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please e-mail info@linkedlearning.org.

The Linked Learning Alliance applauded the UC Office of the President (UCOP) for approving the Linked Learning Alliance's (LLA) application for program status, a move that will help the growing number of Linked Learning pathways provide high-quality curriculum that integrates Career Technical Education (CTE) with rigorous college preparatory academics.

Gaining "program status" allows a program or organization to submit directly to UC for approval of a standardized curriculum that is taught in several high schools. As a result, more students will complete an a-g sequence and CTE sequence, confirming skill proficiency and 4-year college eligibility.   read full press release >>

Linked Learning Certification was launched for field-wide use in January 2017 to provide the field with a clear standard of excellence, with shared standards, requirements, and definitions. The certification process allows districts, schools, and pathways to measure progress along a continuum of quality practices and student outcomes.   Since the launch, nearly 200 pathways have registered to participate in the certification process, including pathways in California, Massachusetts, Illinois, Michigan, Texas, Kansas, and Saskatchewan, Canada.

Hear from a Linked Learning district utilizing Certification:

"Our Linked Learning Pathway Coordinators have found the certification tool to be extremely beneficial in sharing progress with pathway teacher teams, site administrators and district administrators. The tool is easy to use and provides the structures needed to find gaps and challenges in pathways in order to develop actionable plans for improvement. As a district administrator, the benefit of having the ability to review all the pathways and sites evidence and progress in one easy to use location, assists in decision making for the most appropriate and effective professional learning."  -- Grady Lane, Manager, Career Pathways, Fresno Unified School District

Read this recent blog post featured by P21 about Linked Learning Certification.

If you would like learn more, check out Linked Learning Certification or e-mail info@linkedlearning.org. 

Capacity building support provider, Pivot Learning,  gives insight on how Linked Learning Analytics impacts their work.

Pivot Learning has launched Beyond High School Initiative, with flagship partnerships in Oceanside Unified, Monterey Peninsula Unified, and Bonsall Unified School Districts. This innovative partnership between Pivot Learning, the Linked Learning Alliance, and a cadre of secondary school redesign experts, is designed to help the districts rethink everything about their schools through the lens of developing Linked Learning pathways for all their students.

Linked Learning Analytics will provide the districts with vital student-level data measurement and analysis tools, to measure the goals and impact of these redesigned pathways on student outcomes in order to facilitate smarter decision making.

"We are very excited about our Beyond High School work and its potential to transform experiences and outcomes for students. Linked Learning Analytics is a key lever in understanding our impact to develop proof points for using Linked Learning as a strategy for rethinking high school," said Laura Flaxman, Ed.L.D., Pivot's Director of Strategic Projects and Innovation.

For more information, check out Linked Learning Analytics or e-mail info@linkedlearning.org.

Graduating high school seniors enrolled in Linked Learning pathways that have reached Candidate level or above in Linked Learning Certification in Linked Learning Certification are eligible to apply for a Linked Learning Scholarship.

The Linked Learning Alliance is looking for Linked Learning students who are graduating from a pathway and can demonstrate academic ability and achievement, participation in work-based learning activities or internships, persistence, leadership, and financial need. This scholarship program will award up to five students a $1,000 one-time scholarship to help cover educational expenses. Questions? Please e-mail info@linkedlearning.org.

Scholarship Application | Flyer | Website

Deadline to submit an application is:  Wednesday, May 3, 2017

New reports from SRI International provide more evidence that high quality Linked Learning is effective in improving student outcomes.

Access & Equity in Linked Learning

This brief describes the successes and challenges school districts have experienced in fostering access and equity in Linked Learning pathways, examining five groups of students frequently underserved by traditional schools. Findings are drawn from an SRI Education evaluation in nine California school districts over seven years. The report also includes information on promising strategies enacted by the districts today.  View full report here.

Taking Stock of the California Linked Learning District Initiative Year 7

The multiyear evaluation of this large initiative has a two fold purpose: to document the work and distill lessons from districts that are applying Linked Learning systemically and to measure the effect of this comprehensive implementation on student outcomes. This report provides final lessons learned from the experiences of the initiative districts; their successes and challenges with Linked Learning systems implementation over the past seven years; and their plans for expanding and sustaining Linked Learning while maintaining pathway quality and fidelity to the Linked Learning approach.  View full report here.

What It Takes to Create Linked Learning

Full realization of the Linked Learning approach requires the support of a coherent set of school district human resource and student enrollment policies as well as infrastructure for work based learning placements. Leaders in the nine demonstration districts identified the key district-specific implementation strategies below as crucial to establishing and sustaining Linked Learning.  View full report here.

View other Linked Learning Reports and Research here.

Linked Learning is on the radar of newly confirmed  U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. In a speech to the National Association of State Boards of Education in Washington, D.C., she applauded California for advancing this approach:  

read the full text of her remarks >>

California College Promise Innovation Grant Program

The California Community Colleges Board of Governors has approved the selection of 14 community colleges districts to participate in the California College Promise Innovation Grant Program, which provides financial support to implement or expand College Promise partnerships. The grant program was established by AB 1741 (Rodriguez and O'Donnell), which was signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown in September. read more >>

Social-Emotional Assessment Design Challenge

The CORE Districts has issued a design challenge for new, state-of-the-art assessments of social-emotional skills with a goal of identifying next generation assessments that support effective instruction and positive student development.

Contact Lindsay Read, Manager of Research, CASEL, lread@casel.org, with questions about the Call for Submissions or the submission process. Proposal narrative and assessment prototype are due April 20, 2017.  learn more >>

Try Teacher Advisor with Watson

IBM has invited Linked Learning educators to try Teacher Advisor with Watson, a free tool designed to offer easy to find, high-quality content. The first 50 teachers who give us feedback will receive a $50 Amazon gift card. learn more >>

Student Cover Contest for the CTE Conference

The CTE Conference committee is seeking art work entries from middle and high school students for their conference program. The winning design will be featured on the program cover. The winning student and their teacher, will be recognized in the program and at the conference. The second and third place winners, and their teachers, will also be recognized at the conference. learn more >>