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.
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
A Collective Effort Across the UC Davis campus
UC Davis is coordinating with a broad range of stakeholders across the UC Davis Campus. We regularly engage with our advisory teams and the wider UC Davis community. Please see the links below to learn more about our team and to watch videos from past forums.
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:
- Outreach, Recruitment, and Admission (including SAYS in Sacramento)
- “Avenue” Pathways in Engineering, Medicine and Biological Sciences;
- Marchand Public Engagement Initiative
- UC Davis HSI Initiative (Avanza)
- The School of Education
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.