CAEP Annual Plan: 2019-20 39 Palo Verde River Consortium

Status: Consortium Approved

California Adult Education Program : Annual Plan : 2019-20 Produced: Aug 15, 2019, 8:32 PM UTC Lale Cilenti

39 Palo Verde River Consortium

Plans & Goals - Consortium Approved

Executive Summary
The implementation plan for The River Consortium’s three-year plan is driven by three strategies/visions: (1) continue to improve and expand existing programs; (2) develop and implement prioritized pilots; (3) participate in expanding regional economic opportunities. These strategies/visions are the key driving forces for 2019-20, the first year of the three-year plan and are briefly described the following Executive Summary. Accomplishments during the prior Program year include further development of English/Spanish GED Preparation classes and GED Testing Centers; continuing and expanding ESL/citizenship classes; measuring learning gains through the CASAS pre- and post-testing system; introducing classes for K-12 parents; improving counseling, intake and programming through a bilingual electronic portfolio, Career Cruising; strategic three-year planning with members, partners and stakeholders; identifying and prioritizing new pilot programs through a standardized development process and improving consortium’s overall management plan. Primary goals for the upcoming Program year include better measurement of enrollment trends and better monitoring and analyses of targeted outcomes. A more effective team has been developed to include both a consortium overall coordinator and a consortium “floating” project manager. Both managers will receive updated and relevant training and cross-training. Additionally, the consortium will more pro-actively encourage partner participation, with a focus on leveraging resources. Through intensive and consortium-wide professional development, one of our main goals is to have all students, teachers, and staff understand and implement the Career Cruising tool. Other professional development plans focus on solar panel installation and alternate energies and agricultural drones. Of the 12 identified pilots described through the strategic planning process, 5 will begin in 2019-20, the balance of 7 will develop in 2019-20 through the pilot planning process with implementations targeted for 20-21 and 21-22. To assure that planned allocations are consistent with the three-year plan, the group strategic planning team identified gaps and needs, and funding decisions were informed by visions, guiding principles and appropriate statutory provisions. All allocations pursuant to the three-year plan are discussed and ultimately approved through the formal consortium voting process. Programs and allocations are regularly updated and reviewed (status reports) with consortium members and stakeholders. Cost/benefit analyses are applied to funded programs along with tracking and measurement of outcomes. All fiscal reporting is posted on the project management tool, BoardDocs, for review by members and stakeholders.
Regional Planning Overview
Implementation of the recently submitted three-year plan is guided and measured by three overall strategies/visions: (1) continue to improve and expand existing programs; (2) develop and implement prioritized pilots; (3) participate in expanding regional economic opportunities.Existing programs require better measurement of enrollment trends and better monitoring and analyses of targeted outcomes. A more effective team has been developed to include both a consortium overall coordinator and a consortium “floating” project manager. Both managers will receive updated and relevant training and cross-training. Additionally, the consortium will more pro-actively encourage partner participation, including leveraging resources. Measurements will be both tailored and universal, incorporating updated tools along with quantitative and qualitative tracking and research. Pilot programs have been identified and structured by consortium members and selected stakeholders. Pilot development has been memorialized through a universal template that standardizes the development process, selects a development team and project manager, identifies resources, creates timelines and requires measurement plans. All pilots identified in the three-year plan are going through the development process; some pilots are scheduled for fall 2019, winter 2019 or yet “to-be-determined” future target dates.Regional economic development, although widely recognized as a critical need and gap, requires a comprehensive, multi-faceted approach. Stakeholders include city and county government officials, city leadership and most recently, consortium leadership and participation. Regional economic turn-arounds are difficult and slow, but recently, there has been more focus on the critical need for sustainable and effective investments in projects designed to create economic opportunities which in turn will create challenging jobs and careers and further in turn, reduce poverty.Further, in order to implement the proposed three-year plan, a more effective management team has been developed and will be trained and cross-trained. Regional gaps have been updated and will be addressed through identified solutions. Finally, tactics in the form of pilots have been selected, prioritized and projected.The consortium management team consists of a consortium director, college dean of workforce development, consortium coordinator, consortium project manager, teachers and students and consulting expertise.Regional gaps, although dynamic in nature, currently include: coordinating individual, geographic specific and joint campus programs; identifying and addressing limited capacity issues; developing new satellite venues; developing and implementing marketing strategies/tactics; participating in regional economic development projects; improving tracking, measurement and analytics. Recommended solutions include updated training and professional development; cross-training teaching and management staff; site inspections and feasibility analysis; developing a marketing plan and marketing team; engaging with city and county leadership – government and non-government.Prioritized pilots currently include: PVC Child Care Parent Program; K-12 Parent Program; Solar Installation and Alternate Energy class; consortium ESL satellite branches; Microsoft office certifications; Mesa Verde community program; Progressive Farmers programs; Needles Child-Care and K-12 parent programs; Needles Railroad Workers program; Health Informatics technician; Fort Mojavi Indian Tribe/Avi Resort training partnership.

Meeting Regional Needs

Regional Need #1

Gaps in Service / Regional Needs
Gaps include the following: declining economies; declining workforce opportunities; geographic isolation; poverty; workforce automation; bilingual career counseling - placement and tracking; bi-lingual education and skills programs; bi-lingual academic and career certifications; leveraged resource opportunities; bi-lingual child care programs; program coordination; expanding venues; expanding enrollments;
How do you know? What resources did you use to identify these gaps?
Gaps have been identified through research, economic outlook reports, demographic reports, observation, interviews, data, focus groups and requests for service.
How will you measure effectiveness / progress towards meeting this need?
The consortium’s universal goal is to have all students (including ESL) complete an assessment of skills and interests through a bi-lingual electronic career portfolio tool, Career Cruising. This intake/pathway tool identifies skills deficiencies and outlines a career pathway that addresses skills deficiencies while defining a particular career roadmap. Individual and cohorts of students can be tracked and outcomes can be measured. Career Cruising is the main progress tracking and outcome measurement tool used by the consortium. Other measurements include quantitative/qualitative tracking and measurement of enrollments, sampling, gains, certifications, employment and salary increases. Data provided and updated by Census, DOL, County Economic Outlook, state poverty updates and quality of strategic alliances (leveraging partners).

Gaps In Service

New Strategies

Strategy #1
PARTICIPATE IN REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: Consortium leaders are participating in Regional Economic Development committees and Chambers of Commerce. Focus is on improvement projects that will create revenue and job growth.
Strategy #2
EXPAND BI-LINGUAL WORKFORCE COUNSELING: Career Cruising is a bi-lingual electronic career portfolio that assesses skills and matches skills levels with interest inventories to create career pathways – in both English and Spanish. Goal is to have all staff/instructors implement use of Career Cruising in their respective classes/programs.
Strategy #3
EXPAND BILINGUAL WORKFORCE COUNSELING: Career Cruising is a bilingual electronic career portfolio that assesses skills and matches skills levels with interest inventories to create career pathways in English and Spanish. Goal is to have all staff/instructors implement use of Career Cruising in their respective classes/programs.
Strategy #4
EXPANDING ENROLLMENTS: Consortium coordinator and team will develop a multi-media marketing campaign designed to increase enrollments in all program areas.
Strategy #5
WORKFORCE AUTOMATION: For the agricultural community and as a partnership with the college and progressive farmers, the consortium is developing a half-day theory and practicum workshop on Agricultural Drones.

Seamless Transitions

New Strategies

Strategy #1
CAREER PATHWAYS: By creating Career Pathways for all potential students, consortium students and high school seniors (18 and older) will have developed a career pathway that leads from the high school and/or consortium to post-secondary programs at Palo Verde College and/or other post-secondary workforce programs.
Strategy #2
DUAL/CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT: Having advanced placement credits earned through dual and/or concurrent enrollment creates an incentive to follow the investment of time and energy by enrolling in the college. This enrollment incentive applies to both consortium and high school seniors.

Student Acceleration

New Strategies

Strategy #1
CAREER PATHWAYS: Student acceleration is linked to seamless transitions, and both benefit from having students know where they are, where they are going and how they’re going to get there. Consortium goal is to have all students benefit from an organized, trackable and measurable career pathway.
Strategy #2
CONSORTIUM CLASSES ARE COLLEGE CLASSES: Consortium students are enrolled at Palo Verde College and enrollment in more advanced college programs is a matter of seamless horizontal movement with little or no orientation regarding the college in which they are already enrolled.

Professional Development

New Strategies

Strategy #1
CAREER CRUISING/XELLO: Extensive and comprehensive training of teachers, counselors and students will improve student intake and goal setting. Ultimately, all students (including ESL students) will have a career pathway/roadmap that will guide them to employment and/or better employment.
Strategy #2
PESTICIDE CONTINUING EDUCATION: The consortium will partner with the Progressive Farmers in their Professional Development mandates related to pesticide management. The agricultural drone program is part of the pesticide program.
Strategy #3
SOLAR/ALTERNATE ENERGY PROGRAM: The consortium will assist in the course development and teacher training related to the evolving Solar/Alternate Energy Program. Best practices content is being researched and consulting experts are part of a discussion with Southern California Edison.

Leveraging Resources

New Strategies

Strategy #1
PROGRESSIVE FARMERS GROUP: A collective of Blythe farm owners and managers who are interested in developing programs for managers and field workers.
Strategy #2
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EDISON: Potential partnering for solar panel installation and alternative energy program.
Strategy #3
RIVERSIDE COUNTY DISTRICT: Potential partnering for developing consortium programs in Mesa Verde area (unincorporated and managed by Riverside County Supervisor’s Office)

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.
To assure that planned allocations are consistent with the three-year plan, the group strategic planning team identified gaps and needs, and funding decisions were informed by visions, guiding principles and appropriate statutory provisions. All allocations pursuant to the three-year plan are discussed and ultimately approved through the formal consortium voting process.Programs and allocations are regularly updated and reviewed (status reports) with consortium members and stakeholders. Cost/benefit analyses are applied to funded programs along with tracking and measurement of outcomes. All fiscal reporting is posted on the project management tool Board Docs, for review by members and stakeholders.
An approach to incorporating remaining carry-over funds from prior year(s) into strategies planned for 2019-20.
Remaining carry-over funds will be used to improve and expand existing programs, complement funding for new 2019/20 scalable pilots and fund staff participation in government and non-government economic development efforts. Carry-over funds will also complement funding for expanded professional development for Career Cruising/Xello consortium-wide implementation. While five pilots are ready for implementation, seven other pilots are in development and carry-over funds will complement 2019/20 development costs.

Certification

Needles Unified - Member Representative

Approved by Ms. Lale Cilenti M.S.

2019-08-15

Palo Verde CCD - Member Representative

Approved by Ms. Lale Cilenti M.S.

2019-08-14

Palo Verde Unified - Member Representative

Approved by Ms. Lale Cilenti M.S.

2019-08-15