M³ leaders, MMAC president to discuss generating college-level success in high schools

The process of growing and diversifying southeastern Wisconsin’s workforce talent pool can start before a student even graduates from high school.

For instance, dual enrollment programs like M³ College Connections offer an opportunity for Milwaukee Public High School students to earn up to 21 college credits by taking classes at Milwaukee Area Technical College and UWM at no additional charge during their senior year. Students who complete the program get a head start on their college degree and a heads-up on what college life might be like.

The leaders of M³ (pronounced M-Cubed) will talk about the importance of generating college-level success in high schools and the potential impact across the region during the next session of M³ | Education Transformed, a virtual event series, on Thursday at 10:30 a.m.

Also joining the discussion is Tim Sheehy, president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, whose Region of Choice initiative seeks to increase diversity in the region’s workforce by 2025.

Those interested in attending the virtual event can register in advance.

“Eliminating the education gap between white and Black and Brown students is critical to meeting the workforce needs of the region’s employers,” MMAC says on its website in describing one of its Region of Choice goals.

In a year that underscored equity gaps in our community and across the nation, M³ reinforced its commitment to making sure that more underrepresented students of color have the opportunity to earn a higher education degree.

The College Connections program welcomed about 120 MPS high school seniors this fall, quadruple the size of the first class in 2018-19. College Connections graduates are entering college at a rate higher than the national average and have saved nearly $750,000 in college costs by earning credits while in high school.

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