This fall, CARA’s College Inquiry team has made several trips to Washington state to work with the Gates Foundation’s Horizons partners. From Vancouver and the Olympic Peninsula to South King County and Walla Walla, we’ve been working closely with schools and community organizations to expand postsecondary access for first-generation students in these rural areas.

The varied college access projects being undertaken by the regions meant our work looked very different in each. In Vancouver and Walla Walla, we trained newly hired staff to take on college access roles in rural areas of the state, working across both large and small high schools. In South King County and the Olympic peninsula, we worked with existing staff to help layer in increased postsecondary access support; our goals are also to connect directly with schools to help them rethink their structures.

Ultimately, we think these two kinds of work will intersect over the course of the year. Across all four regions, we see a need for both staff training, and building of school infrastructure to better support postsecondary access for first-gen students. Throughout, we are learning about the similarities and differences in postsecondary access needs of students, and about school and state structures that help or impede access.

We’re grateful for opportunities where we can exchange knowledge and best practices and adapt our work to local contexts – this is what makes CARA’s approach so impactful.