Bellevue College Sustains “Achieving the Dream” Framework for Student Success

Image by Jenny Mayer

Faculty members from several different Bellevue College programs have come together for a framework they coined “Achieving the Dream.” They hold a monthly meeting on the second Monday of each month via Microsoft Teams. The BC website lists the link for the ATD meeting as open to the entire college community, with the goal of promoting institutional change within BC.

For example, in January, the meeting focused on improving student communications on campus. The meetings are held in the form of listening and brainstorming sessions, where co-leaders Jennie Mayer and Esteban Maldonado share data and raise questions about the topic of the month, letting the attendees break off into groups to generate discussion points. January’s focus on student communications is just one link in a chain of meetings about BC Pathways, which is a program on campus designed to guide students in selecting classes to reach their desired outcomes.

Mayer, who also serves as a co-chair for the physical sciences program on campus, believes that ATD’s efforts are designed to answer the question: “What can BC do to help more students reach their goals?” The ATD team has existed since 2017, spending the entirety of its efforts on “very specific strategies for supporting students in their journey at BC,” according to Mayer.

The February meeting will be put off due to the upcoming ATD Dream Conference. If you’re interested in attending the meeting on March 13, you can do so at the specified location. If you have any further questions about the project, please contact Mayer at jmayer@bellevuecollege.edu.