Award Diplomas That Open Doors

Not every high school diploma in California carries equal value. A-G requirements for college admission leave many high school graduates ineligible for the state’s public 4-year universities. Join our network of 35 school districts facing that reality with proven strategies to increase successful college enrollment.

I’m in.

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Clear A-G Course Sequences

Develop equitable and effective course placement practices, student advocacy, and middle-to-high school transitions.

On Track Monitoring Systems

Incorporate progress monitoring, track formative and summative measures, and evaluate student and family experience.

Professional Learning Practices

Create the infrastructure for department-wide and cross-grade PLCs, sharing and using data to offer coaching.

Practices in Grading, Intervention, and Instruction

Support practitioner-led testing of grading practices and the collaborative design of interventions, in and out of the classroom.

Why It Matters

High school diplomas don’t guarantee college access. Nearly half of California students who receive a high school diploma were disqualified from California 4-year colleges and universities before they ever got to 10th grade.

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percent of California’s high school graduates are not eligible for California’s 4-year colleges or universities.

Bar chart showing the percentage of California's high school graduates who are not eligible for California's 4-year colleges or universities: All students = 46%, Latino = 54%, SED students = 55%, African American students = 57%

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percent of students earn a C or better in Algebra I/Math I (a requirement for A-G eligibility).

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percent of students who are off track in math at the end of 9th grade meet A-G requirements at graduation.

What We Offer

The problem is hiding in plain sight. The most effective solution is right behind it: equitable and effective 8th and 9th grade interventions. We give districts what they need to reimagine and rebuild systems that make college accessible for each and every graduate.

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Customized Coaching

Guidance so tailored to your schools, we’ll feel like an extension of your district.

African American woman speaking to peers at a conference

Multidisciplinary Improvement Teams

Capacity building that grows by earning trust and buy-in.

Cohort Collaboration

Shared inspiration and learning from colleagues with similar challenges.

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Data Analysis & Iteration

Real time insights that inform strategic, proactive, and effective pivots.

In order to have systems change, you need to have every aspect of the system involved in that change. That's something California Ed Partners really understands uniquely. The people who are behind it have run school districts, so they know what it takes to move a system.

PK Diffenbaugh

Superintendent, Monterey Peninsula Unified

One of the hardest jobs of a high school principal is staying focused on instruction, and the collaborative is a really good opportunity to get away from the site and work with district partners and partners outside that will push you on what we are supposed to be doing this whole time, which is helping students learn.

Matt Chambers

Principal, John Burroughs High School

Our Impact:

Districts Where Students Can Get – And Stay – On Track

Our strategies are built for school districts. Their outcomes don’t just benefit one class or school – they improve the entire system.

Tell me more.

Our Reach

We work with incredible school districts serving hundreds of thousands of students. It’s likely we’ve worked with a district a lot like yours, especially if your schools are rural with majority minority populations.

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districts

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326

students served

Map of the 35 California school districts participating in California Education Partner's network

Student Outcomes

The students in our network have achieved decreased rates of D&F grades in 8th and 9th grade math and English. Socioeconomically disadvantaged (SED) and Latinx students have achieved the largest grade improvements, closing existing equity gaps.

Decrease In D-F Rates From 17-18 To 22-23

It allowed me to thrive in math without feeling like I'm doing this wrong.

Ava T.

Student, John Burroughs High School

It's more fun. It's a different way to learn. You have more freedom.

Grigor N.

Student, Burbank High School

Participant Experience

Educators participating in our programs get to better practice autonomy and nurture the connections that fuel their joy of teaching.

It's different because now we just want them to learn.

Armine Minasyan

Math Teacher, Burbank High School

It was really neat; every professional learning community got to choose what mattered to them and what they thought their focus should be.

Scott Okada

Teacher, Sanger High School

If they fall off path, now there are multiple ways and multiple entry points that they can get back into learning. That mindset of perseverance and optimism—that growth mindset—has been phenomenal to see in the classroom.

Chris Maldonado

Math Teacher, Justin Garza High School

Case Study:

9th Grade Math Grading, Intervention & Instruction Practices

Network teachers and administrators collaborated to reimagine and realign their practices with their students' best interests.

33 of 35 districts focused on 9th grade math as the biggest opportunity In 2017-18, 9th grade D&F rates were 24.3% for all students, 29.7% for Latinx students, and 28.8% for SED students

Opportunity

Existing grading & instructional policies did not accurately measure progress. Homework, no retake policies, and a lack of classroom interventions failed to incentivize learning.

Insight

Teachers and administrators realized that homework encouraged students to use apps to get quick answers or copy one another’s work rather than reinforce learning, starting a conversation about how to improve assessments for all students.

Intervention

Professional learning communities volunteered to test and report on different practices: retakes, grade replacements, in-class test reviews, modified grading, no homework, feedback instead of numerical grades, and using data within grading periods to support classroom teachers.

When The District Changed, Student Grades Followed

Interventions resulted in better student understanding, collaboration, and confidence. Together, these outcomes gave students what they needed to earn better grades.

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4.1

percentage point decrease in 9th grade math D&F rate for all students

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6.4

percentage point decrease in 9th grade math D&F rate for SED students

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4.3

percentage point decrease in 9th grade math D&F rate for Latinx students

In 18 years of teaching, this one practice change has probably had the biggest effect I've ever seen in my teaching. Kids started to buy into the learning aspect of mathematics.

Jon Foster

Teacher, Sanger Unified High School

I thought I was just going to go through the motions. But I had Mr. Maldonado, and he cares a lot about how we do. He's willing to help us out as much as he can as long as we're trying to learn.

Caleb A.

Student, Justin Garza High School

The instructional practices they have changed are more powerful than the interventions they have provided after hours.

Patricia McCurley

Principal, El Captian Middle School

Start The Conversation.

Complete this form, and we’ll contact you to discuss how your district can support greater student confidence, competence, and college enrollment.

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