As more careers require a college degree, we are ensuring students not only get to college but complete college ready to enter the workforce
Most well-paying jobs in today’s economy require some level of education beyond high school. Yet only 22% of El Paso 8th graders graduate college. As a result, El Paso’s high school graduates forgo a collective $8 billion in lifetime earnings by not completing a post-secondary degree or certificate.
CREEED was launched ten years ago because many of El Paso’s students were not getting the quality of education and guidance they needed to succeed. Much of CREEED’s first decade focused on primary and secondary education, ensuring that students are ready for college by the time they graduate high school. We partnered with all the public school districts in the region, including public charter schools, to identify and support what worked in the classroom and ensure all students had access to a high-quality education.
As we enter our second decade, we are building on our success. Specifically, we are:
Expanding successful programs. From educator development initiatives like the UTEP Miner Teacher Residency Program to supporting curricular innovations like Algebra in Middle School (“AIM High”), CREEED has invested in programs that move the needle. Now it’s time to scale up them so they can benefit more students and educators.
Continuing to innovate. Soon, parents will have even greater access to information about public schools in the region. We will also increase our efforts that help build a strong pipeline of future teachers and expand the knowledge and skills of existing teachers.
Quantifying our progress. We have partnered with El Paso research institutions to produce tools that will help the entire El Paso community understand how our schools are doing on key education indicators such as school enrollment, state exams, and high school and college graduation rates. Since launching our 60×30 El Paso report, CREEED has continually collected, analyzed, and presented data to help parents and the community understand not only if their child will be ready for college by the time of their graduation from high school but whether through their preparation, they will succeed in college.
So …
Introducing a new area of focus! This year, we are pleased to announce an additional focus area: College Completion & Career Readiness.
It’s not enough to help students get to college, we must also support them in obtaining their degrees and ensuring that those degrees help them land a meaningful career.
We will launch targeted scholarships and work with our institutions of higher education to identify where the gaps are and create solutions to address those gaps. We’ll work with local educational leaders to implement HB-8, a new state law that redirects state funds to better align community college curricula with in-demand regional jobs, encouraging a working partnership among school districts, the community college, and employers.
CREEED’s mission is to ensure students in our region can prosper by means of educational attainment. We will continue our work to attract and keep the best teachers; assure that parents know their high quality school choices; and that students receive a high-quality education. With a community-wide commitment to improving the educational and economic landscape of El Paso, together we will ensure a brighter future for our children and economic prosperity for our region.