Tag Archives: San Jose City College

The state of CA CCs is strong

Uncategorized November 18, 2023 Leave a comment

Hello from Marina Del Rey!

Woke up early this morning at the Marina after a hectic and tiring week of travel.
A leisurely walk to the bagel place and back. A great way to start the weekend.

Now on to the week of travel ….

On Friday, I gave the State of the System address at the Community College League of California’s annual convention in Indian Wells. Afterward, I was joined by Board of Governors Vice President Hildegarde Aguinaldo, and Board Members Pamela Haynes, Tom Epstein, and Paul Medina.

It was a wonderful day of seeing great colleagues from across the state.

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On the second day in Indian Wells we had consultation council and the CEO meeting. Ran into the Kern team.

Great selfie by Daisy Gonzales with Dr. Young and the Pipelines2Possibilities fellows. The program started as a vision to bring California Community Colleges graduates back to teach at our colleges.

Good morning California.
It is November 18, 2023.
A good day to be a Community College Champion

From California Community Colleges.
Our Time is Now!

Board of Governors Recognizes 2023 Energy and Sustainability Award Recipients

The California Community Colleges Board of Governors has recognized a select group of innovative college leaders and programs with the 2023 Energy and Sustainability Awards for their ceaseless efforts in combatting the impacts of climate change in line with goals spelled out in the recently adopted Vision 2030 strategic plan.

Recipients include:

  • Riverside Community College District
  • Mt. San Antonio Community College District
  • MiraCosta Community College District
  • Solano Community College District
  • Dr. Tonya Huff, Riverside Community College District
  • Hussain Agah, Riverside Community College District
  • Dr. Rueben Smith, Los Angeles Community College District

» Read more!

San Jose City College, Bill Wilson Center Partner
on Guaranteed Income for Unhoused Students

San José’s Bill Wilson Center announced a new guaranteed income program for San José City College Students to help address the statewide issue of youth homelessness. A recent California Community College system survey showed that nearly half of SJCC students have experienced housing, food, or transportation insecurity in the past year.

» Read more!

Mt. San Jacinto College Celebrates National Apprenticeship Week

Mt. San Jacinto College invited the public to its inaugural National Apprenticeship Week and Apprenticeship Connection Summit. Nearly 130 local leaders in education, business, government, and community organizations attended the summit.

» Read more!

Moreno Valley College, Riverside Community College District Sponsor Inaugural State of the Black I.E. Symposium

Last month, the Riverside Community College District and Moreno Valley College were honored to support and sponsor the inaugural State of the Black I.E. Symposium, a significant event dedicated to advancing equity, justice, and empowerment within the Inland Empire’s Black community.

» Read more! 

In Case You Missed It

Innovating at Scale: Guided Pathways Adoption and
Early Student Momentum Among the AACC Pathways Colleges

In 2015, the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) announced
the AACC Pathways Project, a national initiative designed to support a cohort of
community colleges to implement and scale whole-college guided pathways reforms.

Seven years since the project began, these colleges have made impressive progress
adopting guided pathways practices at scale. Colleges that have adopted the model
more comprehensively are seeing promising trends in leading indicators of success for
their students.

» Read the Report!

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EdSource: Community college students can take classes
in their native language under a new law

Hoping to entice more non-English speakers to enroll in community college, California is making it easier for those students to take courses in their native language. Assembly Bill 1096, which was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom and is set to take effect Jan. 1. The law will allow community colleges to offer courses in languages other than English without requiring students to enroll in ESL. 

» Read more!

Fun Photos & Spotted on Social Media

From Shasta College:

Shasta College is having a blast at STEM Career Day with our regional 9th grade students! Science, Technology, Engineering, Math is in many career pathways including GIS, Natural Resources, Logging, Heavy Equipment Operations, Welding, Machining, Health Sciences, and more!

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Hartnell College shared this update about a former student:

» Read more

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Check out this video of highlights from San Diego City College‘s Day of the Dead Event:

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And I loved this story from Santa Rosa Junior College:

The #SRJC Archives holds an impressive collection of 784 letters alumni serving in the war wrote to President Floyd Bailey during World War II. And the story about them is quite fantastic.

After the Pearl Harbor attack, our flight training school moved to Ely, Nevada, and SRJC was contracted to start special training programs, preparing service men and women for the army, navy, and nursing.

Along with hundreds of thousands of civilians who wanted to support the war efforts, the first President of the college, Floyd Bailey, conducted a “private morale booster” for servicemen. In July 1943, he asked his staff to prepare a mailing list with students, alumni, and instructors who were serving in the various military branches.

As he wrote in the first history of the college, “Nearly 50,000 copies of the student newspaper, the Oak Leaf, went out to servicemen who were eager for new of home and, in addition, some 4,000 birthday cards and more than 10,000 copies of mimeographed letters were sent to some 850 students of the mailing list.” In the first newsletter, President Bailey talked about life at the college and in Sonoma County and asked the alumni to write back. Thousands of cards and letters from all over the world, where our alumni were stationed or fighting, arrived at SRJC before the war ended.

These images are published with the support of the SRJC Archives. Some photos of alumni serving in the war are available online in our Digital Archives Collection. The original letters can be consulted in the Archives, located in Doyle Library, second floor, Santa Rosa campus. https://libraries.santarosa.edu/archives

And From the Home of the Renegades

BC Celebrates Grand Opening of
Regenerative Agriculture Education Center with Ribbon Cutting

Bakersfield College hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony November 14, 2023 to celebrate the grand opening of the Regenerative Agriculture Education Center at the Bakersfield College Delano Campus (1450 Timmons Ave., Delano, CA). This space aims to promote sustainable agriculture practices through community education, opportunities for student research, internships, workforce development, and demonstration of emerging technologies.

» Read more!

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Remember – our greatest challenges enable us to do our greatest work.

That’s all for today.

See you next Saturday!

With much hope and joy, 
Your Chancellor,
-sonya

#OurTimeisNow
#NuestroTiempoEsAhora

CA CCs – Taking college to our future learners

Uncategorized September 30, 2023 Leave a comment

I came across this article in the New York Times about the rapid growth of the mosquito population – mosquitos have been thriving as long-used insecticides become less effective. I have definitely seen an increase of the population of mosquitoes here in California.

Less than a decade ago, it was the humans who appeared to have gained the clear edge in the fight — more than a century old — against the mosquito. But over the past few years, that progress has not only stalled, it has reversed.“

We often think of mosquitos as an annoyance, but they can be extremely deadly transmitters of disease. Malaria, transmitted by the bite of an infected Anopheles mosquito, has killed more people than any other disease.

This past summer, the United States saw its first locally transmitted cases of malaria in 20 years, with nine cases reported, in Texas, Florida and Maryland.

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It was a big week up in Sacramento. During this week’s Board of Governors meeting, the BOG approved the Vision 2030 framework.

We enjoyed a no-host dinner at the end of day 1 of our meeting. This is a terrific group… absolutely dedicated to our students and a whole lot of fun.

We also had two more announcements at the BOG meeting.

The Apprenticeship Pathway Demonstration Project, creates a roadmap for colleges to convert apprenticeship learning experiences into college credit, including both existing and new and innovative apprenticeship experiences, as well as related supplemental instruction and prior on-the-job training.

The California Community Colleges and the United Domestic Workers (UDW) announced a partnership to support the ongoing educational needs of the union’s members and their dependents that will lead to educational pathways with upward socio-economic mobility.

Daisy Gonzales, Doug Moore, Stewart Knox, Sonya Christian

Good morning California.
It is September 30, 2023.
A good day to be a Community College Champion

From California Community Colleges.
Our Time is Now!

California Community Colleges Represented
in HACU’s La Academia de Liderazgo

Laura Cantu, Freddy Ramirez, Sandra Martinez, and Giovanni Rodriguez

The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities recently announced the 50 fellows who will be part of the fifth cohort of its Leadership Academy/La Academia de Liderazgo.

Several of our California Community Colleges colleagues are among this cohort:

  • Laura Cantú, Ed.D., Los Angeles Mission College
  • Sandra Martínez, Moreno Valley College
  • Freddy N. Ramírez, Ed.D., MiraCosta College
  • Giovanni D. Rodríguez, Mt. San Antonio College

Congratulations!

» Read more about the La Academia de Liderazgo cohort.

Taft College Program Teaches Skills Needed to Live Independently

Taft College’s Transition to Independent Living (TIL) Program is an inclusive post-secondary educational experience for students with developmental or intellectual disabilities that also offers on- and off-campus housing. The Program is comprehensive, with curriculum and training that promote acquisition of the functional, social, and career skills necessary for students to live a productive lifestyle. There are other programs that are similar to the TIL program at UCLA, UC Davis, and Fresno State but Taft College is currently the only school with a residential component located on a community college campus.

» Check out the 23ABC piece about the program

» Learn more at the Taft College website

New Tech High School Develops Early College Program with Napa Valley College

New Technology High School was awarded a Middle College and Early College (MCEC) Grant in July 2023 by the California Department of Education. The MCEC grant provides funding to support New Technology High School as it starts to develop an Early College program in partnership with Napa Valley College.

» Read more!

Hancock cuts ribbon on PCPA Stagecraft Building

Allan Hancock College and the Pacific Conservatory Theatre (PCPA) celebrated the grand opening of the college’s new PCPA Stagecraft building with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Sept. 15. The grand opening of the stagecraft building occurred as PCPA celebrates its 60th anniversary.

» Read more!

In Case You Missed It

EdSource – Why enrollment is rebounding at California’s community colleges

After years of pandemic declines, enrollment at California’s community colleges may finally be starting to rebound in a significant way.

Several colleges across the state, from San Diego to San Jose, are reporting that their enrollments are up by double digit percentages this fall. Statewide data for the fall isn’t yet available, but enrollment in the spring was up 8% across the system of 116 colleges, according to a memo prepared by the state chancellor’s office.…….

“Vision 2030 asks the fundamental question: Why have we not yet reached these individuals? When students cannot find their way to college, it is our responsibility to bring college to them,” Christian said.

» Read the article

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LA Times – Where to get a low-cost bachelor’s degree close to home
and a job lead: Community college

Community college leaders say they want to tap into a population of learners who otherwise wouldn’t attend a four-year college — students like Roberts, who had never entertained the idea of commuting “down below” from the Antelope Valley to Los Angeles to earn a bachelor’s degree.

» Read the article

Fun Photos & Spotted on Social Media

From Rowena Tomaneng:

Celebrating Tết Trung Thu (Chữ Hán: 節中秋) at San Jose City College today, a traditional Vietnamese Autumn festival! #CultureOfBelonging #AANAPISIWeek

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From Santa Barbara City College:

Enrollment Services hosted SBCC Connect this morning. SBCC Connect is a partnership between SBCC and high schools from Lompoc to Ventura to provide an opportunity for school district members and partners to learn about the transition for students from high school to SBCC.

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From Butte College:

Our Native American Center and campus community came together in observance of Orange Shirt Day. Wearing an orange shirt signifies a recognition of the trauma that Native American children endured during the residential/boarding school era.

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And check out this Student Spotlight from the Foundation for Grossmont & Cuyamaca Colleges:

And From the Home of the Renegades

Bakersfield College Holds 2023 Corrections Academy Graduation

Bakersfield College hosted its 2023 Corrections Academy Graduation on September 22 to recognize and honor thirty-two students who completed a rigorous program that aligns meticulously with the standards set by the Board of State and Community Corrections.

» Read more

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Remember – our greatest challenges enable us to do our greatest work.

That’s all for today.

See you next Saturday!

With much hope and joy, 

Your Chancellor,

-sonya

#OurTimeisNow
#NuestroTiempoEsAhora

Working with a fun and dedicated team.

Uncategorized July 15, 2023 Leave a comment

This week marked the one-year anniversary of the first image from the James Webb Space Telescope. To celebrate, NASA released a new image of the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex.

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take,
but by the moments that take our breath away. 

***

Started last weekend with the new Indiana Jones movie. Absolutely enjoyed it … but then, I enjoy cinema, period. full stop.

If you are an Indiana Jones fan, I have organized the trailers of all five editions of the movie franchise for you here in one spot. Enjoy!

Indians Jones 1 – Raiders of the Lost Arc 1981

Indiana Jones 2 – Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)

Indiana Jones 3 – Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

Indiana Jones 4 – Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

Indiana Jones 5 – Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)

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Now if you think I am all play and no work, let me disabuse you of this thought.

Last Tuesday, I attended the 9th Grade to Baccalaureate Dual Enrollment Convening hosted by American River College. I was on a panel with Chancellor Brian King and Board of Governors member Pam Haynes. What fun! We talked about Vision 2030: A Roadmap for California Community Colleges.

I loved Pam’s reference to the frequently-discussed image of 3 boys looking over a fence at a baseball game.

“Why do we even have the fence? Let’s tear down the fence.
We need all of our kids on the field!”

Cheryl Aschenbach (President of Academic Senate of California Community Colleges, Carina Hoffpauir (Academic Senate President, American River college) then moderated a faculty panel with Sandra Guzman (Academic Senate President, Sacramento City College) and Alisa Shubb (Academic Senate President, American River College). They discussed best practices related to dual enrollment, and how to increase dual enrollment with equity.

Frank Kobayashi, Interim President of American River College, and Scott Pitts, Principal at Inderkum High School, highlighted their institutions’ dual enrollment partnership.

Glad we snapped this photo with some of the presidents and chancellors who were in attendance.

President Frank Kobayashi, President Albert Garcia, President Art Pimentel, Board Member Pam Haynes, Chancellor Brian King, Sonya Christian, President Tawny Dotson, President Santanu Bandyopadhyay

We had a good turnout from the Chancellor’s Office.

Later that day, I headed to the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office for an all-staff meeting. It was a great afternoon of fun and fellowship. This was my first time seeing all the staff together at an in-person gathering.

Thank you Daisy for snapping the selfie!

And as a surprise special guest, Pam Haynes also joined us for the all-staff meeting:

Pam was recently selected as one of the Spark Community Advisors for the 2023 OER Spark Grants Funding Cycle from the Michelson 20MM Foundation.

***

After a busy and rewarding week, I returned home and was able to enjoy my calla lilies – an annual treat in my backyard.

And of course, I love coming back home to this sweet boy after a week away in Sacramento:

Good morning California.
It is July 15, 2023.
A good day to be a Community College Champion

From California Community Colleges.
Our Time is Now!

San Jose City College Holds Equitable Dual Enrollment Expansion Workshop

Kylie Campbell (KCCD), Naomi Castro (CLP), Dr. Rowena Tomaneng (SJCC), Dr. LaTanya Williams (CCCCO), Dr. Rene Alvarez (SJCC)

A team from the Chancellor’s Office and Career Ladders Project headed to San Jose City College this week to lead a workshop on equitable dual enrollment expansion.

Thank you to SJCC President Dr. Rowena Tomaneng and Interim SJECCD Chancellor Dr. Beatriz Chaidez for convening your college team and high school partners to engage in activities and meaningful discussions around implementing and scaling dual enrollment opportunities for your students.

Dr. Rowena Tomaneng (SJCC) & Dr. Beatriz Chaidez 

So fun to see their mascot “Jagy” in these photos …check out San Jose’s SPOT campaign, which promotes Guided Pathways to their current and future students. 

Bill Gates Visits Chaffey College

In April, Bill Gates visited Chaffey College to explore the state and region’s efforts to streamline college pathways benefitting California students. Last month, he published a blog post about how Chaffey is using pathways to foster student success with equity.

» Read more about the visit!

Congressman Cárdenas Presents $2 Million to LA Mission College

 U.S. Rep. Tony Cárdenas announced $2 million in Community Project Funding to Los Angeles Mission College (LAMC) to increase and diversity STEM Workforce programs.

» Read more about the funding!

San Diego CCD Creates Pathways to College Credit

Miramar College Peer Mentor Breanna Hinojosa is one of the thousands of students who have benefitted from a decade-long partnership between the K-12 San Diego Unified School District and the San Diego Community College District.

» Read more about the partnership!

In Case You Missed It

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Inside HigherEd: Leadership Academy Provides Access,
Equity in Career Development

Inside HigherEd published a piece about Ohlone College’s Junior Leadership Academy, an optional 15-week program allowing learners across the community college to engage in career exploration and receive paid internship experience.

» Read the Article!

» Learn more about Ohlone College’s Junior Leadership Academy!

Fun Photos & Spotted on Social Media

Las Positas College shared this update:

“LPC’s Classified Senate had a blast at their annual Retreat Cultivating Classified Connections! Together, they set their sights on Classified Senate Goals & Priorities for the 2023-2024 AY. #ClassifiedConnections #ProfessionalDevelopment #LPC“

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Lake Tahoe Community College Superintendent/President Jeff DeFranco shared a post about the new Mobility Hub:

“We’re thrilled to cut the ribbon for the state-of-art Mobility Hub @LakeTahoeCC
Made possible through the “Power of Partnership” with @LibertyUtil_CA & @TahoeTrans (TTD), whose electric buses charge & propel our community toward a greener future!”

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Chabot College and State Senator Aisha Wahab hosted a free immigration clinic at the Chabot College Event Center:

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Rowena Tomaneng shared this photo from LEAP Advance:

“<3 my #APAHE Pamilya! #Educate#Advocate#Advance“

And From the Home of the Renegades

BC Students Participate in Internship Project with Kern County Sheriff’s Office

The Baccalaureate degree program in Industrial Automation collaborated with the Kern County Sheriff’s Office on a special robotics project. Recent Industrial Automation, Early College, Wonderful Education Shafter High School graduates had the opportunity to participate in this 2-day internship project utilizing their recently gained skills. 

Also this week, the City of Bakersfield awarded BC’s Launchpad a grant – the City of Bakersfield Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Technical Assistance and Grant Program, designed specifically for those who were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.

» Read more about this week at Bakersfield College!

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Remember – our greatest challenges enable us to do our greatest work.

That’s all for today.

See you next Saturday!

With much hope and joy, 

Your Chancellor,

-sonya

#OurTimeisNow
#NuestroTiempoEsAhora