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This qualitative case study investigates how a nationally acclaimed principal at an award-winning early college high school made sense of the cross-sector landscape and negotiated with K–12 and higher education stakeholders to expand college opportunity for low-income, Latinx, and first-generation students. 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\nArticle reuse guidelines: [sagepub.com/journals-permissions](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[ ](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)© The Author(s) 2023. [https://journals.sagepub.com/home/ero](https://journals.sagepub.com/home/ero)  \nExploring the Principal’s Role in Cross-Sector Partnerships: Sensemaking and Politics in a High-Performing Early College High  \nSchool  \nJulia C. Duncheon  \nUniversity of Washington  \nDavid E. DeMatthews  \nUniversity of Texas at Austin  \nSecondary–postsecondary partnership reforms have grown in scale and importance throughout the past few decades as part of the national agenda to increase college access, equity, and completion. However, little research has examined the role of the principal in cross-sector partnerships. This qualitative case study explores how one nationally acclaimed principal at an award-winning early college high school made sense of the cross-sector context and negotiated with K–12 and higher education stakeholders to maximize college opportunity for low-income, Latinx, and first-generation students. Our analysis integrates sensemaking and micropolitical theory to identify leadership practices that facilitate effective cross-sector collaboration, with implications for K–12 leadership and cross-sector partnership reform.  \nKeywords: Principals, Politics, High Schools, Educational Reform, Postsecondary Education, Case Studies, Qualitative Research, Cross-Sector Collaboration, Principal Sensemaking, Politics of Implementation, Early College High Schools, Cross-Sector Partnerships  \nCross-sector partnerships are a critical mechanism to support improved educational outcomes throughout the P–20 system (Henig et al. , 2016) . Partnerships compel two or more organizations to collaborate, or share information, resources, and activities, to achieve mutual goals that they would be unable to achieve separately (Bryson et al., 2006) . Educational organizations partner with businesses, nonprofit organizations, and government entities outside of education, as well as other sectors within the education system, such as K–12 collaborating with higher education. These secondary–postsecondary partnerships between school districts and institutions of higher education (IHEs) have grown in scale and importance during the past few decades as part of the national agenda to increase college access, equity, and completion (Domina & Ruzek, 2012; Vargas, 2019) . Postsecondary attainment is critical to meet modern workforce demand and enhance social mobility (Cushing et al. , 2019), but completion rates have remained relatively stagnant at around 65%(National Center for Education Statistics, 2022), and equity gaps persist by race, class, and parent education  \n(Odle et al. , 2022) . Part of the problem is that K–12 and higher education have historically operated independently, with distinct cultures, practices, and standards. Cross-sector collaboration helps to bridge these differences and smooth students’ transitions from high school into and through postsecondary education (Mokher & Jacobson, 2021) .  \nOne secondary–postsecondary partnership reform that has been scaling rapidly across the country is dual enrollment/dual credit (DC) .1 DC allows high school students to take college courses and earn both high school and college credits—often at a discount—through a partnering IHE (Taylor et al., 2022) . Coursework is delivered through a variety of models, from one-off classes to comprehensive 4-year programs. For example, early college high schools (ECHSs) allow underrepresented students to earn an associate degree during high school by starting DC coursework as early as the ninth grade (Barnett et al., 2015) . ECHSs operate through close working partnerships between school districts and IHEs, typically community colleges (Vargas & Venezia, 2015) . Research suggests ECHSs have positive impacts on  \nCreative Commons","cbCaijf2ABzS7Hir","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaijf2ABzS7Hir","pdf",449467,16,"English","# Introduction\n## Cross-sector partnerships in P–20 education\n## Dual enrollment/dual credit and early college high schools\n## Research gap on principals\n# Purpose and approach\n## Case study focus on sensemaking and micropolitics","[{\"question\":\"What does the study examine about principals in cross-sector partnerships?\",\"answer\":\"It explores how a principal makes sense of the cross-sector context and negotiates with K–12 and higher education stakeholders to expand college opportunities for underserved students.\"},{\"question\":\"Why are cross-sector partnerships important in education?\",\"answer\":\"They bring organizations together to share information, resources, and activities that help improve student outcomes across the P–20 system, supporting transitions into and through postsecondary education.\"},{\"question\":\"What reform context is emphasized as rapidly scaling in the study’s background?\",\"answer\":\"Dual enrollment/dual credit, including early college high schools where students can earn both high school and college credits and, in some cases, an associate degree during high school.\"}]","Exploring the Principal’s Role in Cross-Sector Partnerships - Sensemaking and Politics in a High-Performing Early College High School | PDF",1792069045]