AMARILLO, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) — Officials with Amarillo College recently announced that it has been recertified as an Achieving the Dream (ATD) Leader College of Distinction.
According to a news release, this is a designation the college has had since the ATD organization created the award in 2018. The award is given to colleges that demonstrate “sustained and significant outcomes in the advancement of student success and narrowing the equity gaps at their institutions.”
“What an incredible honor this is,” Russell Lowery-Hart, the president of Amarillo College, said in the release. “The last three years have been a transformative time for Amarillo College and ATD has been the most critical partner to our success in every way. This absolutely reinforces our commitment to providing life-defining experiences for our students.”
The award was created in 2018 to honor colleges that have pursued, and ultimately met, challenging student success goals. According to the release, the colleges are required to show improvement in three or more student outcome metrics and are required to show they have reduced equity gaps in at least two ways for at least two student groups.
Officials with the college said in the release that the following recommendations are being implemented in the college’s most recent strategic plan that is relevant to ATD’s requirements:
- To systemize training for inclusivity and equity for the college’s board of regents and employees;
- To be an ‘anti-racist’ institution;
- To ensure equitable access to college and its resources.
