Collaborative Impact and Professional Development: Effective Student Services for Immigrant Populations Amid Growing Inequality

San José, California, represents a tale of two cities where the immense wealth and vitality of the technology sector has not transferred to the social sector. A growing immigrant population, including undocumented students and their families, relies on an education system statewide which now structures alignment between Adult Education and California community colleges. The San José Evergreen Community College District is growing its capacity to serve this population by implementing both required and elective collaborative change initiatives including a required consortium of five adult schools and four community colleges, and elective initiatives such as SparkPoint San José and ALLIES (featuring the Immigrant Integration Framework). In addition, a new Student Services Academy, a professional development program for staff in Student Services, increases skill and cultural responsiveness. Building educational capacity amid growing inequality strengthens institutional effectiveness, promotes economic mobility in marginalized communities, and prepares a skilled workforce for a globally competitive Silicon Valley.