Del Norte Area Regional Focus Workgroups
College of the Redwoods, Del Norte Campus
September 9, 2014, 12 Noon
Room DM34
Workgroups 1 & 2: Adult Basic Elementary and Adult Basic Skills, Adult Learners with
Disabilities, ESL and Immigrant Education
Workgroup 3: Short-term Career Technical Education (CTE) and Apprenticeship
Attendees: Julia Peterson, Rene Quintana, Jim McQuillen, Chris McQuillen, Kelley
Nolan, Christy Hernandez, Ken Letko, Jessica Mercado, Rory Johnson, Randy Fugate,
Jermaine Brubaker, Kathy Moxon, Mary Roberts, Commander Bill Steven
Lunch and Introductions
Review of Workgroup Activity
Review of Noncredit Format and Advantages
Discussion of Regional Comprehensive Plan Objectives
Objective 3: Plans for consortium members and partners to integrate existing programs
and create seamless transitions into postsecondary education or the workforce.
1. Summer Bridge to College: Curriculum has been approved for next summer.
It will be an 8-week free Noncredit Math, English, and College Exploration and
Work Readiness workshop for new HS graduates entering CR. The schedule is
divided into 3 Noncredit classes (about 6 hours per day), and will introduce
students to the structure and format of college Credit courses, building effective
study habits, time management, and providing subject matter review and
reinforcement. Spending time on Career Exploration would students to focus on
a specific course of study, improving their overall opportunity to graduate within 2
years. More advanced students might be able to place out of a semester or more
of Credit. Additionally, students could be enrolled for the Fall semester at CR as
early as April, and the last week of school for graduating Seniors could be
devoted to orientation, registration, testing, and placement. Another possibility is
a week-long Alternative Spring Break program of Noncredit classes to introduce
high school students to college and career planning.
2. Corrections: Curriculum is currently in development for a 30-hour Noncredit
Career Exploration course for long-term inmates, which would consist of
personality assessment, aptitude and placement testing, and career counseling
directed toward developing a comprehensive education plan to achieve
sustainable employment or further postsecondary education upon release.
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Incentives such as future financial aid and book vouchers could help motivate
incarcerated students to make a seamless transition to their local campus.
Additionally, Understanding Addiction and Parenting classes are being
developed for the jail and prison populations. These classes can increase selfawareness and build self-esteem, opening up pathways to further Credit study in
fields like Social Work and Human Services.
3. Older Students Returning to College: Noncredit classes are the key to
helping non-traditional students, who may be decades removed from formal
education, or those who may not have taken college prep electives in high
school, catch up academically, especially in the Health Care careers, which
require rigorous course work in Biology, Chemistry, and Mathematics. Students’
success could be significantly improved through Noncredit “foundation”
certification pathways in their field of interest, introducing them to the requisite
fundamental skills and planning requirements for advanced scientific education
and training.
There is a consensus that “education about education” for career planning and attaining
long-term educational and professional goals should begin as early as middle school,
and that intervention pathways are valuable at every point of contact for students whose
education is interrupted by life choices and events. Compassionate early educational
intervention and guidance in local alternative schools are essential to disrupting the
“school-to-prison pipeline” which has resulted from zero-tolerance disciplinary policies,
and disproportionately impacts poor students, students of color, and youth raised in
foster care.
Objective 5: Plans to employ approaches proven to accelerate a student’s progress
toward his or her academic or career goals, such as contextualized basic skills and
career technical education, and other joint programming strategies between adult
education and career technical education.
1. Noncredit College Prep and Remediation: Unprepared students have to
retake classes, which lengthens the time to graduation and depletes financial aid
eligibility, so the impact of free Noncredit remedial and college preparation
classes should significantly reduce this redundancy and accelerate student
progress. “How to Be a Successful College Student” is a Noncredit first-year
experience curriculum that would introduce students to acceptable college
behavior, such as turning off a cell phone and putting it away during class,
regular class attendance, and other performance expectations.
2. Combining courses to accelerate progress is another approach. At CR, the
first Credit English class is English 350, followed by English 150, and then
English 1A. Accelerated learning dispenses with English 350 by allowing
students to enroll for English 102 with the same placement score, which, upon
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successful completion, prepares them for English 1A, thus eliminating an entire
semester of English 150. The savings in time and resources, to the state, to the
college, and to the student, should be substantial.
3. Contextualized Basic Skills: Introducing subjects such as Reading and Math
in the context of a student’s primary academic or career interest is another
method of combining course work for greater efficiency and ease of
understanding. Contextualizing lessons helps students make the connection
between academic subjects and their practical application, building on a
student’s innate knowledge and curiosity, and enhancing overall motivation and
retention of the subject matter.
Objective 6: Plans to collaborate in the provision of ongoing professional development
opportunities for faculty and other staff to help them achieve greater program integration
and improve student outcomes.
Collaborating on professional development in Del Norte: How do we collaborate?
Do we hire professional speakers? Professional development and training need to be
provided locally, within the Del Norte area, to maximize participation and effectiveness.
There is a clearly established need to coordinate professional development within the
Del Norte area through the AB86 Regional Consortium, and with other providers.
Some topics requested by the Workgroups are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
“How To Contextualize Basic Skills” Workshop
Assessment and Placement Training
Obtaining and using Open Access Materials
“Learning Styles” Training
Objective 7: Plans to leverage existing regional structures, including, but not limited to,
local workforce investment areas.
1. Physical Spaces
a. CR Del Norte Campus
b. Tribal Facilities
c. Correctional Facilities
d. High School Facilities
e. Alternative Education Facilities
f. Small Business Development Center
2. Entities
a. Workforce Center
b. Del Norte Reads
c. School Districts
d. Del Norte Diploma
e. Probation and Corrections
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