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Allan Hancock College Atkinson Lifelong Learning Center. Taking the Classroom to the Community Project Date: October 2004-September 2007 Ardis Neilsen, Dean, Community Education Elaine Healy, Coordinator, Community Education. Allan Hancock College. Two-year community college located in
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Allan Hancock College Atkinson Lifelong Learning Center Taking the Classroom to the Community Project Date: October 2004-September 2007 Ardis Neilsen, Dean, Community Education Elaine Healy, Coordinator, Community Education
Allan Hancock College • Two-year community college located in Santa Maria, California
Allan Hancock College Campuses: Santa Maria, Lompoc, Solvang, and VAFB • Credit enrollment 11,000 students • Noncredit enrollment 5,000-6,000 students
Community Education • Noncredit classes in basic skills, ESL, citizenship, health, older adults • Open-entry, open-exit classes • Open to anyone 18 and over • Classes are FREE! • ESL – 1400 - 1600 students per semester
City of Santa Maria • Known as the “BBQ Capital” • Heart of Wine Country
City of Santa Maria • Agriculture is the largest industry • The City’s # 1 crop is strawberries.
City of Santa Maria • Approximately 60% of the City’s population is Hispanic. (Pop. approx 90,000) • 248% increase in the Hispanic population between 1980 and 2000. • Mixtec Immigration: Santa Maria has the largest Mixtec population outside of Mexico.
Mixtec Immigration • Approx. 20,000 Mixtec immigrants from Oaxaca live in Santa Maria. • 92 dialects of Mixtec are spoken. • Many Mixtecs speak little English or Spanish.
Unique Challenges for Immigrants • Language barrier • Lack of formal schooling • Insufficient income to afford decent housing • Cultural differences • Digital Divide—lack of access to technology • Residents“rarely venture beyond their own neighborhood.”
Bridging the “Distance” Challenges: • Empower residents toward educational and economic advancement. • offer enticements to enter the world of lifelong learning. • Make these individuals “visible” in the community. “Prior to starting educational classes these were people who were the invisible of this community—they did not venture outside their neighborhoods” (Ginnie Sterling, Santa Maria Times).
Community Focus Group Identifies Needs (2003) • A neighborhood resource center • English as a Second Language classes • Job training • Health care services (due to lack of health insurance among over 70% of respondents) • Parenting classes focus group was held May 2003 with community residents.
What Won’t Work • Asking students to: • Pay tuition • Travel to the main AHC campus • Enroll in semester-length classes
What Might Work . . . • Bringing the most needed educational programs and technology access to the neighborhood at no cost or a very low-cost.
Grant Goal • Partner with City of Santa Maria and community agencies to • empower residents by offering opportunities for educational and economic advancement.
Community Partners • City of Santa Maria: • construct lab/classroom • expand recreation area by adding a sports field, playground • expand parking lot • Boys & Girls Club: • offer summer scholarships to children (ages 6-18) of parents attending classes • CARES, Inc.: • provide limited childcare to children of parents attending class • AHC: • provide educational services • manage project
Project Site: Atkinson Center • Located 2 ½ miles from the main AHC campus • Across the street from Boys & Girls Club • Adjacent to elementary school • Situated in a low-income residential neighborhood
The Surrounding Community • Predominately Hispanic and low-income individuals: • Census Tract 23.03: 83.4% low to moderate income (LMI) • Census Tract 23.04 is 81.6% LMI • Estimate of the percentage of foreign-born individuals within Census Tracts is 48.3% (23.03) and 50.7% (23.04)
Challenges for Residents of the Project Area • language barriers • cultural differences • lack of education • insufficient income to afford housing • lack of transportation
Grant Activity #1 • Build a community learning center • Classroom • State-of-the-art computer lab
Atkinson Center (2004) • Expand recreation area and parking lot
Activity #2 • Activity Two: Provide Educational Services and Access to Technology • Provide noncredit courses for educational and economic advancement. • Create a computer lab to address residents lack of access to technology. • Create a website to include links to community resources. • Provide limited childcare for children of parents who are attending classes.
Finally!Allan Hancock College Atkinson Lifelong Learning Center (2006)
Outreach to Community Announcing Grand Opening • Flyers — 1000 distributed: • door-to-door • elementary school & jrhs • New releases, PSA, community calendar – target English & Spanish media • Print ads, both languages, noncredit class schedule – 80,000 distribution • Mailed invitations to community agencies, city and college representatives, media
Open House Ribbon Cutting: AHC, Community Partners, and City of Santa Maria Chamber of Commerce
Open House • Over 200 people attended the open house. • 114 people registered for classes in less than three hours.
Open House • Counseling assistance available at open house
17 Bilingual Class Sections 2007 spring semester • ESL — Lecture & Language Lab • Intro to Computers Levels 1 & 2 • Preparation for Citizenship • Preparation for GED • Digital Photography Levels 1 & 2 • Reading & Writing Workshop • Landscape / Gardening • Needle Arts • Fitness 13 part-time faculty
Challenges • Managing a construction project • Obtaining environmental impact report • Partnerships
