Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased that you are visiting the Alliance for Regional Collaboration to Heighten Educational Success (ARCHES). It is our intent that this location will become your site to learn, inform others, solve problems, find resources, and develop a community of concerned Californians interested in improving education for all students. The tool proposed to achieve better student outcomes and achievement is the use of regional collaborations -- a strategy that research has shown to be a proven way to change schools and affect student learning positively. We will be utilizing this site to engage you thoroughly in this statewide effort supported by all of the education sectors (K-12 and higher education) in the state.

Existing Regional Collaboratives by County
View our updated map of mature and emerging regional collaboratives.

Mission Statement: Here you will learn about the goals of ARCHES and the way we plan to achieve these goals.

Current News: On this page, you will find the most current information about ARCHES, ENLACE, and literature on regional collaboration.

About Us: This page will let you know about us and our backgrounds in accomplishing positive educational changes.

Affiliates: ARCHES affiliates are those educational institutions, community-based organizations, statewide educational programs, businesses, foundations, etc. that will be collaborating to promote student achievement on a regional basis. This page will present information about the affiliates and provide links to the services that they provide.

Virtual Resource Center (VRC): This center provides a plethora of links to other web sites and materials directly addressing the issue of school improvement and regional collaborations.

Web Forum: Here the community of interested persons will exchange views on a variety of issues related to educational success and to best practices for achieving positive student outcomes through regional collaborations.

ARCHES Means:

Alliance: Harnessing the knowledge, experience, and strength that characterizes each partnership into a statewide network offering the potential to increase substantially the base of expertise and to develop significant synergy in the state.

Regional: The prevailing wisdom is that the state is naturally divided into approximately 30-40 regions that have their own unique set of educational issues that would benefit from a regional approach based upon:

• unique student populations;
• geographic characteristics;
• cultural richness; and,
• leadership relationships

Collaboration: Engaging all stakeholders and joining forces involves:

• the commitment of human and fiscal resources;
• the willingness to set aside institutional or organizational imperatives;
• the patience to learn the culture, language, and idiosyncrasies reflected in all the collaborators; and,
• the trust to be candid in sharing and using data to identify issues and access effectiveness for the benefit of all students.

Heighten Educational Success: The effectiveness of each regional collaborative and ARCHES will be measured in terms of:

• the extent to which student achievement is enhanced; and,
• the opportunity and resources gaps that lead to persistent achievement differentials are closed

ARCHES will encourage regional collaboratives to disaggregate data in developing their action plans in order to focus on the unique needs of their different populations of students.

 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

ARCHES receives Federal Investment in Innovation (i3) Grant for $5 Million over the next 5 Years to support STEM education in 8th grade.  One of 49 proposals chosen nationally out of almost 1,700 submissions.  Please see the attached
 PROPOSAL ABSTRACT and
PROJECT NARRATIVE

ARCHES announces new Executive Director - Rick Miller

Calendar of Upcoming Events

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

ARCHES receives 1.5 Million Dollars from James Irvine Foundation to support the development of six collaboratives to implement Multiple Pathways in their regions

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Summary Reports and Measurable objectives from each of the 9 collaboratives funded in 2006 and 5 collaboratives funded in 2007

Existing Regional Collaboratives by County

View our updated map of mature and emerging regional collaboratives.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

California K-16 Partnerships & Student Success Conference Reports: 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008