Reading Apprenticeship Community College

STEM Network (RACCSN)

Request for Proposals from Campus Teams

Overview:

At a time when demand for college graduates in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) related fields is at an all time high, disproportionate numbers of at-risk students fail to persist in community college STEM courses. WestEd’s Strategic Literacy Initiative (SLI) invites proposals from campus teams to be part of a California statewide network of STEM faculty and administrators using the Reading Apprenticeship instructional framework as a lever to transform classrooms and increase the retention and success of all community college STEM students, including student populations underrepresented in STEM careers.

The Network: The Reading Apprenticeship Community College STEM Network (RACCSN) is a three-year effort funded by a grant to WestEd’s Strategic Literacy Initiative from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust. The network is designed to support both faculty and student learning: while STEM instructors prepare to support their students’ reading and problem solving in their disciplinesthrough extensive free Reading Apprenticeship professional development, they are simultaneously benefiting from a supportive community with which to share their challenges and successes. The California Community Colleges Success Network (3CSN) will partner with the Strategic Literacy Initiative to develop the network and to disseminate RACCSN’s work throughout California.

The Approach: Reading Apprenticeship’s instructional model provides students with resources for approaching complex texts more confidently and strategically by engaging their instructors in a dynamic professional development process of “making their thinking visible” with the challenging texts of their own disciplines.

The Strategic Literacy Initiative is committed to enhancing equity, meaning all students—even those considered to be “struggling readers”—have the support and opportunity to access an academically rigorous and engaging curriculum. Equally important is the commitment to faculty professional growth. Faculty continue to grow when they can build on their current knowledge and expertise in a professional learning community that provides frequent opportunities for reflection and support. Thus, we invite campuses willing to support ongoing and sustained professional learning for their STEM faculty and administrator teams to apply to be part of this Network.

The Application:The online application consists of twosections. Each section is explained in detail on the following page.

  1. Team member information
  2. Narrative proposal (500 word limit)

Key dates:

  • Applications are due by 5p.m. Pacific Standard Time on December 1, 2014. Applicants will receive notification by January 5, 2015.
  • There will be two cohorts (totaling 16 campus teams and up to 150 people) in the first two years of this Network. Up to ten teams will be chosen for the first cohort, applying in Fall 2014 and selected in January 2015. The remainder will apply in Fall 2015 and be selected in January 2016.

Application elements:

1. Team Member Information.

Please submit names, discipline and contact information for your proposed team, which should consist of:

  • 4-9 Faculty from across STEM disciplines who plan to incorporate the Reading Apprenticeship framework into their classrooms, including 1-2 Team Lead(s) who are willing to serve as the primary communication link with SLI and to convene on-site team meetings, and
  • An administrator who will participate in the professional development alongside faculty in order to deeply understand and support their work and to provide a primary communication link to other campus administrators.

NOTE: Campus teams selected for Cohort 1 will have the option of adding additional members in Year 2 of the grant, through a second round of recruitment.

All team members must plan to participate in Reading Apprenticeship professional development. Teams can determine a professional learning plan drawing from avariety of available options, including:

  • RA101 for STEM, a 6-week online course for STEM instructors. Start dates are ongoing beginning Spring 2015.
  • 3-day Introduction to Reading Apprenticeship in STEM seminar, July 29-31, 2015 at the WestEd offices in Oakland, CA.
  • Leadership Community of Practice in Reading Apprenticeship (LCoP)(prepares participants to lead professional learning workshops for faculty members at their own campuses; completion of RA 101 or 3-day seminar is a pre-requisite). Face-to-face July 13-16 and 2 days in February 2016 (TBA) at the WestEd offices in Oakland, CA; online course through fall and Spring 2015-16.
  • Half-day or full-day Reading Apprenticeship in STEM workshop held at your campus (with a minimum of 25 participants).

In addition to the above opportunities, participants from the STEM campus teams would attend a 1-day Winter Campus Exchange meeting in either northern or southern California, based on their location.

When articulating a professional learning plan, please keep in mind that individual campuses will be expected to support their teams’ travel costs.

2.Narrative Proposal.

In 500 words or less, please explain your team’s initial plan for introducing and sustaining Reading Apprenticeship professional development on your campus. In addition to identifying exactly which professional learning opportunities (from the above list) you would like to participate in and the team members who will be participating, the strongest applications will include:

  • Ideas about how new learning about Reading Apprenticeship could be incorporated into existing student success initiatives.
  • Ideas about how to equitably include adjunct as well as full-time faculty.
  • An initial plan for working with the college’s Institutional Research office, where applicable, or an alternative plan if no IR office exists, to track the impact of Reading Apprenticeship on STEM students’ retention and success.
  • Ideas about how to connect the campus team’s work with regional networks and/or other STEM reform initiatives.
  • Ideas about how to create opportunities for professional learning to stretch across boundaries between administration, faculty, and staff.
  • Concrete ways that your campus can support your participation in RACCSN. Examples include: travel funds to support the face-to-face components of the teams’ professional learning plan, release time for team leads, funds to compensate adjunct faculty for their team meeting times, assistance with class scheduling, a food and materials budget for team meetings, etc.
  • Ideas about how you imagineyour campus team will contribute to RACCSN.

For ideas and inspiration about how campuses have used Reading Apprenticeship professional learning as a lever for positive classroom and campus change, please visit this link to view three “campus change narratives”:

Submission Process:

Application for RACCSN will be via electronic submission.

To apply, please visit the link found here:

You will need to complete the following sections of the form:

  1. Identify your Team Lead(s)
  2. Identify your Team
  3. Identify your Administrator
  4. Upload your Narrative Proposal

When identifying your team, you must list names & contact information for at least 4 faculty in order to submit your application.

Once you have finished entering in the Team Information, you will need to use the upload button to attach your application. In order for your application to be accepted, it must conform to the guidelines below:

  1. Your 500 word Narrative Proposal as an Adobe PDF file.
  2. Filename format should be: YourCollegeName_RACCSN_2014(ie: SpringfieldCC_RACCSN_2014 OR SCC_RACCSN_2014)

To receive a copy of your application via email, please be sure to check the box at the bottom of the form labeled, “Send me a copy of my responses” and provide your email address when prompted.

Once all the fields have been filled out and the application package has been uploaded, click the blue “Submit” button to submit your application.

Questions:

For general questions, please see our FAQlocated on our website:

For specific questions about the Network or content of the application, please contact Nika Hogan at .

For questions about the application process or submission, please contact Kate Meissert at .

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