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CAEP Annual Plan: 2021-22 02 Antelope Valley Regional Adult Education Consortium

Status: Consortium Approved

California Adult Education Program : Annual Plan : 2021-22 Produced: Aug 13, 2021, 02:46 PM UTC Kendra Oberly

02 Antelope Valley Regional Adult Education Consortium

Plans & Goals - Consortium Approved

Executive Summary
Like many other consortiums around the State, we saw a major decline in enrollment last year with schools closing because of COVID 19. The main focus of the consortium this year will be to reopen all programs, and find ways to increase enrollment. We are in the process of opening programs/classes in multiple areas around the region. A top priority will be to offer educational programs in a safe and responsible manor, while helping students overcome barriers to distance learning that may have kept them out of school for an extended period of time. To accomplish these goals, the consortium will focus on the following: 1. AVRAEC will continue to utilize the online registration program that was implemented last year. 2. AVRAEC will continue to implement an Adult Education specific marketing plan to bring about awareness of programs to the community. 3. AVRAEC will upgrade technology needs across all programs to assist students in accessing the curriculum. 4. AVRAEC will continue to utilize, and improve, distance learning platforms to allow students the opportunity to work from home, when appropriate, in a safe environment. 5. AVRAEC will continue to develop partnerships with agencies across the region in an effort to provide educational opportunities to a greater number of community members. 6. AVRAEC will continue to upgrade current AVUHSD facilities in order to offer high quality programs both in person and through distance learning. Each of these are directly related to the goals outlined in the three yearplan, section 2.5.
Regional Planning Overview
While the COVID-19 pandemic, and the resulting school closures, made implementation of our strategies challenging, we are committed to moving forward towards reaching the goals we have set out in the three year plan. Antelope Valley Adult Education recently went through the process of gaining WASC Accreditation. This process has helped us identify areas of strength and need, and develop goals to meet our areas of need as it pertains to classroom instruction. The process was very beneficial, and we were granted a six (6) year accreditation. Additionally, the consortium continues to be purposeful in the development of community partners to assist in implementing our plan. As more and more events (job fairs, resource fairs, etc.) come back in-person, we are using our partners to spread the word about the availability of adult education programs being offered in the area. We continue to list our programs on the I-Train so that community partners are able to refer potential students to the adult school. The consortium continues to meet on a regular basis to review needs of the region and ways in which we can meet those needs.

Meeting Regional Needs

Regional Need #1

Gaps in Service / Regional Needs
There is a need for more low cost career training programs.
How do you know? What resources did you use to identify these gaps?
This gap was first identified through community forums that were held during the writing of the original Adult Education consortium plan. During these forums, community members were asked to list priorities for the region, and areas of need. Overwhelmingly, a lack of adult CTE programs was the number one area identified. Over the years, this continues to be the number one priority of the region. In addition to these forums, local partners (AJCC, GAIN, DOR, etc.) have all identified a need for career training for their participants. Currently, there is only one adult school in the region, and they are offering a very low number of career training programs. Data from the most recent GAVEA (Greater Antelope Valley Economic Alliance) Round Table Report, shows that between 25 & 30% of the regions residents (approximately 150,000 to 200,000 people) are high school graduates with no additional training. Enrollment in career training programs has been very low the past eighteen months due to the shutdowns caused by Covid-19. Therefore, this will remain a top priority for us moving foreword.
How will you measure effectiveness / progress towards meeting this need?
Success will be measured in three main ways. First will be the introduction of new programs. Additional programs will allow more students to access programs. Second will be the number of students enrolled in adult CTE programs. By offering additional programs, we should see a significant increase in enrollment. Third will be the number of students earning certifications through these programs. Building programs, and adding students should eventually lead to additional students gaining certification and ultimately gaining employment.

Regional Need #2

Gaps in Service / Regional Needs
There is a need for additional ASE programs.
How do you know? What resources did you use to identify these gaps?
Data from the most recent GAVEA (Greater Antelope Valley Economic Alliance) Round Table Report, shows that between 20 & 25% of the region's residents (approximately 100,000 to 150,000 people) currently have less than high school diploma. Last year, there were approximately 1,100 students enrolled in the ASE programs offered at AVAE.
How will you measure effectiveness / progress towards meeting this need?
Electiveness will be measured by the number of ASE classes offered. The number of students enrolled in ASE classes. The number of credits earned in ASE classes. The number of sections passed on HSE exams. The number of HSD graduates. The number of HSE exams passed.

Regional Need #3

Gaps in Service / Regional Needs
There is a need for additional ESL programs.
How do you know? What resources did you use to identify these gaps?
Data from the most recent GAVEA (Greater Antelope Valley Economic Alliance) Round Table Report, shows that approximately 60% of the region's residents (approximately 300,000 people) currently come from families that do not speak English as their first language. Currently, there are approximately 400 students enrolled in the ESL programs offered at AVAE.
How will you measure effectiveness / progress towards meeting this need?
Effectiveness will be measured by the number of ESL classes offered. The number of students enrolled in ESL classes. The number of gains earned in ESL classes. The number of ESL students completing the program. The number of ESL students transitioning to CTE or higher education programs.

Regional Need #4

Gaps in Service / Regional Needs
The region needs additional programs for adults with disabilities.
How do you know? What resources did you use to identify these gaps?
Antelope Valley Adult Education is the only provider of Adult Education in the region. There are currently 87 AWD students enrolled in AVAE programs. The Antelope Valley Union High School district is the largest high school district serving the region. They have well over a thousand students that would qualify for these programs once they exit high school.
How will you measure effectiveness / progress towards meeting this need?
Effectiveness will be measured by showing a growing number of AWD students enrolled in the programs. Additionally we will measure success by increasing the number of AWD students that complete the program and gain employment in the community.

Gaps In Service

New Strategies

Strategy #1
All programs are receiving technology upgrades. All ASE and ESL programs offered by the consortium have been given a technology base that will allow students to access the content information from home or school. Additionally, all facilities are being upgrade with new technology to allow these programs to be offered with fidelity.
Strategy #2
Adult Education specific professional development is being offered to all instructors. AVAE has implemented 3 student free days throughout the school year. These days are designed to allow teachers time for professional development, data analysis, and program planning. We have been focusing specifically on developing high quality distance learning strategies.
Strategy #3
All programs have a distance learning component imbedded into them. For many of our citizens, travel is a major barrier to attaining their educational goals. By allowing students to access distance learning components, we will be able to meet the needs of many community members in the region.
Strategy #4
The consortium implemented a virtual registration process last year. This allows students to register without having to come to the school in person. In the past, while we were registering in person, we were able to register between 250-400 students per week. The new system is virtually unlimited on how many people can register at a time. This allows more students to access programs quicker.
Strategy #5
The consortium, in conjunction with the AVUHSD WE CARE program, developed a program for AWD that allows students to gain real world OTJ experience. Students work a set number of hours for the Adult School, and are paid through WE CARE funds.

Seamless Transitions

New Strategies

Strategy #1
Last year we implemented a system that allowed students to schedule virtual meetings with our counselors. This year we have extended the program to other divisions of the school. Rather than have to come in person to the campus, students are able to schedule virtual meetings to take care of most things they will encounter while at the school. Examples of this are: virtual tutoring session, virtual sessions with the guidance clerk, and virtual sessions with the registrar.

Student Acceleration

New Strategies

Strategy #1
This year the consortium will offer classes in a hybrid form. Teachers will teach from their classes in person half the week, and be available for online virtual meetings the other half.
Strategy #2
We have created a new online registration system this year. This new system allows staff to register students as they sign up on line. In the past, the student had to make an appointment and come in for a multi hour process. This new system allows staff to be ready for the student when they get here and has dramatically decreased the time it takes to register a student.

Professional Development

New Strategies

Strategy #1
All teachers are going to complete a plan for professional growth where they will identify specific individualized professional development needs.
Strategy #2
All teachers will be given the opportunity to attend professional development presented by the school, the school district, and various State level organizations.

Leveraging Resources

New Strategies

Strategy #1
The consortium is constantly trying to build relationships with various partners around the region. We are leveraging those relationships to help us increase enrollment now that we have returned to school.

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 main focus for AVAERC will be to continue offering services to as many community members of the region as possible. after being shut down to in-person teacher for over a year, much of our effort will be focused on getting students to return to school. We plan to accomplish this through a targeted marketing strategy, and by offering new and improved programs in updated facilities. These goals are in direct alignment of the consortium's three-year plan.
An approach to incorporating remaining carry-over funds from prior year(s) into strategies planned for 2021-22.
The consortium plans to incorporate carry-over funds into all areas of the adult education programs. The main need for these funds will be to continue build the foundation of the adult education programs for the region. This includes, adding new facilities, improving current facilities, upgrading technology across all programs, and increasing staffing so that students may be served with greater fidelity. Many of the costs of this "foundation" will be one-time expenses, and will allow the consortium to operate at a low cost for many years to come.

Certification

Antelope Valley CCD - Member Representative

Approved by Cathy Hart

08/12/2021 03:30 PM PDT

Antelope Valley Union High - Member Representative

  • Steve Radford
  • Regional Director - College/Career Preparation and Adult Education
  • sradford@avhsd.org
  • (661) 942-3042
Approved by Kendra Oberly

08/13/2021 07:46 AM PDT