In Pomona Unified School District (PUSD), the question wasn’t whether students were capable of succeeding in college, it was whether they ever had the opportunity to imagine themselves there. Addressing that gap required more than expanding access to individual programs. It required redesigning how high schools and universities worked together so students could begin their college journey before graduating.

Data from Pomona USD and Cal Poly Pomona (CPP) revealed a clear pattern: students who entered college with earned college credits were significantly more likely to persist beyond their first year. Yet many students in Pomona never had access to those opportunities. As Jose Aguilar-Hernandez explained, “Students who came in with units were more likely to persist, but many of our students didn’t have access to those opportunities in high school.” For many families balancing work schedules, transportation challenges and caregiving responsibilities, traditional dual enrollment opportunities often felt less like a pathway to college and more like another barrier to overcome.

The opportunity to rethink that system emerged through California’s implementation of Assembly Bill 1460, which established Ethnic Studies as a graduation requirement across the California State University system. Rather than viewing the legislation as simply a new requirement, Aguilar-Hernandez and leaders at Pomona USD recognized it as an opportunity to redesign access to college coursework. Instead of centering dual enrollment on advanced courses that often attracted students already on accelerated academic pathways, they intentionally selected a course grounded in history, identity and lived experience, one that could maintain rigorous college expectations while inviting broader participation.

With support from the L.A. Region K-16 Collaborative, Cal Poly Pomona and Pomona USD designed a partnership to expand equitable access to college coursework while strengthening pathways into and through higher education. Together, they launched a dual enrollment Ethnic Studies course that fulfills Cal Poly Pomona’s Area 6 General Education requirement. More importantly, the course provides students with something that is often harder to measure than college credit: the confidence that they belong in higher education.

Bringing College to High School Campuses

For Monica Principe, who has overseen dual enrollment across Pomona USD since its earliest days, the program reflects years of observing well-intentioned initiatives that failed to reach many of the students who could benefit most.

“Our students weren’t going to college campuses after school,” she said plainly. “Transportation, jobs, family responsibilities, we just weren’t seeing them take advantage of those opportunities.”

The solution was structural rather than individual: bring college to students instead of expecting students to come to college.

Rather than asking students to stay after school, commute to a college campus, or rearrange work and family obligations, Pomona USD embedded dual enrollment courses directly into the regular school day. Courses were offered on students’ own campuses and taught by teachers they already knew and trusted. By making college coursework part of the master schedule instead of an extracurricular opportunity, the district dramatically expanded who could participate. Students who had never enrolled in an Advanced Placement (AP) course, or considered themselves “college material,” were suddenly earning California State University credit simply by attending school.

Principe traces Pomona USD’s dual enrollment efforts to conversations that began in 2013 and the launch of the district’s first course during the 2016–17 school year: a single English class at Diamond Ranch High School. Over the past decade, that effort has expanded into more than 25 dual enrollment course offerings across every comprehensive, continuation and alternative education campus in the district. The results demonstrate both the scale and impact of that growth. During the 2024–25 academic year alone, Pomona USD students earned 3,854 college credits while achieving an 87.19% course pass rate. By comparison, the district’s average AP exam pass rate was 39%. “It’s a win across the board,” Principe said. “Students gain confidence, families save money and college becomes something that feels possible.”

The Cal Poly Pomona partnership strengthened that existing foundation by adding something new: a course that fulfills a four-year university general education requirement while being taught by experienced high school educators supported by university faculty.

Trusting K-12 Teachers as Experts

Who teaches dual enrollment courses often determines who benefits from them. When college faculty teach courses on high school campuses, students may receive college instruction but lose the day-to-day relationships and support that many rely upon to succeed. Rene Ubom, who has taught the Cal Poly Pomona Ethnic Studies course across multiple semesters, has experienced both models. “What was cool about Cal Poly was that they were tapping into teachers at the different school sites, trusting our professionalism,” she said. “Versus other partnerships where professors come in for an hour and leave. When students need help, they’re going back to their teachers anyway.”

Cal Poly Pomona intentionally designed the partnership differently. Teachers applied and interviewed to teach the course, participated in a summer institute, and joined a cohort that met regularly throughout the year to develop curriculum, align expectations and share instructional practices. Aguilar-Hernandez remained closely involved by visiting classrooms, reviewing student work and supporting continuous improvement. Rather than asking K–12 teachers to simply deliver a university curriculum, the partnership positioned them as college instructors and instructional partners. In doing so, it challenged the traditional boundaries between K–12 and higher education—an important shift toward a more integrated K–16 system. That trust translated directly into students’ experiences. Because teachers saw students every day, they could scaffold complex college-level material through discussion, reflection and ongoing support while maintaining university expectations. Students completed the same coursework as Cal Poly Pomona undergraduates but with the benefit of teachers who knew their strengths, challenges and learning styles. “They weren’t performing,” Aguilar-Hernandez recalled. “They were just genuinely expressing joy. They were leading the class.”

Expanding Who Dual Enrollment Is Designed to Serve

The partnership intentionally broadened who dual enrollment was designed to reach. Rather than primarily serving students already enrolled in AP or honors courses, the Ethnic Studies course opened college access to students who may never have considered themselves candidates for dual enrollment. Because the curriculum encouraged students to examine history, culture, identity and community through a college-level lens, many students found themselves deeply connected to the material while still meeting rigorous academic expectations. “I have a range of students,” Ubom said. “I’ve taught the valedictorian in this class. But I’ve also taught students for whom this was their only dual enrollment course. No APs. Maybe a few honors classes.” For many students, the course became a turning point. Ubom recalled one student who initially questioned whether the class was “for her.” By the end of the semester, she was fully engaged and is now attending UC Riverside. Another student later returned to share that he had challenged a family member’s bias using what he had learned in class. The outcomes extended well beyond individual stories. Students completed a Cal Poly Pomona general education requirement before graduating from high school, earned an official university transcript, and gained firsthand experience succeeding in college-level coursework. “They realize, ‘I can do this,'” Ubom said. “That confidence carries with them.”

Building Something From Scratch and What Comes Next

Unlike community colleges, California State University campuses have relatively little infrastructure for dual enrollment at scale. Every aspect of the partnership, from enrollment systems and curriculum alignment to communication processes and legal agreements, had to be developed from the ground up, much of it during the COVID-19 pandemic. “There wasn’t a blueprint,” Aguilar-Hernandez said. Building those systems required ongoing coordination between the district and university, underscoring the value of the L.A. Region K-16 Collaborative in creating the relationships, infrastructure and shared problem-solving necessary to sustain cross-sector partnerships.

At the same time, participating teachers were balancing the launch of California’s new high school Ethnic Studies graduation requirement alongside their dual enrollment responsibilities, placing additional demands on a relatively small group of educators. “Toward the end, teachers were stretched thin,” Aguilar-Hernandez said. “But no challenge was too big to stop the work.” As grant funding for the initial partnership comes to a close, leaders are already planning its next evolution. One important lesson has emerged: community colleges should be engaged from the beginning. “We wanted to bring Mt. SAC into the mix,” Aguilar-Hernandez said. “We understood their role. Moving forward, we need tighter alignment across CSU, community college and K–12.”

Principe is already helping test that vision. At Ganesha High School, Pomona USD is piloting a co-teaching model that pairs Mt. SAC faculty with district teachers to build long-term instructional capacity and strengthen alignment across educational systems. “I’m really excited about what that’s going to bring,” she said.

A Different Starting Point

For Ubom, the experience has transformed her own work as an educator. “This course has revitalized my love for teaching,” she said. “Because of the content, yes, but also because of the possibilities it opens for our students.” For students, those possibilities are no longer abstract. They are reflected in official college transcripts, classroom conversations and the confidence that comes from successfully completing a university course before graduating from high school.

In Pomona, college no longer begins after high school. It begins in the classrooms students already know. By redesigning systems instead of asking students to overcome them, Pomona Unified School District and Cal Poly Pomona are demonstrating what is possible when K–16 partners align around students and build pathways that make college both accessible and attainable.

ABOUT THE CAL POLY POMONA–POMONA USD DUAL ENROLLMENT PARTNERSHIP

The Cal Poly Pomona–Pomona Unified School District dual enrollment partnership was developed through the L.A. Region K–16 Collaborative to expand equitable access to college coursework and strengthen pathways into and through higher education. Centered on a dual enrollment Ethnic Studies course that fulfills Cal Poly Pomona’s Area 6 General Education requirement, the program brings CSU-aligned coursework directly onto high school campuses during the school day, removing common barriers to participation.

By pairing high school teachers with university-supported curriculum and ongoing professional development, the partnership creates a model that is both rigorous and accessible, reaching students who may not have traditionally participated in dual enrollment. The initiative reflects a broader commitment across both institutions to align K–12 and higher education systems, support early college success, and build more connected pathways that improve persistence, completion, and long-term student outcomes.

ABOUT THE L.A. REGION K-16 COLLABORATIVE
The L.A. Region K-16 Collaborative is reimagining education systems to ensure that all students, particularly BIPOC and women students, see themselves reflected and supported in high-demand fields like computer science, engineering, and healthcare. Through intentional partnerships across K-12, postsecondary institutions, and industry, the Collaborative works to dismantle barriers and build clear, equitable pathways to college and careers.