Achieve 60 AZ is an alliance of business, community and educational organizations dedicated to making Arizona competitive through education. The group recently met with education leaders and local policymakers to talk about education achievement in the Latino Community. We are joined by Rachel Yanof, executive director for Achieve 60 AZ, and Dr. Maria Harper-Marinick, chancellor for Maricopa Community Colleges.
JOSE CARDENAS: COMING UP ON "HORIZONTE," POLICY MAKERS AND EDUCATION LEADERS TALK ABOUT EDUCATIONAL ISSUES FACING LATINO STUDENTS. WE'LL HEAR ABOUT CHALLENGES AND POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS, AND THE FILIPINO COMMUNITY CELEBRATES FILIPINO AMERICAN HISTORY MONTH IN THE VALLEY, PLUS, IN SOUNDS DE CULTURA ESO ASI A PERFORMANCE FOCUSED ON GRAFFITI CREWS WILLING TO RISK ANYTHING FOR THEIR ART. ALL THAT STRAIGHT AHEAD ON "HORIZONTE."
JOSE CARDENAS: WELCOME TO "HORIZONTE," THANKS FOR JOINING US. I AM JOSE CARDENAS. ACHIEVE 60 AZ IS AN ALLIANCE OF BUSINESS, COMMUNITY AND EDUCATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS DEDICATED TO MAKING ARIZONA COMPETITIVE THROUGH EDUCATION. THE GROUP RECENTLY MET WITH EDUCATION LEADERS AND LOCAL POLICY MAKERS TO TALK ABOUT EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT IN THE LATINO COMMUNITY. JOINING ME TO TALK ABOUT THIS IS RACHEL YANOF, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR ACHIEVE 60 AZ AND DOCTOR MARIA HARPER-MARINICK, CHANCELLOR FOR MARICOPA COMMUNITY COLLEGES. THANK YOU BOTH FOR JOINING US ON HORIZONTE. DR. HARPER-MARINICK, LET ME BEGIN WITH YOU BECAUSE YOU WERE THERE AT THE BEGINNING OF ACHIEVE 60 AZ. WHAT WAS THE ORIGINAL INTENT?
DR. MARIA HARPER-MARINICK: IT’S A GROUP OF LEADERS, BUSINESS AND EDUCATION LEADERS, CAME TOGETHER TO ADRESS THE CHALLENGE WE HAVE AS A STATE THAT NOT ENOUGH OF OUR ADULTS HAVE A COLLEGE DEGREE OR CERTIFICATION. AND AT THE TIME WE WERE LOOKING AT WHAT IS THE NEED IN THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY AND HOW CAN WE WORK TOGETHER, COLLABORATE, TO MAKE SURE THERE IS ENOUGH TALENT READY AND AVAILABLE TO TAKE THE JOBS THAT THE STATE NEEDS. SO THE GROUP CAME TOGETHER AND WE LOOKED AT WHERE ARE WE TODAY AND AT THE TIME THIS IS ABOUT THREE, FOUR YEARS AGO ONLY 35% AT THE TIME OF THE ADULTS IN THE STATE OF ARIZONA HAD A COLLEGE DEGREE.
JOSE CARDENAS: OF SOME KIND. SO WE ARE TALKING ABOUT TWO YEAR OR FOUR YEAR?
DR. MARIA HARPER-MARINICK: A COLLEGE DEGREE. ANY POST-SECONDARY DEGREE. SO IT COULD BE FROM A COMMUNITY COLLEGE OR FROM ONE OF THE UNIVERSITIES. SO 35% AT THE TIME WAS THE STATE.
JOSE CARDENAS: AND ACHIEVE 60, NOT THE ARIZONA PART, BUT THE ACHIEVE 60 THAT IS A NATIONAL INITIATIVE RIGHT? SPONSORED BY THE LUMINA FOUNDATION
DR. MARIA HARPER-MARINICK: WHAT WAS HAPPENING, ABOUT 2010-2011, MANY INSTITUTIONS ACROSS THE NATION INCLUDING PRESIDENT, THEN OBAMA, WERE ISSUING CHALLENGES TO ALL OF THE STATES TO SAY WE NEED TO DO BETTER AS A NATION WE NEED TO HAVE THE COMPLETION OF DEGREES AS A GOAL. THE LUMINA FOUNDATION WAS ONE OF THE FIRST INSTITUTIONS TO SAY WE ARE GOING TO BE FUNDING SOME OF THOSE INITIATIVES AND WE BELIEVE THAT A GOAL THAT IS A LITTLE BIT OF A STRETCH BUT THAT WILL BE ACHIEVABLE AND FEASIBLE WAS TO ASPIRE TO HAVE 60% OF THE ADULTS WITH A DEGREE. COMMUNITY COLLEGE OR UNIVERISITY SO ASSOCIATES DEGREE OR A BACHELORS DEGREE.
JOSE CARDENAS: SO RACHEL, THREE YEARS LATER, HOW ARE WE DOING?
RACHEL YANOF: SO IT’S SINCE EVOLVED SLIGHTLY AND LUMINA FOUNDATION AND OTHER STATES ALSO HAVE INCLUDED CERTIFICATES AS WELL AND SO IF YOU COUNT CERTIFICATES, ASSOCIATES, BACHELORS, PLUS WE’RE NOW OUT 45% POST-SECONDARY ATTAINMENT IN ARIZONA. SO SOME REAL GREAT GROWTH. THE CHALLENGE IS THAT IN THE TIME WE HAVE LEFT WE HAVE TO MAKE A LOT OF GROWTH THAT IS GOING TO TAKE A LOT OF WORK. AND IT’S REALLY TO THE POINT OF THIS CONVERSATION FOR ARIZONA’S ATTAINMENT TO BE MET, FOR OUR GOAL TO BE MET, IT IS ONLY GOING TO HAPPEN IF OUR LATINO POPULATION NOT ONLY ENTERS INTO POST-SECONDARY BUT COMPLETES AT A SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER RATE THAN WE ALREADY ARE.
JOSE CARDENAS: AND WHEN YOU SAY THE TIME WE HAVE LEFT, WE ARE TALKING ABOUT NOW 2025?
RACHEL YANOF: 2030.
JOSE CARDENAS: 2030. OKAY. IS IT GOING TO BE TOUGH TO DO?
RACHEL YANOF: IT’S GOING TO BE TOUGH. IT’S NOT IMPOSSIBLE AND THE PURSUIT IS INCREDIBLY WORTHY BUT IT’S GOING TO TAKE SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF INSITUTIONAL THINKING LIKE WHAT WE HAVE AT OUR COMMUNITY COLLEGES AND AT OUR FOUR-YEAR INSTITUTIONS WHO ARE REALLY THINKING ABOUT SERVING HISPANIC STUDENTS. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN AND HOW DO WE ENSURE THAT ACCESS AND NOT JUST ACCESS TO GET THERE BUT ACCESS TO COMPLETION THE WHOLE WAY THROUGH THE PROGRAM. IT’S REALLY GOING TO REQUIRE SOME SYSTEMS LEVEL OF THINKING AND SOME REALLY CULTURAL COMPETENCE ACROSS ALL LEVELS.
JOSE CARDENAS: DR. HARPER- MARINICK, WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE, UNEMPLOYMENT IS REALLY LOW NOW. PEOPLE SEEM TO BE DOING OKAY. WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE IF THEY HAVE SOME COLLEGE EDUCATION.
DR. MARIA HARPER-MARINICK: WHAT WE KNOW IS THAT SOME OF THE JOBS AVAILABLE, WHERE INDIVIDUALS CAN MAKE A LIVING WAGE AND BASICALLY HELP THEIR FAMILIES LIFT OUT OF POVERTY, WILL REQUIRE SOME POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION. SO IT MAY BE A CERTIFICATE AWARDED BY COMMUNITY COLLEGES OR UNIVERSITIES OR IT CAN BE A DIPLOMA. WE KNOW HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA IS IMPORTANT BUT IT’S NOT SUFFICIENT ANYMORE BECAUSE IT DOESN’T REALLY TRAIN THE STUDENTS AT THE LEVEL THAT IS EXPECTED BY THE EMPLOYERS. WE KNOW THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO. LUMINA FOUNDATION AND OTHERS SAY THAT IF WE KEEP MOVING AT THE RATE THAT WE ARE MOVING TODAY, EVEN THOUGH WE ARE MAKING SOME GOOD PROGRESS, WE WILL NOT REACH THE GOAL BY 2030 OR 2040 OR EVEN 2050. SO WE NEED TO INTENSIFY THE WORK THAT WE ARE DOING IN OUR STATE.
JOSE CARDENAS: SO RACHEL. I’M SORRY GO AHEAD.
RACHEL YANOF: EVEN MORE TO THAT POINT I WAS GOING TO SAY SINCE THE GREAT RECESSION 11.6 MILLION JOBS HAVE BEEN CREATED IN AMERICA. 11.5 MILLION REQUIRE SOME SORT OF POST-SECONDARY TRAINING. SO THE JOBS OF THE FUTURE REQUIRE SOMETHING BEYOND A HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA SO NOTHING WRONG WITH A HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA IT’S THE FIRST STEP BUT FOR THE JOBS OF THE FUTURE IT WILL REQUIRE THAT NEXT STEP WHICH IS WHY WE ARE DOING THIS WORK.
JOSE CARDENAS: SO ACHIEVE 60 ARIZONA IS FOCUSED ON THE ENTIRE POPULATION IN ARIZONA BUT YOU JUST FINISHED A SERIES OF ROUND TABLES WHERE THE THEME WAS “HOW CAN WE GET LATINO KIDS TO GET A COLLEGE EDUCATION?”
RACHEL YANOF: YEAH SO AGAIN, MATHEMATICALLY JUST LOOKING AT OUR POPULATION, 50% OF OUR STUDENTS IN K-12 ARE LATINO SO WE KNOW THAT OUR INCOMING YOUNG PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BE AT LEAST 50% LATINO IF NOT SIGNIFCANTLY MORE DEPENDING ON HOW DEMOGRAPHIC TRENDS GO. SO, THERE’S JUST NO WAY THAT 60% POST-SECONDARY ATTAINMENT HAPPENS WITHOUT REALLY ELEVATING AND MAKING PATHWAYS POSSIBLE FOR LATINO STUDENTS. AND WHAT WE WANTED TO DO WAS NOT JUST SIT IN AN OFFICE IN PHOENIX AND THINK WE KNOW THE ANSWERS. WE WANTED TO HEAR FROM COMMUNITIES IN THE GROUND. SO WE WENT TO YUMA. WE WENT TO TUCSON. WE HAD A ROUND TABLE HERE IN PHOENIX, TO REALLY ASK PEOPLE WHO, THEMSELVES WENT THROUGH THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM OR JUST RECENTLY LEFT THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM. BUT ALSO EMPLOYERS AND OUR UNIVERSITY AND COMMUNITY COLLEGE PARTNERS TO SAY WHAT’S HAPPENING ON THE GROUND THAT IS WORKING AND HOW DO WE TAKE THOSE BEST PRACTICES AND COBBLE THEM TOGETHER INTO SOME SORT OF ACTION PLAN THAT WE CAN GROW AS A WHOLE STATE FROM.
JOSE CARDENAS: SO DO YOU HAVE THE ACTION PLAN YET?
RACHEL YANOF: NOT YET, THAT’S NEXT STEP.
JOSE CARDENAS: OKAY THEN THAT WILL BE THE NEXT INTERVIEW.
RACHEL YANOF: EXACTLY.
JOSE CARDENAS: THANK YOU BOTH FOR JOINING US ON HORIZONTE. WE WILL HAVE YOU BACK TO TALK ABOUT THAT ACTION PLAN.
Rachel Yanof, Executive Director for Achieve 60 AZ and Dr. Maria Harper-Marinick, Chancellor for Maricopa Community Colleges.
