Interfaith America's 2023 Landscape Analysis explores the purpose, range of desired outcomes, promising models, challenges, and opportunities of bridgebuilding efforts across U.S. higher education. This article articulates the importance of bridgebuilding for the sector and summarizes key findings from the Landscape Analysis. It highlights…

Partnerships between communities and institutions of higher education have become central ways in which post-secondary students and faculty members interact with teachers and students in community environments. These partnerships can be challenging to develop, however, particularly given the numerous and shifting priorities of both schools and…

Collective impact (CI) initiatives provide a promising collaborative community-based approach for addressing health disparities, but they are challenging to evaluate. This paper provides a detailed strategy for addressing these challenges through a case study, with the goal of not only of evaluating the CI, but also putting organizations in a…

In this brief, JFF (Jobs for the Future) explores what training providers can do to adapt their programming in ways that put the country on a path to an equitable economic recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors conducted research to examine what education and training providers can do to design programs that emphasize equity and…

Finding the best way for students to learn and achieve success is of utmost importance to the State of Illinois and the nation as a whole. College and career success is critical to the national and state economy. Career and technical education (CTE) has been central to this call for greater college completion, and the credentials that CTE provides…

The Global Writes (GW) model is a well-designed performing arts integrated literacy program that builds local and global support among students, teachers, and arts partners through the use of innovative technologies. Through local partnerships between schools and arts organizations forged by GW, classroom teachers and local teaching artists build…

The second annual implementation report for the Accelerating Opportunity (AO) initiative in four states finds that: (1) colleges aligned pathways and supports with local needs; (2) students were satisfied with AO; (3) AO instructors grew more adept at team teaching; (4) colleges struggled to recruit adult education students; (5) states and…

Collaborative processes by nature are not neat and tidy; and if mismanaged, they can lead to chaos rather than creative productivity. However, when a museum and a group of teachers establish a respectful peer community that maximizes all the members talents, truly impactful teaching and learning result. This article analyzes the "Great…

In late 1999, philanthropist Susie Buffett wanted to make the smartest possible investment to improve public education in her hometown of Omaha, Nebraska. She and her then-foundation president, Dan Pedersen, spoke with Superintendent John Mackiel regarding how he would choose to use private funds to enhance opportunities for Omaha's 46,000…

This paper examines how Head Start and state pre-kindergarten programs can work together to better serve young children and their families. It focuses on two of the several models of early childhood education, acknowledging that these programs are just one piece of a fully integrated system of early care and education for children from birth until…

The Illinois Community College Board provided more than $3.3 million to community colleges during fiscal year 2009 to support local workforce and economic development services through their Business and Industry Centers. The workforce development activities conducted under this grant include customized job training on campus or on-site at a…

The Illinois Community College Board provided more than $3.3 million to community colleges during fiscal year 2008 to provide workforce and economic development services through their Business and Industry Centers. The workforce development activities conducted under this grant include customized job training on campus or on-site at a business;…

Chicago Public Schools, in partnership with the greater Chicago community, is implementing the largest-scale community school initiative in the nation. The establishment of Local School Councils (LSCs) and the creation of small schools, charter schools, and other alternative educational settings have propelled Chicago into the national spotlight.…

A study examined basic skills programs at 21 Illinois companies. Most of the top managers interviewed recognized the basic skills training needs of their work forces; however, only 14 of the companies actually offered workplace basic skills programs. Three major motivating factors were identified as catalysts for beginning a program: a drive for…

Dual credit programs were first established in the 1970s, gradually gaining popularity in the 1980s, and expanding enormously through the 1990s. These programs are designed to allow high school students to begin college-level coursework and simultaneously earn high school and college credit. While the original intent was to provide more…