GRAD Partnership

The GRAD Partnership is led by the Everyone Graduates Center at Johns Hopkins University and includes the American Institute of Research, the BARR Foundation, the Carnegie Foundation for College Success, the CORE Districts, Everyone Graduates Center, the Latinos in Action, the National Center for Learning Disabilities, the University of Chicago the Network for College Success, the RISE Network, the Schott Foundation, Talent Development, and Rural Schools Collaborative. The project has received funding and support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The goal of this project is to build capacity for rural schools to design their own plans of how best to help students graduate.

The GRAD Partnership’s model provides a best-practice framework to build school’s existing strengths and assets vs. being prescriptive or requiring schools to add “one more thing” to the school year.

Each school is different, and each school is most knowledgeable of what will work best for them. This is a true pilot with access to a group of peers to learn with you.

North State Together's School Partnerships

As a part of Cohort 1, North State Together has partnered with ten schools in the North State region for the GRAD Partnership since 2022.

High Schools Receive:

  • Grant Funding
    • Year 1: $5,000 each
    • Year 2: $5,000 each
    • Year 3: $2,500 each
    • Year 4: $1,000 each
  • Support & guidance from a regional coordinator and cohort peers
  • Access to technical assistance and resources from Rural Schools Collaborative and the GRAD Partnership team

High Schools Commit to:

  • Providing matching funds each year through any combination of staff time and additional funding
  • Adopting or enhancing a student support system
  • Sharing stories, successes, and challenges to strengthen GRAD Partnership outcomes
  • Annually providing data on chronic absenteeism and course completion

NST is excited to be working with the following schools:

  • Anderson High School – Shasta College TRIO (Anderson, CA)
  • Burney Junior Senior High School (Burney, CA)
  • Dunsmuir High School (Dunsmuir, CA)
  • Fall River Junior Senior High School (McArthur, CA)
  • Gateway to College at Shasta College (Redding, CA)
  • Red Bluff High School TRIO (Red Bluff, CA)
  • Redding School of the Arts (Redding, CA)
  • Southern Trinity High School (Mad River, CA)
  • Tulelake High School (Tulelake, CA)
  • West Valley Early College High School – Shasta College TRIO (Cottonwood, CA)

Year Two Impact Results

In June of 2025, The GRAD Partnership published its Year Two Impact Results, showing data which affirms the efficacy of the implementation of student success systems on improving the issues of chronic absenteeism and course failure rates.

Among schools that began implementing student success systems in 2022–23 and continued using them in 2023–24:

  • The average chronic absenteeism rate declined from 29% to 21% over two years, a 28% reduction
  • The average course failure rate declined from 31% to 20% over two years, a 32% reduction

In ninth-grade classrooms, where early intervention is especially critical, results also showed meaningful improvement:

  • The average ninth-grade chronic absenteeism rate declined from 31% to 26% over two years, a 14% reduction
  • The average ninth-grade course failure rate declined from 32% to 22% over two years, a 31% reduction

Stories

Grants In Place

The Grants in Place Program was first announced by Rural Schools Collaborative in April of 2015. The program’s mission is to award classroom grants to rural teachers interested in carrying out an innovative place-based education project with their students and communities. Place-based education is an essential approach for rural classrooms, as the model purposefully connects learning and communities to increase student engagement, academic outcomes, and community impact. The Grants in Place program awards rural teachers across the country who are practicing place-based education in their classrooms. Does your school have a great idea for a place-based education project? Each year, one North State school is selected to receive funding. We invite you to apply!

Check out the stories from these annual, virtual Celebration of Learning events that showcase the successes of Grants in Place Fellows! These final presentations celebrate the teacher-leaders after completing their place based education projects during the school year, and offer a chance for RSC’s Regional Hub Partners, school leaders, and the broader community to get inspired and learn from one another.

Grants in Place Celebration of Learning Archive: