Master’s Upskill: Mentors helping teachers, teachers helping students

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Transfer Project Update: from CCC ‘demo’ to national stage at CCA

 

 

 

CVHEC Transfer Project and PPM moves from ‘demo’ to

CCC ‘Vision 2030’ status; national presentation set

BY TOM URIBES
CVHEC Communications/Media Lead

The demonstration status that the Central Valley Transfer Project was conferred by California Community Colleges Chancellor Sonya Christian in 2023 has been elevated with the inclusion of the project into the CCC “Vision 2030,” the system announced recently.

Simultaneously, the Transfer Project became formalized when the California State Legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom approved state funding for all colleges to align with the “Program Pathways Mapper” software platform that is the Transfer Project’s central feature.  

Now, CVHEC announces that its team will present the Transfer Project at the Complete College America national conference later this fall along with the Central Valley Math Bridge Program presented by College Bridge.

The Central Valley Transfer Project is the fruit of efforts by a small team of Central Valley higher education leaders convened by the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium (CVHEC) in 2022 who set out to break down the barriers between community college, California State University and University of California campuses to increase successful transfers from community colleges to four-year institutions.  

The project is supported through the PPM software platform, a Cloud-based, public facing application that rides independently on the internet and is accessible to all parties the same as all public applications.

CVHEC’s Transfer Project initiative is also helping eliminate the equity gap among historically underrepresented students, said Stan Carrizosa, president emeritus of College of the Sequoias who is now CVHEC’s Transfer Project co-lead with Tom Burke, chancellor-emeritus of the Kern Community College District

Now the CVHEC initiative will be shared on the national stage at the Complete College America national conference in Baltimore Nov. 18. A CVHEC team will share how the project originated with a pilot effort including UC Merced, Merced College and Bakersfield College.  (CCA line-up)

Chancellor-emeritus Burke will make the trek to Baltimore with Dr. Benjamin Duran, CVHEC executive director, and Jennifer Johnson of California Community Colleges Foundation.

“Our team will present how the process has been refined and streamlined to achieve effective collaboration between all entities,” Burke said.

They will share how CVHEC’s protocols were so successful that CCC Chancellor Christian adopted the Transfer Project as a statewide demonstration project in 2023, first announced at CVHEC’s Higher Education Summit in Fresno that October.

Carrizosa said the Transfer Project process that will be shared at the national conference includes intersegmental convening of faculty, advisors and guidance staff to engage in focused efforts to review, align and approve lower and upper division course sequences as transfer pathways from community colleges to four-year colleges

Through the ease of access to PPM, historically marginalized and underrepresented students have easy access to quality, accurate course sequences to help clearly map their pathway to degree completion, he explained.

“PPM also enables counselors, advisors, high school students and parents to engage with the same official information and start their college planning at any point along their K-12 experience,” Carrizosa said.

“And the Transfer Project is leveraging the implementation of dual enrollment courses in high schools across the system further enhancing timely completion of transfer-level requirements in English and Math and closing the student achievement gap.”

Perhaps just as important, he said, the project now has collected baseline data from 5,000 incoming freshman to Bakersfield College that presents the positive impact the project is having on eliminating the equity gap among historically underrepresented students.

Joining CVHEC at the national conference will be Owyn Lancaster of College Bridge who will discuss in a separate session, “Central Valley Math Bridge: Creating Seamless Pathways for Student Success.”

He will present how the Math Bridge Program, with support from   CVHEC and the Rand Corporation, is redefining math education by creating seamless, equity-driven pathways from high school to college and how, through strategic partnerships between high schools and community colleges, the program aligns curriculum, instruction and support to eliminate learning gaps and boost student success. (See related Math Bridge data article in this issue).

“With an 88 percent pass rate and 248 students earning college credit in 2024–25 alone, the initiative proves what’s possible when systems work together,” Lancaster said. “We will discuss with the national audience how Math Bridge isn’t just about curriculum alignment; it’s about reshaping outcomes, removing barriers and transforming how students experience math, paving the way toward educational equity and degree attainment.”

See CCA full lineup

 

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CVHEC Master’s Upskilling Program making its mark

[UPDATE APRIL 24, 2025]: the WeWill Program has approximately three seats open for the English cohort. Interested high school  teachers may sign up for an information session at the National University team’s calendly link.


Recruitment underway for

North Valley English HS teachers cohort

 

The  Central Valley Higher Education Consortium (CVHEC) Master’s Upskilling Program – now successfully scaled across three California K-16 Education Collaboratives regions throughout the consortium’s 10-counties — is now recruiting for 12 North Valley and three more Kern County English high school teachers interested in earning a master’s degree that will qualify them to teach dual enrollment college courses.

An online information session is set for April 22 with registration now available.

The program, which provides tuition funding support, is open to English Single Subject credential holders who are interested in pursuing a master’s degree in English with a specialization in rhetoric. In addition to dual enrollment courses, the degree also qualifies them to work as adjunct instructors in a community college.

The CVHEC Master’s Upskilling Program was first launched in 2021 with the Fresno/Madera K-16 Collaborative. In 2022, the program was funded for the South Valley by the Kern Regional K-16 Education Collaborative and in 2024 for the North Valley by the WE Will! K-16 Workforce and Education Collaborative.

The program is in partnership with two CVHEC-members — Fresno Pacific University (math) and National University (English) — along with CVHEC member community colleges and their service-area high schools.

In addition to covering  a large part of the cost of the upskilling coursework, the program provides the high school teachers with community college mentors to support them in their academic journey and in their eventual role as college instructors, said Tom Burke, CVHEC’s  Master’s Upskilling Program coordinator.

For the North Valley participants (San Joaquin, Stanislaus, & Merced counties), CVHEC’s We Will! Workforce and Education Collaborative grant provides $12,500 per student. National University provides a 20 percent tuition reduction scholarship per student also in partnership with CVHEC.

For the South Valley participants receive $14,400 each from Kern’s Regional K16 Education Collaborative and the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium (CVHEC).

They also receive a 20 percent ($3,978) employee tuition reduction each from the CVHEC partnership with National University.

Classes are scheduled to begin Spring/Summer 2025 for completion in 12-months or less with 10 courses (45 quarter units) that are fully online, asynchronous instruction in a one-course-per-month format. The program uses a cohort-based model with 12 students per cohort.

Similar to the Fresno and Kern initiatives, National and CVHEC are now working with Merced, San Joaquin and Stanislaus Counties Superintendent of Schools Offices to recruit for the 12 slots open to high school English teachers in the three North Valley counties seeking this opportunity, as well as working with regional community colleges to identify mentors for the participating teachers.

The Kern program has been recruiting for 15 slots the past few months with 12 slots filled to date.

The April 22 info session webinar covers both North Valley and Kern participants, said Jessica Gladney, senior director of Educational Partnerships Workforce and Community Education (WCE) for National.

Burke said community college professors interested in serving as a mentor should contact the respective coordinators:  Dr. Lori Bennett (math) at lori.bennett@csun.edu or Dr. Vikash Lakhani (English) at vikashlakhani@hotmail.com.

He provided this breakdown of the program’s progress since it began in 2022, with 188 high school teachers to date in the valley’s three K-16 regions completing the postgraduate degree requirements that will qualify them to teach California Community College courses in dual enrollment at their respective high schools:

  • The Fresno/Madera K-16 completed eight cohorts in 2022 that produced 140 master’s degrees: four English cohorts resulted in 54 master’s degrees and in the math component, 86 degrees were conferred in four cohorts also.
  • For Kern K16, 48 master’s degrees have been conferred: three English cohorts have been completed with 32 degrees and a fourth cohort will begin this spring for completion in May 2026 with 12 high school teachers currently recruited (recruitment is still open for three additional slots). In math, one cohort has been completed resulting in 16 degrees conferred and two cohorts are in progress with 12 students set to complete in May 2025 and 22 students in May 2026.
  • The North Valley K-16 (WeWill) program began this year: one English cohort of 12 will begin this spring for completion in May 2026. Recruitment is still open with the April 22 information session.  One math cohort also begins this spring for completion in fall 2026 with 10 students enrolled (recruitment for this math cohort is closed).

For questions about the English program cohort openings, contact Kondwani Prater, National University outreach specialist at kprater@nu.edu or text (818) 214-9044.

 

See:

 

 

SPOTLIGHT: Dr. Bennett named CVHEC’s math faculty mentor coordinator


Dr. Lori Bennett, president-emeritus of Clovis Community College who joined the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium team this month, with Dr. John Spevak (left), CVHEC Math and English Task Forces lead, and Executive Director Benjamín Durán at her final CVHEC board meeting upon retirement from CCC in 2023.

MA Upskilling Project seeking

community college professors to mentor HS teachers

 

Dr. Lori Bennett, president-emeritus of Clovis Community College (CCC), is the latest addition of talent to the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium (CVHEC), announced Executive Director Benjamín Durán.

Bennett, who retired from CCC in 2023, will serve as Math Faculty Mentor coordinator for CVHEC’s Master’s Up-skilling Project for English and Mathematics.

She joins the MA Upskilling team of Tom Burke, the Kern MA Upskilling lead, and Dr. Vikash Lakhani, English Faculty Mentor coordinator.

Burke also announced that the project is currently recruiting community college professors to serve as mentors to the program participants for assignments starting in fall of 2025. The community college mentors receive two stipends of $1,000 each during their mentorship period.

To apply for a mentor position, contact Bennett (math) at lori.bennett@csun.edu or Lakhani (English) at vikashlakhani@hotmail.com.

The Master’s Upskilling Program is an innovative degree program that incentivizes dual enrollment delivery by providing Central Valley high school English and math teachers the opportunity to earn a master’s degree through CVHEC members Fresno Pacific University and National University that qualifies them to teach community college dual enrollment English and math courses at their respective schools.

The program is a partnership between CVHEC and three California K-16 Education Collaboratives throughout the consortium’s 10-county region. First launched in 2021 with the Fresno/Madera K-16 Collaborative, the program was funded for the South Valley in 2022 by the Kern Regional K-16 Education Collaborative and for the North Valley in 2024 by the WE Will! K-16 Workforce and Education Collaborative.

Program funding helps reduce the cost of tuition for participating high school teachers seeking a master’s degree in English and Math.

A key component of the program is the pairing of the participating high school teachers with community college professors who will serve as mentors. They provide support to the mentees along the way and help them navigate the process to becoming an adjunct community college faculty member.

As a Faculty Mentor Program coordinator, Bennett joins Lakhani in working cooperatively with Burke to recruit, assign and coordinate professors from community colleges as mentors for high school teachers participating in the MA Upskilling Project.

“I look forward to working with Lori and Vikash over the next couple of years on this very important project to increase the Central Valley’s capacity to deliver dual enrollment courses at our local high schools,” Burke said.

Dr. Lori Bennett

Dr. Bennett began her career in marketing, working for banking and consumer products
companies, including a Fortune 500 company. She also owned and managed her own small business.

She earned her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from California State University, Northridge; Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago; and Bachelor of Science from the University of Southern California.

Dr. Bennett’s 30-year career in higher education began as a part-time instructor at Highline and Tacoma Community Colleges in Washington. After moving to California, she spent 20 years at Moorpark College serving as a full-time faculty member, department chair, dean and executive vice president of instruction and student services. In 2016, Dr. Bennett was named the second president of Clovis Community College.

Under Dr. Bennett’s leadership, Clovis Community College student enrollment grew more than 40 percent and the college was named a Champion of Higher Education five years in a row for its exemplary work in awarding associate degrees for transfer.

Dr. Bennett is a staunch advocate for student equity and success and in 2022, Clovis CC was also acknowledged as a Champion for excelling in equitable course placement in campuswide English enrollment, Latinx English enrollment and Black English enrollment. In addition to expanding the transfer and career technical education (CTE) curriculum, she focused college resources on innovative, targeted outreach and retention activities to create a direct positive impact on student access and completion.

Dr. Bennett has served on a variety of boards and organizations, including the CVHEC board when she was CCC president; the Clovis Chamber of Commerce; Fresno K-16 Collaborative; Fresno County DRIVE Initiative for Economic Development; and Chief Executive Officers of California Community Colleges. She is currently a board member for Community Health Systems.

Since her retirement in 2023, Dr. Bennett has enjoyed higher education consulting, working with a variety of California community colleges to develop comprehensive educational and strategic plans.

She said she is excited to continue her involvement with CVHEC through the MA mentoring program and encourages community college math professors to consider applying to serve as a mentor for the participating high school teachers.

See Related Links:

 

CVHEC DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE (December 2024): Happy Holidays!

Best wishes for 2025 from the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium team: (FRONT) Dr. Liz Rozell,
Priscilla Arellano and Elaine Cash. (BACK) Tom Uribes, Tom Burke, Stan Carrizosa,
Dr. Benjamín Durán, Dr. John Spevak, Dr. Vikash Lakhani and Ángel Ramírez.

Revisiting an eventful year and strategies

for student success the Central Valley Way

Greetings CVHEC friends and colleagues …

Welcome to the end of the fall 2024 semester and the beginning of the well-deserved winter break!

I hope you enjoy the final edition of this year’s CVHEC e-newsletter.  You will have the opportunity to join us in revisiting the highlights of this eventful year and the strategies our colleges and universities have engaged to improve the pathways to retention and timely completion for our Central Valley students. On that note, a hearty congratulations to those who completed their academic journey this month.  And congrats as well to the faculty, staff and administrators who provided the academic guidance to support your success. All the best to you Class of Winter 2024 graduates!

Among the many successes of this past year is the historic mission to address implementation of Assembly Bill 1705 with our Math Task Force convening community college math education professionals from throughout our 10-county region to communicate and collaborate for strategies that benefit valley college students. We have also seen great advancement of our Transfer Project which completes its first year as a California Community Colleges Demonstration Project.

These CVHEC initiatives have established what we call “the Central Valley Way,” a movement that his gained recognition in higher education circles beyond our region.  We have had the opportunity to share this great work with audiences at the state and national levels at such convenings as the Complete College America Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana along with California convenings like the Community College League of California and the California Economic Summit.

It has been an honor and a delight to shine the light on the region and our member institutions and we especially commend our Math Task Force members and Transfer Project team for their diligence this past year.

We would also like to take this opportunity to thank our funding partners who make it possible for us to do our work.  Thanks to the College Futures Foundation, Fresno-Madera K-16 Collaborative, the Kern Regional K-16 Education Collaborative, the We Will! K-16 Educational Collaborative, College Bridge, and the CVHEC membership.  These colleagues have been instrumental in transforming the region socially, economically and educationally.

As you enjoy our final newsletter of the year, we wish you a joyful holiday season and a wonderful New Year!!

Kern Master’s Upskill Program launches new English cohort

Successful dual enrollment teacher program

awarded funding for 15 more high school teachers

 

To schedule an information session:  individual OnDemand appointments

BY TOM URIBES
CVHEC Communications Coordinator

The success of the Kern Master’s Upskill Program has resulted in the creation of an additional English cohort of 15 slots that will begin in March 2025 – meaning more Kern high school teachers can obtain funding to earn a master’s degrees qualifying them to instruct dual enrollment courses at Kern County high schools as well as to become adjunct community college instructors.

The program by the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium, in partnership with the Kern Regional K-16 Education Collaborative through the Kern County Superintendent of Schools (KCSOS), provides eligible high school teachers with a grant and tuition reduction through two consortium members:  Fresno Pacific University offers a Master’s degree in Mathematics education and National University offers a Master’s degree program in English.

For this new fourth cohort, English Single Subject credential holders who are interested in pursuing a Master’s degree in English with a specialization in Rhetoric can receive a $14,400 grant from the Kern K16 Collaborative and CVHEC and a $3,978 (20%) “employee tuition reduction” per student because of National University’s partnership with CVHEC.

Jessica Gladney, program coordinator for National, said interested high school English teachers may learn more about the program and apply by attending information sessions available through individual OnDemand appointments to fit their own schedule.

Additionally, mentors are assigned to each of the 15 students to counsel them during the course of their postbaccalaureate degree studies as well as help access adjunct hiring pools at the local community colleges.

The Kern Master’s Upskill Program is part of an $18 million statewide competitive grant in June 2022 to improve student progress from high school to postsecondary education and ultimately into the workforce under KCSOS, which serves as the administrative agent for the Kern K-16 Collaborative.

CVHEC was awarded $1.7 million to produce, over three years, up to 100 qualified dual enrollment teachers to teach English and Math.  Tom Burke, a CVHEC regional coordinator and chancellor-emeritus of the Kern Community College District, was appointed the consortium’s Kern Masters Upskilling Program lead.

Burke recently reported that in the past academic year since the Kern program’s inception, 48 students earned their master’s degrees: 32 English master’s degrees have been conferred in three cohorts to date with nine still in progress and 16 math master’s degrees have been conferred from the first of three cohorts. (In the math program, cohort two currently has 11 students on course to graduate in May 2025 while cohort three commenced this current fall semester with 22 master’s candidates scheduled to complete requirements in spring 2026).

He added that this newly-funded fourth Kern English cohort, combined with the first three, will increase the number of high school teachers with a English master’s degree in Kern County by 56, just a little over half of the intended goal.

“We are appreciative that the Kern K-16 recognizes the success and value of CVHEC’s Master’s Upskill Program that inevitably supports dual enrollment opportunities for our students and professional advancement for our high school teachers,” said Burke.

KCSOS spokesperson Kimberly Graham said Kern K-16 approved the additional funding for the CVHEC Upskilling project “to support the formation of an additional cohort because it addresses limitations the first three cohorts faced in achieving maximum participant outcomes.”

She calls it a strategic move because increasing the number of qualified high school teachers who can teach dual enrollment English courses aligns with the overarching goal of the Kern K-16 program as well as a long-term strategy for educational equity and success in the region.”

“The Kern K-16 program aims for greater educational access and equity, and the continued investment in the CVHEC project will support this by upskilling teachers and expanding dual enrollment opportunities for students,” said Graham who is the chief leadership support officer for the KSOS Local, Regional and Statewide Systems of Support.

“Adding a fourth English cohort contributes to the educational development of the region by preparing students for college-level coursework earlier in their educational paths.”

She added that by collaborating with National University, the project ensures that high school teachers receive flexible and rigorous online master’s degree programs, making them eligible to teach at the community college level.

The consortium has also implemented the program in two Central Valley K-16 regions:  the Fresno/Madera K-16 Collaborative where the program was first launched in 2021 with a  $1,830,500 grant and this fall with the WE Will! K-16 Collaborative in the North Valley under two $400,000 state grants.

It includes the CVHEC Mentor Program pairing each enrolled high school teacher with an English or math professor from a local community college district to help navigate the process to becoming an adjunct community college faculty member and provide other support along the way.

In Kern, the Mentor Program coordinators are Dr. Liz Rozell (math) and Dr. Vikash Lakhani (English). Burke said the program is currently recruiting for math mentors.  English mentors will be recruited in the spring.  They receive a $2,000 stipend.

For questions about enrollment, please contact Jessica Gladney at jgladney@nu.edu or 310.968.5805.

For questions about CHVEC and its Master’s Mentor Program, Burke may be contacted at tburke5@att.net.  

 

 

 

 

See:

·  Kern Master’s Upskilling Program: 2nd cohort graduates – next cohort recruitment underway

 

North Valley Masters Upskilling Program begins recruiting — info sessions set

The WE Will! K-16 Educational Collaborative held its “All Partner Collaboration Convening” at Stanislaus State Sept. 26 including partners in two CVHEC initiatives funded for the North Valley: the Masters Upskilling Project, which is now recruiting high school teachers and the Central Valley Math Bridge Program.

WE Will! funding helps North Valley high school teachers

offset tuition for Masters Upskilling Program  

[UPDATE 10/31/24: Additional information sessions have been added Nov. 5 and 19 — both at 4:30 p.m. REGISTER]

Recruitment is now underway for a cohort of North Valley high school teachers interested in earning a master’s degree that will qualify them to teach college dual enrollment. Information sessions are available this month.

The North Valley Master’s Upskilling Program is presented by the  Central Valley Higher Education Consortium (CVHEC)  thanks to a $400,000 grant by the WE Will! K-16 Workforce and Education Collaborative. 

In partnership with two CVHEC-members — Fresno Pacific University and National University along with CVHEC member community colleges and their service-area high schools — the program recruits and helps fund tuition for existing high school math and English teachers to earn a master’s so they can teach dual enrollment courses in those subjects on their high school campuses.

The grant is one of two awarded to CVHEC that will serve northern CVHEC member counties over the next three years. It  supports 12 high school English and 12 high school math teachers to offset much of the cost of this upskilling coursework and provide them with community college mentors to support them in their role as college instructors, said Tom Burke, CVHEC’s  Master’s Upskilling Program coordinator.

CVHEC is now working with Merced, San Joaquin and Stanislaus Counties Superintendent of Schools Offices to recruit high school teachers seeking this opportunity as well as with regional community colleges to identify mentors for the participating teachers.

The first cohorts are set to begin in spring 2025 and high school teachers may learn more about admission at these upcoming information sessions:

For its online MA degree program in Mathematics Education, FPU has set information sessions for Oct. 8 and 22 from 4:40-5:40 p.m. each session: Math Info Session registration. [UPDATE 10/31/24: Additional information sessions have been added Nov. 5 and 19 — both at 4:30 p.m. REGISTER]

Courses cover a range of mathematics topics such as advanced algebra, geometry and calculus. The program includes courses like Math for Social Justice and Data Science. Students will read the research in math education and complete a series of three comprehensive exam papers embedded in the coursework.

The cohort will take two courses per semester for completion in summer 2026 with synchronous Zoom meetings on Wednesdays from 5:15 to 9 p.m.

The We Will!/CVHEC funding provides $12,500 per student and AIMS Education foundation provides an additional $5,000 per student. Students are also eligible to apply for the Federal TEACH grant.

Contact: Manjula Joseph, Ph.D., program director at manjula.joseph@fresno.edu or 559s.453.2096. (Also: Graduate.Studies@fresno.edu or 559.453.3690).

For its online Master of Arts degree program in English, National University has set information sessions for Oct. 8 and 23 from 5:00-6:00 p.m. each session:  English Info Session registration

The program curriculum covers major approaches to literature, including theoretical, historical, comparative, thematic, multicultural and genre studies. Coursework provides students with the critical vocabulary, tools and research ability to produce literary scholarship of professional quality and to participate in ongoing scholarly discussions of issues in literary study.

The Rhetoric specialization offers a program of graduate study in literature, as well as a wide range of cultural productions—from classical oration to contemporary cinema—with a particular emphasis on how language and image are used to produce various effects and meanings. The curriculum contains several variable-topic courses, allowing students to pursue broad program goals in topic areas matched to their interests.

With 12 students per cohort, the program offers 10 courses (45 quarter units) in a one course per month format with fully online, asynchronous instruction for program completion in 12-months or less.

The WE Will!/CVHEC funding provides $12,500 per student and a $3,978 (20%) tuition reduction scholarship per student from National University due to its partnership with  CVHEC.

Each cohort student will be paired with an English professor from a local community college district.

Contact: Jessica Gladney, program director, at jgladney@nu.edu or text 310.968.5805.

CVHEC and its partners are aiming to accomplish the success it has already had throughout the valley with the Master’s Upskilling Program which is the result of CVHEC’s dual enrollment task force, Central Valley Dual Enrollment for Equity and Prosperity (CVDEEP).

The innovative program has produced over 160 master’s graduates qualified to teach dual enrollment college courses in partnership with the Fresno-Madera K-16 Collaborative in the mid-valley region and the Kern K-16 Collaborative in the south valley area.

 

 BACKGROUND

Established in 2019 to identify and establish the best elements of an intentional and sustainable strategy for dual enrollment, the Central Valley Dual Enrollment for Equity and Prosperity (CVDEEP) Task Force is made up of more than 150 Central Valley secondary and postsecondary education leaders who gather annually for CVHEC dual enrollment convenings.

The Master’s Upskilling Program was the outcome of CVDEEP’s second convening in 2022 where participants from member colleges throughout the 10-county region identified an urgent need showing that many high schools, especially rural schools, are unable to offer dual enrollment courses on their campuses because they lack teachers who meet the community college minimum qualifications – a master’s degree.

(NOTE: CVDEEP’s valley-wide convening is set for Nov. 14 in Fresno open to educators, administrators with free registration [reg link to come ] now available).

The other $400,000 state grant CVHEC received from the WE Will! Collaborative will expand the Central Valley Math Bridge Program presented in partnership with College Bridge which has established the imitative that involves in the mid-valley area.

Funding for both consortium projects, which involve improving access to dual enrollment college courses for high school students, is from a $18 million grant the WE Will! Collaborative received from the Regional K-16 Education Collaboratives Grant Programs last fall as part of the statewide drive to strengthen the K-16 education-to-career pipeline.

The dual enrollment aspect supports CVHEC’s mission to increase college degree and certificate attainment rates for valley students throughout the nine-county Central Valley region as well as helps fulfill the collaborative’s education-to-career pipeline goal, said Dr. Benjamín Durán, consortium executive director.

ABOUT The North Valley Tri-County Workforce and Education (WE Will!) K-16 Collaborative

 The North Valley Tri-County Workforce and Education (WE Will!) K-16 Collaborative is a multi-sector and intersegmental collaboration uniting Merced, San Joaquin and Stanislaus Counties with CVHEC-member University of California, Merced as the lead agency and includes four other fellow CVHEC members: Merced College, Modesto Junior College, San Joaquin Delta College and California State University, Stanislaus. The collaborative also includes K-12 school districts, county offices of education, economic development agencies and local and regional employers.

WHAT THE CV-HEC IS HAPPENING BLOG (March 2024): Kern education leadership

This month’s “What The CV-HEC Is Happening” Blog takes a unique look at an unprecedented wave of leadership at five major Kern County education institutions:  California State University, Bakersfield; Kern Community College District; Bakersfield College; Kern County Superintendent of Schools; and Kern County High School District. This perspective is provided by a Kern education leader who has been in the thick of the South Valley academic scene himself for many years including his own stint as KCCD chancellor and interim, Tom Burke who now is the Master’s Upskilling Lead for the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium. Chancellor-emeritus Burke provides a farewell of sorts to outgoing CVHEC Board of Directors members Dr. Sonya Christian and Dr. Lynnette Zelezny and welcomes new board members Dr. Vernon J. Harper Jr., Dr. Steven Bloomberg and Dr. Jerry Filger. The CVHEC blog features perspectives about the higher education community and issues. Submissions are welcome for consideration: Tom Uribes, cvheccommunications@mail.fresnostate.edu.

Unprecedented educational leadership

changes in Kern County

New leaders at largest Kern County educational institutions within one year

 

By TOM BURKE
Chancellor-emeritus, Kern Community College District
CVHEC Kern Master’s Upskilling Lead

The winds of change have swept over Kern County’s education leadership scene in the past year providing a unique opportunity to review and count our blessings while we look ahead to exciting growth for our region’s academic scene.

From the Kern County Superintendent of Schools to the presidency of California State University Bakersfield, we have literally seen the proverbial changing-of -the-guard at our five largest educational institutions in less than 300 days.

Perhaps the most unique situation was in the Kern Community College District where I had the privilege to serve as chancellor from 2017 to 2021 when I retired. At the time, the KCCD Trustees selected then-Bakersfield College President Sonya Christian to step up into its top position. However, so good is Dr. Christian as an educational leader, within two years she was tapped to step even higher when she was named chancellor of the California Community Colleges statewide system prompting KCCD’s second chancellorship search in 22 months.

Both of the positions she vacated have now been filled and her successors started this week so we welcome them here: KCCD Chancellor Steven Bloomberg and BC President Jerry Filger.

Both will also serve on the CVHEC Board of Directors that is made up of the chancellors, presidents and campus directors of 28 institutions of higher education in the Central Valley’s nine-county region. They will soon undergo an onboarding orientation by Dr. Benjamín Durán, executive director of the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium, and attend their first quarterly board meeting later this spring.

Here is a summary of the new leadership in Kern County, with a link to their bios, and a brief highlight of the outgoing leaders who all made significant contributions toward advancing education in Kern County:

 

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, BAKERSFIELD PRESIDENT

Dr. Vernon B. Harper Jr. began serving as interim president when Dr. Lynnette Zelezny retired Dec.31, 2023. Among many accomplishments, President-emeritus Zelezny — the first woman to lead CSUB — will be known for allowing the co-location of a Bakersfield College Outreach center on the CSUB campus fostering a smoother transition for transfer students and leading her campus to be the first CSU to partner with CVHEC’s Central Valley Transfer Project and its Program Pathway Mapper software that has now been adopted by the statewide California Community Colleges system.

KERN COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT CHANCELLOR

Dr. Steven Bloomberg began his term as KCCD chancellor March 1 after Dr. Sonya Christian became state chancellor for the California Community College System June 1, 2023. Dr. Christian is to be lauded for implementing early college and rural initiatives throughout Kern County as well as spearheading the development of the Program Pathway Mapper software used in the CVHEC Transfer Project.

BAKERSFIELD COLLEGE PRESIDENT

Dr. Jerry Filger reported to service as BC’s 11th president March 11 replacing Steve Watkins and Dr. Zav Dadabhoy who both ably served as interims after Dr. Christian was named KCCD chancellor and later CCC system chancellor.  

KERN COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS SUPERINTENDENT

Dr. John Mendiburu began his term as the new KCSOS Superintendent July 1, 2023 replacing Dr. Mary Barlow who retired June 30 after making significant contributions to the local education scene through such measures as the Kern Education Pledge and K-16 Higher Education Collaborative Grant Program that includes CVHEC’s Kern Master’s Upskilling Project.  

KERN HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT  

Dr. Michael Zulfa began his term as KHSD superintendent when Dr. Bryon Schaefer retired on Feb. 1. Superintendent-emeritus Schaefer worked hand-in-hand with KCCD to expand dual enrollment programs throughout the Kern High School District.

 

Now it might seem a bit unsettling to see this much change in the leadership of an education sector over the course of a single year. However, several of these Kern institutions had deep benches providing a roster of new leaders to choose from immediately.

In fact, I can speak directly to the KCCD case in which the former chancellor — yes, that would be me – was available to step in and help provide a smooth seamless transition to the new leadership for KCCD. I was able to finally step back into retirement when Chancellor Bloomberg began his term this month (although not quite full retirement as I resume my regional coordinator position with the CVHEC here in the South Valley where I will have the opportunity to continue working with this new generation of Kern education leaders).

Speaking of these new leaders, I know each will provide significant continuity for their respective institutions and associated programs. Without question, they now have huge “shoes to fill.” I am confident that they, like their predecessors, are up to the task and will advance their respective institutions to greater educational accomplishments.

I believe one of the key strengths of education in Kern is that all of the institutions Pre-K thru 16 understand that to be successful in providing outstanding educational opportunities and success we all have to work together and communicate with each other regularly. The Kern Pledge is an outstanding model that provides the united platform needed to help Kern educational entities achieve educational excellence for their respective students throughout Kern County.

Kern is blessed to have had the talented and dedicated leadership who have moved on in the past 12 months but we are moreso blessed to have these fantastic new educational leaders stepping up. I encourage you to meet them and support their exciting visions for each level of education.

 

See:

Dr. Sonya Christian Named Eleventh Permanent Chancellor of the California Community Colleges

‘Honor of my career:’ President Zelezny announces retirement

Mary Barlow is a schools chief who ‘gets it’

Kern High School District Superintendent Dr. Bryon Schaefer Bids Farewell

Chancellor Emeritus Tom Burke December 16, 2021

Interim Chancellor Tom Burke looks to the future

Recognizing Tom Burke

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