See how ECCCO transformed the student experience at Oakland Unified School District.
ConnectEd is excited to offer the Exploring College, Career and Community Options (ECCCO) curriculum to academies, pathways, districts and related organizations. Intended for use in career academies and pathways, the vetted lessons guide high school students through a comprehensive sequence designed to prepare them for both college and career.
ConnectEd will lift ECCCO "off the page" through ConnectEd Studios by adding rich media, student-directed activities, and online interactions with industry professionals and mentors. Along with the National Academy Foundation (NAF), our number one priority is to prepare students for success in both college and career in the 21st century. A key dimension of readiness is the college and career “knowledge” that helps students plan for and successfully navigate postsecondary engagement. ECCCO is specifically designed to address the historic inequities related to accessibility for all students.
Skyline Green Academy sophomore, reflecting on the ECCCO experience
ECCCO curriculum includes:
- College Readiness: ECCCO informs all students about postsecondary education options and prepares them with the skills and knowledge they need to enroll and succeed in college.
- Career Development and Exploration: Each year students participate in a Career Exploration Visit (CEV) to a local business. These visits introduce students to a variety of work settings.
- Internships: ECCCO builds the capacity of academies to develop high quality internships for every student in the academy.
ECCCO was developed by MDRC and Bloom Associates. A recent MDRC study demonstrates that ECCCO significantly improved the capacity of career academies to offer college and career exploration curricula and activities. For example, after two semesters of participation in ECCCO, the percentage of students who visited a four-year campus doubled, and the percentage of students who visited career sites increased by 40 percentage points. These are substantially higher rates than students who were enrolled in the same academies before ECCCO was implemented.
In collaboration with NAF, we plan to make ECCCO available for academic year 2013-14 for teachers who undergo a brief training. If you are interested in learning more about ECCCO or would like to get on the waiting list for training, please contact us at: eccco@connectedstudios.org.