A Regional Vision Takes Root
Across California, too many students face barriers that make the path from high school to college and career unclear. Gaps between K-12, higher education, and workforce systems leave students, especially first-generation, low-income, and students of color, without the seamless support they need to succeed. These challenges contribute to inequities in college access, degree completion, and career opportunities, limiting the region’s ability to fully realize its economic and social potential.
The Sacramento K-16 Collaborative was launched in 2022 to address these systemic challenges. Funded through California’s Regional K-16 Education Collaboratives Grant Program, an ambitious statewide initiative designed to transform education and workforce systems through stronger regional alignment, the Collaborative was one of the first to receive support under this $250 million program. With an $18.1 million award, it began a five-year effort to strengthen college and career pathways across the Capital Region.
This work began with a shared vision: to create a more seamless, equitable, and effective system that connects education to employment. Before the Collaborative, many talented and well-intentioned educators, institutions, and community partners were working hard to support students, but their efforts were often fragmented and lacked regional alignment. Leaders from across K-12, higher education, workforce, and community-based organizations came together to change that reality. By uniting around a common goal, they began building stronger, more connected pathways to college and career for students across Colusa, El Dorado, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo, and Yuba counties…
Built for Collaboration and Equity
From the start, the Sacramento K-16 Collaborative was intentionally designed to reflect the diversity and strengths of the region. At the heart of our structure are two powerful leadership bodies:
- The Executive Committee, composed of policy and education leaders, sets the vision and direction of the Collaborative, ensuring alignment across K-12, higher education, workforce, and community partners.
- The Steering Committee, composed of funding and implementation leaders, drives resource allocation and operational strategy, ensuring that investments are equitable and effective.
Together, these committees provide the governance and accountability needed to advance systems change at scale. They are supported by Capitol Impact (backbone organization), Los Rios Community College District (fiscal agent), and Third Plateau (strategy partner).
With this strong leadership model, the Collaborative is advancing educational equity and economic mobility across the Capital Region, with a focus on students of color, low-income, first-generation, rural, and adult learners.
Cross-Sector Workgroups Drive Innovation
In our early years, we established six cross-sector workgroups focused on key leverage points: data sharing, dual enrollment, transfer pathways, career pathways, and priority student populations. These groups were created to align with statewide guidance while also addressing the unique needs of our region, ensuring that our strategies were both locally relevant and responsive to broader policy priorities. The workgroups quickly became engines for innovation and co-design, surfacing challenges, aligning policy and practice, and piloting solutions that can be scaled region-wide.
Local Investment, Regional Impact
Looking Ahead
Today, the Sacramento K-16 Collaborative continues to evolve as a model for regional collaboration. It is grounded in equity, driven by data, and focused on long-term, systemic impact. While much work remains, our foundation is strong. Our collective commitment to building a more connected, inclusive, and opportunity-rich future for all students remains unwavering.
Built for Collaboration and Equity
From the start, the Sacramento K-16 Collaborative was intentionally designed to reflect the diversity and strengths of the region. At the heart of our structure are two powerful leadership bodies:
- The Executive Committee, composed of policy and education leaders, sets the vision and direction of the Collaborative, ensuring alignment across K-12, higher education, workforce, and community partners.
- The Steering Committee, composed of funding and implementation leaders, drives resource allocation and operational strategy, ensuring that investments are equitable and effective.
Together, these committees provide the governance and accountability needed to advance systems change at scale. They are supported by Capitol Impact (backbone organization), Los Rios Community College District (fiscal agent), and Third Plateau (strategy partner).
With this strong leadership model, the Collaborative is advancing educational equity and economic mobility across the Capital Region, with a focus on students of color, low-income, first-generation, rural, and adult learners.
Cross-Sector Workgroups Drive Innovation
In our early years, we established six cross-sector workgroups focused on key leverage points: data sharing, dual enrollment, transfer pathways, career pathways, and priority student populations. These groups were created to align with statewide guidance while also addressing the unique needs of our region, ensuring that our strategies were both locally relevant and responsive to broader policy priorities. The workgroups quickly became engines for innovation and co-design, surfacing challenges, aligning policy and practice, and piloting solutions that can be scaled region-wide.
Local Investment, Regional Impact
Since 2022, we’ve directed the majority of our funding straight to our partner institutions and community-based groups, ensuring that resources stay in the region and support those closest to the work. In fact, over 67% of our total grant funding has been awarded directly to our partners and workgroup-led initiatives. This approach recognizes that regional leaders are best positioned to identify gaps and design solutions that meet the needs of their students and communities.
To date, we have invested in more than 30 projects — from community college comeback campaigns and paid internship pilots to dual enrollment expansion and career pathway development in healthcare, engineering, and computing. At the same time, we’ve cultivated a growing network of partners committed to working across institutional boundaries to better serve students and create long-term systems change.