EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - EDUCATION
Program Description
The Education Program provides students with knowledge and core competencies for developing effective instructional strategies. Students learn best practices that can be applied in our diverse, multicultural society. One-year certificate, Associate of Applied Arts and Sciences degree, and Associate of Arts and Sciences academic transfer degree options are available. We offer AAAS degree tracks in Early Childhood Education, Special Education and Bilingual/Bicultural Education. The program offers three Certificate Programs: Childcare Management, Paraeducator/Instructional Aide, and In-Home Care Provider.
The Education Program has receives annually, an $180,000 Professional Development Grant through the City of Seattle to provide degree options and training to day care workers. Education, leadership development, and technical assistance are provided to directors. The goal is to increase the quality of childcare and out-of-school time programs in Seattle/King County. This partnership with the City is a part of Project Lift-Off, an initiative sponsored by government entities and private corporations such as the Boeing Company and others. They are contributing funds to increase the number of accredited child care facilities in the Puget Sound Region. Shoreline provides training and increased access to college level classes both on-campus and at neighborhood sites to childcare personnel. Currently we have over ten professionals providing training and technical assistance to over 40 community-based childcare facilities. We are currently offering college courses at several sites. Participation in this project is rapidly establishing Shoreline Community College as a leader in the area of community partnerships to make college courses accessible to the early childhood community.
Program Analysis
In 1998 an External Program Review Process was conducted on the Education program. Recommendations from the team of professionals were that we recruit students to address enrollment problems in some of the tracks, revise and update the curriculum, increase our course offerings to include mornings, afternoons and evenings so as to better serve students. It was also recommended that we add a wet station and adequate workspace in the classroom for student projects, and that we discontinue the practice of canceling second year classes for low enrollment to address time-to-degree issues for students. All of these recommendations have been addressed. They also recommended that the second full-time instructor position be filled so course-offerings could be provided to accommodate student is the certificate, AAAS, and AAS degree tracks. We were allowed to fill the second position but it is currently a one-year full time temporary position due to a decision of the Board of Trustees regarding tenure. We are again concerned about the second full-time faculty position for the program.
We conducted a Developing A Curriculum (DACUM) process in November 1999 to receive feedback from professionals on the competencies needed by students who entered the education profession. Based on this feedback, we revised the curriculum to ensure that we are providing marketable skills to our students to either enter the field of education or transfer directly into a four-year teacher education program. We provide opportunities for internships for experiential learning under the guidance of a supervising teacher. We require students to conduct observations in educational settings and to conduct interviews with teachers and program directors to foster their understanding of the profession. Students will design portfolios to document their academic performance, and curriculum development skills to be used as a culminating project and an assessment tool. This project is similar to the portfolio that a teacher uses to document their work for certification. We have encouraged students to start an education club on campus and have received over 30 signatures of interest.
As a direct result of the grant project with the City of Seattle, enrollment of part-time students has increased by nearly 200%. There has been a steady increase in FTEs since implementation of this grant program in Spring 2001. Our program currently has approximately 315 students. Over 70% are full time students. The majority of our students are Caucasian women, however we have increased the number of students of color. A large number of our students are recent high school graduates and young adults in their 20s. However, incorporating the neighborhood classes into the program has increased the number of students in the 30-40+ age groups. We now offer more then 30 education classes each year to accommodate students. We have fostered renewed relationships with the community, and doubled our part-time paraprofessional enrollment. The program has become more diverse, with increased enrollment of students who are linguistically and culturally diverse. These students are enrolled in the Early Childhood Education and Bilingual/Bicultural Education program options. Our program has reached out to underrepresented populations, who typically are deprived of an opportunity for higher learning. All of these factors underscore the success of our partnership with the City to increase access to college classes.
Changes/Future Directions
We will revise and update the Certification Programs. We are developing assessment tools as the second phase of a Student Outcome Assessment grant. Our team will continue to evaluate our program to discover opportunities for improvement and to ensure that we providing the best educational services to all student populations. Our team will continue to provide the best culturally relevant, anti-biased, curriculum available. We will continue to explore innovative opportunities to expand our program especially by offering hybrid, online, telecommunications and other Distance Learning courses.
Anticipated changes in the program include refining the neighborhood grant program, seeking additional trainers to support citywide childcare sites, and increased enrollment in on-campus and satellite classes. We also anticipate a heightened need for student support services, increased enrollment of ESL students, and greater focus on outcomes assessment. We must have second full time tenure track faculty position in the program.