Promoting Racial Equity in Credentialing Pathways for Adult Learners of Color

The REACH Collaborative brings together a network of teams from six states, California, Colorado, New York, North Carolina, Texas, and Virginia. Along with coaches, equity champions, and a host of intermediary partners to strengthen credential pathways with the supports and curricular alignment that post-traditional adult learners of color ages 25 through 64 need to re-skill. The coordination of the REACH Collaborative is led by the Education Strategy Group, or ESG, in partnership with the Office of Community College Research and Leadership (OCCRL) at the University of Illinois along with the University of Pittsburgh's School of Education, with generous support from the Lumina Foundation. In collaboration with our learning partner DVP Praxis, the REACH Collaborative helps to build the capacity and tools for equitable system change and improved adult student outcomes, hopefully resulting in a 2% increase in credential attainment across 130+ community colleges through its intentional framework for developing academic pathways for racially minoritized adult learners focused on three main pillars: credential student degree pathways, bundled and sequence supports, and culturally sustaining practices. In this series, we invited our equity champion consultants to talk with us more about culturally sustaining practices and guided pathways.