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CAEP Annual Plan: 2022-23 12 Contra Costa Adult Education Consortium

Status: Consortium Approved

California Adult Education Program : Annual Plan : 2022-23 Produced: Sep 13, 2022, 03:43 AM UTC Kelly Schelin

12 Contra Costa Adult Education Consortium

Plans & Goals

Executive Summary


Overview

In accordance with California Adult Education Program (CAEP) requirements, the Contra Costa County Adult Education Consortium (CCCAEC) has developed its 2022-2023 Annual Plan to guide implementation of adult education services during the 2022-2023 period. This Annual Plan is directed by the Consortium’s CAEP-required 2022-2025 Three-year Plan. 

Consortium Overview

The CCCAEC is made up of 12 members that include seven K-12 adult education centers, three community colleges, one representative from the Contra Costa Community College District, and one representative from the Contra Costa Office of Education, as listed below. 

K-12 Adult Education

  • Acalanes Adult Education
  • Antioch Adult Education
  • Liberty Adult Education
  • Martinez Adult Education
  • Mt Diablo Adult Education
  • Pittsburg Adult Education
  • West Contra Costa Adult Education

Contra Costa Community College District

  • Contra Costa College
  • Contra Costa Community College District
  • Diablo Valley College
  • Los Medanos College
  • Contra Costa Office of Education
  • Contra Costa Adult School

Contra Costa Office of Education

  • Contra Costa Adult School

The CCCAEC is led by the Steering Committee made of up board appointed voting members and non-voting members representing each member agency. The CCCAEC maintains various regional workgroups that support operational aspects of the CCCAEC’s efforts. Given the distinct communities in the county, the CCCAEC has also adopted a sub-regional approach to planning and implementation to ensure that strategies included in the three-year and annual plans are tailored to most effectively respond to local needs. As part of the annual planning process, representatives from each subregion will convene to prioritize and strategize implementation of activities named within consortium-level plans. Sub-regional approaches to plan implementation will be reviewed at the Steering Committee level to assure alignment with the overarching regional objectives and strategies. 

Accomplishments from the 2021-2022 Program Year:

  • Continued to Refine Workgroup and Organizational Structure:  Evaluated Steering Committee and workgroup meeting cadence and efficiency. Reduced meeting frequency and instituted new meeting norms and expectations to increase efficiency and transparency. Rotated leadership of the Steering Committee, per internally agreed upon process.

  • Sub-Regional Planning: Continued to build upon sub-regional planning processes established in 2020-2021 and implemented quarterly sub-regional team presentations to the Steering Committee to showcase progress toward sub-regional goals. 

  • Refined Fiscal Process: Budget and Fiscal Workgroup updated the Budget and Fiscal Agreement to include the implementation of new process for one-time budget reallocations on an annual basis and to further clarify the annual budget development process. 

  • COVID Response:  Continued to provide both remote and hybrid learning and resources to students/faculty.

  • Student Acceleration:  Supporting student acceleration through aligned curricula and investment and supports for career/college readiness.

Primary Goals for the 2022-2023 Program Year:

  • Identify and address foundational skill gaps among students in Contra Costa County.

  • Assess professional development (PD) needs for data & transition personnel consortium-wide and address through refinement of existing approaches and exploration of new spaces for exchange and learning.

  • Coordinate outreach to potential partners and formalize agreements.

This plan provides a roadmap for the CCCAEC to continue to expand its capacity to serve adult learners and build the regional infrastructure to support seamless transitions and pathways to education and career goals. Following implementation beginning 2022, the plan will be viewed as a living document to be modified as needs emerge or indicators require adjustment.

Regional Planning Overview

To ensure the 2022-23 Annual Plan is aligned to the recently submitted Three-Year Plan, Consortium members met to review the recently developed strategy areas and objectives, and to reflect on ongoing site- and consortium-level needs. The discussion of regional strategies in the sections below captures progress made under the Three-Year Plan as well as proposed Consortium activities for the 2022-23 CAEP implementation period. 

The 2022-23 Annual Plan is the first year in the recently submitted Three-Year Plan.  As the three-year plan was developed, all CCCAEC members actively participated in the development of the plan and agreed to adhere to the implementation goals included within. Members participated in both needs assessment and planning activities to identify key areas of need and targeted strategies to address them.

As 2021-22 continued to be a challenging year for education providers and students across all levels, the Annual Plan reflects issues related to educational attainment, staff capacity, and professional development, and student transitions impacting adult learners in Contra Costa County.


Meeting Regional Needs

Regional Need #1

Gaps in Service / Regional Needs

Educational Attainment

Contra Costa County has relatively high levels of educational attainment and low levels of poverty in comparison to State averages. However, County-level data do not reflect the substantial challenges that disproportionately impact high-need communities located in Richmond (West) and East County. According to the American Community Survey 2020 Demographic Data, within Contra Costa County, 85,696 individuals ages 18 and up lack a high school diploma or equivalency.  Among those without a high school diploma in Contra Costa, over half identify as Hispanic (51.2%), and 48% with limited English skills.

These relatively low levels of formal education in these communities will increasingly become a challenge for employment attainment as 7 out of the top ten fastest-growing professions in the Bay Area require more than a high school diploma. Expanded access to ABE/ASE and foundational skill development will be an ongoing need that CCCAEC will continue to prioritize in the next year.

How do you know? What resources did you use to identify these gaps?

The CCCAEC undertook a pre-planning process that engaged member agencies, partners, and stakeholders in a comprehensive needs assessment and self-evaluation assessment. The Consortium Management Team facilitated the assessment phase with regular input, guidance, and coordination from an internal Planning Taskforce (PTF) made up of a small number of representatives from adult schools, Contra Costa County Office of Education and the community college district. The PTF and Consortium Management Team proposed assessment and planning frameworks to the CCCAEC Steering Committee for review and approval. Key assessment activities are detailed below:

  • Planning Taskforce (PTF): Formation and regular convening of a key consultative and administrative body within the Consortium to guide and coordinate needs assessment and three-year planning activities.

  • Development of Outreach and Analytic Framework Proposal: The Consortia Management Team, in collaboration with the PTF, developed a needs assessment data collection plan and analytic framework for review, comment, and adoption by the CCCAEC Steering Committee.

  • CCCAEC Site Interviews/Focus Groups: This activity leveraged the existing practice of conducting annual site interviews and small discussion groups to engage with each key informant from each CCCAEC member site and elicit perspectives on current Consortium strengths, challenges, gaps, student barriers, and emerging needs.

  • Consortium Program Quality Self-Assessment Survey: This self-assessment tool was created by CAEP to help consortia evaluate their effectiveness in the following key areas: Capacity, Connection, Entry, Progress, and Completion/Transition

  • Secondary Data Collection and Analysis: The PTF utilized CAEP Fact sheets, US census data, local Workforce Board Development plans, and regional labor market data to understand regional educational, workforce, and economic needs experienced across Contra Costa County’s communities. The planning team also reviewed CCCAEC student enrollment, success, and transition data from LaunchBoard and TOPSpro to identify gaps in service and relevant trends and compare against regional data to identify gaps in populations served.

Following the completion of data collection activities and preliminary needs assessment findings development, the CCCAEC embarked on the planning phase that included the following activities:

  • Planning Workshop #1: Consortium administrators, faculty, and support staff reviewed preliminary needs assessment findings to validate findings, identify additional needs and/or gaps, and identify high-level strategic priorities for the three-year planning period aligned to the three CAEP mandated objective domains: Educational Needs, Service Integration and Transitions, and Service Effectiveness.

  • Strategy Refinement and Adoption: the PTF met with RDA to consolidate and refine high-level strategies based on discussion held in the previous planning workshop. The strategies were then presented at the next CCCCAEC Steering Committee at which time the Committee voted unanimously to approve.

  • Planning Workshop #2: Consortium administrators, faculty, and support staff convened for a half-day workshop to break down strategies into actionable activities and identify associated short, medium, and long-term impacts.

  • Metric Selection and Presentation: The PTF and RDA met to refine activities and develop recommendations to the Steering Committee for activity performance metrics. The recommendations were then presented, discussed, and agreed upon by the Steering Committee. 

How will you measure effectiveness / progress towards meeting this need?

The CCCAEC has convened a Data and Accountability Workgroup, which will provide baseline reports from Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment Systems (CASAS) for all Adult Education sites in the Consortium. This baseline data will then be used to assess the educational attainment needs of the student population. 

Regional Need #2

Gaps in Service / Regional Needs

Staff capacity and professional development were identified as a factor that impacts the staff’s ability to best serve adult learners.  In particular, CCCAEC members have noted a decrease in the capacity of transition support staff  to refer students to services or agencies outside of their home campuses.

How do you know? What resources did you use to identify these gaps?

The CCCAEC undertook a pre-planning process that engaged member agencies, partners, and stakeholders in a comprehensive needs assessment and self-evaluation assessment. The Consortium Management Team facilitated the assessment phase with regular input, guidance, and coordination from an internal Planning Taskforce (PTF) made up of a small number of representatives from adult schools, Contra Costa County Office of Education, and the community college district. The PTF and Consortium Management Team proposed assessment and planning frameworks to the CCCAEC Steering Committee for review and approval. Key assessment activities are detailed below:

  • Planning Taskforce (PTF): Formation and regular convening of a key consultative and administrative body within the Consortium to guide and coordinate needs assessment and three-year planning activities.

  • Development of Outreach and Analytic Framework Proposal: The Consortia Management Team, in collaboration with the PTF, developed a needs assessment data collection plan and analytic framework for review, comment, and adoption by the CCCAEC Steering Committee.

  • CCCAEC Site Interviews/Focus Groups: This activity leveraged the existing practice of conducting annual site interviews and small discussion groups to engage with each key informant from each CCCAEC member site and elicit perspectives on current Consortium strengths, challenges, gaps, student barriers, and emerging needs.

  • Consortium Program Quality Self-Assessment Survey: This self-assessment tool was created by CAEP to help consortia evaluate their effectiveness in the following key areas: Capacity, Connection, Entry, Progress, and Completion/Transition

  • Secondary Data Collection and Analysis: The PTF utilized CAEP Fact sheets, US census data, local Workforce Board Development plans, and regional labor market data to understand regional educational, workforce, and economic needs experienced across Contra Costa County’s communities. The planning team also reviewed CCCAEC student enrollment, success, and transition data from LaunchBoard and TOPSpro to identify gaps in service and relevant trends and compare against regional data to identify gaps in populations served.

Following the completion of data collection activities and preliminary needs assessment findings development, the CCCAEC embarked on the planning phase that included the following activities:

  • Planning Workshop #1: Consortium administrators, faculty, and support staff reviewed preliminary needs assessment findings to validate findings, identify additional needs and/or gaps, and identify high-level strategic priorities for the three-year planning period aligned to the three CAEP mandated objective domains: Educational Needs, Service Integration and Transitions, and Service Effectiveness.

  • Strategy Refinement and Adoption: the PTF met with RDA to consolidate and refine high-level strategies based on discussion held in the previous planning workshop. The strategies were then presented at the next CCCCAEC Steering Committee at which time the Committee voted unanimously to approve.

  • Planning Workshop #2: Consortium administrators, faculty, and support staff convened for a half-day workshop to break down strategies into actionable activities and identify associated short, medium, and long-term impacts.

  • Metric Selection and Presentation: The PTF and RDA met to refine activities and develop recommendations to the Steering Committee for activity performance metrics. The recommendations were then presented, discussed, and agreed upon by the Steering Committee. 

How will you measure effectiveness / progress towards meeting this need?

The consortium will conduct a survey to identify the professional development needs of data and transition personnel to gauge success of supporting professional development needs of personnel.

Regional Need #3

Gaps in Service / Regional Needs

Student Transitions

The transition of adult learners into post-secondary education, training, and/or employment is a high priority for the CCCAEC. For many adult learners, the successful transition to post-secondary coursework, at either adult education or community college sites, is a critical capstone in meeting their education and career goals. As both the leader of adult education in the region and a workforce development partner, CCCAEC will continue to build on current investments to both support and measure successful student transitions. 

While CCCAEC continues to make progress in supporting successful transitions, this also continues to be an area for additional improvement and investment. During the self-assessment, CCCAEC members identified one of the key challenges for the consortium is to facilitate successful transitions from secondary education into post-secondary education and/or employment.

The ability of member agencies to share, coordinate, or align services has improved slightly over the past three years, but continues to be one of the consortium’s largest areas for improvement. Concurrent enrollment is offered by all CCCAEC members, but it is not currently implemented in a coordinated fashion. And, while there is a sense that the level of enrollment has increased since 2019, the data infrastructure needed to track this trend fully is lacking.  Improvements in these areas are expected to further student support and successful transitions.

How do you know? What resources did you use to identify these gaps?

The CCCAEC undertook a pre-planning process that engaged member agencies, partners, and stakeholders in a comprehensive needs assessment and self-evaluation assessment. The Consortium Management Team facilitated the assessment phase with regular input, guidance, and coordination from an internal Planning Taskforce (PTF) made up of a small number of representatives from adult schools, Contra Costa County Office of Education and the community college district. The PTF and Consortium Management Team proposed assessment and planning frameworks to the CCCAEC Steering Committee for review and approval. Key assessment activities are detailed below:

  • Planning Taskforce (PTF): Formation and regular convening of a key consultative and administrative body within the Consortium to guide and coordinate needs assessment and three-year planning activities.

  • Development of Outreach and Analytic Framework Proposal: The Consortia Management Team, in collaboration with the PTF, developed a needs assessment data collection plan and analytic framework for review, comment, and adoption by the CCCAEC Steering Committee.

  • CCCAEC Site Interviews/Focus Groups: This activity leveraged the existing practice of conducting annual site interviews and small discussion groups to engage with each key informant from each CCCAEC member site and elicit perspectives on current Consortium strengths, challenges, gaps, student barriers, and emerging needs.

  • Consortium Program Quality Self-Assessment Survey: This self-assessment tool was created by CAEP to help consortia evaluate their effectiveness in the following key areas: Capacity, Connection, Entry, Progress, and Completion/Transition

  • Secondary Data Collection and Analysis: The PTF utilized CAEP Fact sheets, US census data, local Workforce Board Development plans, and regional labor market data to understand regional educational, workforce, and economic needs experienced across Contra Costa County’s communities. The planning team also reviewed CCCAEC student enrollment, success, and transition data from LaunchBoard and TOPSpro to identify gaps in service and relevant trends and compare against regional data to identify gaps in populations served.

Following the completion of data collection activities and preliminary needs assessment findings development, the CCCAEC embarked on the planning phase that included the following activities:

  • Planning Workshop #1: Consortium administrators, faculty, and support staff reviewed preliminary needs assessment findings to validate findings, identify additional needs and/or gaps, and identify high-level strategic priorities for the three-year planning period aligned to the three CAEP mandated objective domains: Educational Needs, Service Integration and Transitions, and Service Effectiveness.

  • Strategy Refinement and Adoption: the PTF met with RDA to consolidate and refine high-level strategies based on discussion held in the previous planning workshop. The strategies were then presented at the next CCCCAEC Steering Committee at which time the Committee voted unanimously to approve.

  • Planning Workshop #2: Consortium administrators, faculty, and support staff convened for a half-day workshop to break down strategies into actionable activities and identify associated short, medium, and long-term impacts.

  • Metric Selection and Presentation: The PTF and RDA met to refine activities and develop recommendations to the Steering Committee for activity performance metrics. The recommendations were then presented, discussed, and agreed upon by the Steering Committee. 

How will you measure effectiveness / progress towards meeting this need?

The consortium will form a subgroup to conduct an inventory of current partnerships and develop a formal partner engagement plan that will prioritize engagement with potential partners and outline a plan for coordination among Consortium members.

Address Educational Needs

2022-23 Strategies

Optimize learning and clarify career pathways to support student success

Activity that Applies to this Strategy

Identify and address foundational skill gaps

Metrics that Apply to this Activity/Strategy

  • Success: Participants Who Earn a High School Diploma or Equivalency (AE 633 - Overall)
  • Success: Participants Who Earn a Postsecondary Credential (AE 625 - Overall)

To improve access to sustainable employment for all students, CCCAEC’s members will focus on identifying and addressing the foundational skills needed to accelerate student progress and support sustainable employment within local job sectors. The member institutions will assess the ability of existing instructional systems and services to meet the needs of students with skill gaps. It is expected that with additional targeted supports and enhanced curricula to address gaps, over time CCCAEC member sites will see an increase in the number of participants who earn a high school diploma or equivalency and/or a postsecondary credential.  

By March 2023, CCCAEC members will collect data through TE at year end.  The members will then assess emerging skill gaps through a variety of means including student evaluation and feedback, and faculty input.

Improve Integration of Services & Transitions

2022-23 Strategies

Enhance capacity to support seamless transition

Activity that Applies to this Strategy

Assess PD Needs

Metrics that Apply to this Activity/Strategy

  • Success: Participants Who Earn a High School Diploma or Equivalency (AE 633 - Overall)
  • Success: Participants Who Earn a Postsecondary Credential (AE 625 - Overall)

The CCCAEC will undertake initiatives to bolster the capacity of its transitions and data personnel.  At the site and sub-regional level, professional development needs will be identified as well as needed resources and tools. Based on emerging needs, the consortium will explore possibilities to revamp the previous transition specialist workgroup structure to develop ongoing spaces for mutual support, shared learning, and selection of best practices to incorporate into transition supports and processes. The consortium will explore models such as Professional Learning Circles (PLCs) to establish the most effective method of shared learning and active collaboration in an ongoing manner.  The CCCAEC expects that enhanced capacity to support adult learners in visioning, planning, and executing transitions, will increase successful student outcomes (i.e., earned HS diploma or postsecondary credentials).  

By June 2023, gaps and needs will be identified through assessments at the site level; these will help establish effective methods of shared learning for transition personnel.

Improve Effectiveness of Services

2022-23 Strategies

Subregionally strengthen Consortium partnerships to optimize referrals for adult learners

Activity that Applies to this Strategy

Coordinate outreach to potential partners

Metrics that Apply to this Activity/Strategy

  • All: Number of Adults Served (AE 200 - Overall)

After completion of the assessment described in Activity 3.2.A, the CCCAEC will engage its sub-regional planning groups to coordinate and conduct outreach to external partners. Sub-regional planning groups will also identify and surface opportunities for consortium-wide partnerships with service providers and local employers for consideration at the Steering Committee level. Member sites will pursue formalized agreements with partners where necessary to bolster available services and work based learning (WBL) opportunities (e.g., internships, mentorships, guest speakers, etc.). The CCCAEC will also explore opportunities to integrate community partners into shared student information and referral systems (e.g., CommunityPro). The CCCAEC expects that efforts to increase access to supportive services and career placement opportunities will facilitate increased participation in adult education services.

By March 2023, Sub-regional (and regional where applicable) outreach and engagement strategies will be developed and implemented to target potential partners.

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 planned allocations will be distributed to member agencies based on the originally approved percentages. Each member will utilize these funds to support existing Adult Education programs, grow and strengthen existing activities as indicated by increased targets, and implement the activities detailed within the CCCAEC three-year plan.

On an annual basis, CCCAEC members develop and approve member allocation budgets through the annual budget development process outlined in the CCCAEC’s governance document. The final allocation budget is entered into the current year’s Consortium Fiscal Administration Declaration. This document is reviewed and approved at the CCCAEC Steering Committee meeting, a public meeting, by board-designated, voting members. On an ongoing basis, the fiscal oversight workgroup ensures accountability of the usage of funds by members and provides recommendations to the Steering Committee as needed. Lastly, the CCCAEC utilizes the annual planning process as a mechanism to review consortium goals and strategies and ensure funding allocations are aligned.  

An approach to incorporating remaining carry-over funds from prior year(s) into strategies planned for 2022-23.

Carry-over funds initially roll over within member budgets; however, the Consortium does have a process by which it can shift carry-over funds to members in need of additional funding using a one-time reallocation process. Any carry-over from common costs (including any contingency budget) gets reallocated to members in this fashion. The Consortium’s Budget and Fiscal Agreement, Section III, Items 4 & 5 state:

  1. Members may request a one-time allocation amendment if they require additional funds for one-time expenses. 

  • One-time allocation amendments may only be applied to one-time expenses, not ongoing costs.
  • Adult school members that desire a one-time allocation amendment should inform the CCAEN chair by September 1. Colleges that desire an amendment should inform the CCCCD Steering Committee co-chair by the same date. Each group will convene in September and October to develop a proposal for one-time reallocations for their respective proportion of the consortium budgets.
  • Proposals will be considered at the November Budget and Fiscal Workgroup meeting. The workgroup will determine whether to forward recommendations to the Steering Committee.
  • One-time allocation adjustments will be funded using carry-over from members that did not fully expend the previous year’s budget. Member carry-over equates to remaining funds from the previous year minus eligible reserve for economic uncertainty (REU) funds.

    5. Members that have projected carry-over may retain up to 3% of their budget allocation as REU to support fiscal solvency in the face of economic uncertainty. A member’s REU may not to exceed its projected carry-over amount. 

Certification

Acalanes Union High - Member Representative

Approved by Steven France

09/09/2022 06:56 AM PDT

Antioch Unified - Member Representative

Approved by Cynthia Hunt

09/09/2022 09:37 AM PDT

Contra Costa CCD - Member Representative

  • Associate Vice Chancellor, Educational Services
  • kschelin@4cd.edu
  • (925) 229-6826
  • Senior Dean of Career and Community Partnership
  • barman@dvc.edu
  • (925) 969-2240
Approved by Kelly Schelin

09/12/2022 08:43 PM PDT

Contra Costa Co. Office of Education - Member Representative

Approved by Hilary Dito

09/09/2022 07:33 AM PDT

Liberty Union High - Member Representative

  • Coordinator of Adult Education
  • steens@luhsd.net
  • (925) 634-2565 ext: 1073
Approved by Sarah Steen

09/09/2022 10:22 AM PDT

Martinez Unified - Member Representative

Approved by Suzanne Murphy

09/09/2022 09:15 AM PDT

Mt. Diablo Unified - Member Representative

  • Director, College & Career and Adult Education
  • abbategv@mdusd.org
  • (925) 685-7340 ext: 6711
Approved by Vittoria Abbate

09/09/2022 08:10 AM PDT

Pittsburg Unified - Member Representative

Approved by Lisa Williams

09/09/2022 08:27 AM PDT

West Contra Costa Unified - Member Representative

Approved by Dr Paul Mansingh

09/09/2022 01:31 PM PDT