Thoughts on "Readiness"

I see things differently than I used to. It gives me hope that others can too. Although I have seen poverty as a central issue for most of my adult life, I have definitely evolved in how I approach the issue. As I have pushed my team toward a more poverty informed approach (and pushed myself personally), one of the paradigm shifts we have wrestled with is the idea of who is "ready" for college. It's an issue that resonates across the country and a quick Google search will give you plenty to think about. I've come to believe that a poverty informed approach, at an open-admission institution like mine, means readiness is signified by the act of entering our doors and telling us you want to go to school. Let me tell you how I got there and why.

My career in higher education started in 2002, and I was a K-12 teacher before that. I came into K-12 right as No Child Left Behind (NCLB) was at its peak. NCLB was flawed to say the least, but I've always loved the K-12 ethos of finding a path to success for the student in front of you. We often fell short, but I heard a lot less talk about readiness in that world. When I transitioned to the college, I was surprised to hear a lot about assessment and placement testing (but the kind that only placed you in remedial work), and even though it felt odd, I started to internalize the idea you had to be "ready" for college. Occasionally, I'd question it at a meeting, saying it seemed odd to assume we knew what "ready" meant. I'd say it implied we had figured out exactly how college should work, and that seemed improbable. I'd like to say people found me compelling and the world started to shift, but mostly they would look at me like I was from another planet. Eventually, this led to me deciding they must be right, and I must be wrong. Maybe someone from K-12 just didn't get it? Nowadays, I would argue K-12 is way ahead of us on this, but I didn't feel that way back then. I felt like an uninformed outsider.

Deciding we "knew" what it was to be "ready" led to a part of my career I'm not very proud of in hindsight. I recall staff meetings discussing students who were struggling and saying things like "s/he just needs to get some things straightened away, before it is time for school" and other such sentiments. The problem was, we rarely knew exactly how or where they would straighten these things out. We would talk about them needing to "get more stable", when reality was coming to school was seeking stability. Reality was the wages you could earn without post-secondary training were never going to stabilize you. We had invented a imaginary world where students could go fix themselves, and then return to this thing called college when they were ready. It seems like lunacy to me now but listen at your campus, and I'll bet conversations like that occur often. It's in the DNA.

My personal shift started in about 2010, when we started to have discussions about "the profile of the successful student" in preparing for a Title III grant application. The idea was we could identify the behaviors of these students and then teach and encourage other students to emulate them. It was well intended, but it sat wrong with me immediately. I knew enough about poverty to know the successful student wasn't generally in poverty. I also knew enough about our success rates with other marginalized groups and was terrified we would use the "successful student" approach to assume

those groups had deficits and struggled for that reason. So, I started to say the same thing in every planning meeting "Let's prepare the college for the students, not the other way around." I felt pretty brilliant, although later I realized I had "discovered" that idea, about as much as Columbus "discovered" America. People much smarter than me had been talking about the same concept for some time, and it led to great work like the book pictured here "Becoming a Student Ready College." I wish I'd written it, but I certainly didn't. However, I did help shift our grant to the idea that we would research who are students actually were, and then invest in developing our faculty to help them more effectively. We weren't talking about poverty directly yet, but we had put the onus back on the institution, instead of the student. It was an important moment. But our real seismic shift occurred a little over a year ago, when we started to look at our flawed assessment and placement structure. After much debate, there came a clear directive from our leadership to open the doors much wider to students, and then identify the supports they need for success. The work continues today. We started with academic support, but quickly realized what many of us knew instinctively. We didn't lose students due to intelligence or grit, we lost them to life circumstances. Or as I've become fond of saying, "Our students aren't broken, they're broke..." The transformation to being truly poverty-informed will be key to fulfilling our promise.

So, at the end of the day, I have no idea what "ready" means for college. Of course, there are some obvious outliers, but there is so much room in the middle, I'm not sure I care to work on readiness anymore. Like the author's above, I believe our best future is a student ready college that unleashes potential that has gone untapped too long. I believe a campus that takes poverty on in a concerted and focused way could change the world. It's not just good for the individuals we serve (although it certainly is a good thing). My community has a workforce shortage, and so do many others. A technical college that addresses poverty barriers directly and effectively will create a workforce from a population that has been left out of the sunlight of opportunity. That is good for everyone. To do this, we must once and for all, let go of the concept of "readiness." The difference between success and failure is so small and fragile. I'll leave you with a recent story from a student. She was describing her journey from addiction, homelessness, and poverty, to a future at school. She talked about feeling defeated when one staff member implied someone with her background might need to wait to be ready for school, and she talked about how she could have left that day, but another staff member gave her hope and a bag to keep her things in. She shared even now, her success is fragile. She told me a story of forgetting her ID one day, which also serves as a bus pass. She shared she didn't know how she would have gotten home that day, and how she felt hopeless and like school was futile. But she also shared the administrator in that poverty informed department saw her and asked if she was okay, and when she said she didn't know how she was getting home, he found $5 in petty cash and got her on the bus. He didn't know she told a friend later, that for the first time in a year, she had thoughts of giving up and walking to a drug house near campus, and five dollars' worth of kindness eliminated those thoughts. What if we'd told her she needed to go away and fix herself? What would the lost potential of a person be? So, we will be poverty informed and student ready. We must, it's not optional.

Principles and Plans

Our college has a lot of people who are interested in a tool called StrengthsFinder (apparently now called CliftonStrengths by Gallup per Google). I'm never sure about prepackaged tools with "science" behind them that is obscured by being proprietary, but the Strengths work is interesting. My top five strengths put me solidly in a quadrant known as "strategic", which has always been hard for me to reconcile. I'm a very strategic thinker, but things like strategic planning and plans tend to make me a little bit sleepy. I've always described myself as more interested in principles than plans. Maybe it's a distinction without a difference, but not to me. Principles guide decision making when choices have to be made, and I think repeated decision-making based on principles that are internalized (a long obedience), leads to cultural change and as Peter Drucker said, "Culture eats strategy for breakfast." I'm not downplaying the importance of strategic planning, I'm simply trying to say you should know your principles first. Here are a few of ours.

A first principle of Poverty Informed Practice is to embrace a mindset which allows us to stand in awe of our students who face the impacts of poverty daily and choose college anyway. This one comes directly from one of our guiding lights, Dr. Donna Beegle. (Dr. Beegle's website) She's great on social media and today she shared the following on Facebook, "I had a dream the people in the community would come together to stand in awe of their neighbors who live in the crisis of poverty. I dreamed they would treat them with dignity and respect..." She just described what we want to do perfectly. So many of us are so well intended, but I would argue we still fall down trying to "fix" people, or make them behave the way we do. If we get to a place where we genuinely stand in awe of what our students had to do just to be in front of us on a daily basis, everything starts to change. I know this. I'm experiencing this. One of the core principles of our college's strategic plan (see it all fits), is an idea called First Choice Service. Poverty Informed Practice is a form of first choice service that acknowledges the audacious courage it takes to pursue education when even your basic needs are tenuous.

Another core principle of what we are trying to do in Poverty Informed Practice is a commitment to reducing barriers for students, so they may use their education to change their economic reality. This principle informs our guiding mantra, Every Barrier That Can Be Removed, Should Be Removed. It also puts the onus where it should be for a student ready college. A focus on removing barriers assigns responsibility to us and not the students to "pull themselves up by their bootstraps" or some other worn out cliche. Preparing the college for the students (vs the opposite) has always seemed like a no-brainer to me, but I may be naive on that front. There is a lot of judgment around individuals in poverty, and they often internalize it. Our vision of being poverty informed means we accept Dr. Beegle's directive to fight poverty, not the people living in it. There is probably an entire article or two to be written about how much people struggle with foregoing judgement, but for today, let's leave it at a core principle of removing barriers is key.

Another principle in our little movement is borrowed from my heroes at

Team Western in DC

Amarillo College. Poverty Informed Practice is an intentional choice to love the students we have, not the students we wish we had. I've written about the power of loving students before (read more here). I am seeing this take hold on our campus in real time. If you have read things I've written earlier, you have heard endless tales of staff connecting to students' stories and finding ways to help them move forward. These are acts of love, and they start to change the culture. My college has always been a very nice place filled with kind people, but this principle and our movement are helping us harness the power of the thing that unites us all, our caring for students. One of the most moving examples of turning to our students for wisdom is happening right now. We have a team in Washington DC telling our story to legislators, and for the second consecutive year, our Legislative Affairs Director made the choice to include a student living in the crisis of poverty. Our student government president made the trip as well, and our student government found the funds to support the students' travel. I've included a photo of the crew, which includes Board Members, Western staff, and the aforementioned students. The photo is a microcosm of the principles I've shared today. We stand in awe of the strength and wisdom of our students. We did what was needed to remove their barriers to participation. And we took the time to get to know them and their stories, because love for students means being partners in their dreams.

I firmly believe people are drawn to clear purpose and passion. Knowing the principles you rest on will give clarity and will attract interest. I've spent much of my career being "reasonable" and went about as far as reasonable could. Last week, I had two younger colleagues ask me to meet them after work, and they asked me a question I've heard several times in the last twelve months, "Chad, what changed?" At first, the question would bother me a little, because I believe what I've always believed, but I understand now. I think what changed is my commitment to principles. The clarity in what I'm trying to do, has eclipsed any need to be "reasonable" and settle for half-measures. I was always afraid if I went to that place, I would lose people, and I probably have. But I say without a doubt, that a steadfast commitment to principles has attracted more energy and enthusiasm than ever before. I can also say without doubt that we have made more progress in twelve months than we had in twelve years prior. We will not go backwards, we cannot allow it, and I hope others will join us.

More From Andrea

For those of you who read these articles regularly (and thank you for that), you probably remember the remarkable Andrea. I've linked her video in case you want to watch again. She has a powerful and compelling #RealCollege story. I knew Andrea fairly well when we did our interview, but I've gotten to know her much better since then. And I was thrilled when she came back to me and wanted to say more. I'm the (very amateur) video editor and while Andrea said she liked the video and article, she also said there were things she wished she'd said or maybe I had edited out. So, she wrote a letter... an amazing letter. And I've included it word for word below.

Dear Mr. Dull,

After our video interview, I wanted to personally thank you. What a privilege it is to have you interested in my story. I appreciate your time and the fact you truly care for all the students. Your intuitive desire for the success of students really has impacted me.

Western Technical College is a place where supporting the success of students is number one! I clung to my education, not understanding why or knowing that it would impact mine and my children's future so greatly. As I mentioned in the video, I was homeless, worn down, and tired of the circle of mess I created. The welcome I received from the counselors and staff gave me encouragement to believe in myself, educationally.

“Name dropping” and giving recognition to each staff member, teacher, goal receptionist, and counselor is very important to me; however, there are too many names to list in this letter! I have all the confidence in saying that each staff member at Western Technical College has the compassion and the desire to support all students in a way I have never seen before; in a way that separates Western from any other community college.

Project Proven was part of the reason why I walked into the college rather than going back to my old ways. That educational foothold was the beginning of my climb out of despair. The Project Proven teacher gave me the tools to study rather than doing what some choose to do in jail like sitting around and playing cards and glorifying the poor decisions that led them there in the first place. The classroom had a library of books that were engaging and reading them was an awesome way to rebuild the reading and fundamental skills that may have been lost through my old lifestyle. Acknowledging God's presence, Bible studying, and working on my education by doing homework, completing study materials, and reading as many books as I could is what supported me through my jail experience.

The Western 5.09 High School Equivalency Diploma program gave me tools to advance in my education. The structure of the classroom time allowed me to obtain time management skills and to be dependable. Studying for the civics exam inspired me to me become involved and to seek knowledge of current events. In the required transitional class, I gained the most knowledge and now I have confidence in myself. I have developed a career portfolio and am prepared for interviewing. Problem solving and goal setting have changed my outlook on life and now I have the skills to succeed.

My financial situation would have hindered me in furthering my education; however, the scholarship foundation has allowed me to continue climbing the ladder of success. Western provides bus passes for all students as well as a pantry with food and personal hygiene products. My life struggles do not need to be faced alone. Personally, for myself, I pray, and God guides me who to seek out for help and when to wait on His timing. No matter the difficulty or the struggle, there are resources and people who care. I have learned that ultimately, the first step starts with me. It is impossible to be helped or to change if you are not willing to do so or to speak up.

Before knowing my identity in Christ, I had no sense of belonging or hope. I was saved, but was searching and trying to do what I thought Christians did. I know now, Christ died for me, for each one of us. So, we do not have to live in guilt and sorrow. I am forgiven; I am not an addict, a bad mother, or any other false tag I or society tries to stamp on as a label. I choose to label myself as Christian, a mother, and a Western student.

In closing, words cannot express the impact that Western has made on my life. I am grateful every moment, knowing my future is not my past. Western has allowed me to have a better outlook and perspective on the fact that I am already successful. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Andrea

Andrea and Mandy

Isn't she something? You see what we mean when we say our students teach us every day. One of my goals in writing regularly about our poverty informed evolution is to give voice to people who might have been overlooked otherwise. Andrea is someone whose voice needs to be heard, and I'm pleased to say others have recognized that as well. Our Senior Leadership Team and District Board invited Andrea (along with my associate dean Mandy) to Washington DC next week to be part of our lobbying efforts. That's them in the photo in case you didn't guess:). Western is bringing someone who tells a #RealCollege story that needs to be heard. I wish I could go too (my coaching responsibilities preclude it), but as our movement grows, it's great to see students like Andrea lead it.