Linking High School and College: What’s next for dual enrollment in California?

Michal Kurlaender is Professor of Education Policy at the University of California, Davis. Her research focuses on students’ educational pathways, in particular K-12 and postsecondary alignment, and access to and success in college. Kurlaender works closely with all of California’s public K-12 and higher education sectors. She serves as a co-director of PACE (Policy Analysis for California Education), and Lead Researcher at Wheelhouse: The Center for Community College Leadership and Research at UC Davis.

Darin Brawley has been with the Compton Unified School District since 2012. He has led the turnaround in student performance in the Compton School District which has seen both test scores and graduation rates increase.

Brawley received his doctorate in Educational Leadership at the University of Southern California. He has a Master of Arts in Educational Leadership from California State University, San Bernardino, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Redlands.

He has served as a superintendent for the past eight years. His experience in education includes serving as a high school teacher, middle school assistant principal, elementary principal, middle school principal, director of human resources, executive director of human resources, deputy superintendent of student learning, and superintendent.

Prior to his appointment as superintendent in Compton, Brawley served as a superintendent in the Adelanto Elementary School District for three years. In addition to this, he served as deputy superintendent of student learning for three years prior to his role as a superintendent.

Brawley has been instrumental in exiting several schools from program improvement. Under his leadership two schools have been awarded National Blue Ribbon status. Several schools have received Title I Performing Schools recognition, as well as California Distinguished School Awards. He is committed to continuous improvement in relation to the core mission of education.

Leslie Hsu Freeman is the Manager of Dual Enrollment for the Oakland Unified School District’s High School Linked Learning Office. She began her position in Fall 2015, building the District’s first-ever Dual Enrollment program, supporting over 6,000 Oakland students with gaining access to free college courses while in high school. Leslie received her EdM at Harvard University and her BA at UC Berkeley.

Fatima Ghatala is the Dual Enrollment Specialist in Oakland Unified School District, whose DE program services 15 high schools, over 40 courses, and more than a thousand students each semester. She’s a graduate of UC Davis School of Education and a credentialed high school teacher since 2004.