February 4th, 2026
For more than two decades, the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium (CVHEC) has served as a unifying voice for higher education across California’s Central Valley. In a recent conversation with College Bridge Communications Coordinator Audra Burwell, CVHEC Executive Director Dr. Benjamín T. Durán and Associate Director Angel Ramirez reflected on the origins of their partnership with College Bridge, the growth of Math Bridge, and the broader movement to rethink math pathways and college access. Their insights reveal how sustained partnerships, shared leadership, and data-informed innovation can create lasting, systemic change in higher education.
“When the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium was founded in 2002, [it was] for the purpose of bringing all the colleges and universities within the 10-county region together to speak with a single voice,” Dr. Durán explained. “That has been the mission of CVHEC: to pull together and convene universities so they can work together to improve student outcomes and completion rates.”
Angel Ramirez noted that this mission closely aligns with College Bridge’s work, even though the two organizations operate in different ways. “Although we are not student-facing, College Bridge is,” he said. “We are both trying to streamline the process for students to get from high school to college and then to college completion.”
Dr. Durán emphasized the mutually reinforcing nature of the partnership: “What we do is bring organizations like College Bridge together with our partner colleges and universities to impact student outcomes. It is a symbiotic relationship.”
The partnership between CVHEC and College Bridge began several years ago, when College Bridge President and Founder Lynn Cevallos first introduced the Math Bridge model to CVHEC leadership.
“I was immediately drawn to the concept,” Dr. Durán recalled. “For students to come to college and then graduate, they need to get college mathematics and English out of the way. Those are the gateway courses. This was one way of giving a lot of students who typically might not be successful the opportunity to get through their college math in a way that would make them successful.”
Dr. Durán was quick to point out that dual enrollment alone is not what makes Math Bridge successful. “Dual enrollment is just the delivery model,” he said. “What you want to look at are the elements being brought to the table, especially the collaboration between high school teachers and community college teachers who, in some respects, team-teach the class. That collaboration adds to the success for students who would not normally want to take mathematics.”
Since its early implementation, Math Bridge has expanded significantly across the region. What began as a carefully piloted program is now reaching students throughout much of the Central Valley.
The goal, Dr. Durán explained, is ambitious but intentional: “What we eventually hope is to make Math Bridge the Central Valley way of teaching mathematics.”
Ramirez pointed to the importance of timing and statewide investment. “The state was launching its K–16 Collaborative at the same time,” he said. “Leveraging that funding allowed us to expand valley wide. We like to do things that are scalable, not focused on just one region, but ultimately impacting students across the whole valley.”
Beyond the Central Valley, CVHEC sees Math Bridge as a model that could extend to other rural regions. “We try to do things that are not only scalable but replicable,” Dr. Durán added. “Other parts of rural California, and even the country, face similar challenges.”
A key factor in Math Bridge’s growth has been CVHEC’s Master’s Upskilling Program, which addresses a critical barrier to expansion: a shortage of qualified instructors.
“One of the biggest barriers was that there weren’t enough teachers with minimum qualifications to teach dual enrollment,” Ramirez explained. “When we launched the MA Upskilling project, it aligned perfectly with Math Bridge. Teachers finishing their master’s degrees were then able to teach the content at their high schools.”
Dr. Durán highlighted the broader ripple effect. “There are now over 250 teachers in the Central Valley who hold master’s degrees in English or mathematics who didn’t before,” he said. “That doesn’t just benefit Math Bridge, it enhances the quality of instruction across all the courses they teach.”
CVHEC and College Bridge have also worked together to share Math Bridge outcomes at conferences across the state and nation, helping shift perceptions about what’s possible in the Central Valley.
“Being able to show what is happening in the valley on the state and national stage is important,” Ramirez said. “The Central Valley is often overlooked, so showing that innovative, scalable work can be born here is eye-opening.”
Dr. Durán emphasized that these presentations also spotlight educators. “This gives us an opportunity to give a shout-out to the faculty and teachers doing the work,” he said. “We’re just the conduit—the vehicle—to help share what they’re accomplishing.”
Both leaders see Math Bridge as part of a broader movement to rethink how math, and education more broadly, is delivered.
“The movement in education right now is about redefining how we do what we do,” Dr. Durán said. “Math Bridge brings a model that has been tested over time, that is research-based, and that is intentionally non-traditional.”
Ramirez noted the policy context driving these conversations. “With AB 107 and AB 1705, math and English have been in the spotlight. Alignment from high school to college is more important than ever.”
For Dr. Durán, the credibility of the College Bridge team has been essential to this success. “Having leaders and staff who have real, lived experience as math faculty, at both the high school and college levels, goes a long way,” he said. “That credibility matters when you’re asking educators to rethink long-standing practices.”
The conversation with Dr. Durán and Angel Ramirez underscores a central truth: meaningful educational change doesn’t happen in isolation. It happens through trust, collaboration, and a shared commitment to student success.
To listen to the full conversation and learn more about this partnership, visit:
https://college-bridge.org/about-us/grant-partner-interviews/
