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CAEP Annual Plan: 2020-21 19 Glendale Community College District Regional Consortium

Status: Consortium Approved

California Adult Education Program : Annual Plan : 2020-21 Produced: Aug 14, 2020, 08:05 PM UTC MaryAnn Pranke

19 Glendale Community College District Regional Consortium

Plans & Goals - Consortium Approved

Executive Summary
The Glendale Local Area Education Network Services (GlendaleLEARNS) is comprised of members and partners that implement adult education in the seven program areas as allowed under AB 104. Partners, including Glendale Community College (GCC), implement programs and services throughout the community, integrating workforce and education in the process to provide seamless services that assist students in attaining employment or civic engagement, in accordance with its mission to “provide pathways to skills acquisition and education leading to meaningful employment or civic engagement for individuals of all abilities.”As required in AB 104, GlendaleLEARNS completes an Annual Plan each year, and a Three-Year Plan every three years. All members and partners participate in a comprehensive strategic planning process to develop the Three-Year Plan, and an adjusted process for each Annual Plan. The strategic planning process includes extensive pre-planning assessments consisting of an environmental scan to evaluate current demographics, labor force data and economic environment. Using results from the environmental scan and assessments conducted, GlendaleLEARNS established four goals for its Three-Year Plan: 1) Develop Career Pathways for Priority Populations; 2) Implement Programs that Prepare Students for Entering Career Pathways and Subsequent Competitive Employment; 3) Implement Professional Development opportunities to ensure leaders, staff and faculty have the knowledge and skills needed to meet community needs for adult education and workforce development; 4) Capitalize on opportunities to leverage resources with GlendaleLEARNS partners. Logic Models were developed to delineate the strategies as well as performance measures that will be used to track progress and achievement of goals. The Logic Model also delineates the short-term goals and strategies that comprise the focus for the Annual Plans, with adjustments incorporated based on changes in the local environment. On March 19, 2020 the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors signed and executed a “Safer at Home” order in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and in follow up to Governor Gavin Newsom’s “Shelter in Place” order released on the same day. In response, GlendaleLEARNS partners converted their programs to virtual services, including GCC which converted adult education courses to distance learning. This herculean effort included immediate training of staff and faculty to operate and deliver instruction and services through a virtual platform as well as conversion of curricula for distance learning. Within two weeks, adult education programs and services were being delivered in a virtual format by all partners. The continued need for virtual programs was also examined and considered in the development of the 2020-21 Annual Plan. Due to the changes brought on by the pandemic, a focused environmental scan was conducted with the Verdugo Workforce Development Board (VWDB) providing the research and data for GlendaleLEARNS to consider and align new goals and strategies. Data included the impact on business and jobs, the impact of virtual instruction on K-12 learners, and the projected impact on enrollment. Further, an overlay of race and ethnic demographics of the community was compared to students enrolled in adult ed. Data show that there is almost an exact match between the two, demonstrating that GlendaleLEARNS is outreaching and enrolling students that represent the diversity of its community. The continued focus on English Language Learners (ELL), low income, and adults with disabilities (AWD), contributes to serving a diverse population including those that are underserved.Annual allocations, budgets and work plans are derived from the Three-Year Plan, and specifically, from the short-term plans to ensure alignment and support of the GlendaleLEARNS vision: “Through collaboration, shared resources, career pathways, seamless services and innovation programs, all adult learners will have access to education leading to meaningful and gainful employment or civic engagement.”Key accomplishments in Program Year 2019-2020 include the continued application of the strategic co-enrollment system for students with disabilities and English Language Learners (ELL). The strategic co-enrollment system allows students to be enrolled in multiple funding sources, such as Workforce Innovation & Opportunity Act (WIOA), to ensure all student needs are addressed for successful attainment of career goals, while leveraging resources. The co-enrollment system is recognized throughout the state as a best practice and featured in workforce development and education conferences. The conversion of programs to distance learning and virtual services is also a significant accomplishment, demonstrating GlendaleLEARNS’ agility in responding to the changing needs of the community, in particular during emergency events.
Regional Planning Overview
GlendaleLEARNS members and partners created a logic model for each goal and its related strategies. The logic models delineate activities, outputs, and outcomes which can serve as the roadmap or action plan to accomplish the strategies and meet the overall goals. The Annual Plan incorporates the short-term goals and strategies delineated in the Logic Model of the Three Year-Plan to ensure that the Annual Plan directly accomplishes the implementation of the longer-term plan. The Annual Plan is reviewed quarterly during the monthly GlendaleLEARNS meetings to track progress and accomplishments.

Meeting Regional Needs

Regional Need #1

Gaps in Service / Regional Needs
Expand Programs for Adults with Disabilities
How do you know? What resources did you use to identify these gaps?
The strategic planning process to develop the Three-Year Plan and Annual Plan includes an environmental scan to understand the local community, labor market and economic environment. Data sets included demographics and economic such as population, median income, educational attainment, poverty levels, and language usage. Labor market information includes industry and occupation employment, unemployment rates, and labor force data. The environmental scan results are used by the partners to identify areas that need to be addressed and determine if fewer or additional resources should be invested. Launchboard data showing the demographics of students and outcomes, are also used to understand the student population. Further, data to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the local community were reviewed during the 20-21 Annual Planning process to identify additional needs of the community. Based on these results, the partners identified key gaps and needs for the region.The Consortium is home to 15,976 individuals of working age (18-64 years) with disabilities and the majority of these individuals (10,778) reside in Glendale. Of this total, 771 are veterans with service-connected disabilities. While 4,714 individuals with disabilities are in the labor force, 11,262 are not. Although there could be many reasons why 70% of working age individuals with disabilities are not in the labor force, GlendaleLEARNS has learned that many are not because they do not believe there are employment opportunities for them and are not familiar with services available to train and assist them. Further, individuals with cognitive disabilities in Glendale have a 52.4% unemployment rate while the rest of the city, state and nation have less than 5% unemployment rate. While GlendaleLEARNS has focused on expanding services to adults with disabilities, data show that the need remains for addressing the unemployment rate of this population, in particular those with cognitive disabilities. Expanding services, including career pathways, remains a priority for GlendaleLEARNS.
How will you measure effectiveness / progress towards meeting this need?
Effectiveness will be determined by monitoring measures and outcomes. Specific measures will be monitored including: number of AWD enrolled; number of AWD that complete their programs; and number who enter employment or higher education. Measures will be monitored through quarterly participant reports submitted to the state. Progress will also be tracked through weekly reports generated for students enrolled in career pathways. Student Success Teams are established for each career pathway that allows the co-enrolling partners to exchange information and monitor student progress to ensure success completion and transition to employment.

Regional Need #2

Gaps in Service / Regional Needs
Contextualize ESL & integrate in Career Pathways to expedite transition to gainful employment for ELL
How do you know? What resources did you use to identify these gaps?
The City of Glendale’s current population is 203,054 with 107,254 of these foreign born. A total of 65,056 of the foreign-born residents report speaking English “less than very well” indicating the continued need for ESL throughout the region. Further, 128,793 of these residents are living at or below the poverty level. To address this gap, GlendaleLEARNS will continue to expand ESL offerings throughout the region. Further, GlendaleLEARNS identified the need to develop career pathways that address the specific needs of English Language Learners (ELL) and infuse contextual ESL within the curricula to expedite skill acquisition and transition to gainful employment.
How will you measure effectiveness / progress towards meeting this need?
Specific measures will be monitored including: Number enrolled in ESL, number of ESL that complete their programs, and number who enter employment or higher education. Measures will be monitored through quarterly participant reports submitted to the state. Student Success Teams will also be established for each career pathway, which allows the co-enrolling partners to exchange information and monitor student progress to ensure success completion and transition to employment.

Regional Need #3

Gaps in Service / Regional Needs
Create Career Pathways that lead to gainful employment that lift residents out of poverty
How do you know? What resources did you use to identify these gaps?
The current poverty rate for Glendale is 15.6%, and the total number of residents living below the poverty level is 31,676; however, only 6,146 are receiving CalFresh, representing 8.4% of the poverty population. These data indicate that 25,530 residents living below poverty level are not receiving CalFresh assistance, even though they may be eligible. Furthermore, the pandemic has created a new population of low income residents. The City of Glendale unemployment rate increased from 3.5% in December 2019 to 20.6% in May 2020 due to layoffs as a result of business closures. More than 65 businesses closed with only half reporting that they might recall the employees they laid off, according to VWDB. According to Economic Tracker, low income workers were the most impacted with a percentage change of -43% in employment in Los Angeles County. Furthermore, the need for ABE is expected to increase due to the closure of K-12 schools. As reported in Economic Tracker, students using Zearn Math for virtual instruction declined in math progress by almost 12%. These declines will need to be addressed by adult education as these students transition from K-12 to post-secondary and higher education. A greater focus on addressing the needs of low-income individuals was identified by GlendaleLEARNS partners. Forum participants identified the need for career pathways that incorporate ABE and ASE to address educational gaps through bridge programs or infused in career pathways. Earn and learn opportunities including paid work experience should also be incorporated into career pathways so that students can afford to enter comprehensive training that will address multiple barriers.
How will you measure effectiveness / progress towards meeting this need?
Specific measures will be monitored including: number enrolled in ABE/ASE, number of ABE/ASE that complete their programs with measurable skills gains; number who enter and complete career pathways; number who participate in work experience; number who enter employment and wage at placement. Measures will be monitored through quarterly participant reports submitted to the state. Student Success Teams will also be established for each career pathway that allows the co-enrolling partners to exchange information and monitor student progress to ensure success completion and transition to employment.

Regional Need #4

Gaps in Service / Regional Needs
Continue Distance Learning, Virtual Services and Expand Digital Literacy
How do you know? What resources did you use to identify these gaps?
The “Shelter in Place” order as a result of the pandemic, required GlendaleLEARNS partners to convert their programs to virtual services, including GCC which converted adult education courses to distance learning. The greatest challenge in this conversion was that many students did not have the technology to participate in virtual courses or services provided by partners. With the absence of laptops and iPads, students tried to access courses on their phones, but found limitations in trying to access features such as chats. Another challenge was the lack of digital literacy accessing the virtual platforms as well as features. Instructors and staff spent significant time teaching digital literacy to students on the phone and through email so they could participate in courses and services. Digital literacy was a greater challenge for ELL than other participant/student groups. Distance learning and virtual services will continue in future years; making digital literacy a core competency that will need to be addressed for students and participants in order to ensure equity in access to education and services. Continued professional development in the virtual platforms and technology is also needed for staff and faculty to be able to use the platforms as well as assist students who have basic technological issues while accessing programs and services, that can easily be addressed. Because GlendaleLEARNS serves a predominantly multi-barriered population, the digital literacy gap was much more significant than initially anticipated. This digital literacy gap is consistent with the study conducted by the National Skills Coalition (Applying a Racial Equity Lens to Digital Literacy), which found that more than half of workers of color needed digital skills.
How will you measure effectiveness / progress towards meeting this need?
Measures to determine if the digital literacy gap is being addressed will occur by monitoring the number of students that access technology through a library “checkout” system. GlendaleLEARNS will also monitor the number of enrollments in distance learning courses, including enrollments in digital literacy courses.

Regional Need #5

Gaps in Service / Regional Needs
Expand Access to Supportive Services through Partnerships
How do you know? What resources did you use to identify these gaps?
The impact of the pandemic changed the economic security for many, as voiced by GlendaleLEARNS students and participants. The need for assistance with basic living expenses and food security was voiced by many students and participants. Greatest needs were assistance with: childcare, books, technology, food and shelter. Parents are also looking for care and tutoring at home to assist students with virtual K-12 education. Moreover, counseling services are also needed to assist in navigating the benefits that are available and budgeting, including unemployment insurance and stimulus check.
How will you measure effectiveness / progress towards meeting this need?
GlendaleLEARNS will be able to monitor the number of students that access supportive services through GCC campus and may be able to access information from some GlendaleLEARNS partners. Supportive services are tracked for those served under Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Title I and the data can be released to GlendaleLEARNS to provide an overall view of some students that access supportive services.

Gaps In Service

New Strategies

Strategy #1
Developing Career Pathways for Special PopulationsContinue developing and implementing career pathways with partners to address the needs of students with multiple barriers, as well as address the workforce needs of current and future employers. Career pathways will focus on preparing underserved populations including low-income, ELL, and adults with disabilities to ensure equity in access and opportunities for economic equity through employment. GlendaleLEARNS will use the Verdugo CNC Machinist Academy for individuals with disabilities as a model for other career pathways.
Strategy #2
Co-enrollment with Partners for Work-Based LearningContinue to partner with Department of Rehabilitation (DOR), Verdugo Jobs Center (VJC) as the local America's Jobs Center of California (AJCC), CalWORKs, and Glendale Youth Alliance (GYA) to include career exploration, work experience/paid internships, and on-the-job training as work-based learning opportunities to effectively transition career pathway graduates into employment.

Seamless Transitions

New Strategies

Strategy #1
Marketing & Outreach Increase public awareness of adult education opportunities as well as all services available through GlendaleLEARNS and partners. Include participant interviews and testimonials to share success stories that inspire others to pursue their dream careers. Develop comprehensive strategy for outreach to include social media, and introduce adult education programs and services to the Glendale community. Strategic outreach will focus on adult education as the source for skills upgrading to return to work following the pandemic, regardless of whether it is with the previous employer or a new one.
Strategy #2
Sharing Career PlansEstablish process for sharing career plans across agencies when co-enrolling participants. Most partners, including GCC, develop service or career plans for their students/consumers. FERPA forms are on file for sharing information with partners and the sharing of career plans can facilitate co-enrollment, co-case management, and seamless delivery of instruction and services.
Strategy #3
Partner Access to CalJOBSSupport the VWDB’s efforts to allow access to CalJOBS by partner co-enrolling students/participants. While this effort has been delayed with the refocus of EDD to unemployment insurance due to the pandemic, the VWDB will resume efforts to expand access to CalJOBS in 2020-21 program year.

Student Acceleration

New Strategies

Strategy #1
ABE/ASE/ESL Bridge ProgramsImplement bridge programs in math, reading, digital literacy, and ESL that prepare students to enter career pathways and employment. Efforts will include using technical math designed for engineering programs to prepare students enter the CNC Machinist Academy.
Strategy #2
CC Pathways CourseContinue College and Career Pathways as preparation to enter career pathways, including the Verdugo Academies for priority populations. GlendaleLEARNS will focus on converting this program to distance learning as an offering to students with disabilities.
Strategy #3
Integrating ABE/ASE/ESL in Career PathwaysIntegrate the bridge programs in the career pathways for a seamless transition of students to career education and subsequent job placement. Focus on integrating ABE/ASE/ESL in career pathways and CTE. GlendaleLEARNS will use the model set forth by the Medical Assistance Academy which incorporates ESL, offering a unique opportunity for ELL.

Professional Development

New Strategies

Strategy #1
Partner PresentationsSchedule partner presentations during monthly meetings on services available, eligibility factors for those services, and process for student referrals to those services. The GlendaleLEARNS partner Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been revised to include commitment from partners to conduct presentations annually to keep all partners informed of available programs and services.
Strategy #2
Labor Market Information from VWDBContinue to partner with the VWDB to receive quarterly labor market information reports and keep all members and partners apprised of local needs and growth areas. Continue to capitalize on VWDB’s expertise in research and analysis to continue providing data-based environmental scan as the basis for developing Annual and Three-Year Plans.
Strategy #3
Communication Across PartnersEstablish a communication system that shares reports and other GlendaleLEARNS updates across all partner leaders, staff and faculty.
Strategy #4
CAEP OrientationImplement an orientation to GlendaleLEARNS and CA Adult Education Program (CAEP) that is available for all leaders, staff and faculty.
Strategy #5
Professional Development Continue training staff and faculty to continue distance learning and virtual programs and services, as well as to have the capability to answer basic digital literacy questions. Explore the potential of using student workers to assist with providing technical assistance to students with logging into canvas, hotspots, etc.

Leveraging Resources

New Strategies

Strategy #1
Partner with VWDB and other GlendaleLEARNS Partners to Leverage ResourcesContinue integrated partnership with VWDB to leverage resources and increase employer engagement strategies. Expand referrals to partners to access available Supportive Services such as printers, technology, and assistance with rent and utilities. Continue to partner with GCC Verdugo campus for its monthly food pantry and assist in recruiting volunteers to distribute food to students and residents. Further, GlendaleLEARNS will continue its partnership with Parent Education that can assist parents who are assuming a teaching role due to children being educated at home and/or through distance learning due to the pandemic.
Strategy #2
Continue participating in WIOA MOU and Workforce PlanningContinue participating in regional and local planning activities including workforce Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and Workforce Development Plans to ensure alignment with GlendaleLEARNS annual and three-year planning.
Strategy #3
Co-enrollment to Leverage ResourcesContinue strategic co-enrollment with WIOA and non-WIOA partners in order to provide comprehensive services to students that lead to employment, while leveraging resources. Strategy will include continuing to refine the universal application packet and co-enrollment process.

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 Annual Plan is derived from the Three-Year Plan for GlendaleLEARNS and approved by the Board of Directors. Allocations are in alignment with the goals and strategies outlined in the plan and are also delineated accordingly in the CFAD and Member Plans which are also reviewed and approved by the Board of Directors in public meetings. This ensures that all expenditures are in compliance with AB104 and directly benefit or support student learning and goal achievement. Staff salaries are focused on instructors delivering instruction and/or coordination and support of program development, partner coordination and delivery of services to students. Similarly, other expenses include the tracking and reporting of CAEP services, other services to students including job development and job placement assistance, and materials and supplies for program operation and delivery of instruction.
An approach to incorporating remaining carry-over funds from prior year(s) into strategies planned for 2020-21.
Carry over funds are expected due to delays in carrying out programs and services because of the closure of facilities and campus, as well as the conversion to virtual format. Also, GlendaleLEARNS anticipates carryovers due to delays in invoices being submitted, as it occurs every year. Invoices will be processed by August 2020 and expenditures will be recorded at the time of payments issued. Using the FIFO method for expenditures, we expect any carryover funds to be expended in rendering payment for these invoices. Funds for Program Year 2020-2021 will be used to pay invoices for services and other encumbrances incurred in that year. Continued implementation of the GlendaleLEARNS Annual Plan and Three-Year Plan, ensures that all expenditure goals will be met in PY 2020-2021.

Certification

Glendale CCD - Member Representative

  • Alfred Ramirez
  • Administrative Dean, Continuing and Community Education
  • aramirez@glendale.edu
  • (818) 240-1000
Approved by Dr. Alfred Ramirez

08/14/2020 12:03 PM PDT

Glendale Unified - Member Representative

Approved by Glendale Learn MaryAnn Pranke

08/12/2020 12:06 PM PDT

Verdugo Workforce Development Board* - Member Representative

Approved by Glendale Learn MaryAnn Pranke

08/14/2020 01:05 PM PDT