CAEP
Annual Plan

Produced: Aug 15, 2023, 06:52 PM UTC - By Elsa Magana

46 About Students Regional Consortium, Riverside
CONSORTIUM APPROVED

2023-24

Plans & Goals

Executive Summary

The ABOUT STUDENTS Consortium for Adult Education has been providing services since 2015 as part of the Adult Education Block Grant AB 104. Consortium members include eight Local Educational Agencies: six unified school districts, a community college district, and the county office of education. Through June 2025, the consortium's current Three-Year Plan will provide a roadmap for improvement for the consortium and individual schools. The members of the ABOUT STUDENTS Consortium are dedicated to providing adult education services, and creating pathways that meet the needs of the adult learners within the communities of the consortium.


There has been a tremendous amount of progress made by the ABOUT STUDENTS Consortium members in the aftermath of the pandemic. The main focus has been to increase enrollment; while members are also continuing to focus on reshaping their programs to ensure that they are the most effective in the wake of the pandemic. The ABOUT STUDENTS Consortium for Adult Education continues to dedicate its efforts and resources to the expansion of the key program areas, including basic and secondary skills, English as a Second Language and immigrant services, and short term Career Technical Education. There are a number of activities that have been implemented as part of the consortium's efforts to strengthen connections with students and assist them in their quest for success. In addition to increasing outreach and advocacy in the communities served, members have continued to work with local legislatures as well as with regional educational leaders and community partners, in order to improve services in our communities.  The consortium will continue to explore and provide additional opportunities to serve students needing workforce preparation, and support for K-12 success. As of June 2023, all members of the consortium except for Riverside Community College District have been WIOA (federal fund) recipients. However, effective July 1, 2023, Riverside Community College District will begin receiving federal funding. Once again, the Consortium held a Professional Development Day Conference in May 2023 as part of its ongoing educational and training for administrators and staff. There were many different types of professional development presentations offered at the event by CALPRO, CAEP TAP, CASAS and OTAN representatives, as well as by staff and teachers from the consortium schools. 


Regional Planning Overview

Through the definition of clear goals, assignment of roles, and defining responsibilities, the ABOUT STUDENTS Consortium will be able to meet the identified regional needs, monitor progress, and provide continuous support for students based on the identified region’s needs. The ABOUT STUDENTS Consortium is committed to supporting the Three-Year Plan’s objectives, activities, and outcomes by coordinating its activities. In accordance with the report , as outlined in the ABOUT STUDENTS Consortium’s Three-Year Plan for the years 2022-2025, the Consortium's goals are : A. Cultivate mutually- beneficial industry and community partnerships that create meaningful opportunities and pathways for students. B. Grow and maintain student enrollment in all program areas reflective of the needs of our community. C. Provide equitable, inclusive, and quality instruction and support services that maximize student achievement and success and foster an organizational culture of excellence and continuous improvement.C. Foster an organizational culture of excellence and continuous improvement.D.Attract, retain, and develop skilled, dedicated student-centered administration and staff who are empowered to use forward-thinking and creativity to promote student success. F. Attract, retain, and develop skilled, dedicated student-centered administration and staff who are empowered to use forward-thinking approaches and creativity to promote student success. For the Program Year 2023-24, the ABOUT STUDENTS Consortium will focus its efforts on the following goals: 

  • Grow and maintain student enrollment in all program areas reflective of the needs of our communities. 

  • Foster an organizational culture of excellence and continuous improvement. 

It is the common vision of the consortium members that we will share, continue, and expand successful practices that will contribute to the strengthening of adult education programs within our region. 


Meeting Regional Needs

Regional Need #1

Gaps in Service / Regional Needs

The ABOUT STUDENTS Consortium will need to continue to grow and maintain enrollment in all program areas reflective of the needs in the community. Although the consortium and individual members currently utilize diverse strategies to promote student enrollment, all members agreed that more can be done to support students as they work toward their goals. Strategies to increase student enrollment can take many forms that vary in their intensity, cost, and impact. The consortium members considered a long list of different approaches to increase student enrollment and through discussion and consensus identified five strategies they believe are most appropriate and feasible within their school contexts. Members recognized that a single strategy is not sufficient to increase student enrollment and instead a combination of strategies is necessary. The strategies that the consortium agreed to engage in over the next three years to increase student enrollment include: (1) Analyze student performance data to identify student needs and provide ongoing professional development to improve the classroom experience for students and staff; (2) Partner with the community, district, or county to provide childcare, transportation, and student success workshops; (3) Advertise in multiple languages; (4) Continue to develop partnerships with RWDB, EDD, Chamber of Commerce, and local businesses by including their participation in our events and being involved in their monthly activities to facilitate more referrals; (5) Offer professional development and training for faculty and staff to ensure that registration and enrollment processes are streamlined and effective. These efforts will be completed both at an individual school level and consortium-wide. Progress will be analyzed  and discussed during monthly consortium business meetings.  


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

In order to facilitate the planning process for the Three-Year plan, the consortium used the Strategic Planning Briefing Book (SPBB). In collaboration with a third-party consultant, the SPBB was developed. A total of six sections were included in the SPBB assessment: Introduction, Pre-Work Instructions, Situation Assessment, Stakeholders Views, Environmental Scan, and SWOT Analysis are the elements included in the SPBB. As a result of the Environmental Scan, a number of significant informational sources were gathered in order to provide the members with an opportunity to analyze and evaluate current trends within the consortium based on the gathered information. Additionally, it was crucial to have stakeholders included in the plan, such as students, school staff, district administration and community partners. As a result, in the Gap Analysis it was possible to identify the service priorities and needs of the various consortium members within the consortium as a whole. 

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

Through this combination of strategies, the consortium aims to achieve short, medium, and long term goals related to student enrollment. By Year 2, the consortium seeks to both increase the number of unduplicated enrollments and persistence rates by +10% . Underlying all of these outcomes is the need for consistently collected and reported data that allows for accurate year-to-year comparisons. Achieving greater accuracy in data collection and reporting is an additional short term outcome included in the need to increase student success, as well as the primary focus of the next need in the region.


Address Educational Needs

2023-24 Strategies

Provide professional development for students and staff based on performance data

Activity that Applies to this Strategy

Student Enrollment

Metrics that Apply to this Activity/Strategy

  • All: Adults who Became Participants (AE 202 - Overall)

Among the Consortium members, there are two key strategies that should be implemented as soon as possible. A comprehensive review of student performance data will be conducted on an individual, as well as consortium level, to identify student needs and provide ongoing professional development that will focus on enhancing the classroom experience for students and faculty members. These efforts are expected to result in a change in the instructional programs that will provide an environment that gives students a sense of belonging and encourages them to flourish in a positive way. 

Improve Integration of Services & Transitions

2023-24 Strategies

Continuing to partner with RWDB, Chamber of Commerce, and local businesses to facilitate referrals

Activity that Applies to this Strategy

Student Enrollment

Metrics that Apply to this Activity/Strategy

  • All: Adults who Became Participants (AE 202 - Overall)

It was agreed that reconvening the data team activities to align all consortium members' reporting practices and processes was of vital importance. This will ensure that all members share a common understanding of data collection and reporting definitions. In order to provide better services for their students, members will analyze data to identify ways to improve instruction. Additionally, the consortium members will continue to use the data generated by BW Research to make informed decisions about potential career pathways for adult students and identify which students could benefit from the adult education programs offered by the ABOUT STUDENTS Members. 

Improve Effectiveness of Services

2023-24 Strategies

Engage all members in planning the Annual Professional Development Conference to ensure relevant an

Activity that Applies to this Strategy

Operational Excellence

Metrics that Apply to this Activity/Strategy

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

The ABOUT STUDENTS Consortium sponsors and plans an Annual Professional Development Conference for certificated teachers, classified support staff, and administration. The members of the consortium will insist that all schools be engaged in the planning process to ensure that relevant and quality content is provided for all who attend the conference. The consortium will also conduct a survey of agency staff to gather topics for the Annual Professional Development Conference. 

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.

Members of the ABOUT STUDENTS Consortium utilize the planned allocations to provide instruction and support services in accordance with CAEP guidelines. Allocations will be spent in direct alignment with the goals identified in the 2022-23 Annual and 3-Year Plans. Funding to support personnel,program development and expansion is the focus of the majority of the planned expenses. The consortium is determined to designate funding resources to prepare students for academic growth, transition, or workforce. Increasing student persistence and retention, connecting with the community through outreach and student support services. The funding allocation will be spent exclusively on the described activities, which will advance the consortium’s goals of preparing students for higher education and the workforce. All members of the consortium allocate their CAEP funds to provide instruction and support services to students enrolled in basic skills, secondary education, English as a Second Language, and short-term Career Technical Education programs.

An approach to incorporating remaining carry-over funds from prior year(s) into strategies planned for 2023-24.

ABOUT Students Consortium will incorporate remaining carry-over funds from the prior year(s) into strategies planned for 2023-24 is to utilize carry-over funds from prior years to complete activities planned in program development. Quarterly, members received regional reports that inform them of the percentage of annual expenditures by the agency to assist with fiscal management and reduction of carryover funds. As directed by the CAEP Office, members expend funds with the “first in, first out” process. Some priorities include the hiring of additional staff and instructors, purchasing equipment and materials that can support varying instruction modalities, investing in technical professional development for all staff, and capitalizing on outreach expenses that will promote programs to students most in need with the legislative approval of 8.22% COLA, members’ allocations will be increased based on the previous percentage of regional allocations. Carryover funds will be spent down to adjust to increasing costs of operations and used to maintain and sustain the programs and services which have been established. 

Certification

Alvord Unified - Member Representative

Approved by Luis Medina

08/15/2023 11:05 AM PDT

Corona-Norco Unified - Member Representative

Approved by Thoibi Rublaitus

08/14/2023 05:30 PM PDT

Jurupa Unified - Member Representative

Approved by Annamarie Montanez

08/14/2023 03:48 PM PDT

Moreno Valley Unified - Member Representative

Approved by Elsa Magana

08/15/2023 11:51 AM PDT

Riverside CCD - Member Representative

Approved by Michael Peterson

08/14/2023 04:05 PM PDT

Riverside Co. Office of Education - Member Representative

Approved by Ms. Lucie Gonzalez

08/14/2023 03:35 PM PDT

Riverside Unified - Member Representative

Approved by Rachel Bramlett

08/14/2023 03:36 PM PDT

Val Verde Unified - Member Representative

Approved by John Parker

08/14/2023 03:42 PM PDT