CCC Chancellor Sonya Christian to deliver keynote at

Central Valley Dual Enrollment Convening Feb. 3 in Fresno

Agenda includes pre-conference session for schools new to dual enrollment

Dr. Sonya Christian, chancellor of the California Community Colleges, will keynote the “Dual Enrollment in the Central Valley” Convening set for Feb. 3 in Fresno, when more than 100 secondary and postsecondary educators will address challenges and barriers to dual enrollment success that can pave the way for high school students statewide leading to a degree or certificate.

Presented by the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium and its Central Valley Dual Enrollment for Equity and Prosperity (CVDEEP) Task Force, the convening will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel.

Registration is free, with breakfast and lunch included, at https://bit.ly/CVHECDualEnrollConvene-REGISTERweb.

Dr. Benjamín Durán, CVHEC executive director, announced this week that Chancellor Christian, a former member of the CVHEC board of directors, will discuss the CCC dual enrollment commitment that is part of CCC’s “Vision 2030 – A Roadmap for California Community Colleges” plan and how the Central Valley is an active leader statewide.

According to the CCC DataVista website, the Central Valley has reported the highest share of community college students simultaneously enrolled in K-12 schools of any region in the state.

“Dual enrollment is a game changer in bringing college to first-generation students whose parents did not have the opportunity to pursue higher education,” said Chancellor Christian.

“Central Valley colleges have shown tremendous momentum in expanding dual enrollment pathways,” she continued. “The work led by The Central Valley Higher Education Consortium in collaborating, facilitating, and realizing dual enrollment is truly a gold star standard for the rest of the country. This area is leading the state in the number of students earning college credit while still in high school. Their phenomenal effort ensures equity in access, a key pillar in the work we are doing with our Vision 2030 plan.”

The daylong session will feature two panels and two interactive breakout sessions concluding with recommendation summaries. A student panel will provide first-hand testimony about dual enrollment successes and barriers. (CVHEC plans to release the full agenda Jan. 22).

Also new this year will be a pre-conference session, “Dual Enrollment Primer,” from 9-10 a.m. that will provide information for high schools and colleges new to dual enrollment, which is a strategy that allows secondary school students to earn college credits during high school. In some cases, students are able to actually complete associate degrees before their high school graduation.

Durán noted that CVHEC’s dual enrollment convening is unique because it features intersegmental collaboration at a regional level. It will be highly interactive and will engage audience members with panel presenters from valley colleges and high schools, including practitioners, and topped with student success stories, he added.

“CVHEC’s dual enrollment convenings help ensure that the outcomes from the ongoing dialogue between community colleges and their K-12 partners in the Valley will continue,” said Durán who will welcome the educators in the opening session.

“The convening also continues the CVDEEP Task Force’s advocacy efforts to institutionalize dual enrollment as a strategy that blurs the lines between high school and community college for those students who can benefit from taking college courses and get a leg up on their quest for a college degree or certificate.”

But Durán said the highlight of the event will be Chancellor Christian “who is a dual enrollment trailblazer in her own right leading initiatives that are part of the Central Valley’s highly successful dual enrollment landscape when she was with KCCD from 2013 to 2022.”

Dr. Christian served on the CVHEC Board of Directors — made up of sitting CEOs of higher education institutions in the valley’s 10-county region — when she was president of consortium member Bakersfield College from 2013 to 2021 and when she was chancellor of member Kern Community College District from 2021 to 2022 before assuming the CCC top spot.

With her appointment by the CCC Board of Trustees Feb. 20, 2022, Dr. Christian made history as the first woman and first Asian-American — as well as a first-generation college graduate — named chancellor of the state’s community college system.

The chancellor will discuss the “Vision 2030” dual enrollment strategy which calls for the preparation of high school students to choose a workforce pathway earlier in their academic journey so they see themselves as college scholars. Its “ninth grade strategy” works toward a future in which all California high school students enroll in community college transfer, career or apprenticeship pathways and complete high school with at least 12 units of dual enrollment credit.

“This dual enrollment opportunity must be available to all high school students and particularly tailored to those who have historically not been provided these opportunities,” the plan states. “In so doing, California’s youth will receive a self-development and career-exploration opportunity that will increase their interest in and understanding of college and career. As high school students engage in tailored dual enrollment programs, they will learn how to develop a college education plan, how to access financial aid and other support programs and explore possible careers for their futures.”

Chancellor Christian said early exposure to college and career is particularly important for historically underrepresented students and will equip colleges to utilize dual enrollment as a tool to close equity gaps, something she said is evident in the valley’s 10-county region.

Among the CVHEC initiatives are the Master’s Upskilling Program that provides a path for high school English and math teachers to earn a master’s degree required to teach community college dual enrollment courses at their respective schools (this was one of the outcomes of CVHEC’s first two dual enrollment convenings), and the Math Bridge Program with College Bridge.

Event information: Angel Ramirez, CVHEC finance and operations manager, at centralvalleyhec@gmail.com.

CVHEC media inquiries about the convening: Tom Uribes via text 559.348.3278 or cvheccommunications@mail.fresnostate.edu

CCC media inquiries (Vision 2030): Melissa Villarin at 916.327.5365 or mvillarin@cccco.edu.

Check for updates and follow-up at the CVDEEP Convening event website.

See press release full version online: https://cvhec.org/dual-enrollment-convening-2025-keynote-speaker-ccc-chancellor-christian/
and https://bit.ly/CVHEC-DualEnrollConv25

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BACKGROUND

This is the third convening of the Central Valley Dual Enrollment for Equity and Prosperity (CVDEEP) Task Force since it was formed by the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium following legislation in 2016 when a new dual enrollment option was introduced through Assembly Bill (AB) 288, amending Education Code (EC) 76004, and creating the College and Career Access Pathways (CCAP). This legislation enabled more high school students to take college courses taught by college professors on their high school campuses. California AB 30, signed by Governor Newsom in October 2019, expands and protects dual enrollment through 2027.

Planting the seeds for what has eventually led to CVHEC’s slogan, “The Central Valley Way,” the CVDEEP Task Force was formed with about 60 community college and K-12 educational leaders who deliver dual enrollment services valley-wide. CVHEC brought them together after community college leaders approached the consortium to provide assistance surrounding dual enrollment in 2019.

In June 2020, CVHEC released a 16-page report, “Dual Enrollment in the Central Valley, Working Toward a Unified Approach for Equity and Prosperity,” a blueprint to strengthen dual enrollment delivery in the Central Valley; and for the 2022 convening, the consortium produced a dual enrollment video, “Blurring the Lines Between High School and College: Dual Enrollment in the Central Valley,” that underscores the CVDEEP drive by featuring the success stories of several area students whose voices put the task force educators’ endeavor in perspective.

CVHEC Video: ‘Blurring the Lines Between High School and College: Dual Enrollment in the Central Valley’ CVHEC report, “Dual Enrollment in the Central Valley, Working Toward a Unified Approach for Equity and Prosperity” and press release.

CVHEC Website Feature: Dual Enrollment Page

Dual Enrollment Convening: Face-To-Face Space for K-12 and Higher Ed

‘Dual Enrollment Upskilling Teachers Master’s Program’ Advances Equity

CVHEC Teacher Upskilling Program for Master’s Degrees Supports Dual Enrollment in South Valley via Kern K-16 Collaborative Grant

North Valley Masters Upskilling Program begins recruiting — info sessions set

CVHEC Partners With College Bridge in Grant Supporting DE Courses from Six Rural Community Colleges at 21 Service Area High School

The CVHEC blog by former CVHEC Strategies Lead Virginia Madrid Salazar, Esq., providing a parents perspective on dual enrollment.