The Key to Opening Doors with Joe E. Ross and Nancy Mondragon

In the third episode of our Pathways and Policies to Ensure Rural Learners Succeed in Place. Why It's Essential for America's Future series, we begin our episode focused on "How Institutions and Industry Set Rural Learners Up for Success" with Joe E. Ross, President of Reach University, the nonprofit institution advancing fully job-embedded, apprenticeship-based higher education. He previously led a statewide education advocacy association, California County Boards of Education, and served for over ten years as an elected trustee of the San Mateo County Board of Education. Earlier in his career, he served on active duty in the U.S. Navy and later as a deputy district attorney. The son of a U.S. Postal Service labor custodian, Joe received his B.A. from Yale College and his J.D. from Stanford Law School, where he was President of the Stanford Law Review.

During this interview, Michelle and Joe discuss the role of philanthropy in training tomorrow's educators, including the impact of a grant from Ascendium Education Group. Joe also shares the differentiating elements of the apprenticeship degree, the impact of the Reach Method on the learner and employer, and how the growing pipeline of educators through programs such as Reach serves as a solution to a teacher shortage in rural schools.

In this second part of this episode, Michelle speaks with Nancy Mondragon, a Reach University alumna and teacher in Arkansas' rural Waldron School District. Mondragon exemplifies the Reach University adult learner experience, having selflessly prioritized family over college pursuits in her younger years. After attending a nursing vocational program and working in healthcare, Nancy's career was rerouted to education shortly after moving to Arkansas from California. Given the growing number of Spanish-speaking families moving to the state, the principal of Nancy's son's school asked her to assist families transitioning into the school district.

After two years of supporting countless families, Mondragon moved into a paraprofessional role and started her Reach undergraduate experience. In balancing a full-time career, college, and family, Nancy earned her bachelor's degree in Spring 2024. This fall, she will transition into a licensed Family and Consumer Science teaching role in the Waldron School District. Ascendium sponsors this episode of The Rural Impact podcast, believing that learning after high school transforms lives. Driven by this belief, their philanthropy focuses on systemic change to elevate opportunities for learners from low-income backgrounds.

Ascendium has a particular interest in elevating rural postsecondary education and workforce training. They fund research and resources to help ensure more rural learners have pathways to good jobs that lead to upward mobility. Learn more about their Rural Impact at ascendiumphilanthropy.org, sign up for their newsletter, and follow them on social media.