The general idea behind the Bold Goals Coalition of Central Alabama is to foster collaboration among like-minded groups and organizations in order to significantly improve education, health and financial services throughout the communities that comprise our region. The first step toward that end is to establish specific “Bold Goals” that are aspirational yet achievable, measurable and sufficiently clear so that everyone knows what to focus on and strive for.
This past summer, the Steering Committee of Bold Goals Education approved a new Bold Goal for our region: “Central Alabama will have 90% of high school seniors college and career-ready, and 125,000 highly skilled adults added to the workforce, by 2025.”
During the past several years, graduation rates in Central Alabama have steadily increased, with the regional rate now at 90%. This is great news, and getting to 90% was one of the main components of our original goal.
The new goal reflects the challenges and opportunities still ahead. Our college and career-readiness rates remain well below our graduation rates. Our workforce needs are significant and urgent, as all of us are learning through the Building (it) Together initiative of our Workforce Action Network. This new goal keeps those issues front and center, and aligns well with new statewide goals from the Alabama State Department of Education and the Alabama Workforce Council.
Over time, you’ll see changes to our data dashboard that will help us track our progress toward our new goal. We are excited to continue working with you across our region to build a brighter future for everyone.