55 by 25 Year One Report

YEAR ONE REPORT

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THE PURPOSE
The future prosperity of Acadiana depends on a fundamental commitment to education as
a top regional priority. To ensure Acadiana is globally competitive, the region requires a
strong and well-educated workforce. No accomplishment will be more critical to our future
as a region.
For many years, the blessings of the oil & gas industry – where one could earn a good
living without a postsecondary degree – created an environment where higher education
was desirable but not essential. As our regional economy evolves, many more of our citizens
will need postsecondary degrees and high-value credentials to equip them for good jobs
and good wages.
“Increasingly, the level of education of a community’s population is becoming
a decisive factor in economic competitiveness. Firms understand the need to
operate in economies that offer a sufficient supply of workers that meet or
exceed their demands. They also know that the lack of an educated
workforce can significantly affect business performance.”
— Garner Economics,
One Acadiana Target Industry Strategy
THE VISION
• An equitable education system that meets the region’s need for talent and offers all
Acadiana residents the chance for a better life through increased educational attainment
THE GOAL
• Increasing the proportion of working-age adults in Acadiana with postsecondary degrees,
certificates, or other high-value credentials to 55% by 2025
This goal will be met by ensuring a strong cradle through career education system, providing
opportunities for the current labor pool to gain new skills, and attracting and retaining
talented people in Acadiana.
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THE DATA
STARTING FROM BEHIND AS A REGION
In terms of the percent of adults (age 25+) with an associate degree or higher:
• Louisiana ranks 48th as a state
• Within Louisiana, Acadiana ranks in the bottom half (5th out of 8) as a region
PERCENT OF ACADIANA ADULTS AGE 25+ WITH A POST
SECONDARY DEGREE*
Based on the current trajectory, we will need to increase attainment by approximately
12 percentage points in order to achieve the “55 by 25” goal.
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THE DASHBOARD
Understanding current educational attainment levels and tracking progress over time is
critical to achieving collective success in improving regional education outcomes. For that
reason, 1A developed an interactive data dashboard to collect and report on the latest
educational attainment data for our region. The dashboard uses data from publicly
available sources like the Louisiana Department of Education and the U.S. Census Bureau.
The dashboard answers five guiding questions with data on 10 key performance indicators.
GUIDING QUESTIONS
KEY INDICATORS
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What is the big
picture of educational
attainment in Acadiana?
• % of adults with an associate degree or higher
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Are Acadiana
students mastering
grade-level content?
• Mastery of 3rd grade English Language Arts
• Mastery of 8th grade math
• Average grade-level mastery by subgroup
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Are Acadiana students
graduating high school
and ready for college?
• High school graduation rates
• ACT scores
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Are Acadiana students
transitioning to college?
• College-going rates
• FAFSA completion rates
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Are Acadiana students
completing college?
• College retention rates
• College graduation rates
Visit the Acadiana Education Dashboard at OneAcadiana.org/Education
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THE SUMMIT
One Acadiana and regional partners launched 55 by 25 at the inaugural 55 by 25 Summit
on January 11, 2019.
More than 100 stakeholders attended the Summit and joined the initiative, including
K-12 school district superintendents, higher education leaders, business leaders,
nonprofit leaders, and other public officials.
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THE PARTNERS
Thank you to the following partners and many other 55 by 25 supporters who we met
with or have engaged on the initiative:
K-12 School Systems
• Acadia Parish Schools
• Evangeline Parish Schools
• Iberia Parish Schools
• Lafayette Parish Schools
• St. Landry Parish Schools
• St. Martin Parish Schools
• St. Mary Parish Schools
• Vermilion Parish Schools
Higher Education Institutions
• UL Lafayette
• LSU Eunice
• South Louisiana Community College
• SOWELA Technical Community College
Businesses
• Abell + Crozier Architects
• Acadiana Computer Systems
• Buck and Johnny’s
• Cabot Corporation
• Cameron, a Schlumberger Company
• CGI
• Chevron
• Lafayette General Health
• The Lemoine Company
• Noble Plastics
• Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center
• SCP Health
• Stuller, Inc.
Dr. Kip Schumacher speaks
at the 55 by 25 Summit.
Other Partners
• Pugh Family Foundation
• Schumacher Family Foundation
• United Way of Acadiana
• United Way of St. Landry-Evangeline
• Local chambers
• Local economic developers
• Local elected officials
• LED FastStart
• Workforce Development Board #40
*List is not comprehensive
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THE MARKETING CAMPAIGN
In April, 1A launched an integrated marketing communications campaign for 55 by 25 with
the goal of increasing awareness of the initiative throughout the region. A series of unified
messages promoting the hashtag #55by25Acadiana, along with a call to “join the movement,”
ran in local print publications, digital billboards, and on 1A’s social media channels.
1,200+ 300+ 11,400+
Website
Visits
Billboard graphic for the 55 by 25 initiative
Newsletter
Subscribers
Impressions Across
Social Media
55 BY 25 IN THE NEWS
• “One Acadiana launches 55 by 25 effort -- 55 percent of adults in the region to
have postsecondary education or certification by 2025”
– The Acadiana Advocate, January 2019
• “Business leaders make case for increasing educational attainment in Acadiana”
– Daily Advertiser, January 2019
• “One Acadiana launches ambitious educational attainment initiative”
– The Current, January 2019
• “55 by 25 initiative launches in Vermilion Parish”
– Vermilion Today, April 2019
• “One Acadiana and UL System announce Compete LA initiative”
– KATC, August 2019
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THE TEAMS
Initial 55 by 25 activities targeted four focus areas:
KINDERGARTEN
READINESS
THIRD GRADE
READING
Promoting the need for high-quality
early care and education; advocating
for increased funding
Supporting K-12 school districts
in improving outcomes on
3rd grade reading
HIGH SCHOOL TO
COLLEGE TRANSITION
CREDENTIAL
COMPLETION
Identifying and addressing barriers
to post-secondary access
Promoting programs and initiatives that
prepare students to enter and succeed
in post-secondary education
Promoting programs and initiatives
that help students and returners
complete credentials
Ensuring the credentials we’re
promoting are aligned with
industry need
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KINDERGARTEN READINESS
The Need: In Louisiana, little more than half of students entering
kindergarten are academically and developmentally ready to succeed.
NEW STATE FUNDING
One of our key policy goals for the 2019 Legislative Session was sufficiently funding early
care and education, and for the first time in 10 years, Louisiana has made a new state
investment in early care and education, with critical new funding for the Child Care Assistance
Program (CCAP) and LA 4 program.
• $11.2 million for CCAP
• $4 million for LA 4
A separate deal will provide $3.6 million in additional funding to CCAP if Harrah’s casino
meets revenue targets.
STUDENTS IMPACTED
Statewide:
• 1,450 new slots in CCAP (birth to age 3)
• 800 new seats in pre-K (age 4)
Acadiana:
• 175 new children in CCAP*
• 166 new children in pre-K*
*Seats were allocated based on the family’s position on the statewide waiting list
SELECT PARTNERS
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THIRD GRADE READING
The Need: Less than half of 3rd graders in Acadiana
have mastered grade-level reading and writing content.
TRANSFORMATION ZONE SCHOOLS
55 by 25 partners have been collaborating on targeted support for early literacy, particularly
within the LPSS Transformation Zone.
Atmos Energy, the Lafayette Public Library, and 1A joined forces for a summer reading kickoff
event at Alice Boucher Elementary School. Volunteers read and provided new books to more
than 200 students in 2nd and 3rd grade. Students toured the Library’s new Bookmobile and
learned about summer reading opportunities.
• 197 books donated
Love Our Schools – a campaign to support public schools in Lafayette, which raised more
than $1.3 million and engaged more than 3,000 volunteers – partnered with the Kiwanis Club
of Lafayette to donate hundreds of books to the J.W. Faulk Elementary School library.
• 765 books donated
SELECT PARTNERS
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HIGH SCHOOL TO COLLEGE TRANSITION
The Need: While 84 percent of Acadiana students graduate high school within
four years, only 50 percent of those graduates enroll in college the first fall after
graduating, trailing the state (57 percent) and national (67 percent) averages.
DUAL ENROLLMENT
Dual enrollment allows students to access college courses and earn college credit while still
in high school. The Community College Research Center found students who completed dual
enrollment courses were 17% more likely to enroll in postsecondary studies after high school.
South Louisiana Community College (SLCC) is a leader in dual enrollment, particularly through
their early college academy and collegiate technical academies.
• Early College Academy (Lafayette Parish)
• 270 students enrolled (2019-20 enrollment)
• St. Landry Parish Collegiate Technical Academy
• 201 students enrolled (launched fall 2019)
• St. Martin Parish Collegiate Technical Academy
• 69 students enrolled (launched fall 2019)
JUMP START SUMMERS
High school students from across Acadiana participated in the Jump Start Summers program.
The participating students earned academic credit, engaged in work-based learning, and
attained industry-based credentials, all while earning a wage during their summer break.
Several 1A investors and members – including CGI, Chevron, The Daily Advertiser,
Fenstermaker, Halliburton, the Opportunity Machine, Stuller, and Waitr – invited the students
to tour their workplace and learn more about their chosen career field.
• More than 250 students from across Acadiana participated
SELECT PARTNERS
SOUTH LOUISIANA COMMUNITY COLLEGE
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CREDENTIAL COMPLETION
The Need: Adults in Acadiana with a bachelor’s degree earn approximately $17,000
more annually (159% more) than adults with a high school diploma or less.
COMPETE LA
Compete LA is a University of Louisiana System initiative to re-engage the 653,000
Louisianans with some college credit but no degree.
1A hosted an event with UL System President Dr. Jim Henderson to help launch Compete LA in
the Acadiana region. In the week following 1A’s event, more than 400 people inquired about
participation in the Compete LA program.
Source: https://www.katc.com/news/covering-louisiana/one-acadiana-and-ul-system-announce-complete-la-initiative
APPRENTICESHIPS
Since January 2019, five apprenticeships have been approved or put into the approval
process in the Acadiana region. These programs provide adults with the opportunity to learn
while they earn a paycheck. Apprenticeships address industry’s need for a highly qualified
workforce while reducing the training costs for individual employers.
Companies / organizations participating:
• Acadian Companies Emergency Medical Technician (EMT)
• Apprenti Louisiana Information technology
• Masters Guild of Acadiana Carpentry
• Oceaneering ROV technician
• Stuller, Inc. Stone setting
SELECT PARTNERS
SOUTH LOUISIANA COMMUNITY COLLEGE
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THE PATH FORWARD
The 55 by 25 initiative is already seeing significant progress, with buy-in across the nineparish
region and growing alignment on collaborative strategies, particularly on supporting
the adult population.
Related partnerships and initiatives we will be pursuing in 2020 include:
• Educate 4 Opportunity - A National Governors Association initiative, in partnership
with Strada Education Network, to engage adults in education and training pathways
aligned with state workforce needs
• Degrees When Due - A postsecondary completion and equity initiative to help
states and colleges increase degree attainment among the “some college, no
degree” population
• Bridging the Talent Gap - An employer and employee engagement campaign to
increase college completion among adults
Through this initiative, 1A will be conducting an employer survey, open from
Jan. 10 - March 10, 2020. Survey information is available at: OneAcadiana.org/Survey
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