Florida CAN congratulates the five Florida regions chosen to participate in Lumina Foundation’s 75-city community-based attainment network: Orlando, Jacksonville, Southwest Florida, Tampa, and Miami. Combined, these regions represent just under 40 percent of Florida’s population.
The Community Partnership for Attainment initiative is designed to help communities and regions dramatically increase the number of local residents with postsecondary credentials. Lumina’s focus on community-based attainment is due to its recognition that such networks are well-suited to play a role in the planning, coordination and implementation of efforts necessary to create impact at the local, state and national levels.
The Florida networks participating in the Lumina initiative are:
- Central Florida College Access Network, which serves the greater Orlando metro region including Orange, Osceola, and Seminole counties (backbone organization: Heart of Florida United Way). http://www.hfuw.org/College_Access_Network.php
- EarnUP!, an initiative of the Northeast Florida College Access Network, which serves the six-county Jacksonville metro area including Duval, St. Johns, Nassau, Baker, Putnam and Clay counties (backbone organization: JAXUSA Partnership). http://www.earnup.org/
- FutureMakers Coalition of Southwest Florida, serving the five-county region of Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Glades, and Hendry counties (backbone organization: Southwest Florida Community Foundation). http://floridacommunity.com/futuremakers-coalition-forms/
- Hillsborough College Access Network, serving Tampa and Hillsborough County (backbone organization: Community Foundation of Tampa Bay). http://www.cftampabay.org/
- One Community One Goal, serving Miami-Dade County (backbone organization: The Beacon Council). http://www.onecommunityonegoal.com/
Communities participating in the Lumina initiative work closely with the foundation and national thought leaders to develop a customized action plan focused on reaching attainment goals to increase the percentage of high-quality credentials held by community residents. The collaborative effort connects participating cities with technical and planning assistance, data tools, flexible funding, and the ability to customize attainment plans that will best suit each community’s needs and the well-being of its residents. Florida CAN also provides technical assistance and support to the Florida initiatives participating in the Lumina program as well as to other local college access networks throughout the state.
The overall effort connects to Goal 2025, Lumina’s national goal—and Florida CAN’s goal for the state—to increase the percentage of Americans with high-quality degrees, certificates, and other credentials to 60 percent by the year 2025. Progress toward the goal will be measured by credentials earned after high school, including certificates, associate degrees and bachelor’s degrees held by local residents. The regions selected will work with Lumina through 2016 to expand and deepen the work they have demonstrated in advancing postsecondary attainment agendas.
Florida CAN will report on the ambitious and exciting goals and achievements of these and other local college access networks in the months to come. We congratulate the Florida networks chosen to participate in the Lumina partnership and thank them for their commitment to dramatically increase postsecondary attainment for students in their communities.