Alliance for Language Learners’ Integrating, Education, and Success

CAEAA – February 2, 2012

ALLIES History

2010: Form steering committee and submit grantCommunity colleges insist on involving the Adult Schools2011: Planning and action research to:Develop best practice collaboration modelPilot test partnership approachesDevelop strategic plan2012 Goal: Implement 3-5 Community Wide Alliances

What’s the problem?No single agency has the resources needed to

serve low-skill adult language learners effectively. There is a gap in systemic coordinationImmigrants are key to our future

1/3 of residents are foreign born1/2 of workforce are immigrants2/3 of children have immigrant parents

Services are at risk due to budget cutsRisk of reduced opportunity and social mobilityRisk of growing achievement gaps

The Need

What Students See Today

Wide variety of individual class offerings

Lack of obvious roadmap of classes to take them to goal

Confusion about progressing among educational systems

Duplication of curriculum among different classes and educational systems

What Students Need

Clear courses of study

Integrated pathways of classes and work experience

Bridges between among educational systems

Alignment of curriculum among different classes and educational systems

Current Structure

Labor 

Employers 

Support Service

Providers 

Elected Officials /Local

Government  

Workforce Development

Agencies 

Community-Based

Organizations 

Researchers 

Community Colleges

 

Adult Schools

 

Many expert groups

Alliances depend on individuals

Limited regional goal-setting and alignment

Gaps in service not easily addressed

Service replication can easily occur

Preferred Structure

Employers 

ALLIANCES 

Support Service

Providers 

Elected Officials /Local

Government   Workforce

Development Agencies

 

Community-Based

Organizations 

Labor 

Researchers 

Community Colleges

 

Adult Schools

 

Many expert groups

Alliances are systemic and widespread

Common regional goals and agendas

Cohesive services with little replication

Guidance and support on collaborating

ALLIES Value AddedBest Practice Collaborative Model and Support

Common Agenda Shared Metrics Mutually Reinforcing Activities Continuous Communication “Backbone” Support Organization

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2

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4

6

5

Figure 1. ALLIES Sub Regions

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8

9

10

ALLIES will support alliances in sub-regions throughout San Mateo and Santa Clara counties

February 2011Gavilan College

60 ESL practitioners

May 2011Santa Clara Adult Ed50 ESL practitioners

Feb - AprilLocal

Collaborations

SummerLocal

Collaborations

October 2011Foothill College

2011 Action Research with ESL Providers

2011 Planning with a multi-sector coalition

Employers 

ALLIES 

Support Service Providers

 

Elected Officials /Local Government

 Workforce Development

Agencies 

Community-Based Organizations

 

Labor 

Researchers 

Community Colleges 

Adult Schools 

Strategic Action Planning GroupDevelop multi-sector strategiesFirst Session: Sep. 16, 2011

• Building Skills Partnership • NOVA WIB• KQED Education• Catholic Charities• Assemblyman Rich Gordon’s Office• San Mateo Hispanic Chamber of

Commerce• Center for Employment and Training• Project Read Menlo Park• Project Read Redwood City• Cañada College• Palo Alto Adult School

Support and Recognition for ALLIES SuccessInvited to testify at California Legislature

Little Hoover Commission as best practice model

Connections with Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office and California Department of Education

Participation at the White House Hispanic Community Action Summit

Presentations at CATESOL, CAEAA, and other associations

Logo, Website, Video and Newsletter

Intended ImpactsIncreased college access and successEmployment in family sustaining careersUpward mobilityAccelerated language and skill acquisitionExpanded technology literacyRegional workforce developmentIncreased community and civic engagementSupport for citizenship

The World of Adult Schools: Approaching

ALLIESWhat do we have?

State standards for ESL7 clearly defined levelsA statewide testing system (for WIA schools)Annual testing targets (for WIA schools) A new strategic plan in the beginning stages

of implementationESL programs that mirror their communities

The World of Adult SchoolsWhat are some variations?

Varying levels depending on the communityOpen entry versus managed enrollmentConnections to K-12 of varying degreesVarying degrees of collaborationMany have small feesSome restrict to residents of the community

The World of Adult SchoolWhat do we need?

Funding and stabilityA system to track student progress after

leavingA system to place students who move from

one community to anotherA coherent way to document student

achievement that can be transferred from one community or employer to another.

ESL in Community Colleges: Approaching

ALLIESCB 21 coding restricting levels of ESLGeneration 1.5 studentsBudget ConstraintsFocus on AccountabilityFocus on EquityIntegrative language learning (Career

Ladders)

Collaborative ActivitiesGavilan credit, non-credit and Gilroy Adult

Establish prioritiesCurriculumAssessment

Gather CASAS scores for a year and try to align scores with Gavilan classes

AccessGavilan orientation at adult schoolAllow adult School students to observe at Gavilan

Learnings-much congruence despite distinctive programs

Collaborative ActivitiesSan Mateo Adult School and College of

San MateoAdult School class visits to CSMVisits by CSM to adult school classesMeetings to discuss assessment, texts,

curriculumPossible college readiness classBoth institutions want data on persistence and

success

Collaborative ActivitiesSanta Clara Adult School and Mission

CollegeAgreement to have adult school serve lower

levelsNeed for more dataNeed a larger picture of other collaborations

such as health care Need to align test scores

Collaborative ActivitiesPalo Alto Adult School

Collaborated with Foothill credit department to look at writing skills

Collaborated with Middlefield Center to establish a bridge class

Need for ongoing communicationNeed to engage all levels of the hierarchy

Common CollaborationsAlignment of assessmentsOrientation of adult school students regarding community

collegesFaculty/teacher observation of partner institutionsConsideration of returning lower level ESL to adult schoolsTracking the movement and success of students between

systemsRelationship buildingCo-location of classes

Observations about the collaborative process

Shared studentsCommon perspectives and challenges across the two

systemsCollaborations are yielding tangible results – helping us

do our jobs better Importance of direct faculty/teacher involvement along

with system changesThe relationship between schools and colleges is not

one-to-one, but often one-to-manyOrganizations looking for and developing models

How can we capture this information?

What data? How to collect? Different colleges and different adult schools

Categories : counseling, assessment alignment, orientations, campus visits, etc. identifying data, identifying students who go to community college from Adult school

Volunteers to help set up structures.

For more informationwww.ALLIES4esl.orginfo@allies4esl.org