County Office Supports

California is making historic investments intended to improve outcomes for young people and prepare the workforce of the future. These include the Golden State Pathways Program (GSPP), the California Secondary Redesign Program, and investments in dual enrollment, work-based learning, direct admissions, and more. While these investments emerged through different policy conversations, they share a common aspiration: creating more coherent, engaging, community-connected, and future-oriented systems of opportunity for students.

County offices of education are being asked to play a critical leadership role in this work. Beyond administering programs or supporting compliance, county offices are helping districts navigate major investments, strengthen implementation quality, organize learning across sites, and translate broad policy goals into meaningful and coherent local practice. The challenge is to push beyond simply launching new initiatives. It’s about helping communities advance siloed initiatives and funding streams strategically, while building more fully integrated approaches to improvement over time.

High-Quality Pathways: Gold Standards, Quality Reviews, and Continuous Improvement

The Golden State Pathways Program identified the Linked Learning Gold Certification Standards as a benchmark for high-quality pathway implementation. The Alliance has a long history of supporting pathway quality and continuous improvement through peer review and coaching aligned to these standards. In partnership with county offices, we convene regional learning communities where pathway leaders prepare for Gold Certification reviews, learn from one another, and use review findings to drive continuous improvement.

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Community Schools + Linked Learning Secondary School Redesign

As communities seek to redesign secondary schools, there is significant value in bringing together the planning approaches of community schools and the structures and practices of Linked Learning. In collaboration with trutsed partners, the Alliance engages educators, families, students, and community partners in building on these approaches to co-design coherent systems of opportunity that integrate student supports, academic learning, career preparation, postsecondary opportunity, and community partnership.

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Dual Enrollment Alignment Across Pathways and Systems

Dual enrollment is a critical component of the accelerated learning that takes place in high-quality pathways, yet course selection and program design are not always informed by a deep understanding of the competencies students are developing or the value courses provide as students transition into postsecondary studies and careers. The Alliance convenes regional learning communities that bring together K–12 educators, postsecondary faculty, and workforce partners to strengthen alignment among pathways, dual enrollment, college programs, and future careers.

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Understanding the Student Experience and Driving Continuous Improvement

Measures such as attendance, course completion, fulfillment of A-G requirements, and graduation rates provide important information, but they tell only part of the story. As California continues investing in pathway-centered secondary school redesign, communities also need meaningful ways to understand and support belonging, engagement, future readiness, and other outcomes that matter to students and families. The Alliance combines common measures of student experience, narrative-based inquiry, and structured sense-making processes to help educators better understand the drivers of quality so that their improvement efforts yield real student results.

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