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CAEP Annual Plan: 2020-21 64 State Center Adult Education Consortium

Status: Consortium Approved

California Adult Education Program : Annual Plan : 2020-21 Produced: Aug 12, 2020, 06:37 PM UTC Tod Tompkins

64 State Center Adult Education Consortium

Plans & Goals - Consortium Approved

Executive Summary
The State Center Adult Education Consortium (SCAEC) will follow our vision of providing adult learners in our region with the skills needed for employment, continuing education, career advancement, and personal growth. We believe that by working collaboratively with community partners in our region, we will be able to strengthen adult education and ensure students have access to high-quality programs leading to their success in college and career. Our 2019 – 2022 Three-Year Plan lays the groundwork to allow us to achieve our goal of improving adult education services for the next three years and beyond. Due to the March 13th executive orders from the Governor of California, the 2019/20 service provision by all members was impacted by COVID-19. Our members transitioned to distance learning models and our Transitions Team (TT) connected with hundreds of students, finding that many needed social service information and assistance. COVID-19 closures and mitigation strategies will remain in effect into the 2020/21 school year. Members will continue to provide distance learning opportunities and will adjust to in-person and hybrid delivery models when the “shelter in place” order has been lifted and as possible while maintaining adherence to state policy and local health advisory. We continue to participate in weekly Fresno County Health Department COVID-19 calls as well as bi-weekly COVID-19 Education Committee meetings. The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed California’s budget outlook since the release of the Governor’s Budget on January 10. Thankfully, funding was restored to the 19/20 allocation, but NO COLA was added. SCAEC members will continue services, as usual, spend down unused funds and support other members as needed. Discussions regarding allocation amounts based on enrollment and outcomes are planned; however, with COVID-19 and the uncertainty of future funding, this may not be a priority for the 20/21 FY. In light of the movement to increase awareness and rectify social injustices to the black community, SCAEC is committed to the values of respect, inclusivity, and empathy toward individuals of every culture, race, ethnicity, and background. Our TT meets with all students on a regular basis to provide financial aid information, college application support, and resources to assist with their educational process. Often times, our TT meets with a student multiple times to support them on their journey. Our largest member district announced that they are planning to pilot their own broadband internet in our most impoverished neighborhoods in the southwest and southeast Fresno. Southwest Fresno has a large percentage of socio-economically disadvantaged residents and are often not exposed to many opportunities and resources when compared to other neighborhoods. Broadband internet will provide better access for all.We will be able to focus on several goals for 2020 – 2021, including the implementation of strategies in the areas of closing gaps in service, creating seamless transitions, student acceleration, professional development, and leveraging resources. This year, SCAEC will focus on closing gaps in service by providing more CTE offerings, courses for immigrants, pre-apprenticeship opportunities, programs to improve basic skills, such as GED, ABE and ASE programs, and upgrading career pathway and adults with disabilities services. Members are exploring the National External Diploma Program (NEDP) to provide opportunities to move students to achieve success at a much quicker rate. Members are also exploring WASC accreditation as only four of our adult schools are WASC accredited. Some of the 19/20 accomplishments are listed here. The TT rotated through our member sites, as well as both Workforce Connection One-Stop Centers, and collaborated with our college Outreach Coordinators, thereby serving 1,567 students throughout the year. We enhanced our marketing efforts, capitalizing on social media outreach, and traditional marketing efforts. Some sites increased their evening hours to better accommodate working students, some moving into new, larger facilities, some others purchased Chromebooks and portable hotspots so students may work from home, and a new program was implemented in the rural community of Kerman. New Wildland Fire programs were implemented successfully and an Early Childhood Development Certificate program was created in partnership with two of our North Valley Sub-Region members. Many CTE programs, VESL classes, and ABE/HSD/ESL offerings were created or expanded throughout our region. Through our partnerships with strong CBO's in our region, such as the Sikh Institute and the Fresno Rescue Mission, we have been able to leverage resources by holding classes at those locations thereby providing more equity and access, and helping close the gaps in transportation. Lastly, we continued to promote a culture of collaboration among members and among CBO’s.
Regional Planning Overview
The State Center Adult Education Consortium was able to organize and strategize for the next two years by creating a comprehensive plan that recognizes the most crucial adult education needs in our region, and how SCAEC will implement goals and action items to address those needs. By analyzing a wealth of labor market information, surveying key stakeholders, including students, and working collaboratively as a region, as sub-regions, and with community partners, SCAEC will be able to continue to implement process improvement strategies. We will also be able to predict future trends in economic, education, and workforce development, and provide adult learners with high quality training, education and skills upgrading needed for employment, career advancement, and personal growth. This collaborative effort will solidify adult education’s importance and place in our region. Moreover, due to Covid-19 restrictions, we will continue to look for new strategies to assist students and faculty to better adapt to this ever-changing environment. For example, we have prioritized distance learning and access to online resources and tools by creating a new SCAEC website that is both student and teacher facing and is ready to be released in order to point students and teachers to valuable resources. And, we have instituted a series of program area-specific online networking meetings for faculty and two such meetings were held in the summer for Nurse Assistant Training Providers, which were well received. Many participants appreciated the support and ideas of others in their field.

Meeting Regional Needs

Regional Need #1

Gaps in Service / Regional Needs
Need more short-term CTE courses aligned with local workforce needs to increase the employability of adult students in the region. Overall, there is a lack of easily accessible, no-cost programs in entry-level, high demand occupations.
How do you know? What resources did you use to identify these gaps?
Our members have surveyed students to ascertain their needs and interest in CTE courses remain high. Labor market information provided by the EDD, Centers for Excellence, Doing What Matters website, Madera Workforce, the Bureau of Labor Statistics Outlook Handbook, CDE EOP job projection data from the CalJobs website, and labor market demand data from the Centers of Excellence were analyzed and helped us determine that more courses are needed. We also gathered feedback from advisory committee members representing local industry, multiple industry-education partnership groups, such as Madera Workforce, the San Joaquin Valley Manufacturing Alliance and the ROP Auto Body Advisory Committee, and the current employment rate and poverty rate all substantiate the need for SCAEC to continue to offer and expand high demand programs/CTE course offerings. There is also a lack of pathways for entry level, high demand occupations to college credentials and/or degrees.
How will you measure effectiveness / progress towards meeting this need?
The effectiveness will be measured by tracking enrollment numbers, attendance rates, completion rates in CTE courses, and the number of industry certificates issued to students at the end of each course, number of students who transition to credit-bearing courses at the college. We will also gather information by utilizing a Google form to track student progress after graduation, track student information from TOPS Student Update Forms and ASAP. We will measure the number of students who secure a job in the field within six months and one-year of completing the program, and the number of students who transition to credit-bearing courses in college.

Regional Need #2

Gaps in Service / Regional Needs
There is a need to expand VESL, ESL, and Citizenship classes to aid in immigrant integration.
How do you know? What resources did you use to identify these gaps?
This gap was determined by analyzing data from the CAEP Regional Fact Sheet, using the Interactive Map from the Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration, Eligible to Naturalize Populations in the U.S. tool and the current census, our region has a high immigrant population and a limited number of noncredit, introductory ESL classes. We also conducted a direct survey of our students, which documented that students needed more opportunities to take ESL and Citizenship classes nearer their homes, or where their children attended school, as transportation and our large consortium size remain a problem.
How will you measure effectiveness / progress towards meeting this need?
Effectiveness will be measured through ESL level advancement numbers, retention, and completion data, as measured by our CASAS testing.

Regional Need #3

Gaps in Service / Regional Needs
There are insufficient Adult Basic Education (ABE), Adult Secondary Education (ASE)/High School Diploma (HSD) programs and HiSET/GED preparation/testing throughout the region, thus many students are lacking fundamental skills and education. We aim to increase these Basic Skills programs to enhance our transition opportunities from adult schools to college and/or career, thereby closing our region’s achievement gap.
How do you know? What resources did you use to identify these gaps?
This gap was identified by the region in its original gap analysis conducted for the three-year plan. In addition, according to the 2010 Census data and our CAEP Regional Fact Sheet, Fresno and Madera Counties has low education attainment and low high school completion rates. Currently, many of our members do not offer ABE courses in their districts and through informal conversations, student surveys, and general population inquiry, we found ample student interest in taking these courses, as well as the HiSET exam. Furthermore, Retention/Completion data, faculty and administrative assessment and review also indicate a need to update curriculum and technology in HSD, GED, and ABE as needed. Lastly, information from our adult information system demonstrates how many inmates in the county jail lack a high school diploma.
How will you measure effectiveness / progress towards meeting this need?
The effectiveness will be measured by student enrollment, completion, transfer, retention, and graduation rates. We will be sure to review data pertaining to CASAS test scores and transitioning to credit-bearing courses at college.

Regional Need #4

Gaps in Service / Regional Needs
Need to increase online and distance learning opportunities due to COVID-19 restrictions and lack of transportation throughout the region.
How do you know? What resources did you use to identify these gaps?
Due to current COVID-19 restrictions our entire consortium will be looking to increase online distance learning courses to help maintain or increase enrollment. Also, we know from student feedback that a lack of transportation options remains an issue with our students, and with more online class offerings this might alleviate this issue.
How will you measure effectiveness / progress towards meeting this need?
Overall number of online classes, attendance, and enrollment data.

Regional Need #5

Gaps in Service / Regional Needs
There is a need to create and implement a plan to better serve students with disabilities.
How do you know? What resources did you use to identify these gaps?
Requests by special needs students, their teachers, and students’ Workforce Connection caseworkers. Also, we have analyzed data from TOPS, ASAP, and enrollment of special education students.
How will you measure effectiveness / progress towards meeting this need?
We will measure effectiveness through special education enrollment numbers, the number of students’ IEPs and 504 Plans that are updated and completed, the number that earn their high school diploma or HiSET certificates, and student with disabilities course completion data and graduation rates. We will also look at CASAS test scores of these students.

Regional Need #6

Gaps in Service / Regional Needs
There is a need for stronger career pathway development connecting adult schools to college and career.
How do you know? What resources did you use to identify these gaps?
This gap was identified by student feedback requesting connections with local businesses, service for apprenticeship opportunities, as well as resume writing, interviewing, and job seeking strategies workshops.
How will you measure effectiveness / progress towards meeting this need?
Effectiveness will be measured by the number of students who transfer directly from an adult school to a pathway seamlessly, including employment with local businesses, job shadow placements, internships, graduating with a high school diploma, earning a HiSET certificate, successful job interviews, completed resumes and cover letters, and the number of students that transfer to post-secondary education institutions.

Gaps In Service

New Strategies

Strategy #1
To remedy the need for more short-term CTE courses that are aligned with local workforce needs we will place an emphasis on using labor market data to drive CTE programs and offerings. We will increase the promotion of these programs through various delivery methods as determined by site and target market, along with increasing collaborative efforts with CBOs, including continuance of strong working relations with Workforce Connection’s One-Stop Centers, CalWORKs, Veterans Administration, County Jail, Juvenile Justice Program, and the Department of Rehabilitation to help increase student recruitment, enrollment, and certificate attainment.
Strategy #2
To aid immigrant integration in our region, we will be expanding ESL, Vocational ESL, and Citizenship course offerings as well as integrating English support into ABE, GED, HSD, CTE, and expanding IET and IELCE offerings. We will help transition intermediate level or higher ESL students to career pathways by implementing more supplemental English Language Development support in ABE/ASE in mathematics and literacy skills to promote success in all CTE pathway classes, hold PLC meetings with ESL and ABE/GED/HSD faculty participating, explore MindPlay and Burlington English curriculum, and continue to work with district ELAC and DELAC. A potential partnership with the Central Valley Immigrant Integration Collaborative (CVIIC) for entrepreneurial training course(s) for immigrants with limited English language proficiency will be developed and implemented.
Strategy #3
To increase transition opportunities from adult schools to college and/or career we will offer more Basic Skills programs, including HSD, GED, and HiSET preparation programs and testing centers, along with updating any software/hardware needed, and incorporating National External Diploma Program curriculum to meet state standards and regional needs.
Strategy #4
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, transportation issues, and to better prepare our consortium for future challenges we will be placing an emphasis on building online and distance learning opportunities throughout the region. Some methods we will be pursuing are adding Google certification, increasing the use of Edgenuity, the National External Diploma Program, and using blended learning especially for CTE to help incorporate hands-on lab work while maintaining social distancing norms.
Strategy #5
To better serve students with disabilities we will maintain open communication with district student services, Workforce Connection staff, and county Special Education Local Plan Area taskforces to ensure continued case management services and equipment and devices are provided to adult students with disabilities.
Strategy #6
We will be increasing resources for students to better understand career options and pathways by utilizing SCAEC Transition Specialists, CTE-focused counselors, college liaisons/outreach specialists/advisors, job developers, and Workforce Connection staff across the consortium. These positions will focus on transitioning students to college and career by conducting presentations, advising students of their CTE training options during intake meetings, providing student access to Career Employment Centers on college campuses, and more.

Seamless Transitions

New Strategies

Strategy #1
Establish two or more mandatory annual follow up academic/career meetings between students and a SCAEC Transition Specialist, and ensure that throughout the year, students will connect with Transition Specialists at orientations and during the year through presentations and workshops provided by Transition Specialists that can be viewed through online video or live-streamed.
Strategy #2
Virtual SCAEC Outreach/Counselor/Transition Specialist conference and include community partners and school counselors to share best practices for assisting adult students transition to college.
Strategy #3
Continue to promote college and career pathways by hosting a virtual annual Education and Career Fair showcasing adult schools, local colleges, apprenticeship programs, career training schools, and local employers to students. This event will also be used to gather data on what industry and community needs exist and how adult education can help remedy those needs.
Strategy #4
Place a stronger focus on data, including the collecting and reporting of student data in a better and more timely fashion, collecting data from local businesses and workforce organizations, and collecting data from the community through social media on the need for new programs and their perception on the effectiveness of current programs.
Strategy #5
Create an online Career Pathways Planning Meeting with faculty from adult schools and community college to develop new career pathways and certificate programs.
Strategy #6
Increase ESL options, align ESL curriculum, and continue to build IELCE and IET programs throughout the consortium.
Strategy #7
Develop non-credit college success and career success courses in collaboration to assist students in transitioning to college or career.
Strategy #8
Focus on adding more embedded tutors for increased classroom success.
Strategy #9
Increase the number of WASC accredited schools to ensure the seamless transition of our adult students to college with a WASC accredited high school diploma.

Student Acceleration

New Strategies

Strategy #1
Due to COVID-19 safeguards and to ensure students’ digital literacy, we will increase utilization of education technology resources including, but not limited to, Edgenuity, Aztec, Cyber High, Burlington English, MindPlay, Lexia, Rosetta Stone, Imago, Odysseyware, Putting English to Work, NEDP, Student National Geographic, Starfish, Starfall, Canvas, Zoom, USA Learns, Newsela, ATI-Assessment Technology Institute, Gizmo, Side By Side, Google Suite for Education, Deepfreeze, Adobe Suite, TABE Online, Grade Book, Chromebooks, and Kajeets.
Strategy #2
Increase training on education technology resources and online learning for both faculty and students. This process will be an ongoing cycle of continuous learning and improvement as we transition to a more modern model of digital learning that fits our current needs due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Strategy #3
Fully utilize consortium-provided resources, such as SCAEC Transition Specialists, by maintaining continued communication with consortium office staff. All academic and CTE students will meet with Transition Specialists to setup and maintain educational goals and career planning.
Strategy #4
Develop a plan and process to implement SB 554 to allow adult school students without a diploma to take transfer-level courses at a community college aiding in credit-recovery and accelerating student progress.
Strategy #5
Increase career development services for students, including career counseling, job search skills, resume work, and online resource opportunities. Also, we will continue to improve tracking and completion of student goals/career path and implement more basic skills opportunities to increase students marketability to employers.

Professional Development

New Strategies

Strategy #1
Increase attendance to virtual, in-state and out-of-state travel to CAEP-focused conferences: California Adult Education Administrators Association (CAEAA), Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment Systems (CASAS), California Council for Adult Education (CCAE), Coalition of Adult Basic Education (COABE), Administrative Software Applications Program (ASAP), Annual EL Civics Conference, COE Annual Conference, and others.
Strategy #2
Work with OTAN and CalPRO to host regional trainings and have staff attend OTAN and CALPRO professional development training/webinars on Google projects, lesson design/lesson study, PLCs, implementation of grades and feedback to students, technology resources, and computer-based teaching strategies.
Strategy #3
Staff and faculty will participate in SCAEC coordinated online professional development opportunities, data and accountability trainings, program area collaboration meetings, and sub-region networking events, as allowed by social distancing guidelines.
Strategy #4
Adult education teachers and staff will attend regular professional development meetings and in-service trainings hosted by their district and/or local college, including high school CTE PD opportunities. Some potential training topics are curriculum alignment, Disciplinary Literacy strategies to implement contextualized learning throughout instruction, QuickBooks, Burlington English, and more.
Strategy #5
Sub-regional professional development meetings will be established for faculty and staff to meet and collaborate with faculty and staff from surrounding member districts throughout the year.
Strategy #6
Provide ongoing technology PD for staff to build distance learning capacity that will allow faculty to utilize technology as a primary method of instruction and assessment for adult students.

Leveraging Resources

New Strategies

Strategy #1
Improve partnership relations between adult schools and colleges to avoid duplicating services, continue to build student capacity, increase student career development as they transition to college, and to enhance current services and programs by expanding them in different ways through sources of funds, equipment purchases, software licensing, and official partnerships.
Strategy #2
Utilize Workforce Connection (WC) resources, services, and funds to bolster adult education programs and increase enrollment. Staff will increase participation on workforce boards, provide space on college campuses for WC staff to increase students’ knowledge of their services, have SCAEC Transitions Specialists work at WC offices to keep current on programs, and conduct presentations to educate students on adult school and workforce programs. WC will continue to provide students with disabilities with equipment and devices that will support their learning, as well as provide paid summer internships and trainings in the Reedley College Manufacturing, Welding, and Firefighting programs, and the Fresno City College Structural Firefighting and EMT programs.
Strategy #3
Utilize local Chambers of Commerce’s resources and outreach by marketing our courses to their members directly through chamber communication systems and through chamber activities. This will include surveying members for their needs through online surveys and by holding a virtual community event with industry to better incorporate necessary services, for example, developing and providing computer courses to support local businesses and meet their technology needs.
Strategy #4
Increase outreach to Community Based Organizations (CBOs) to create partnerships that will help expand utilization of regional resources for adult education students.
Strategy #5
Expand course offerings by sharing facilities with CBOs, K-12 school sites, and other locations. These locations provide classroom space and materials storage for teachers and students, while adult school sites can allow these organizations after-hour room usage for community meetings and events.

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.
Members will spend their allocated CAEP funds with the goal of closing any gaps in service and in meeting regional needs, as detailed in our 2020-2021 Annual Plan, and based on our three-year CAEP Plan. CAEP allocation funds are aligned with the Consortium’s goals of increasing education services and job training to meet the region’s needs in elementary/secondary basic skills, English as a Second Language, high school diploma programs, career and technical education, and programs for adults with disabilities. Our members are committed to continued progress towards the realization of the vision and goals of the SCAEC 3-year Plan and will continue to implement identified strategies that fill the regional gaps in service, support the seamless transition of students, increasing professional development opportunities for staff, better leverage resources, and to accelerate transitions for learners across the SCAEC region. Members will be able to work with their district’s CBO or CFO to ensure that all CAEP expenditures are in alignment with the SCAEC Annual Plan and three-year Plan. Budgets are reviewed on a regular basis.
An approach to incorporating remaining carry-over funds from prior year(s) into strategies planned for 2020-21.
Our consortium will incorporate remaining carry-over funds primarily through the following: •Expand our range of course offerings and increase the number of instructional hours by hiring additional faculty, and funding certificated salaries.•Purchase or lease initial start-up materials and/or equipment required for any new course offerings.•Purchase or lease needed equipment for existing programs.•Expand facilities to accommodate the increase in enrollment. •Utilize funds to contract with Valley ROP to offer more CTE courses in our region.Carry-over funds will be used to maintain current services and provide additional services as described in the plan’s analysis of regional needs and gaps, which are to increase CTE programs, courses for immigrants, basic skills, pre-apprenticeship opportunities, while also upgrading career pathway and adults with disabilities services and programs.

Certification

Caruthers Unified - Member Representative

Approved by Tod Tompkins

08/12/2020 11:37 AM PDT

Central Unified - Member Representative

Approved by Dale Richey

08/11/2020 12:22 PM PDT

Chawanakee Unified - Member Representative

Approved by Darren Sylvia

08/09/2020 02:51 PM PDT

Clovis Community College - Member Representative

Approved by Pamm Zierfuss-Hubbard

08/11/2020 05:06 PM PDT

Clovis Unified - Member Representative

Approved by Ed Schmalzel

08/10/2020 08:04 AM PDT

Dinuba Unified - Member Representative

Approved by Peggy Garispe

08/10/2020 11:58 AM PDT

Fresno City College - Member Representative

Approved by Donna Cooper

08/09/2020 03:24 PM PDT

Fresno Co. Office of Education - Member Representative

Approved by Ms. Valerie Vuicich

08/10/2020 09:45 AM PDT

Fresno Unified - Member Representative

Approved by Raine Bumatay

08/09/2020 04:06 PM PDT

Golden Valley Unified - Member Representative

Approved by LACY MENESES

08/10/2020 09:16 AM PDT

Kings Canyon Joint Unified - Member Representative

Approved by Rich Ishimaru

08/10/2020 09:29 AM PDT

Madera Unified - Member Representative

Approved by Mr. David Raygoza

08/10/2020 01:32 PM PDT

Reedley College - Member Representative

Approved by Melanie Highfill

08/11/2020 01:11 PM PDT

Sanger Unified - Member Representative

Approved by Lori Hawkyard 3528991

08/10/2020 08:42 AM PDT

Selma Unified - Member Representative

Approved by Jose Bedolla

08/09/2020 02:51 PM PDT

Sierra Unified - Member Representative

Approved by Dr. Heather Wheeler

08/11/2020 12:04 PM PDT

State Center CCD - Member Representative

  • Jerome Countee
  • Vice Chancellor, Educational Services & Institutional Effectiveness
  • jerome.countee@scccd.edu
  • (559) 243-7261
Approved by Rozanne Hernandez MFT

08/10/2020 09:55 AM PDT

Valley ROP - Member Representative

Approved by Fabrizio Lofaro

08/10/2020 01:06 PM PDT

Washington Unified - Member Representative

  • Grant Thor
  • Principal of Alternative Education
  • gthor@wusd.ws
  • (559) 495-5691
Approved by Grant Thor

08/10/2020 07:49 AM PDT

Yosemite Unified - Member Representative

Approved by Stephanie Osowski

08/10/2020 05:22 PM PDT