Milwaukee Mathematics Dual Enrollment Equity Pathways

High school and first-year college mathematics courses sometimes act as gatekeepers, ‘weeding out’ students who struggle with the subject matter and narrowing students’ opportunities for advanced STEM education and employment. Acknowledging opportunity gaps for students of color and those experiencing poverty, this partnership development project brings together Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS), Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC), and WestEd to establish dual enrollment math courses that function as a lever for equity. Dual enrollment courses are high school courses that award students both high school and college credit, providing students with experience with rigorous college-level coursework, a sense of purpose and readiness for college, and reduced college tuition costs. Traditionally, dual enrollment courses have functioned as a “program of privilege,” providing advanced opportunities for college-track students. Yet, when designed and implemented to meet the needs and interests of all students, dual enrollment courses are a promising approach for making college and career opportunities more available to underrepresented groups. Centering the needs and voices of MPS students and teachers, this partnership will develop a strategy for dual enrollment implementation in mathematics that addresses significant disparities in math course achievement, graduation rates, and college enrollment in Milwaukee, particularly by race and ethnicity.

The partnership development process will draw upon principles and practices of inclusive research-practice partnership approaches to ensure power sharing, the balancing of practitioner and researcher priorities, and giving voice to all participants and partners. Project activities include needs-sensing and stakeholder engagement, co-construction of the research and development agenda, development of roles and processes across partners, and planning for future collaborations in developing, implementing, and examining dual enrollment math pathways in MPS high schools. While WestEd facilitates these activities, the MPS and MATC partners drive agenda setting, decision-making, sense-making of data, and strategy development. The primary outputs of this project are the establishment of an equity-focused, inclusive research-practice partnership grounded in the needs of Milwaukee’s students and in the Milwaukee educational context, and the development of concrete and actionable plans for designing and implementing mathematics dual enrollment in Milwaukee.