COABE Conference April 19, 2011

1. Building a Bridge Between Two Cultures COABE Conference April 19, 2011

2. Mary Charuhas Dean, ABE, GED & ESL College of Lake County Grayslake, Illinois Adult Education and the Community college

3. Build partnerships person to person.

4. A partnership is… • Mutually beneficial • Well-defined

5. A partnership is characterized by… • Common goals • Shared accountability • Shared resources and recognition

6. Components of an Effective Partnershipinclude Stakeholders who have a • A vested interest in the partnership • Trust • A shared vision and common goals • Respect for each partner’s expertise • Teamwork strategies

7. Components of an Effective Partnership • Open and ongoing communication • Motivated partners • An action plan • Formalized agreements • Means to implement and sustain the partnership

8. Take Two Minutes • Describe your experiences while taking college classes. • Describe what it took to get into college.

9. Academics and Adult Education Worlds Apart

10. Table Discussion • Each group will have 3 minutes to discuss their questions. In the first column write the response from the perspective from an adult education program and in the second column write it from the perspective of a community college program. • After responding to the questions, determine if the two systems are aligned or not. If they are not aligned, describe what kind of alignment needs to take place. • Be prepared to report out your findings to the large group.

11. For Example

12. Balancing Imperatives • Inclusive & supportive • Realistic • Job preparation • Short-term goals • Vocational content • Setting appropriate college standards • Optimistic • Academic preparation • Long-term goals • Reading, writing, math and science skills improvement On the one hand… On the other hand…

13. Common Barriers to Successful Partnerships… • Tradition • Turf • Time • Trouble

14. Working within a Partnership • Determine what is needed and by whom • Establish who is responsible for key roles • Agree on reporting requirements • Develop action plans • Formalize agreements • Continue ongoing communication

15. Obtain internal buy-in first. • Your department • Your larger institution • Teachers & staff • Administrators • Support service providers

16. Getting to the Bridge • Grant writing • Reporting • Class management • Teacher management • Staff management • Curriculum development • Meetings with external partners. • Meetings with internal institutional partners • Meetings with business • Transitioning students to college or work Rough Starts Changed my job

17. What’s next? For your Curriculum Faculty Time Students

18. Coping with Change Orders • Your priorities • Your staff • The budget • Counseling and advisement • Curriculum • Instructional methodology • Textbooks • Your teachers • Staff development • Space needs

19. Blueprints • Work with the highest possible levels of administration • Identify all coordinating departments and groups • Identify how each will benefit from this partnership • Plan, Plan, Plan

20. Blueprints: Start up commitment • Invest in the time for teachers to learn each other’s areas of responsibility • Allow faculty to observe each other’s classes • Encourage faculty to share orientations and course recruitment processes • Have both departments spend time defining exit and entry level skills • Clarify the reporting and tracking needed

21. Blueprints: Administration • Meet with the department chairs or deans of the career programs regularly • Educate the career program leaders about your program • Use data to show effectiveness for job acquisition and retention

22. Blueprints: Instruction • Use methodologies that build collaboration, team work, and that require problem solving, not just getting the right answer • Create a classroom atmosphere that promotes student communication and problem solving while focusing on customer service

23. Blueprints: Technology • Incorporate distance learning, including work-related skills • Integrate technology in the classroom beyond the use of individual software to maximize learning, problem solving, and application • Ensure that learners acquire the technology literacy skills they will need in postsecondary education and the workplace

24. Blueprints: Support Services Meet with guidance and counseling • Identify the services they do and do not provide • Meet with the business office about financial issues and student holds • Meet with financial aid for help in filling out the FAFSA forms Share your connections with Public Assistance, community groups and charities for assistance Agree to a process for supporting students

25. Blueprints: Support Services • Provide a single point of contact for addressing problems • Expect students who are first generation college students to need a great deal of exposure to the college culture 4/12/2011 29

26. Blueprints: Partners • Redesign your work schedule to allow for meetings with external groups. • Share information and support services with each other • Be willing to collaborate on projects and partner on grant applications • Focus on common goals

27. Architecture • Multiple entry points • Personal and academic support services exposure at all levels that further education and training • Transferable workplace skills such as customer service, critical thinking, problem solving, financial literacy, life skills, and study skills integrated at all levels • Partnerships with community and government agencies • Industry focused curricula • Stackable certificates

28. Transitions Center • Contextualized GED and ESL • Funded by ICCB Adult Education funds • Coordination with DHS • Funded by Public Assistance Grant • Support for tutoring • Funded by Carl Perkins

29. Principles • Responsiveness • Collaboration • Innovation • Alignment • Contextualization • Accountability • Evidence-based teaching and learning • Professional development

30. Signage • Keep it simple • Keep it realistic • Design it for their needs, not yours Marketing to students Marketing to partners

31. Ready for traffic • Language ability • Immunizations • Age • Academic knowledge and skills • Time, commitment, and family support What are they driving? Bikes or Beamers

32. Mapping the Route • Students’ goals • Needs • Interests • Commitment What is the destination? Getting started!

33. On Ramp Assistance • Transportation • Childcare • Housing • Health checks • IDs • Driver’s licenses • Background checks • Financial Aid • Student loans • Student holds 4/12/2011 37

34. Contextualized Instruction • Technical writing • Math with emphasis on metric volume and weight • Interpreting and drawing graphs and charts • Clear communication with peers • Problem solving • Anger management

35. Recommendations • Align assessment, curricula, and instructional practices • Provide wrap-around services for transition and retention • Provide high quality staff development • Build and maintain partnerships • Track students, maintain data, and provide reports • Provide a single point of contact for addressing problems • Provide explicit instruction about college systems

36. Contact Information Mary Charuhas Dean, Adult Basic Education, GED and ESL College of Lake County Mcharuhas@clcillinois.edu 847-543-2402 Questions?

37. Building on Strong Foundations • Manufacturing • HVAC • Office Skills • Horticulture • Technology • Allied Health • TBD Bridge program for the trades • TBD Bridge for Office Skills ESL Support Bridge Programs

38. Allied Health Bridge • Web site for curriculum • Staff development available through state professional development system • Short term college level allied health career class • Tutoring and study groups • Emergency Medical Technology • Medical Assisting • Pharmacy Technician • Nursing

39. Allied Health Bridge • Executive committee of WIB • Run Programs at DHS • Established Career Readiness and Job Search programs in place • Established Partnerships with Academic Areas

40. Programs ESL GED

41. Transition to College

42. Career Development Class • Classroom visits • Guest lecturers • Job shadowing • Hospital tour: • Oncology nurse; travelling nurse; medication auditor; administrative nurse; patient care tech; assistant director of HR; pharmacist; pharmacist technician; EMT nurse; cardiac technologist; medical imaging technologist; head of volunteers; Lake Forest Hospital’s philosophy of care, etc.

43. Career Awareness • Career Clusters Interest Survey  • http://intranet.matcmadison.edu/career-assess/

44. Course Web Site • www.clcillinois.edu/healthlibrary • Units include: Day in the life of X; tips for success in science; health care screening; medical terminology; A & P; health care interviewing; counselor’s perspective; student and alumni perspectives; who pays for insurance; the hospital as a place of work; benefits of working in health care; criminal background checks; using foreign health care experience; safety issues; ethics; interpersonal skills; health care continuum; program accreditation; NLN pre-RN exam; Pre-professional health care programs; licensure; relationship between science and health care; how does one choose a health care program; etc. • www.explorehealthcareers.org

45. CPR • Meets one screening requirement; • Practice test taking; • Gives useful life skills; • Demonstrates the nature of certification, etc. CPR Certification