A 21St Century Collaboration - Adult Ed and Community College ESL

CATESOL Fall 2107

A 21st Century Collaboration - Adult Ed and Community College ESL

A Panel Discussion

Panelist: Ellen Goldman, ESL Instructor and World Language Center Coordinator

West Valley College

BTC – Bridge to College Bootcamp

RATIONAL– Writing is biggest obstacle to CC success and placement.

Not-for-credit boot camp allowed us to bypass Curricunet process.

PREREQUISITES-Completion of level 4 or 5 at Campbell Adult Education or recommendation of CACE instructor.

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

1) Explain & perform the writing process steps2) Write and edit an academic paragraph

3) Describe campus services to help students 4) Understand the differences between adult school and a community college learning environment

GOALS– Learn about college, get familiar w/WVC campus (Thurs), meet campus people and services), improve academic writing and editing- writing process

SCHEDULE-Met summer 2016, 5 weeks, 57 hours instruction + 5 office hours (writing conferences)

Co-located at CACE adult school and one day/week at college

Thursdays @WV- campus guests and tours on campus (EOPS, Financial Aid, 2 counselors, ambassadors, visit library, Tutoring Center, Writing Center, and ESL lab)

SUCCESS RATE– 84% completed class (3 had unavoidable issues). Excellent attendance.

All “passed” the class, 3.2 GPA if grades were given.

REASONS for SUCCESS

Students were vetted by CACE, higher level students.

Overall understood the requirements (HW, writing paragraphs) with goal of transfer

Summer class of 5 weeks worked well. Many students had completed college in home country.

Giving grades, having a portfolio, and peer editing, helped motivate students. Utilized a class wiki to share writing and comment.

Teacher was experienced and had clear, well-articulated goals for the class.

FUTURE CLASSES

Class was continued and expanded in Fall 2016, adding 4 nights/week with reading, listening & speaking added.

This 2ndclass was not as successful, much smaller. Offered 3rdtime, even smaller.

Issues: poor attendance from the start. One teacher was weaker. Third time had difficulty getting enrollment. Difficult to arrange speakers from student services at night. Also, some students only wanted the LS, not the writing, so attended only 2 nights/week. However the small core was highly motivated.

Panelist: Patti Gairaud

Transition Specialist at Milpitas Adult Education

ESL Instructor San Jose City College

408-635-2692 ext 4552

“Transition Specialist Role in SBCAE Consortium – Unique, Rewarding, and Challenging”

What to call ourselves: Counselor, Navigator, Advisor….

How the role is defined depends on the School District;

1 Adult Ed school has 4 part-time Transition Specialists each;

2 other Adult Ed schools have 1 full-time Transition Specialist each;

1 Adult Ed has 3 part-time and 1 vacant position for Transition Specialists

2 CC have 1 Trans Specialist each; 1 has a Transition Counselor and 1 has vacant position

The job description varies in terms of duties, expectations, etc. We began with one description created by the Steering Committee with the 9 schools tweaking it as they saw fit.

The challenge is to find Transition Specialists for the open positions

The intent of the job, no matter what we’re called or how we’re paid, is to seamlessly transition students from one system to the other.

THIS IS THE CORE FOCUS.

Transition Specialists met once a month last year, but we have moved it to meeting every 2 weeks, rotating sites and having specific topics. So far this year, we’ve reviewed CommunityPro (online data collection site, under review by the Steering Committee), templates for interviewing and goal setting with students, Upwardly Global guest speaker, and continuous program updates. This has led to a cohesive and effective group of Transition Specialists!

For the past 2 years, the Transition Specialist group has been a work in progress. Since we were all fairly new to this, finding our footing was difficult at first. The actual role was to focus on the STUDENT first, then everything else would come together. Trying to collect measurable data was the challenge; trying to find which school offered which CTE, HSE, ESL programs was time consuming. But we’ve persevered and have now, this school year, come to a better understanding of how to do what we do successfully.

The Steering Committee / SBCAE has created 9 different Project Teams, number 1 of which is “Transition Specialists and Support Services. I’ve included the details below as our focus for the 2017-2018 school year:

Project Lead:

Steering Committee Support:

Data Team Support:

Objectives and Activities:

• Community of Practice Development among the TS
• Referral Resources and Protocols
• Needs Assessments
• Data collection – for consortium and for institution
• WIOA Alignment for student placement, and data collection
• Immigrant Integration Framework resources
• Case management protocols and tools
• Career advisement resources
• Immigrant professionals (with Refugee Forum subcommittee)
• Expand use of SparkPoint
• Childcare/babysitting supports

An example of student transfer success:

• Sisters, My and Nhu, began ESL classes at Milpitas Adult Ed in June 2016. They then enrolled in the Bridge to Medical Careers classes offered by Santa Clara Adult Ed in the Fall of 2016. The past SJCC Transition Specialist, Maura Esquivel-Lozano, met with both students to assist them in class selection based on their goals.
• They continued classes at Milpitas Adult Ed completing ESL Levels 3 and 4 in the 2016-2017 school year. During that time, I assisted and advised them as they took the ESL Placement Test for San Jose City College, placing into Intermediate Low.
• They completed ESL 324 Listening and Speaking at SJCC in June 2017.
• They are now in ESL 323 Reading and 322 Writing, and narrowing down their goals. Nhu has reported that she’s interested in the Field of Special Education with Children – an ECE Specialization. My is still seeking advice for what field to study.

Unique – Yes!Rewarding – Yes!Challenging – Somewhat!

Panelist: Shawn Tran, ESL Instructor

Overfelt Adult Center, East Side Adult Education Program

(408) 254-8101

East Side Adult Education, San Jose

• Role and responsibilities of current Transitional Specialist
• Professional Development Activities
• Writing Rubric for Upper-level courses (with Patti Gairaud)

Panelist: Kathy Jasper, ESL Instructor

Evergreen Valley College

Should teachers be paid and loaded for non-credit the same as credit?

In most community colleges non-credit teachers are loaded at 25 hours a week for non-credit and credit at 15 hours a week. As of 2015-2016 the reimbursement rate from the state to the colleges for Career Development and College Preparation (CDCP) non-credit is the same as it is for credit. Therefore, it makes sense to pay both credit and non-credit teachers the same. About 90% of community college non-credit offerings do qualify for this enhanced funding.

What is Career Development and College Preparation (CDCP)?

CDCP courses must be sequenced and lead to a certificate.

CDCP Enhanced Funding Categories:

• ESL
• Math and English basic skills
• Short term CTE courses with high employment potential
• High School diploma or high school equivalent certificates
• Workforce preparation courses
• Programs for apprentices

In the South Bay Consortium for Adult Education, the San Jose /Evergreen faculty have equal pay and loading in non-credit and non-credit while West Valley/Mission faculty are working toward that goal.

Shared Governance: Should teachers have a voice on the steering committee?

We fought hard and finally got a meaningful voice on the Steering Committee.

“In June, 2017, the SBCAE Charter was amended to more formally include faculty and staff input into the decisions made at the consortium level. The Steering Committee now meets several times a year with a Consultation Council, composed of representatives from all seven districts certificated and classified bargaining units, and representatives from four academic senates from the four colleges. In addition, the Consultation Council will select one representative from the colleges and one representative from the adult schools to attend all Steering Committee meetings. SBCAE is dedicated to broad participation as we innovate, deliver new programs and evaluate their impact, in order to more fully meet the adult education needs of our region.”

SBCAE Charter taken from the SBCAE.org website.

Panelist: Novella Simonson, ESL Instructor and Placement Adviser,\ San Jose City College

“Multiple Measures and CC/Adult Ed Matriculation Partnerships: San Jose City College, Campbell Adult Community Education, and Milpitas Adult Education MOU as a Model”

The Purpose:

• To implement multiple measures currently in use by CC counselors and mandated by the state
• To bypass the college ESL placement test to avoid over-testing
• To utilize student-friendly support services offered by professional transition specialists
• To bridge gaps between institutions, thereby facilitating an aligned and seamless transition for students into CC courses
• To more accurately place advanced AE students into appropriate ESL classes
• To boost enrollment in academic track CC credit courses (the list goes on…)

The Process (one feasible model):

AE instructors refer advanced ESL students to the CC on the basis of MMs (multiple measures), such as:

• reading and listening pre-test and post-test scores (CASAS)
• writing, reading, listening exit test scores
• writing samples
• ILP (Individual Learning Plan) which includes background/profile/ed goals and contact information

AE transition specialists send the CC placement/advisement team a packet of MMs for each referred student.

Referred students have an exit appointment with the AE transition specialist. Students sign “agreement to release information” form, which goes into his/her MM packet. (Students cannot “self-refer” to the college without an exit appointment.)

Every referred student to the CC has already applied through CCC Open and has a student ID number.

The CC ESL team assesses each MM packet (with special emphasis on the writing sample) and places the referred student appropriately.

Each assessed student is called by the testing office to make an appointment for college orientation and ESL advisement; the studentthen receives his/her placement and gets help registering into college ESL classes.

Outcomes:

• Students benefit from “warm handoffs” and “welcoming hands” as they exit one door and enter a new.
• Students’ pathway towards English acquisition and career advancement is shortened.
• Cross-institutional alignment and collaboration helps broaden and deepen working relationships among ESL professionals more appreciatively.
• Some important goals of AB86 --“integrating existing programs and creating seamless transitions”; “accelerating student progress towards academic and/or career goals”; and “envisioning a successful future for adult learners” by “formalizing relationships that promote stability and shared values”—are concretely addressed and some even achieved.

Panelist: Leslie Rice, ESL/ENG Instructor

San Jose City College

MAJOR CHANGE - Changing one level of ESL from credit to non credit

*In order to increase access to our larger ESL community, we, SJCC’s ESL Faculty, decided, in Spring/Fall 2016, to change one level of our academic ESL courses over to non credit.

*In Spring 2016, three other non credit courses were created:

*ESL for Computers and Computing, 3 hours, ESL 510

*ESL for the Workplace, 3 hours, ESL 550

*ESL in the Healthcare Setting, 3 hours, ESL 500

*In Fall 2016, we worked together over the course of several meetings to change our Low Intermediate level from three credit offerings (Listening/Speaking, Reading, and Writing) to two non-credit offerings.

*Listening and Speaking (ESL 531), about 72 hours (4 hours per week), non credit

*Integrated Reading and Writing (ESL 532), about 108 hours (6 hours per week), non credit

*We also changed one of our ESL credit grammar classes over to non credit (ESL 542, 3 hours per week).

*For our lowest level, High Beginning – we decided to eliminate this credit offering / level at our campus. Students at this level are encouraged to attend local adult education schools.

*Major support from our dean. *Major outreach to all adult schools in our consortia by transition specialists and our SJCC ESL faculty members. Major support and collaboration also by our adult education colleagues. Also more communication and presentations by our SJCC Outreach staff.

*Equal pay for equal work was supported by our district

*Free tuition, free textbooks, and free parking

Results in Summer 2017:

Four full non credit offerings – (2) ESL 531 and (2) ESL 532

We immediately opened another section.

Approximately 30 students per section.

Retention was very good throughout the summer session.

Results in Fall 2017

(5 sections) ESL 531 – full / (1 section) ESL 531 – Dual Enrollment, High School / (1 section) ESL 531 late start – full (6 sections) ESL 532 – full / (1) ESL 542 – Grammar – full

Conclusion – The future looks a lot brighter . . .

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