K-16 Collaborative Announces Major Expansion
The region’s most ambitious education-to-career pipeline initiative is accelerating — and UC Davis is a big part of it.
The Sacramento K-16 Collaborative recently announced significant expansion of its regional data partnership: what began on October 8, 2024 with five founding institutions now is growing to include ten additional partners (pending final authorization), bringing the total to 15 institutions collectively serving more than 220,000 students across the Capital Region.
UC Davis’ role
As the University of California’s institutional lead for the Northern California K-16 Regional Education Collaboratives, UC Davis helps coordinate and deploy a collective-impact framework that strengthens transitions from K-12 through higher education and into high-demand careers.
UC Davis Inclusive Excellence is playing a major role in leading this effort for the university helping connect university programs, regional K-12 partners and community colleges to align curriculum, data systems and workforce development supports across educational segments.
10 More Partners Added
With the addition of the following ten institutions:
- Sierra College
- Yolo County Office of Education
- Center Joint Unified School District
- Folsom Cordova Unified School District
- Natomas Unified School District
- Sacramento City Unified School District
- San Juan Unified School District
- Twin Rivers Unified School District
- Winters Joint Unified School District
- Woodland Joint Unified School District
With these additional partnerships, the program now reaches more than 220,000 students from transitional kindergarten through college, representing one of the most comprehensive multi-segment education data initiatives in California.
It is those 220,000 students who will benefit from this expanded partnership. When K-12 schools, community colleges and universities share student data safely and strategically, they can act sooner to remove barriers, provide support and connect students to real opportunities. The result is a more seamless pipeline into high-growth fields such as healthcare, engineering and more.
Why UC Davis is deeply invested
The initiative aligns strongly with UC Davis’ institutional goals of advancing access, belonging and workforce readiness, particularly in regions that have historically lacked robust higher-education pathways. This funding and collaboration framework allows UC Davis to leverage its research, outreach, teacher-preparation and student-success expertise in service of regional talent development.
I have been writing about “deservingness,” and at UC Davis we believe that every student deserves a clear and supported path from school to solid, meaningful career success,” said Vice Chancellor Renetta Garrison Tull. “Our work with the Sacramento K-16 Collaborative utilizes our Inclusive Excellence framework, as it empowers schools, colleges and industry to work as one system — not in isolated silos — so that we build a stronger workforce pipeline and ensure that students in our region have equitable access to high-demand careers and the economic mobility that they offer.
About the Sacramento K-16 Collaborative
The Sacramento K-16 Collaborative brings together education systems, higher-education institutions and employers to expand equitable access to college and career pathways across the Capital Region. By aligning high-demand fields, facilitating data-informed supports and driving measurable outcomes, the Collaborative prepares students for lifelong success in college and the workforce. The partnership is built upon a backbone provided by regional management (e.g., using Capitol Impact) with support from the lead fiscal agent, Los Rios Community College District and accountability services by Third Plateau.