College and K-12 Faculty Strengthen Collaboration for Central Valley Students

More than two dozen educators from kindergarten through college converged at UC Merced to discuss the challenges they're facing and the opportunities ahead.

The Oct. 21 event, hosted by the Center for Educational Partnerships, featured Lupita Cortez Alcalá, the newly appointed executive director of Policy Analysis for California Education. PACE is an independent, nonpartisan research center housed at Stanford University and co-led by faculty directors at the University of Southern California and University of California campuses at Davis, Los Angeles and Berkeley.

"Our superpower is connecting research, policy and practice," Alcalá said. "We provide evidence-based recommendations."

Essentially, she said, the role of PACE is to work with educators to identify issues, find solutions and suggest actions. She also shared an overview of California's TK-12 and higher education policies and budget for 2025-26.

"We want to hear from you - what key issues are impacting the K-16 education system?" Alcalá said. "What are the most pressing challenges and promising opportunities in education today and what actions can be taken to address them?"

Attendees, who came from districts spanning Stanislaus to Kern counties, shared issues that include funding uncertainty, lack of data sharing among systems and a dearth of students completing college-preparatory A-G courses in high school.

"It would really help if we could close the A-G achievement gap," said Christiane Spitzmüller, vice provost for academic affairs and strategy at UC Merced.

Ben Duran, executive director of the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium (CVHEC) and former president of Merced College, pointed out that 40 percent of students drop out of school when they can't pass college-level English and math courses.

"We need programs that happen locally where high schools and community colleges deliver math and English courses so students come to college with those gateway courses out of the way," he said.

Duran also said there are efforts already underway to strengthen partnerships between the different levels of educational systems. Earlier in the day, he attended a State of Education event at UC Merced featuring superintendents of Merced County school districts.

"We are blurring the lines between high schools, community college and university," he said.

That kind of collaboration is vital, said Orquídea Largo, associate vice chancellor of CEP and chief outreach officer at UC Merced.

"We need for our faculty to understand the needs of the communities that they intend to research," Largo said. "CEP is prepared to serve as a liaison for our faculty and the communities we serve to strengthen relationships between researchers and K-12 practitioners."

Jorge Aguilar, superintendent of the Wonderful College Prep Academy in Delano and Lost Hills, agreed.

"We somehow have to formalize an incentive structure for K-12 practitioners to feel more comfortable and lean into this idea that your work can benefit students more if you work with researchers."

Sandra Fuentes, dean of early college at Reedley College, said her institution is interested in taking part in research that identifies best practices.

Alcalá said the region is uniquely positioned to address some of these issues.

"What's great about the Central Valley is you know each other," she said. "You can act a little faster and quicker."

UC Merced, with its large first-generation student population, is well-positioned to lead change for the entire educational community.

"We tell people all the time we think UC Merced is the most exciting place in higher education in North America," Spitzmüller said. "Students come with ambition and grit, but many have not had the same opportunities other students have had."

Alcalá said she would return in January to share an update on the next proposed state budget and its impact on higher education.

A follow-up summit is planned in the spring, Largo said.

"We are hoping to bring researchers, faculty and K-12 practitioners together so they show how an effective post-secondary research and K-12 practitioner relationship can form."