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CAEP Annual Plan: 2020-21 18 Gavilan Regional Adult Career and Education Services

Status: Consortium Approved

California Adult Education Program : Annual Plan : 2020-21 Produced: Aug 18, 2020, 03:28 PM UTC Randy Brown

18 Gavilan Regional Adult Career and Education Services

Plans & Goals - Consortium Approved

Executive Summary
Gavilan Regional Adult and Career Education Services (ACES) endeavors to expand existing programs and services and to connect with more community services and businesses. Program areas to be served will continue to be Classes for Immigrants, High School Equivalency/High School Diploma, and Short-Term Vocational Programs. These areas, detailed in ACES’ Three Year Plan, specifically address the on-going challenges facing learners and the programs that serve them, particularly in regards to current difficulties including COVID-19, budget reductions, and systemic racial injustice. In addition to expanding resources to navigate these challenges in 2019-2020, ACES has integrated plans into the 2020-2021 Annual Plan that directly and specifically address these difficulties. In the 2019-2020 year, ACES is proud to have accomplished many previously established goals. In particular, the new ESL curriculum was expanded and further reviewed by instructors of both adult education and community college ESL programs in order to align and articulate programs. This alignment outlined the scope and sequence of each program so that gaps can be avoided in linguistic development and preparation. We have continued to provide counseling and articulation support to our adult education partners. Gavilan counselors regularly attend San Benito High School and Gilroy Adult Education classes and have made presentations for Morgan Hill Community Adult School. An emphasis on student transition from adult education to higher level courses has continued to pay off and the rates of students who move from community-based Life-skills ESL courses to higher level or vocational courses has continued to increase. These results reflect the support provided by counselors, faculty, peer advisors, and staff. Additionally, ACES pivoted very quickly in March of 2020 to providing all classes and training online. In order to support staff, training on distance / online teaching was held in June and July, with an emphasis on using technology to build and deliver effective lessons. All ACES members were encouraged to participate and many teachers were trained in these programs. For the 2020-2021 year, ACES is establishing further goals that will address the broader vision of the Consortium and address the specific challenges of this year. One such goal is to ensure that learners continue to have access to educational and vocational opportunities and pathways despite the restrictions of COVID-19. By providing on-going training for teachers in methods of online teaching, by pushing vocational programs focusing on needed regional skills, and by offering continued counseling and personal services such as food banks, access to legal assistance, and personalized tutoring, ACES is actively addressing the needs and challenges of adult learners during this time. We have pivoted programs to address the safety concerns of COVDI-19 to offer online classes. High School Diploma assessments are available to be taken at home, via zoom, or in cars in the parking lot, and we are scheduling individual appointments for CASAS testing. Cleaning protocols have been put into place, and all meetings and training are done via Zoom and/or telephone. Additionally, the HiSET testing center has been updated to accommodate smaller groups with more space. One of the most pressing goals moving forward is to focus on social justice and educational equity. The year will kick-off with a “Super Region” Professional Development series focused on trauma-informed teaching. The Regional Consortia will then host a speaker series with monthly workshops on bias, equity, and social-emotional learning. In addition, the Directors will continue to rely heavily on demographic data to inform strategies of supporting each learner. Our goal is to ensure that all who work with adult learners do so through the lens of social justice and work to reduce barriers for these students. A critical goal is to continue programming despite budget reductions. With the use of carryover, the redistribution of funds, and the minimizing of funds going toward capital expenditures (rent and utilities), ACES is able to retain most current programs and offer more options for distance learning to additional learners in the region. However, the overall number of classes has been reduced to support online learning instead of physical in-class sessions. We will use rollover funds to fund an ESL class from a local non-profit that closed in the community.
Regional Planning Overview
The consortium holds regular meetings and has frequent partner updates and discussions regarding collaborative opportunities. The current planning process has laid the foundation for the consortium's three-year plan. The consortium has conducted research, gap analyses, and asset mapping, which has led to highly detailed logic models. All of these efforts will ensure that the next three-year plan will be well-founded and data driven. Due to the challenges of COVID-19, budget reductions, and racial injustice, adjustments have been made in many areas of the annual plan to better support learners. All classes have moved onto online platforms, some students services have been reduced (ie childcare) and others have been expanded (ie food bank and legal services), and the focus of professional development is on online/distance education, racial injustice, and educational equity.

Meeting Regional Needs

Regional Need #1

Gaps in Service / Regional Needs
High School Equivalency Attainment continues to be a gap for the southern part of our service area. A large proportion of our Latinx residents do not have a high school diploma. Outreach and marketing efforts will target this population that will drive more students into these consortium services. ESL enrollment has been affected by many students not being able to continue in the online modality. Parents, who have children at home with their own educational needs, have had a hard time consistently participating in online instruction. Students who have the lowest language, educational background, and technical skills are those who have dropped out at higher rates. We are reaching out individually to reconnect them and also developing better online experiences for these and all students. There are few short-term vocational program opportunities for community members. While Gavilan has developed HVAC and Water programs, more short-term options need to be available to transition laid off workers into other careers. Program development takes time and investment, but more work in this area is needed. We have begun to implement our partnership with the United Farm Workers to offer free individual legal assistance to our students. Students can schedule an appointment through an easy-to-use interface. The information about these services are going out to all instructors, peer advisors and staff who interface with our students.
How do you know? What resources did you use to identify these gaps?
College enrollment data is pulled from dashboard tools. A review of demographic data showed a dramatic need for high school diploma/high school equivalency services particularly in the Southern part of the district and particularly with Latinx learners. In San Benito County, for example, 37 percent of Latino males do not have a high school diploma. The consortium used American Community Survey data to look at regional and ethnic sub-groupings. The data was very instructive in targeting sub-populations and even neighborhoods for services.
How will you measure effectiveness / progress towards meeting this need?
Student diploma and high school equivalency test completion will be tracked to determine the effectiveness of the outreach and programming. These are data that are tracked through the consortium and through statewide tools.

Regional Need #2

Gaps in Service / Regional Needs
Like many areas in the industrial marketplace, manufacturing businesses are indicating a great need to fill open positions. Due to there being so many jobs available, there are many options for workers to choose from so the market is changing in what it is requiring from workers as well as what businesses are offering potential new employees. Depending on the task required, some businesses are offering on-site training, more part-time positions, or lowering educational and English proficiency requirements. However, the majority of businesses are still looking for knowledge in basic to intermediate computers, more advanced computer skills in programs like computer aided design (CAD) software or enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, Solid Works, and understanding of how to read blueprints. Even with the current multiple opportunities for employment, market projections see this industry sector continuing to rise as high as 10% in some areas of manufacturing but as high as 15% for computer controlled manufacturing in the next 6 years. Jobs in these fields grew 2.6% in the last year in Santa Clara and San Benito Counties. In a market that is falling in many other industries in the local area, this growth was one of the largest growths seen in all local industries in the last year (March 2019). The Health Care & Social Assistance sector employment numbers (which the listed occupations are a part of) has risen by 2.1% in the last year which demonstrates some growth even in a plateaued economic environment. Overall the rate of change or growth of jobs predicted for the Health Care occupations listed over the 2017-22 time period run from 8.7% for Pharmacy Technicians to 15.6% growth for Phlebotomist and Medical Assistants. Agricultural businesses in both South Santa Clara County and San Benito County are having labor shortages at all skill levels. Regional agricultural businesses continue to face issues that effect California agriculture overall such as: food safety, regulation, weather, and development pressures. As in most industries, prices pressures are constant. Businesses are reporting not being able to fill open positions. There is an increased interest in the creation of partnerships to train existing employees to fill higher level positions. Additionally, employers are looking to our students to fill open positions. San Benito County projects growth for agriculture to be relatively flat at under 2% for the next 10 years. As for labor market growth, it appears as if food safety professionals and food processor positions are both being projected to grow over the next 5 years at over 6%.
How do you know? What resources did you use to identify these gaps?
Labor market data was intensively reviewed to identify the sectors that had the most growth potential and employment needs over the next ten years. The consortium members also surveyed local business representatives to better understand current and future labor market conditions. A gap analysis was also used to determine what services were not currently offered.
How will you measure effectiveness / progress towards meeting this need?
Program development will be measured by an increase in the number of short term vocational programs and their enrollments. Student program completion and job placement will be used to determine the effectiveness of the newly developed programs and hubs. Due to COVID-19, unemployment in California rose from 4.2% in April 2019 to 16.4% in May 2020, to 14.9% in June 2020. In response to these ever changing rates, market trends will be reviewed by ACES quarterly and adjustments made in programming in order to best support student training and community vocational needs.

Regional Need #3

Gaps in Service / Regional Needs
As with most adult and high need students, support for student transitions is exceedingly important. The consortium has three partner adult schools each with a limited amount of advisory and/or counseling services. In order to improve students’ movement from adult ed to community college, transitions and more systematic and regular services are needed. Also important are the training of current staff in the K-12 adult programs on enrollment, registration, and financial aid information.
How do you know? What resources did you use to identify these gaps?
These gaps have been identified by our partners. A review of staffing allocated to transition services suggests a need to expand and improve these services.
How will you measure effectiveness / progress towards meeting this need?
One of the new strategies that will be developed over the course of the three-year plan is a student transition tracking process. Currently, the consortium has no way of tracking students’ movement from Adult Education programs to Gavilan College. As this is one of the goals of the long range plan, a system will need to be developed. It is likely that it will include an annual data export and matching process that happens at the consortium level. The success of this export will be determined by whether or not the data can be used to view transitions. A series of meetings will be used to outline a process and then the process will be tested and then put into place moving forward. Each year the process will be reviewed to determine if it is operating accurately. Due to COVID-19 in the Spring of 2020, progress on a tracking system for student retention did not take priority as all programs were struggling to transition to distance learning. Creating a tracking system will be revisited this year.

Gaps In Service

New Strategies

Strategy #1
Outreach and marketing efforts will target this population that will drive more students into these consortium services. Activities will include: develop and implement a new outreach/marketing/recruitment plan specifically for High School Equivalency using social media and community resources. A new flyer will be developed and distributed, and community engagement will be at the forefront of this strategy, leveraging partnerships to encourage student recruitment.
Strategy #2
There are unmet labor market needs and a lack of short term vocational programs. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the data for the labor market is in flux and changing often. In order to keep abreast of the changes, data will be pulled quarterly in order create a better plan for vocational needs in the region. In order to address these gaps, the consortium will establish more vocational programs which will address the labor market and regional employment needs. Regional business partnerships will lead to specialized training for employees, and counseling services will assist students in securing job opportunities following their training.
Strategy #3
In order to support student completion of vocational programs, academic and students support services will be provided. Whole student services such as food, legal services, and counseling services are available, although due to COVID-19, direct services such as child care and transportation have been paused.
Strategy #4
Due to COVID-19 and general budget reductions, some community partners have been obligated to reduce or close services. ACES is working to fill those gaps by providing more online courses and pooling resources among ACES and Regional Consortia partners.

Seamless Transitions

New Strategies

Strategy #1
Consortium members will be trained on the opportunities, the processes, and procedures so that students can successfully navigate transitions within and across programs. A common student planning tool will be developed and used across the K-12 Adult Ed programs. Each K-12 Adult School and partner agency will receive regular visits from a Gavilan College Outreach team and counselor. Due to COVID-19, in-person visits have been put on hold, though online meetings and presentations about partner programs are continuing.
Strategy #2
Articulation maps will be revised to describe current program-level equivalencies so students can move from program to program. These maps will be used by advisors to properly refer students across programs. This is an on-going project that has not been impacted by COVID-19.
Strategy #3
Joint agreements between high schools, adult schools, and community college will further strengthen the formal connections so that students can make progress and move seamlessly between programs. These agreements will produce dual enrollment and high school-located classes that will encourage student transitions to academic and vocational programs.

Student Acceleration

New Strategies

Strategy #1
Consortium members will implement acceleration approaches to move students more quickly through their chosen program. The College ESL program has submitted a major redesign of its course sequence in order to compress the number of levels. The compression will also include integrated rather than discreet skill course work. More grammar instruction will be provided via workshops and instructional support services. In response to the college ESL redesign, the Adult Education partner school is creating an updated ESL grammar program to provide a more seamless transition to the local college.
Strategy #2
Better utilize student assessment data to inform placement, instruction, and acceleration. Ensure that placement is aligned with student goals and educational and vocational objectives.

Professional Development

New Strategies

Strategy #1
Each year the Consortium offers a 1 to 3-day professional development symposium for all partners and their staff. Sessions have included training in Mental Health, Department of Rehabilitation resources, disability identification and services, instructional technology, and math and English curriculum alignment. In 2020-2021, the Consortium will offer a 1-day Virtual Symposium on Trauma Informed Teaching, led by an expert in the field. This topic was chosen to kick off the year-long focus on educational equity and racial injustice training.
Strategy #2
The Consortium aims to provide Professional Development opportunities that are practical, timely, and applicable for staff and faculty. In 2020-2021, Consortium will offer ongoing training (in both large group, cohort, and individual contexts) on distance education / online teaching. An initial training was held specifically focused on online teaching for ESL classes, and training continues in areas such as assessment, curriculum development, and online HSD teaching.
Strategy #3
Periodically, the Consortia of the super-region (Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Benito, and Southern Santa Clara Counties) collaborate to host a regional event. When one of the partners offers training, it is common to invite the staff of the Consortia members. For example, the Community College often has training and events and this information is passed on to partners. In 2020-2021, the Super Region will host a monthly Speakers Series on topics related to social justice and education.

Leveraging Resources

New Strategies

Strategy #1
There are a number of community partners who offer instruction, mainly ESL, in the area; most classes are multi-level and conversational or provide literacy. These classes are given in apartment buildings, center classrooms and in libraries. Future Teachers of America Club students act as aides in evening ESL classes hosted at the local high school and taught by community college instructors. HiSET classes are given at the jail and at a local nonprofit organization. Citizenship events are hosted by one non-profit partner to inform students of the process of citizenship acquisition. A 10-week Entrepreneurship class is offered by another nonprofit partner, and as students write their business plans, they may make use of their building to produce their products. Due to COVID-19, physical classes have been postponed, but ACES is committed to continuing educational and vocational services and is providing learning opportunities online. A number of additional services are delivered: Counseling is provided through the community college at the adult schools and in the jail and transition centers. CalWORKS counselors also provide services to assist students in staying on track and completing their programs of study. To combat food insecurity, two local food pantries supply students with bags of food on a regular basis. In partnership with United Farm Workers, Gavilan College is providing free legal assistance to students.A number of state and local non-profits provide support for career exploration, counseling, job preparation and job placement, while one non-profit offers interview clothing.
Strategy #2
ACES continues to partnership with San Benito County to provide High School completion courses in the local jail. Due to COVID-19, courses have had to shift to online / distance education, and this method is working well for this incarcerated population.
Strategy #3
ACES continues to partner with county library systems and other community and county organizations to provide adult learners with access to classes, books, Internet, office services, and multiple educational and whole students resources (information and assistance for housing, immigration, food, health, etc).

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.
Planned allocations in the following areas will extend the work of the prior plan: Disability services: testing and assistance with HiSET accommodations, and providing additional services to ESL students. Vocational programming: Development of new collaborations and programs in high need areas. Whole student services: Provision of food, legal aid, and counseling Addressing gaps in services: A marketing campaign will target both Spanish and English-speaking residents without HS diplomas, focusing in particular in San Benito County. Seamless pathways: Regular meetings will occur with administrative leaders and counselors/advisers which will assist with articulation and student transitions. Acceleration: Gavilan ESL course sequence will be compressed. ESL Curriculum will be modified and developed to enhance articulation from non-credit to College. Academic support: More systematic embedded academic support will be developed for students in the ESL course sequence, including embedded tutors. Professional Development: In addition to the extensive professional development currently provided, additional training focused on systemic racism and education equity will be introduced. Leveraging: Continue to work with partners including an increased presence at county workforce development agencies and county corrections. Increase partnerships with local business to develop and offer training programs.
An approach to incorporating remaining carry-over funds from prior year(s) into strategies planned for 2020-21.
As done previously, the Consortium plans to use rollover funds for one-time expenditures such as facility and equipment upgrades, instructional supplies, professional development, and curriculum and program development. Remaining funds will be used to fill budget holes caused by the reduction in funds. ACES will continue to adapt to serve student populations.

Certification

Gavilan Joint CCD - Member Representative

Approved by Randy Brown

08/18/2020 08:28 AM PDT

Gilroy Unified - Member Representative

Approved by Greg Camacho-Light

08/17/2020 03:14 PM PDT

Morgan Hill Unified - Member Representative

Approved by Shannon Lane

08/14/2020 03:58 PM PDT

San Benito High - Member Representative

Approved by Elaine Klauer

08/17/2020 02:26 PM PDT