The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching - Community Event December 11, 2008 The majority of students who enter California’s community colleges are underprepared for college-level work, placing into classes variously known as basic skills, developmental, or pre-collegiate. What can faculty, colleges, and the system as a whole do to support increased student learning and success in these classes? Strengthening Pre-collegiate Education in Community Colleges (SPECC) was a three-year, action research project focused on teaching and learning in developmental mathematics and English courses at 11 California community colleges. A partnership of the Carnegie Foundation and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the project aimed to foster a culture in which educators work together, informed by evidence, to strengthen student learning. At each SPECC college faculty explored different approaches to classroom instruction, assessment, academic support, and professional development, and critically examined the effects of these interventions. Drawing on the work of the participating campuses, the Carnegie Foundation has now released a number of reports, essays, and recommendations for action. Please join the SPECC team and a panel of community college practitioners in a discussion of the project’s final recommendations for faculty, campuses, and the community college system. There will be ample time for questions and general discussion with the audience.