Building Pathways to High-Demand Careers

1. Steps on a Pathway:Building Pathways to Nontraditional, High-wage, High-demand Careers www.jspac.org

2. Joint Special Populations Advisory Committee • Stan Schroeder, Project Director • Tammy Montgomery, Program Coordinator • Tammy.Montgomery@gcccd.edu • Grossmont-Cuyamaca CCD Auxiliary • 8800 Grossmont College Drive • El Cajon CA 92020 • Office:  619-644-7713 • JSPAC project and fiscal management provided by Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District A partnership between the California Department of Education (www.cde.ca.gov) & the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office (www.cccco.edu)

3. Nontraditional Careers Statewide Leadership Project • San Diego County Office of Education • Maureen Gevirtz,Consultant • nontrad@sdcoe.net • 858-268-9726 • www.nontrad.info

4. Special Populations Collaborative • West Hills Community College • Laurie Harrison • laurierharrison@gmail.com • 530-265-8116

5. Introductions • Who are you? • What is your title or job? • With what segment or organization do you work? (K-12, adult education, CC, social services…?) • What do you hope to get out of today’s professional development activity?

6. Presenter Information • Elizabeth Wallner • Wallner Consulting Services • 916-455-4643 • eawallner@sbcglobal.net

7. Students from Special Populations • Individuals with disabilities • Individuals from economically disadvantaged families; including foster children • Single parents, including single pregnant women • Displaced homemakers, • Individuals with limited English proficiency

8. The Way Out • Individuals that are preparing for Nontraditional fields Image from www.gettyimages.com

9. Schools: Creating Solutions Guide for Program Improvement Perkins IV: NT CTE Program Participation and Completion National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity:www.napequity.org.Slides 9-18

10. Step 1: Document Performance Gaps • NT CTE Programs are defined by employment numbers NOT enrollment numbers • Accountability measures have meaning when the data is used for program improvement • What are you looking for? • 80/20 rule • +/- 10% rule • Over/under representation

11. ABC Secondary School District Enrollment Comparison 06-07 Gender, Auto Tech Secondary Guide for Program Improvement Perkins IV: NT CTE Program Participation and Completion National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity:www.napequity.org

12. XYZ Secondary School District Enrollment Comparison ‘06-07 -- Hispanic Students Enrolment

13. Step 1 continued • What does the data indicate? • Can you trust the data? • Concerns? • Timing of measurement? • Reliability? • Coverage? • What else is needed? Guide for Program Improvement Perkins IV: NT CTE Program Participation and Completion National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity:www.napequity.org

14. Step 2: Identify Root Causes Don’t Settle for Conventional Wisdom and Symptoms—Never Stop Asking Why • Ways to search for Root Causes • Brainstorming • Literature Review • Analyzing Student Data • Focus Groups • Reviewing Program/Institutional Evaluations & Effectiveness Reviews • Peer Benchmarking • Develop an exhaustive list of Root Causes affecting recruitment/retention/participation/completion of SP students in _____ CTE program are: • Pick three and analyze them further Guide for Program Improvement Perkins IV: NT CTE Program Participation and Completion National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity:www.napequity.org

15. Identify Root Causes Continued • Identify Potential Causes • Analyze and Evaluate Potential Causes • Causes Within Control • Student Motivation and Engagement • Effective Instructional Practices • Teacher Training/Education • School Expectations/Incentives • Perceived Career Relevance • Causes Outside Control • Student Transfer/Mobility Levels • Family Income • Parents’ Education • School Resources • Organize Your Theory & Select Most Critical Root Causes Guide for Program Improvement Perkins IV: NT CTE Program Participation and Completion National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity:www.napequity.org

16. Step 3: Select Effective Solutions • Things to think about in selecting strategies: • Sound theory – does it make sense to all? • Strong evidence – has it worked elsewhere? • Cost and time of testing – can our site afford to test solution! • Resources and support – can we afford the solution? • Stakeholder support – do we all agree?

17. Step 4: Pilot Test and Evaluate Solutions • … create an evaluation approach that will allow you to assess how well the improvement strategies and models are working. • Choose a study design • Select pilot sites • Select outcome measures • Identify data sources • Grades, surveys, interviews, classroom visits, • Train staff Make sure your improvement strategy works somewhere before you attempt to apply it everywhere…

18. Step 5: Implement Solutions • Move from pilot site to sphere of influence • Monitor Implementation • Adjust as needed! Don’t say you’ve addressed the problem until you’ve fully implemented solutions and achieved results! Guide for Program Improvement Perkins IV: NT CTE Program Participation and Completion National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity:www.napequity.org

19. Students: Creating a Game Plan • Students MUST have a goal • Know income requirements for their life • Know their strengths • Assessment, assessment, assessment • LMI • Learn about the career • Growing? Declining • Tasks? • Income? • Choose a school

20. Setting Goals • Insight: Center For Community Economic Development • Californians for Family Economic Self-Sufficiency • Insight is a network that works towards: • Advancing policies and programs that allow working families to move out of poverty • Measures income needed for a family to adequately meet their needs – without public or private assistance. • 70 different family compositions • Each California county • http://www.insightcced.org/

21. Where Do My Strengths Lie? • Assessment • Where does a student’s interests lie? • What is s/he good at? • What are her or his transferable skills? • Nontrad102 chapter on assessment www.nontrad.info • Online resources

22. Exploring Careers & Training Opportunities • Labor Market Information • Identify high-growth, high-employment, high-wage occupations • Identify specific information about various occupations (i.e. wages, skills, training, employment projections etc.) • Locate additional help and LMI links http://www.labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov/

23. Creating a plan for all students will create the best opportunity for success for all studentshttp://www.ncld.org/content/view/403/456/

24. What is your greatest Barrier to Success? Change? Adventure?

25. Low Income All photos from Microsoft clip art

26. Guiding Individuals from Low Income Homes • Provide key person to monitor & guide • Provide Financial Support • Community resources • Assist with fees, transportation, daycare etc. • Provide Emotional Support • Role models, mentors, support groups • Provide Career Support • Insight • Nontraditional careers information • Career and interview clothes

27. Single Parents & Displaced Homemakers All photos from Microsoft clip art

28. Effective StrategiesSingle Parents • Get to know the parents and remember that their task is difficult. • Know Your Campus: • Coordinate, collaborate & confer! • Buddy Systems Work • Facilitate student collaborations for: co-op daycare, car-pooling, note-taking, studying, etc. • Look For Signs • Burn-out, falling grades, poor attendance, etc. • Keep your expectations high but be flexible!

29. Effective StrategiesDisplaced Homemakers • Guide Displaced Homemakers in identifying skills from the home environment that translate into workplace skills • Provide Mentors, Mentors, Mentors (and role models)! • Link students to “Dress for Success” or “Clothes Closets” • Explore distance learning options

30. English Language Learners All photos from Microsoft clip art

31. Effective PracticesWhen Mentoring Individuals Learning English • Createopportunities for all learners to gain recognition and overcome hardships • Group projects, flexible seating arrangements • Don’t assume that the LEP speaker has limited education or knowledge – they can often teach others and don’t need assistance just time • Write lesson objectives on the board • Learn basic words in the students language • www.freetranslations.com or www.babelfish.altavista.com • Identify possible school or community sources of assistance • Learn about the culture of LEP students, and how that affects classroom interactions

32. Individuals with Disabilities All photos from Microsoft clip art

33. *Success for All • Disabled individuals are the most likely special population students to leave school with an AS degree • Disabled students have the lowest post college earnings of any Special population group • www.vteabp.org

34. The Risks • Limited Educational Opportunities • People with disabilities may become frustrated and fail • This may cause them to drop out of educational programs • Limited Vocational Options • People with disabilities may have trouble finding and keeping a job. • Limited literacy skills and poor organizational skills can lead to low job satisfaction and underemployment. • Isolation • Adults with disabilities may misinterpret others' gestures, facial expressions and tone of voice. Adults with LD may feel inadequate and incapable and they may remember being teased, criticized, or even rejected by their peers. • Difficulty with Independent Living • Adults with severe disabilities may have difficulty with tasks such as writing checks, filling out forms, taking phone messages and following directions. • http://www.ncld.org/content/view/403/456/

35. The Rewards • Creative Problem-Solving • … must learn to work around their disabilities. … allows them to think "outside the box," often leading to more creative solutions and imaginative answers to problems. • Outgoing Personality • … some compensate for their learning problems. • Strong Compensatory Skills • … many people develop strong skills in other areas. • Persistence • … many do not give up when attempting a difficult task. Despite frustrations, they keep trying until they meet with success.* • Empathy • … often provide support and understanding for others. … have experienced the frustration of having a disability, they can be that much more supportive of others. • http://www.ncld.org/content/view/403/456/

36. Working with Students with Disabilities • Meet with the student • S/he is the best “authority” on what s/he can or can’t do • Disseminate class materials • Allow for advanced preparation time • Describeandsummarize • Tell students where you’re going and remind them where you’ve been! • Recognize differences • All students are unique – including “disabled” • Communicate with the student not the student’s assistant

37. Things to Think About When Counseling Individuals With Disabilities • Should accommodations have an impact on how assignments are graded? • What if accommodations don't seem to be helping?

38. Individuals who are Training in Nontraditional Careers Images purchased from www.gettyimages.com

39. Why focus on Nontraditional? • Women have a 90% chance of becoming sole support of themselves and/or their family at some time in their lives. • Girls and Women Today, JSPAC, www.jspac.org • Approximately twice as many female headed households are in poverty as opposed to male headed households. • http://pubdb3.census.gov/macro/032007/pov/new02_100_01.htm, US Census Bureau • Gender is not a good predictor of academic skills, interests, or emotional characteristics • http://www.napequity.org/pdf/Stereo.pdf, NAPE Images purchased from www.gettyimages.com

40. Myths and outcomes… • Girls learn better from female teachers • There is a biological basis for sex differences in math and science • It’s not necessary to look at the interaction of gender and race when dealing with girls in math and science

41. Effective Practicesfor Guiding Students in Nontraditional Programs • Evaluate teaching styles, classrooms, materials • Achieving Gender Equity: Strategies for the Classroom by Dianne D. Horgan • Achieving Diversity: The Sociopolitical Concept of Multicultural Education by Sonia Nieto • Recruitin groups, develop support groups • Nontraditional newsletter, address harassment issues, address barriers, professional development for all staff • Market Programs • Role models (gender, disabled & culturally diverse) • Photos of former nontraditional students • Invitations to nontraditional classes • Initiate the participation of students in • Other nontraditional classes, mentoring, job shadowing, tutoring opportunities, career days

42. Nontraditional Careers Leadership Project • www.nontrad.info • Non-Trad 101 • Learn the basics about students from special populations and how to serve them • Non-Trad 102 • Continue the journey to understanding the barriers and remedies of serving students from special populations • http://cteach.nontrad.info • One stop site to download helpful resource materials. See FREE Teacher Resources section. • Workshops • Resources

43. Nontrad 101 • Better success for your students • Increased enrollments • A better understanding of nontraditional careers and how they impact student lives • Tools to better interact with, prepare for, and assist, students who choose nontraditionalcareers • A certification of completion for 15 hours of professional development credit

44. Nontrad 102 • Upon completion of this course, you will be able to assist students, participants, and/or make effective transitions into nontraditional careers or training programs. Chapters include: • Assessment • LMI • Media Influences • Academic Support, & Best Practices, including Apprenticeship • Support Services • Role Models • Transitional Plan and more…

45. Success For All • Despite economic, academic, and demographic disadvantages, special population students who receive vocational training were able to successfully narrow the earnings and employment gap. • The more education attained, the more stable the employment! • Special population women increased their median annual earnings by 182%, men by 149%. • Special population students increased their year-round employment rates over time and narrowed the gap with non-special population students • www.vteabp.org

46. Perkins IV • Ongoing and significant professional development • Focus on NT • Accountability on ALL SP groups

47. Other California Resources • STEM Equity Pipeline Project • National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity • mimilufkin@napequity.org • www.napequity.org • Women Tech Train-the-Trainer Workshops • www.iitts.com • Donna_milgram@iwitts.com • 510-749-0200 ex. 101

48. Save the Date! • JSPAC Special Populations Conference • Help us plan the conference, click here to take a 10 minute survey and tell us what you would like to see, hear, do in Sacramento: www.deadsmall.com/32F • December 3-4, 2008 • Holiday Inn Capitol Plaza • Sacramento, CA 95814

49. Workshop Evaluation & Sign-in Sheets • Grant requires them… • What parts of the workshop were useful to you? • What parts… not so much. • What would you like to see included in future JSPAC/NTCLP workshops? Thank You!