State Policy Teams

• Round I, which began in 2004, included Florida, New Mexico, North Carolina, Texas and Virginia.  In 2009, Florida, North Carolina, Texas and Virginia joined the Developmental Education Initiative to continue their work focused on developmental education.  New Mexico completed the demonstration phase of Achieving the Dream in 2009.
• Round II, which began in 2005, included Connecticut and Ohio.  Those states joined the Developmental Education Initiative in 2009 as well.
• Round III, which began in 2006, included Pennsylvania and Washington.
• Round IV, which began in 2007, included Arkansas, Hawaii, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oklahoma, and South Carolina.

In each participating state, policy change efforts are managed by a lead organization that receives strategic policy support and technical assistance in setting goals, developing a workplan, and implementing a change strategy from Achieving the Dream.  The lead organization can be a state community college system office, a community college/presidents’ association, or another group that provides leadership on community college issues. It receives a multi-year grant to hire a staff person, convene a leadership team, and develop a strategic approach tailored to policy opportunities in its state. 

Achieving the Dream convenes all of the state teams twice per year for interactive meetings that encourage collaboration and idea sharing.  With support and strategic guidance, the state lead organizations have become a powerful cross-state network committed to defining a common state policy agenda and improving their capacity to collect, analyze, and use data to develop policies that can increase success outcomes across their state’s community colleges.