Alliance for Language Learners’ Integrating, Education, and Success CAEAA – February 2, 2012.

Alliance for Language Learners’ Integrating, Education, and Success

CAEAA – February 2, 2012

ALLIES History

2010: Form steering committee and submit grant

Community colleges insist on involving the Adult Schools

2011: Planning and action research to:

Develop best practice collaboration model

Pilot test partnership approaches

Develop strategic plan

2012 Goal: Implement 3-5 Community Wide Alliances

What’s the problem?No single agency has the resources needed to

serve low-skill adult language learners effectively.

There is a gap in systemic coordination

Immigrants are key to our future1/3 of residents are foreign born1/2 of workforce are immigrants2/3 of children have immigrant parents

Services are at risk due to budget cutsRisk of reduced opportunity and social mobilityRisk of growing achievement gaps

The Need

What Students See Today

Wide variety of individual class offerings

Lack of obvious roadmap of classes to take them to goal

Confusion about progressing among educational systems

Duplication of curriculum among different classes and educational systems

What Students Need

Clear courses of study

Integrated pathways of classes and work experience

Bridges between among educational systems

Alignment of curriculum among different classes and educational systems

Current Structure

Labor 

Employers 

Support Service

Providers 

Elected Officials /Local

Government  

Workforce Development

Agencies 

Community-Based

Organizations 

Researchers 

Community Colleges

Adult Schools

Many expert groups

Alliances depend on individuals

Limited regional goal-setting and alignment

Gaps in service not easily addressed

Service replication can easily occur

Preferred Structure

Employers 

ALLIANCES 

Support Service

Providers 

Elected Officials /Local

Government   Workforce

Development Agencies

Community-Based

Organizations 

Labor 

Researchers 

Community Colleges

Adult Schools

Many expert groups

Alliances are systemic and widespread

Common regional goals and agendas

Cohesive services with little replication

Guidance and support on collaborating

ALLIES Value Added

Best Practice Collaborative Model and Support

Common Agenda

Shared Metrics

Mutually Reinforcing Activities

Continuous Communication

“Backbone” Support Organization

1

2

3

4

6

5

Figure 1. ALLIES Sub Regions

7

8

9

10

ALLIES will support alliances in sub-regions throughout San Mateo and Santa Clara counties

February 2011Gavilan College

60 ESL practitioners

May 2011Santa Clara Adult Ed50 ESL practitioners

Feb - AprilLocal

Collaborations

SummerLocal

Collaborations

October 2011Foothill College

2011 Action Research with ESL Providers

2011 Planning with a multi-sector coalition

Employers

ALLIES

Support Service Providers

Elected Officials /Local Government

Workforce Development Agencies

Community-Based Organizations

Labor

Researchers

Community Colleges

Adult Schools

Strategic Action Planning GroupDevelop multi-sector strategiesFirst Session: Sep. 16, 2011

• Building Skills Partnership • NOVA WIB• KQED Education• Catholic Charities• Assemblyman Rich Gordon’s Office• San Mateo Hispanic Chamber of

Commerce• Center for Employment and Training• Project Read Menlo Park• Project Read Redwood City• Cañada College• Palo Alto Adult School

Support and Recognition for ALLIES Success

Invited to testify at California Legislature Little Hoover Commission as best practice model

Connections with Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office and California Department of Education

Participation at the White House Hispanic Community Action Summit

Presentations at CATESOL, CAEAA, and other associations

Logo, Website, Video and Newsletter

Intended Impacts

Increased college access and success

Employment in family sustaining careers

Upward mobility

Accelerated language and skill acquisition

Expanded technology literacy

Regional workforce development

Increased community and civic engagement

Support for citizenship

The World of Adult Schools: Approaching

ALLIESWhat do we have?

State standards for ESL

7 clearly defined levels

A statewide testing system (for WIA schools)

Annual testing targets (for WIA schools)

A new strategic plan in the beginning stages of implementation

ESL programs that mirror their communities

The World of Adult SchoolsWhat are some variations?

Varying levels depending on the community

Open entry versus managed enrollment

Connections to K-12 of varying degrees

Varying degrees of collaboration

Many have small fees

Some restrict to residents of the community

The World of Adult SchoolWhat do we need?

Funding and stability

A system to track student progress after leaving

A system to place students who move from one community to another

A coherent way to document student achievement that can be transferred from one community or employer to another.

ESL in Community Colleges: Approaching

ALLIESCB 21 coding restricting levels of ESL

Generation 1.5 students

Budget Constraints

Focus on Accountability

Focus on Equity

Integrative language learning (Career Ladders)

Collaborative ActivitiesGavilan credit, non-credit and Gilroy Adult

Establish prioritiesCurriculumAssessment

Gather CASAS scores for a year and try to align scores with Gavilan classes

AccessGavilan orientation at adult schoolAllow adult School students to observe at Gavilan

Learnings-much congruence despite distinctive programs

Collaborative ActivitiesSan Mateo Adult School and College of

San MateoAdult School class visits to CSM

Visits by CSM to adult school classes

Meetings to discuss assessment, texts, curriculum

Possible college readiness class

Both institutions want data on persistence and success

Collaborative ActivitiesSanta Clara Adult School and Mission

CollegeAgreement to have adult school serve lower

levels

Need for more data

Need a larger picture of other collaborations such as health care

Need to align test scores

Collaborative ActivitiesPalo Alto Adult School

Collaborated with Foothill credit department to look at writing skills

Collaborated with Middlefield Center to establish a bridge class

Need for ongoing communication

Need to engage all levels of the hierarchy

Common CollaborationsAlignment of assessments

Orientation of adult school students regarding community colleges

Faculty/teacher observation of partner institutions

Consideration of returning lower level ESL to adult schools

Tracking the movement and success of students between systems

Relationship building

Co-location of classes

Observations about the collaborative process

Shared students

Common perspectives and challenges across the two systems

Collaborations are yielding tangible results – helping us do our jobs better

Importance of direct faculty/teacher involvement along with system changes

The relationship between schools and colleges is not one-to-one, but often one-to-many

Organizations looking for and developing models

How can we capture this information?

What data? How to collect? Different colleges and different adult schools

Categories : counseling, assessment alignment, orientations, campus visits, etc. identifying data, identifying students who go to community college from Adult school

Volunteers to help set up structures.

For more information

www.ALLIES4esl.org

[email protected]