Build Momentum Rural Innovation Series ft Jessica Morrison
Empower Schools supports the Southwest Colorado Education Collaborative as it builds regional partnerships and expands college and career opportunities for students across rural Southwest Colorado.
In this Story
How the Southwest Colorado Education Collaborative coordinates partnerships among school districts, higher education institutions, and employers
How rural communities can share resources to expand specialized college and career pathways
What leaders should know about funding, measuring outcomes, and sustaining a Rural Collaborative
How Empower Schools has supported the Collaborative’s development
From Build Momentum | Sarah Williamson, Chad Bolser | Published Mar 24, 2024
In this episode of Build Momentum, we are Sarah and Chad are joined by Jessica Morrison, the Executive Director of Southwest Colorado Education Collaborative, one of the partners in the newly established Career Launch Southwest initiative, which serves as a vital link between employers and the workforce of the future. She was previously the Director of Career and College Counseling at Animas High School in Durango for six years. In June 2021, the school won the Individual Career and Academic Plan (ICAP) Award from the Colorado Department of Education for its Sophomore Inspire Week program.
“I want all of your listeners to understand that these pieces take time—this is not for a school district that is faint of heart. I've worked in K-12 institutions as well as on the federal government side, and I know how important data is. What are the numbers? How many students are earning industry credentials? But laying the groundwork takes years, so it's looking at all of the different components to then determine what are the steps that need to be put in place along the way.”
In this Episode You’ll Learn
The Southwest Colorado Education Collaborative’s structure and services
Building partnerships across school districts, higher education institutions, and employers
Challenges and successes in higher education partnerships
Funding a regional collaborative
Credentials and outcomes for students
Advice for leaders beginning regional workforce-development partnerships
Sharing results and elevating rural education stories
How Empower Schools supports the Collaborative
During the conversation, Morrison describes Empower Schools as a technical support partner involved from the Collaborative’s beginning and “integral to this work.”
She explains that Empower Schools helped lead the search for the Collaborative’s founding executive director and supported the organization as it established its nonprofit structure and developed a cooperative approach to governance.
As an Empowered Partnership, Empower Schools has also supported the Collaborative with cross-district agreements, shared planning, resources, feedback, and the coordination required to keep multiple partners focused on a regional vision.
Morrison notes that Empower’s approach recognizes that every rural community is different. Empower provides behind-the-scenes support while local leaders determine what their students, schools, and communities need.
Why this work takes time
Rural Collaboratives bring together organizations with different priorities, resources, and operating structures. Developing shared courses and career pathways can require new agreements related to funding, staffing, transportation, equipment, student enrollment, and data.
Building those systems takes time, but communities can make progress along the way by strengthening student preparation, developing employer partnerships, and creating initial work-based learning opportunities.
The Southwest Colorado Education Collaborative demonstrates how sustained regional coordination can expand what is possible for students while keeping rural leaders at the center of decision-making.
Learn more
Read Helping Students in Rural Colorado Explore Different Career Pathways for another conversation with Jessica Morrison about the opportunities available to students through the Collaborative.
Explore Elevating Rural Colorado to learn how regional partnerships are expanding education and economic opportunity across the state.
Use Colorado Rural Collaboratives: Catalyzing Career Pathways with Regional Intermediaries to explore practical lessons about building, governing, funding, and sustaining regional college and career pathways.
