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CAEP Annual Plan: 2019-20 52 San Luis Obispo County Adult Education Consortium

Status: Consortium Approved

California Adult Education Program : Annual Plan : 2019-20 Produced: Aug 16, 2019, 1:54 AM UTC Cheryl London

52 San Luis Obispo County Adult Education Consortium

Plans & Goals - Consortium Approved

Executive Summary
The Consortium has made progress in meeting the goals set forth in the previous three-year plan, and more importantly in meeting the needs of the region’s current and potential adult learners. In the last year, San Luis Obispo County Adult Education Consortium (SLOCAEC) continued to make progress in key areas that include: 1) program development and implementation in six of the seven program areas, 2) increasing the scope of transition through a referral process, 3) accelerating student progress through contextualized and enriched curricula, 4) establishing partnerships with community partners to leverage resources; and 5) leveraged resources to increase support for immigrant and undocumented populations. For the 2019-2020 year, SLOCAEC will continue to align consortium efforts with priorities and strategies outlined in the three-year plan. We will continue to strive to achieve our mission to be responsive to the unique needs of adult learners in San Luis Obispo County. Through innovative educational programs and student support services, students will learn to think critically, progress academically, and participate as engaged citizens in their community . SLOCAEC will achieve this through logical next steps to improve and expand existing programs and services. To implement the next steps and three-year plan the consortium will first update its governance policies and develop by-laws to ensure member effectiveness, efficiency, improved partnership participation and transparency. The next steps will be to develop workgroups specific for each SMART goal identified in the three-year plan.
Regional Planning Overview
The San Luis Obispo Adult Education Consortium (SLOCAEC) looks forward to the implementation of our new three year plan. We will continue to focus on state goals by leveraging resources, implementing innovative strategies, and shared professional development opportunities that will support both new and existing adult education students. We have developed five SMART goals to help us work collaboratively and move forward to support the adult learners in our county. In the 2019-20 academic year we will form workgroups to work efficiently and effectively as we focus on our SMART goals. The areas of focus are:•to develop shared procedures for tracking student support services from entry to exit •increase retention and persistence of our students by implementing new strategies•develop Career Technical Education pathways that reflect our local workforce needs•increase English as a Second Language enrollments•improve the process of seamless transitions to career or college pathways through models of best practiceTo effectively complete these goals our consortium will begin by revising our governance policy. This will strengthen community partnerships and provide greater transparency for our consortium. The new consortium structure will also provide greater participation from administrators, faculty, and staff across all member districts, a gap identified during our three-year planning assessment. This new structure will also include workgroups identified for each SMART goal. A diverse group of faculty, staff, and administrators will:•develop programs and processes for each goal’s implementation•create an assessment tool to monitor and measure the success of our implementation and progress•identify data elements and accountability to present to consortium members, partners, and the community during quarterly consortium meetings.The consortium will implement the new three-year plan by strategically aligning with the local Workforce Development Board plan for the region, District Master plans, and state initiatives.

Meeting Regional Needs

Regional Need #1

Gaps in Service / Regional Needs
1.Our region has identified the need to increase enrollment in our ESL programs as well as to create seamless transitions between programs by improving ESL alignment, program development and curriculum. 2.In an effort to increase ESL, GED, and CTE program enrollments, Cuesta College will develop online adult education courses and programs to provide greater access to adult education across the county.3.Cuesta College has identified a gap for ESL transitional opportunities within the college. Students who have completed the ESL program are challenged with transitioning to credit English classes due to the lack of evening courses offered for the ESL students.
How do you know? What resources did you use to identify these gaps?
1.San Luis Obispo County has an immigrant population of nearly 28,000, which many are potential adult learners in our communities. According to the Adult Education Program Regional Fact Sheet, over 16,000 individuals have been reported as limited English. Currently the consortium is only serving 10% of this population. Over the past year, K-12 members have reported challenges with low enrollment number in ESL programs. The SLOCAEC will address this gap with an ESL workgroup that will increase ESL program access and enrollments, improve ESL alignment across consortium members, and increase ESL transitions to credit programs and the workforce. 2.During the research process of current regional service providers for our three-year plan we identified there is currently no online adult education instruction opportunities to meet the adult education needs across all program areas as identified by the CAEP regional demographics report of potential adult education students in San Luis Obispo County. Online adult education will provide another instructional modality to meet the needs of our diverse adult learners in the region.3.Currently there is no evening English class available for ESL students who want to transition to credit English after completing the Cuesta College noncredit ESL program.
How will you measure effectiveness / progress towards meeting this need?
1.Each member district with ESL program offerings will measure effectiveness and progress by comparing reported and certified enrollment data from baseline 2018-2019 to 2019-2020. Cuesta College will reach a minimum of 20 enrollments in each section while K-12 members will meet a minimum of 10 enrollments per class offered. Members are also measured by the percentage of CASAS pre and post-test, with the expectation that each member will pre and post test at least 50% of their ESL enrollments.2.The number of online adult education stackable certificate courses developed by September 2020.3.An increase of ESL students who successfully transition from noncredit ESL programming and enroll in credit English courses.

Gaps In Service

New Strategies

Strategy #1
Cuesta College Noncredit ESL curriculum will integrate immigrant and civic education in core ESL classes to increase students linguistic competencies and social and economic opportunities. Also, through the Guided Pathways framework we will ensure students are successful by developing clear curricular pathways, assist students with educational planning, increase student support services, and ensure students are learning and reaching their goals. K12 member districts will focus on outreach to our school district elementary and secondary sites to reach parents of our non English speaking families. We will do this by attending ELAC/ DELAC meetings, individual school site events, inclusion in newsletters and working with district support services.
Strategy #2
Cuesta College Continuing Education Program will develop online adult education courses and student support services to provide greater access to adult learners across the county. This will be completed through leveraging resources including the ‘Improving Online CTE Pathways Grant’ established by Cuesta College that strategically aligns with the CAEP three-year plan to provide greater access, increase enrollments, and offer stackable certificates that address student demand and local workforce need.
Strategy #3
The Cuesta College Noncredit ESL program will collaborate with our credit English department to meet the needs of our ESL students transitioning to credit programs. A cohort of ESL students enrolled in an online credit English course will be developed and supported through an IBEST model with additional instructional support from ESL faculty and tutors. The additional supportive services will focus on the online learning environment as well as course content.

Seamless Transitions

New Strategies

Strategy #1
As identified in the consortium SMART goal in the three-year plan, the consortium ESL workgroup will develop an additional assessment to enhance CASAS pre-test scores to improve student placement at entry and transitions at completion. This will improve student performance outcomes and seamless transitions by ensuring students are placed in the appropriate ESL levels at the point of entry.
Strategy #2
Cuesta College will develop a cohort for students transitioning from ESL to credit English classes to provide additional instructional and student support services to ensure a seamless transition and success in a credit course.
Strategy #3
The SLOCAEC will continue to coordinate and expand relationships with local employment and student support government and non-profit agencies. We will work to provide our students with ongoing opportunities to participate in workforce readiness activities and provide resources to support their goals.

Student Acceleration

New Strategies

Strategy #1
Cuesta College Continuing Education Program will collaborate with the Applied Behavioral Sciences Division to develop an accelerated learning program for ESL students with an Early Childhood Education goal. The implementation will model the IBEST program. Courses will be taught in Spanish with additional student support services.
Strategy #2
Cuesta College will increase tutoring support for ESL and GED programs to support student course completion and persistence.
Strategy #3
Many adult education learners ‘stop out’ due to personal and work schedules that conflict with class times. To increase access and offer alternative instructional modalities, Cuesta College Continuing Education Program will develop online instruction in Adult Basic Education and Career Technical Education. The courses developed will lead to stackable certificates that provide seamless transitions to post-secondary and the workforce.
Strategy #4
K12 district member will strengthen our retention and persistence strategies. We will continue to evaluate and disaggregate our data to improve attendance rates, increase level gains and meet CAEP outcomes. Data shows us the areas our students are weak in - allowing us to work more closely with individuals and small groups, creating trust and buy-in which improves attendance rates. This in turn increases gains.

Professional Development

New Strategies

Strategy #1
SLOCAEC is committed to providing administrators, faculty, and staff with professional development to foster learners’ persistence and goal achievement. This provides an opportunity to learn together, network with other adult education programs, and learn strategies to implement best practices. Professional development is critical to stay up-to-date on policy changes, program effectiveness, and strategies to effectively and efficiently implement our new three year plan. SLOCAEC has sent several teams of administrators, faculty and staff to various conferences and trainings such as: •CASAS Summer Institute, •Association of Community and Continuing Education (ACCE) Annual Conference, •Commission on Adult Basic Education (COABE)•Academic Senate for California Community Colleges Curriculum Institute•EL Civics Conference•CAEAA•CCAE •CAEP Webinars•CAEP SummitThrough these professional development opportunities and experiences administrators, faculty, and staff have worked cooperatively to develop curriculum, programming, outreach, and student services to help students succeed through their educational, personal, and career pathway. Cuesta’s Continuing Education program will also implement a mentorship with ESL and GED faculty. This mentorship consists of veteran faculty mentoring new hired faculty to inform them of our three year plan, workgroups, implementations and instruction for each program. The mentee will be supported through the first semester of teaching to ensure a positive learning environment that implements our student success models.In addition SLOCAEC members provide monthly professional development to all staff to increase collaboration and effectiveness of programs.

Leveraging Resources

New Strategies

Strategy #1
Cuesta College Continuing Education Program is leveraging adult education resources through several partnerships throughout the San Luis Obispo County. The Continuing Education program collaborates with People's Self Help Housing, Paso Robles Housing Authority, and Atascadero Unified School District to offer English as a Second Language programing in rural communities throughout the northern San Luis Obispo County. Lucia Mar collaborates with several south county hotels to offer ESL classes within the workplace structure. All K-12 districts will outreach to parents in their districts to provide ESL classes to improve family literacy and education. Cuesta’s Continuing Education program has collaborated extensively with the Workforce Development Board, industry employer groups, chambers of commerce, and Travel Paso to develop and outreach for the implementation of our Hospitality/Tourism program in fall 2019 as well as identifying needs and growth for future Short-term Vocational programming. All K-12 are new to WIOA funding and have begun to collaborate with the WDB and other local employer groups. SLOCAEC will continue to leverage resources through collaborations with America’s Job Center of California. AJCC houses services and programs at the Continuing Education Center at the Paso Robles campus, while Continuing Education staff are housed at AJCC in San Luis Obispo to offer on-boarding, pre-enrollment and registration services to potential adult education students. Lucia Mar Adult Education is housing AJCC/Eckerd at their Oceano Learning Center. San Luis Coastal is partnering with Eckerd to meet with students on our campus one day a week. Templeton Adult Education partners regularly with Eckerd in sharing students and helping both programs to achieve their desired outcomes (diploma/employment).
Strategy #2
As a consortium we work with our partnering agencies both government and local non-profits to build support and provide programs and services that strengthen adult education programs and foster student success. This collaboration is an ongoing process. We are focusing our beginning of the year all-staff professional development on local resources for our students. Below are some of the things we do as individual schools.•Templeton has worked with Eckerd by helping students to enroll in the diploma program as well as connecting diploma students who need a job with Eckerd. Templeton also works with a large winery facility, Treasury Wine Estates, to bring the diploma program to the winery location. During the next 3 years, Templeton will work to establish more partnerships with other wine, hospitality or industry in the north county to help their employees with obtaining their high school diploma.•San Luis Coastal partners with Community Action Partnership - Child Care Resource Connection to offer an ESL course that focuses on developing language to work in careers with children, including careers in the school system. We also partner with Center for Family Strengthening - Parent Connection of San Luis Obispo County to offer classes for parents to Support Child School Success. •Lucia Mar has begun a new partnership with the Center for Family Strengthening, and will work with them specifically at the middle school level to strengthen families through ELL, education and advocacy. Through that agency, we are just beginning to develop strategies to implement classes that will meet the state Child School Success through their Parent Connection agency. We will continue our collaboration with Eckerd and have added some support for them, specifically to; 1) CASAS test their clients, and; 2) provide a location for them to meet with their clients who will be co-served through Adult Education. Lucia Mar will also continue to work to build our unique IELCE classes in our South County hotels. •Continuing Education staff are co-located at AJCC to provide information and immediate onboarding services for adult education. The noncredit program also offers a Career Exploration and Resume writing courses at AJCC. The Continuing Education will also continue collaborating with Eckerd to provide assessment and eligibility services for Eckerd clients and transitional opportunities to Cuesta College. The noncredit program has collaborated with PathPoint, NCI, Escuela Del Rio and Achievement House to provide Adults with Disabilities programming on these partnering sites as well as the North County and San Luis Obispo campus.
Strategy #3
SLOCAEC’s SMART goal to develop a shared procedure for tracking student support services will have our respective counselors, among others, streamlining our support services so as not to duplicate but instead utilize our contacts and individual resources to help our students succeed.

Fiscal Management

A narrative justifying how the planned allocations are consistent with the annual adult education plan which is based on your CAEP 3-year plan.
The CAEP allocation for Cuesta College does not provide opportunity for much growth, however the Continuing Education program is leveraging resources with SEA Plan and WIOA Title II funding, as well as with several partnerships to continue to improve programming, develop new programs to meet regional needs, and provide students with easy access to programming and supportive services to minimize barriers and help them succeed. Cuesta College Continuing Education program allocation is consistent with the annual and three year plan by supporting staff and faculty to develop, implement, and manage programs. Specific student services positions to focus on intentional program outreach, student pre-enrollment services (orientation, assessment, and follow-up services), embedded counseling, tutoring, and childcare services. CAEP allocations will also provide student support services through the form of textbook vouchers, GED test vouchers, graduation ceremonies for student recognition, and civic engagement events through adult education programming. Faculty stipends will support the increase of part-time faculty inclusion in work group opportunities to expand, improve, and develop new programs and student success strategies through professional development opportunities. The CAEP allocation increase for 2019/20 was only COLA, which does not provide opportunity for growth. However, SLOCAEC is leveraging resources with other funding sources such as the Student Equity and Achievement Plan, Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, Title II funding, LCAP funding, donations as well as with several partnerships that provide in-kind services to continue to improve programming, develop new programs and meet regional needs. Consortia allocation spending is consistent with the annual and three year plan by supporting staff and faculty to develop, implement, and manage programs. Consortia members have identified specific student services positions to focus on intentional program outreach, student pre-enrollment services (orientation, assessment, and follow-up services), embedded counseling, tutoring, and childcare services. CAEP allocations will also provide student support services through the form of textbook vouchers, GED/HiSet test vouchers, graduation ceremonies for student recognition, and civic engagement events that prepare students to be active members of their community. Faculty stipends will support the increase of part-time faculty inclusion in work group opportunities to expand, improve, and develop new programs and student success strategies through professional development opportunities.
An approach to incorporating remaining carry-over funds from prior year(s) into strategies planned for 2019-20.
An approach to incorporating remaining carry-over funds from prior year(s) into strategies planned for 2019-20.All consortia members will be using their carry over funds during the 2019-2020 program year to achieve our consortium SMART goals:•to increase ESL alignment and program development•improve student success and support services•increase retention and persistence•develop CTE pathways that respond to local workforce needs. This will be done through faculty stipends, staff salaries, additional classes, increase counseling/advising to meet program growth, and student supportive services to minimize barriers, such as childcare services, transportation assistance, textbook vouchers, and GED/HiSet test vouchers. These activities will support meeting our goals for seamless transitions, student acceleration, and professional development.

Certification

Lucia Mar Unified - Member Representative

Approved by Charlissa Skinner

2019-08-15

San Luis Coastal Unified - Member Representative

  • Sally Ames
  • Coordinator of Adult Education Programs
  • sames@slcusd.org
  • (805) 549-1222
Approved by Sally Ames

2019-08-15

San Luis Obispo County CCD - Member Representative

Approved by Mia Ruiz

2019-08-15

Templeton Unified - Member Representative

Approved by Cheryl London

2019-08-16