JFF and the Student Success Center Network were featured in a recent article in Community College Daily.

The article focused on the New York State Student Success Coaching Academy, a professional development program for college leaders in various roles that is supported by grants from JFF and others and is housed within the New York State Student Success Center.

Based on a national training program for coaches created by JFF and Achieving the Dream, the program covers a range of topics, including equity-minded coaching, using data in coaching, and coaching communication strategies.

Jennifer Miller, executive director of the New York State Student Success Center and a member the Coaching Academy leadership team, explained that a coach is not a consultant. “It’s someone who can ask powerful questions,” said Miller, who is assistant vice chancellor for community colleges in the State University of New York system. She added that a coach is a trustworthy partner who can facilitate discussion and help college leaders find their own solutions to challenges they may encounter in efforts to ensure educational equity and student success.

Susan L. Rogers, associate dean of academic affairs at Dutchess Community College, reported that she learned a great deal as part of the first Coaching Academy cohort in 2019. “This was a fantastic and worthwhile experience,” she wrote in a testimonial.