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CAEP Annual Plan: 2021-22 37 North Orange County Regional Consortium for Adult Education (NOCRC)

Status: Consortium Approved

California Adult Education Program : Annual Plan : 2021-22 Produced: Aug 20, 2021, 08:24 PM UTC Steve Zamora

37 North Orange County Regional Consortium for Adult Education (NOCRC)

Plans & Goals - Consortium Approved

Executive Summary
All North Orange County Regional Consortium's (NOCRC) members have continued to adjust their learning environment for student support and community engagement. Moreover, the necessary adjustments were made for 2021 by mastering remote instruction and online student support. NOCRC members continue to support each other by sharing and promoting their online programs and resources throughout the region. All California Adult Education Program (CAEP) funds were re-assessed, and some were repurposed to ensure on-going online instruction and support while transitioning back to in-person instruction or a hybrid model. CAEP funds were used for PPE supplies in compliance with COVID regulatory guidelines. Furthermore, the NOCRC adult education providers used the findings from the CAEP Evaluation Report designed to measure the effectiveness of CAEP-funded activities using established metrics for all CAEP program areas. The evaluation report analyzed CAEP activities and measured their achievement of immediate, median, and long-term goals. Throughout the process, we learned how to better align activities with CAEP outcomes. As a result, the next year’s CAEP evaluation report will be shifting its focus to macro-level outcomes. As a regional and collaborative consortium, our goal is to deliver stellar services and remote instruction for adult academic success in all CAEP program areas by leveraging each other’s resources and maximizing outcomes. Finally, NOCRC is committed to the success of adult learners in our region, and we will continue to innovate and re-assess CAEP activities based on students’ and regional needs while improving the 3-year planning cycle and our CAEP outcomes.
Regional Planning Overview
NOCRC’s regional efforts continue to expand and enhance the quality of adult education, specifically, adult high school diploma completion, improving of literacy skills, college preparatory and transitional skills as well as completion of workforce training and certificates. Considering current regional needs based on the transition from fully online programs to hybrid models and limited in-person instruction, workgroup members re-evaluated CAEP activities and priorities, keeping in mind the three-year plan. NOCRC identified the following regional needs in its three-year plan, which included providing support for English language learners and supporting students in their preparation of college, thus leading to greater workforce opportunities as the gaps identified by Orange County Business Council (OCBC, NOCRC Three-Year Plan 2019-2022, pp. 26-29). To meet the needs of our students and close the gaps identified in the three-year plan, workgroups adjusted the current CAEP activities to meet the needs in an online environment. For example, the ESL program adjusted the Noncredit Pathway to College strategy by offering it online, which prepared students for success in English composition in a college-level environment. Students had the opportunity to achieve Career Development and College Preparation (CDCP) approved certificates for the completion of these classes. NOCRC has been providing online ESL instruction to help improve students’ English language ability to prepare them for success in both education and the workforce. As identified in the NOCRC’s three-year plan, literacy and language barriers are common obstacles for entry to workforce and career progression. In the 2021 Spring semester, CTE and ESL programs partnered to offer a fully integrated I-BEST pilot program of the Personal Care Aide Certificate. All students were also enrolled simultaneously in ESL courses and earned the ESL for Workforce Preparation, Advanced Certificate. Due to the 100% success rate of the pilot program, NOCE will continue to assess the CAEP strategy for Fall 2021. Additionally, the staff are working with students to help them gain employment and/or move into a higher-level training program. We strive to meet foreseeable needs of adult learners while meeting the critical needs emerging from the pandemic, budget deficit and system racial injustice. Our consortium members are committed to delivering stellar adult program (as discussed in the sections below) despite many challenges.

Meeting Regional Needs

Regional Need #1

Gaps in Service / Regional Needs
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, unemployment has increased significantly in Orange County. According to the OCBC, “over the past year, employment in Orange County has declined by 191,600 jobs to 1,384,200, with 75 percent of these losses – 144,400 jobs – occurring from March 2020 to July 2020” (2020-21 Orange County Community Indicators Report, p. 80). To meet the community’s need with respect to the increasing unemployment, NOCRC will continue to support adult education programs and services dedicated to career technical education primarily though NOCE and NOCROP.
How do you know? What resources did you use to identify these gaps?
The initial gaps were identified in the NOCRC three-year plan, which utilized the 2017-18 Orange County Workforce Indicator Report. We continue to monitor the workforce trends identified by OCBC in the Workforce Indicator Reports to inform the existing strategies and develop new strategies to meet community needs. More updated data from the 2020-21 Orange County Community Indicators Report indicates that unemployment rates in Orange County increased substantially, with a 9.2 percentage point increase from July 2019. This unemployment rate of 12.3 percent in July 2020 is higher than unemployment rates during the great recession-era around 2010 (p. 80).To understand the industry needs such that adult education students can meet the industry’s demands, NOCRC consults with industry partners to update curriculum and keep up with technology needs for specific industrial sectors. NOCRC maintains close relationships with these industry partners to provide engaging opportunities for the students served by NOCRC
How will you measure effectiveness / progress towards meeting this need?
NOCE’s Office of Institutional Research and Planning (OIRP) plans to measure the effectiveness of how well NOCRC progressed toward meeting the regional need of preparing adult education students to meet the industry demands of Orange County by collecting data from the students who enroll in adult education programs and receive services that are dedicated to career technical education. Data at the student level will be analyzed to determine the number of students served by each of the strategy and students will be tracked over their academic journey to determine retention rates, success rates, and certificate completion rates.

Gaps In Service

New Strategies

Strategy #1
Existing Strategy: Outreach, Pathways, Student Support, Entry/ReEntry, and Workforce and Program Development (NOCE)Builds relationships with employers for the purpose of increasing work-based learning and employment opportunities for students. It also provides support to develop new programs and/or revise existing programs to meet industry needs and fill identified training gaps throughout. Career Pathway Specialists assist students in the Career Resource Center with resume building, job searching, and other career-related trainings and workshops. Additionally, under this strategy, Future Built Fridays, an Industry/Employer Engagement series are offered, in which online workshops, seminars, and industry panels are held for all NOCCCD and Adult ROP students.
Strategy #2
Existing Strategy: Outreach, Pathways, Student Support, Entry/ReEntry, and Workforce and Program Development (NOCROP)Increases student access to high-wage, high-demand pathways by providing integrated pathways with multiple entry/exit points and stackable certifications, including curriculum development to create new programs and/or revise existing programs to meet industry needs and fill identified training gaps throughout the county. Adds equipment and supplies for new programs and/or existing programs to meet industry standards. Increases course offerings by leveraging blended, online, and other modalities to accelerate student learning.

Seamless Transitions

New Strategies

Strategy #1
Existing Strategy: CTE – Outreach, Pathways, Student Support, Entry/ReEntry, Workforce and Program Development (NOCE and NOCROP)Supports comprehensive career services for adult students, including career fairs/business outreach events, industry workshops, career pathway days, and employability skills development.
Strategy #2
Existing Strategy: CTE – Data and Accountability (NOCROP)To ensure collection of data within NOCROP is in alignment with CAEP outcomes and goals, this activity includes conducting needs assessment, maintaining a student information and management system, identifying additional tools or solutions to capture and share data on student-centered goals and needs (e.g. individualized learning plans, transition plan, and other referral needs), developing a process and structure to comply with CAEP reporting requirements, and identifying personnel and resources to coordinate the implementation of data collection and reporting system.
Strategy #3
Existing Strategy: TransitionEvaluates the effectiveness of an intentional outreach to graduates to empower them in achieving their academic goals of transitioning to post-secondary. Reviews student progress towards making the transition.
Strategy #4
Existing Strategy: ESL Course Alignment Identifies the need to redevelop and align noncredit ESL curricula to credit ESL curricula at Cypress and Fullerton colleges to establish a seamless transition process for ESL students without having to take a placement test.

Student Acceleration

New Strategies

Strategy #1
Existing Strategy: Basic Skills – Direct InstructionProvides direct instruction workshops in English and Mathematics, one-on-one follow-up, and instructional support. The workshops provide a space to help students complete their course modules by offering them academic support via instructor-led lessons. This allows students to make progress on the modules within the subject areas and earn credits toward their high school diploma requirements.
Strategy #2
New Strategy: DSS – New Instructional OfferingsIdentifies regional course needs for students with disabilities, including workplace skills instruction, independent living skills instruction, and Career Development and College Preparation (CDCP) curriculum.
Strategy #3
Existing Strategy: K-12 Student Success – Curriculum Exploration and DevelopmentProvides funding to support the need to research, write, and implement apportionment curricula at NOCE, including Trauma-Informed Curricula and Family and Community Engagement Curricula (K-12 graduation requirements, post-secondary options, and pathways, etc.).

Professional Development

New Strategies

Strategy #1
Much of the time, resources, and effort of the largest adult education provider, NOCE, focused on training faculty to offer effective instruction in an online environment and offer space for exchanging ideas on effective distance-education practices. Even though, other funding sources covered the cost of the training, the training itself helped support adult education in all CAEP program areas. Here are a few examples.Following campus closure in March 2020, NOCE began to offer the Online Teaching Certificate (OTC) Boot Camp to faculty assigned to teach online courses . This boot camp was designed to help faculty learn more about Canvas, online pedagogy, and assist in developing strategies to create engaging course content. As part of the OTC process, faculty were asked to complete three components: The Canvas Kickoff and Challenge, three synchronous Hands-on Sessions, and the Post Challenge. NOCE launched their first of three OTC training cohorts in May 2020. The following two cohorts took place in June and July 2020. To date, 185 NOCE faculty are certified to teach distance education classes. Several of those faculty members who were already OTC certified pursued the @One Certificate, a series of courses aimed to provide in-depth distance-education certification, especially in the area of online course content accessibility. The other two themes addressed by NOCE professional development work were diversity and inclusion as well as creating an effective remote work and learning environment. The NOCE professional development committee hosted workshops on relevant and timely topics for faculty, including “Simple Tools for Trauma Related Triggers: How Self-Care Lends to Student-Care”, “Initiating Inclusivity and Equity Mindedness in Online Learning Spaces”, and the “2020-2021 Professional Development One Book, One School Program: Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain: Promoting Authentic Engagement and Rigor Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students by Zaretta Hammond.”
Strategy #2
North Orange County Regional Occupational Program (NOCROP) recognizes that adult learners come from various backgrounds with distinctive skill sets and areas of growth. It is essential for adult education instructors to appropriately identify their learners' strengths and learning needs early and provide instruction that addresses their unique needs in a distance learning platform. Equally significant, the emphasis on self-awareness and self-management to promote self-care is pivotal in practicing self-compassion, cultivating self-confidence, a "growth" mindset, and optimism to support our students' emotional success. Instructors participated in a series of workshops. These workshops focused on two areas: Social Emotional Learning and Student Engagement. Instructors learned research-based practices that provided them the tools to understand their students' emotions, thoughts, and behaviors to promote a safe environment in the classroom. With the program's closure in March 2020, teachers put into practice this learning to connect with students that demonstrated commitment to their emotional health during distance learning. Additionally, instructors were introduced to engaging conversations that introduced Drag and Drop Check-Ins, Jamboards with GIFS, Vocaroo, and Frayer Model. These strategies promote opportunities for adult instructors to activate background knowledge, connect with their students and foster appreciation for students' expertise and diversity during distance learning.
Strategy #3
Ongoing professional development has always been an integral part of the GGUSD/GGAE program, but since campus closures in March of 2020, we increased support for teachers to address the shift to online instruction. In the spring of 2020, we focused on supporting teachers with effective distance learning strategies through bi-weekly trainings and collaboration. District and site TOSAs provided in depth resources to help teachers access the tools available in Zoom as well as the ancillary pieces in our newly adopted online Ventures curriculum. We focused on best practices in this new environment; we also focused on vertical alignment to support students through transitions; we were also on a quest to increase success rates for students in the midst of the new challenges. In the 2021-22 school year, we will continue to offer distance learning as well as in person instruction. We will continue to provide ongoing professional development to help our teachers provide effective instruction in the Hyflex (simultaneous distance and in person) model. Additionally, we wanted to acknowledge the importance of cultivating a warm, welcoming and inclusive campus culture. While we worked with district social workers, psychologists, and other leaders, we also met as an entire staff three times with an outside trainer, Ernie Mendez. These pieces of training provided opportunities for us to better understand the impact of the trauma many experienced in the last year. The experiences expanded the need for self-care, for ways to support the emotional needs of those we serve, and the need to provide an accepting and inclusive campus culture for all.

Leveraging Resources

New Strategies

Strategy #1
Existing Strategy: K-12 Student Success – Community Schools Model DevelopmentThe K-12 Student Success workgroup recognizes the importance of social and emotional support for parents and caregivers of K-12 youth and the impact on academic success. The K-12 Student Success workgroup through NOCRC will provide one-time funding to AUHSD to implement two Community School sites. These sites will serve children, parents, and the community by providing social and health-based services at no charge to the families.
Strategy #2
Existing Strategy: DSS – Services and Workforce This CAEP activity provides case management, career exploration, and employment preparation for adults with disabilities. The CAEP activity also fosters relationships with local employers, job placement, job retention, and internships. Local employers will offer internship sites for on-the-job training.
Strategy #3
Existing Strategy: Offsite Student and Location DevelopmentProvides access to offsite English language learning for ESL students with barriers to attendance such as transportation and childcare, including multilevel English instruction intended to help students transition into onsite higher-level English courses and/or transition into CTE programs, the High School Diploma program, or specialty ESL courses. All student support services are currently being offered remotely. NOCRC K-12 members will open their sites for adult education classes provided by North Orange Continuing Education.

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.
NOCRC will continue to invest funds into the development and maintenance of remote instructional programs and creating outcome-driven services for adult learners in the North Orange County region. According to established consortium’s processes and practices, all new CAEP funded strategies must demonstrate their alignment with the NOCRC three-year and annual plans and lead to their completion. All existing strategies are evaluated annually as to the achievement of the objectives leading to the completion of the three-year and annual plans and producing CAEP outcomes. Each NOCRC workgroup had the opportunity to assess and, if needed, eliminate strategies that have been completed or that are no longer relevant to the current needs of our adult learners. NOCCCD will remain the Fiscal Agent for NOCRC and will continue to support all regional adult education providers fiscally and administratively.
An approach to incorporating remaining carry-over funds from prior year(s) into strategies planned for 2021-22.
According to the established consortium’s decision-making processes, unspent funds allocated to NOCRC members for specific activities, are made available to all other consortium members for one-time requests if the funds are no longer needed for the original activities. This ensures equitable distribution of carryover funds and their timely expenditure. One-time requests are evaluated based on the consortium’s regional and members’ institutional priorities.Additionally, NOCRC practices the first-one-in-first-one-out principle. All current ongoing CAEP activities will be paid through carryover funds until funding is fully spent. Pending NOCRC Executive Committee approval, the current 2021-22 budget will be revised to include expenses for the permanent positions proposed as ongoing activities starting the 2022/23 fiscal year. These permanent positions will be multi-funded, thus, demonstrating leveraging of regional resources. All NOCRC funds will be spent on time and in compliance with the State and the NOCCCD fiscal policies. NOCRC Executive Committee voting members approved the NOCRC Budgetary Guidelines for NOCRC workgroups to ensure full and timely expenditure funds according to the regional priorities. and NOCRC decision-making guidelines. Lastly, NOCRC members worked in an inclusive manner for weeks in solidifying our mission, vision, and values to represent who we are and the delivery of our regional needs to our community.

Certification

Anaheim Union High - Member Representative

Approved by Carlos Hernandez

08/18/2021 01:14 PM PDT

Fullerton Joint Union High - Member Representative

Approved by Steve Zamora

08/20/2021 01:24 PM PDT

Garden Grove Unified - Member Representative

Approved by M'Liss Patterson

08/18/2021 11:37 AM PDT

Los Alamitos Unified - Member Representative

Approved by Mrs. cara Vienna

08/19/2021 02:01 PM PDT

North Orange County CCD - Member Representative

  • Janeth Manjarrez
  • Director, California Adult Education Program
  • jmanjarrez@noce.edu
  • (714) 462-9579
Approved by Valentina Purtell

08/18/2021 10:56 AM PDT

North Orange County ROP - Member Representative

  • Dana Lynch
  • Assistant Superintendent, Educational Services
  • dlynch@nocrop.us
  • (714) 502-5877
Approved by Dana Lynch

08/18/2021 01:50 PM PDT

Orange County Department of Education - Member Representative

Approved by Fatinah Judeh

08/18/2021 10:54 AM PDT

Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified - Member Representative

  • Jamie Jauch
  • Principal of Buena Vista Virtual Academy
  • jjauch@pylusd.org
  • (714) 986-7026 ext: 61621
Approved by Jamie Jauch

08/18/2021 03:39 PM PDT