Despite being one of California’s fastest-growing regions, and consequently one with significant economic promise, and leading the state in high school graduation rates, the Inland Empire has continued to lag behind in college attendance and graduation rates—50.7% and 26.2% respectively in comparison to state averages of 56.8% and 35.1%, according to data from the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC).
Data from the 2020 U.S. Census reveal that African Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans make up 57% of the Inland Empire’s rapidly growing population. Additionally, 22.3% of its 4.7 million residents were born abroad, 1.5 times the average number of foreign-born residents across the United States, accounting for the “information gap” regarding educational attainment in the area.
In August of 2023, Gov. Gavin Newsom first issued the “Freedom to Succeed” executive order. In what was also known as the Master Plan for Career Education, Newsom proposed to create a more inclusive workforce, “prioritiz[ing] hands-on learning and real-life skills.”…