Organization Information
Lead Organization
Lake Tahoe Community College District
Who engaged in this project?
South Tahoe High School, Lake Tahoe Community College, and EdXcelerate
Funding Information
Total Funding Received
$100,700
Type of Funding Received
Accelerator Funds
Student Information
Who were the intended beneficiaries?
Low-Income students, students of color, rural students, and first generation students
How many students were served?
1300 students
Program Information
As Lake Tahoe’s student population grows more diverse, Latinx and first-generation students remain underrepresented in dual enrollment pathways due to lack of access. To close this gap, Lake Tahoe Community College and Lake Tahoe Unified School District expanded their dual enrollment partnership at South Tahoe High School.
Supported by Sacramento K-16 Collaborative’s Accelerator Funds, this initiative strengthens counselor capacity and broadens IGETC-aligned course offerings, ensuring students of color and first-generation students receive the academic guidance they need to complete A–G requirements and build a clear pathway to college success.
How is this project reaching high-priority or underserved student populations?
When limited counselor capacity leaves students without academic guidance, the consequences fall hardest on those who can least afford it — Latinx students, first-generation college-goers, and students of color. To address this, Lake Tahoe Community College and Lake Tahoe Unified School District used Accelerator Funds to pay stipends to high school teachers and college faculty for teaching dual enrollment courses. The result was immediate: new sections of Intermediate Spanish, Introduction to Psychology, General Physics, Baking and Pastry Arts, and Exercise Program Design were added — expanding both CTE and IGETC-aligned offerings and giving more students a real pathway to college credit before graduation.
Did You Accomplish What You Set Out to Do?
One of the biggest barriers to dual enrollment has never been motivation — it’s been paperwork. LTCC invested $30K to bring EdXcelerate to South Tahoe High School, an online platform that creates four-year education plans for every student. But the partnership went further, collaborating with EdXcelerate to build two game-changing features: one that automatically submits students’ CCC Apply applications upon account creation, and another that sends parents a one-click digital signature link for the required Parent Consent Form. What once took weeks of staff follow-up now takes students about 15 minutes. Launched with all 9th graders in August, the platform has already driven a significant increase in applications and enrollments.
Progress towards goals
The impact has been tangible. Enrollment is up, course offerings have grown, and dual enrollment staff now spend less time chasing paperwork and more time providing meaningful one-on-one support to students navigating their college journeys. While counselor adoption of the four-year ed plan feature required additional collaboration and an updated implementation plan in year two, the partnership worked through it together — a reminder that strong dual enrollment programs are built on shared responsibility. For other institutions in the Collaborative, the takeaway is clear: invest in tools that remove barriers, align partners around shared ownership, and trust that when students get the right support, they show up.
Looking Ahead
Lake Tahoe Community College and Lake Tahoe Unified School District’s partnership is proof that when institutions share ownership of student success, the results speak for themselves. With stronger course offerings, a streamlined enrollment process, and more time for meaningful student support, this work is building a dual enrollment model that is equitable by design. Supported by Sacramento K-16 Collaborative’s Accelerator Funds, this initiative is a blueprint for what’s possible when colleges, high schools, and communities invest in removing barriers and meeting students where they are.
As LTCC looks to the future, sustaining teacher and faculty stipends remains a top priority — an investment that has proven to open new course offerings and deepen buy-in among educators on both sides of the partnership. The EdXcelerate platform, too, will need continued support to grow. LTCC is actively exploring future funding opportunities and believes that broader visibility of this work across California could spark new partnerships that help make that possible.
