Early Postsecondary Opportunities & Pathways: Staffing & Scheduling for High School
Updated August 2024. Original guide launched July 2021.
Districts across the country are implementing unique pathways that respond to the needs of their students and communities. Research shows that investing in early postsecondary opportunities can promote students’ current and future success, and many districts are realizing the positive impact of providing meaningful and relevant college and career opportunities.
Our downloadable guide explains how district leaders can successfully expand quality postsecondary opportunities and support students’ success.
What Are the Benefits of Investing in Early Postsecondary Opportunities?
Schools that have dedicated time, resources, and capacity toward developing relevant postsecondary experiences in K-12 have proven to:
- Increase GPAs and on-time high school graduation rates.
- Increase enrollment in a postsecondary institution immediately after graduation.
- Increase persistence between a student’s first and second year of postsecondary education.
- Increase postsecondary completion rates.
- Expand networks of support for students—which can be especially important for students from low-income backgrounds.
How to Accelerate Early Postsecondary Opportunities in Your District
To expand early postsecondary opportunities successfully, district leaders can focus their strategies and investments across these key areas:
- Defining early postsecondary opportunities.
- Designing the schedules and modes of instruction for postsecondary instruction.
- Supporting students to and through postsecondary opportunities.
Our strategy guide, “Defining, Designing & Supporting Early Postsecondary Opportunities,” helps district leaders who are looking to build or assess postsecondary offerings identify “Do Now” investments to get programs off the ground—and do so in an intentional, strategic, sustainable manner.
Download Our Guide on Expanded Postsecondary Opportunities to:
- Learn about the key areas for a holistic and sustainable investment in quality postsecondary opportunities.
- Identify ways to strategically invest for greater access and success—and how to avoid common investment pitfalls.
- Discover how to continuously improve your approach to early postsecondary opportunities so that they’re effective and sustainable in the long term.
- Discover how four schools and districts around the country have created strategic schedules and staffing models—that you can implement, too!
- Access models for leveraging online instruction for expanding postsecondary opportunities at scale.
Additional Resources to Support Expanding Postsecondary Opportunities
Preparing Lubbock ISD Students for Postsecondary Success
In this video interview, Lubbock ISD leaders Rick Rodriguez and Misty Rieber discuss how the district is approaching College, Career, and Military Readiness to better support the needs of its students and the community.
Toolkit: Multi-Tiered Supports Through Early Warning Systems
9th grade success is crucial to ensuring all students are appropriately prepared for rigorous college and career experiences. District leaders across the country are implementing a growing practice called Early Warning Systems (EWS) that can predict which high school students need additional supports toward graduation and ensure they have what they need for postsecondary success. Find our toolkit and additional resources on providing multi-tiered supports through EWS. Learn more.
Toolkit: Building Strong Relationships Through Advisory & Lower Teacher Loads
Students are returning to school with unprecedented social and emotional needs due to pandemic-related disruptions. District leaders can improve student outcomes by investing in key components of their advisory approach and strategically scheduling and staffing to lighten teacher loads. Explore our toolkit and additional resources to help you build stronger relationships in your high schools. Learn more.