the community, led by the • Brought together 150 business CEO’s, college presidents, community and education leaders to set priority goals • Developed an unprecedented, comprehensive strategic plan • Includes priority goals, indicators and targets, partners, and action strategies going forward

3. Goal 1: Children Enter Kindergarten School Ready • Why? • 1 in 3 Central Texas Children are born to mothers without a HS diploma • Parents have limited access to high quality care: Areas with high concentrations of poverty lack accredited childcare centers • Children enter Kindergarten every year not knowing a single color or letter and never having held a single book or crayon • Current Goal 1 Efforts: • Created the first student School Readiness Standard in the history of the state • Expanding early childhood services through Success by Six • Developed local ECE services matrix and family checklists/guides • Take Action! • Work with your childcare provider to become state or federally accredited • Help distribute Born Learning materials to families • Promote early childhood and Pre-K legislation and funding

4. Goal 2: Central Texas Eliminates Achievement Gaps While Improving Overall Student Performance • Why? • Outcome gaps between groups are almost 40 percentage points by 8th grade • Highest needs schools have twice as many teachers not qualified • Current Goal 2 Efforts: • Para Una Buena Vida campaign linking education to economic prosperity • Regional English Language Learners Taskforce • Outreach campaign to attract hundreds of middle school coaches/mentors • Programs to identify and promote research-based practices to increase student achievement • Take Action! • Volunteer to be a middle school coach or mentor • Promote PUBV messaging to schools, churches, and families • Hire a student for the summer- provide opportunities to succeed

5. Goal 3: Students Graduate College-and-Career Ready and Prepared for a Lifetime of Learning • Why? • About 80% of our high school students are counted as on-time graduates, but another ~20% are lost in the system and never tracked to completion • Just over 40% of Central Texas seniors are academically “college ready” • 43% of those who go to college get any degree within 6 years • Current Goal 3 Efforts: • New college credit opportunities for high schoolers in areas like engineering; expanding higher ed transition opportunities • Expansion of college and career readiness standards and assessments • Austin College Access Network of collaborative providers • Take Action! • Join a school’s Career & Tech Ed Advisory Council • Help to disseminate career readiness standards • Volunteer for Countdown to College to help at-risk students transition into college

6. Goal 4: Central Texas, as a Community, Prepares Children to Succeed • What does it mean for not just our teachers and schools to be accountable, but our community to be accountable for every student? • Take Action! • Join the Speaker’s Bureau to spread the word on the Blueprint www.TheBlueprintforEducationalChange.org