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WHAT THE CV-HEC IS HAPPENING BLOG (November 2022): The Master’s Upskilling Program

Master’s Upskilling Experience

Was a Game-Changer

This month’s guest blog is presented by Chet Frantzich, an English teacher at Buchanan High School in Clovis who earned a master’s degree in June through CVHEC’s Master’s Upskilling Program. Chet earned his bachelor’s degree at Fresno State in 2010 (credential 2012) and has taught at BHS since 2018. He shares the value of the upskilling program and how it will benefit not just his personal and professional advancement but also his students through dual enrollment courses he plans to teach in the near future.

By Chet Frantzich

Buchanan High School

The Master’s Upskilling experience afforded me courtesy of the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium, National University and the Clovis Unified School District was a career altering one.

Not only did achieving my master’s in rhetoric open up pathways for me to teach dual enrollment courses and even courses at my local junior college, but it also impacted the way I teach. Graduating from the program has instilled in me a better sense of what my students need when it comes to functioning in college, yes, but also in life.  The program was a revelation regarding what truly matters in education and regarding how to teach the whole student.

I knew going into the program that it would be demanding — not just the workload each class would require that would make it so, but also balancing teaching and extracurricular responsibilities. However, each class was so organized and each instructor so available and professional that it took hardly any time at all to fall into a kind of groove regarding the work. Before I knew it, the class was over, and hence, the program itself successfully completed.

Each class had a curriculum that was engaging and impactful, relevant to my cohort’s subject area, even to the point where I would read about a strategy or an idea on a Wednesday and apply that idea or enforce that strategy the very next week. It dawned on me early in the program that I was not just earning a postbaccalaureate degree; I was improving as a teacher day-by-day, week-by-week.

Here is an example of what made the program so navigable: from the outset of each class, we (each cohort member) knew exactly what the end goal was we were striving for. From week one on, we would engage with texts and perform activities and interact with one another and building ideas – one upon the other, never in isolation of each other – so that, come the final week of the class, a lot of the work we would have to do for our month’s final project has been completed.

Not only did this help me manage my time and make me feel like my work was consequential, but it also illuminated an idea: why don’t I do this with my students?

And so I did, almost right away. Not long after joining the cohort and being confronted with this realization, my students read a novel where I could show them the result we would be striving for before actually starting the book. This was not something foreign to me. What was new though, was the importance of revealing to people what they are doing, what the end result is, that way how they go about getting to that end destination is of the best quality possible.

The program elevated my teaching abilities in numerous ways, but understanding what my students needed to excel in their next stage of life was the chief way I improved. It is not that I did not know what they needed, but more so that I came to better understand how to get what they needed to them.

My mentor, Jeff Burdick, was a key piece in helping me understand how to help my students. His wisdom and experience in the college classroom revealed some things and affirmed others: that students need to be given a space to be creative, that they need to be shown tough love, that understanding how basic language works is essential to being a great communicator, that writing is the best way to teach people how to think.

Without the program, I think my grasp on those ideas would be decent, vague; graduating from the program, my grasp on those ideas is iron-like.

I cannot wait for the opportunity to teach dual enrollment classes. I have not been granted the chance to teach them yet, but when I do, I know I will be ready, and the Master’s program is a big reason why.

I do not think there is a topic or issue in the English classroom I cannot tackle, so expansive was the breadth of my experience earning my master’s. Going through the program is an experience I will never forget, and it is one I will forever be grateful for. There is no question that the program has made me a better, more well-rounded teacher, and it has inspired me to keep learning about my craft, that way my students get the best version of me year-to-year, month-to-month, week-to-week, day-to-day.

More specifically, I am confident they will find inspiration in the taking dual enrollment courses I hope to soon teach that will lay a foundation for a successful and meaningful higher education experience.

See Mr. Frantzich communicating with his student’s parents for Back to School Night 2021.

CV-HEC VLOG – August 2022: Dr. Mike Farr, CHSU Alumnus

This month’s “What The CV-HEC Is Happening” Blog features a guest vlog with Dr. Mike Farr, an alumnus of CVHEC-member California Health Science University when he was featured on GVWire’s “Unfiltered” weekly virtual talk show May 24 hosted by Darius Assemi, president of Granville Homes in Fresno.

Dr. Farr shared his experience as one of the first medical students in the CHSU leading to his career in two positions presently: as a retail pharmacist for Walgreen’s and as a clinical pharmacist for Integrated Prescription Management. He served as CSHU student body president and was conferred the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree with 62 graduates at CHSU’s first Graduation Ceremony May 19, 2018. Dr. Farr touts the value of having a medical school in the Central Valley.

 

(Note: the show was the second part that followed a debate featuring two Fresno County sheriff candidates in the June election).

CV-HEC Guest Blog: ‘What the CV-HEC is Happening’ Feb. 2022

Virginia Madrid-Salazar, Esq., was CVHEC’s strategies lead from 2015 through July 2021. In August, the San Joaquin College of Law alumna’s service to her community shifted to private law practice as a dependency attorney serving parents and minors involved in Dependency Court of the Fresno County Superior Court. She is also a board member of the Fresno County Office of Education Foundation. Not only did she utilize her skills while at CVHEC to help develop dual enrollment strategies with CVHEC member institutions and educational partners, Virginia also supported her own son’s productive dual enrollment journey – so we asked her to share some observations on dual enrollment from this unique perspective for our fourth “What the CV-HEC is Happening” Blog.

 

Dual Enrollment: An Equity Change Maker

By Virginia Madrid-Salazar, Esq.

As the strategies lead for the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium, it was an honor to work alongside area educators to affect transformational changes that have occurred in the region’s higher education sphere during that period.

This blog entry gives me a welcome opportunity to share my perspective, first, reflecting on the dual enrollment work that CVHEC champions; experiencing dual enrollment in my own son’s educational career; and lastly, expressing my hope for where the Central Valley will go with dual enrollment. As a dependency attorney, I welcome the push of dual enrollment for foster youth.

Energizing for Dual Enrollment Despite Pandemic Limitations

Right before the pandemic hit, on March 5, 2020 CVHEC hosted a groundbreaking event for Central Valley higher education and K-12 educators. Nearly 200 interested educators gathered to create an action plan to create a dual enrollment model that improved the delivery of dual enrollment for the Central Valley’s rural and urban communities.

It was an energizing event. A CVHEC-convened taskforce primed the agenda to allow colleagues an opportunity to identify shared barriers to dual enrollment and devise action plans to dismantle those barriers. This collaboration proactively allowed for a valley-wide approach.

Among the needs that emerged included improving CCCApply for dual enrollment students (the application was not originally  designed for use by high school students taking college-credit bearing courses and it showed); and the simple fact that not enough teachers met minimum qualifications Ito teach college courses on their high school campuses.

During the pandemic, CVHEC brought those interested parties together virtually via Zoom where these challenges were further examined and solutions were crafted.

Application Frustrations Raised and Fixed

An executive committee of the task force identified frustrations experienced by Central Valley students when enrolling in dual enrollment courses. These concerns were shared with the California Community College Chancellor’s Office team working to improve the application process.

As a result, improvements have been implemented and there are more students now overcoming that barrier.

Growing Dual Enrollment Teachers on High School Campuses

CVHEC got to work on another barrier and organized grant applications to the Fresno K-16 Collaborative to fund high school English and math teachers to earn their master’s degrees (see Dual Enrollment Upskilling Teachers Master’s Program). In December 2021, the first of three cohorts completed their degrees. Not only will these teachers teach dual enrollment courses on high school campuses, but some will serve at rural high school campuses where the need is great.

These efforts are the beginnings of improving dual enrollment for Central Valley students.

Improving dual enrollment access does not necessarily mean a student must earn their associate degree by the time they finish high school either. Rather, the opportunity to take at least six units of college-credit bearing courses – especially an English or math course – before they finish their high school career can transcend a student’s outlook on their college career.

That was my son’s experience.

Students Getting a Head Start in College Career

In his senior year of high school, my son enrolled in six units of college credit-bearing course work taking Communications and English 1A. It was the first he heard of these dual enrollment classes offered on his campus and he decided he would give it a shot. Not only did he find the course work and his instructors interesting (he earned A’s in both courses) but, perhaps more importantly, he saw himself as a college student – in that moment.

“That dual enrollment is clutch!” That was his exclamation in our kitchen with his ed plan in hand. It was clear to him he was free to take a few other courses he needed to transfer to his choice school. This was all because he got a head start on his college career with dual enrollment. All I could do was smile.

Unbridled excitement for his future. It’s an indescribable feeling to see the positive impact of transformational change. That must be what our Central Valley higher education leaders pursue as they explore how to grow dual enrollment in the valley.

Opportunities to Grow Dual Enrollment – Equitable Growth

That excitement I saw in my son – a mix of relief, inspiration and a vision he saw for himself – is for everyone. Growing dual enrollment offers an equitable growth opportunity. As of late, I’ve noticed a push for foster youth in dual enrollment. (See Career Ladders Project Dual Enrollment for Foster Youth: Toward Effective Practice.) Now as a Dependency Attorney, and not someone in the daily challenge of growing dual enrollment, I see the experiences foster youth endure and the resiliency they display and I applaud this push on their behalf.

This is where I have a unique perspective. I can see the transformation that can occur for foster youth if they participate in dual enrollment – even if it’s a few college courses. Not just because of the impact higher education can have on someone’s life, but because for a senior who is living life as a foster youth, a lot rides on that last year of high school. Let me explain.

When foster youth are not reunified with their family as they near the age of majority, they may continue to receive County support through age 21 if they work or attend college through what is known as AB 12 Extended Foster Care Program and Benefits.  If foster youth can envision themselves as college material while in high school that young person will be inclined to participate in AB 12 and pursue a college education. This is a decision they make during that last year of majority or their senior year of high school. I cannot emphasize enough how a dual enrollment opportunity can transform that young person’s life.

Simply put, in all its fashions, dual enrollment cannot be denied in its ability to create long-lasting, unimaginable change.

Yes, it was such an honor to lend my skill through CVHEC to help Central Valley educators create transformational change.

I cannot wait to see what transformations take shape in the next few years and what other barriers to dual enrollment Central Valley educators will dismantle.

 

Check the CVDEEP Convening Website for updates and follow-up of the March 17, 2022 event.

CVHEC Guest Blog: ‘What the CV-HEC is Happening’

 

Jamie Moore, professor of English at CVHEC-member institution College of the Sequoias in Visalia and a teacher in the statewide Puente program, was featured by the California Acceleration Project in its “Voices from the Field” blog with her entry, “Transforming The Research Paper: Using Oral History To Center  Students’ Voices And Communities.” She also is a doctoral student at CVHEC-member University of California, Merced studying pedagogy and faculty development.  CVHEC proudly presents this as our “What the CV-hec Is Happening” guest blog feature this issue.

 

COS Puente prof featured in CAP Blog
for her oral history/research paper entry

Jamie Moore, professor of English at CVHEC-member institution College of the Sequoias in Visalia, was featured by the  California Acceleration Project (CAP) in its “Notes from the Field” blog with her entry, “Transforming The Research Paper: Using Oral History To Center  Students’ Voices And Communities.”  

Prof. Moore, a teacher in the statewide Puente program, discusses how she uses oral history to transform the research assignments in her first-year composition classroom.

She invited students to interview members of their communities about issues that matter to them, including questions of identity, health care access, and citizenship laws. The approach increased student engagement, enabled students to claim their own identities as academic researchers, and elevated the voices of their communities.

And during the social isolation of the pandemic, the assignments created an avenue for “the research process to serve as a method of community care.”

She said that, as an instructor for the Puente Project, celebrating her students’ voices, communities and cultures is a priority.

“I was burnt out on the traditional concept of the research paper and how we define ‘academic research’ for beginning comp students,” Moore wrote in her summary. “My students and I explored how we could expand our collective definition of academic writing and academic research to make space for our expression. Oral History was the KEY!”

Prof. Moore, who also is a doctoral student at University of California, Merced – also a CVHEC-member — studying pedagogy and faculty development, has presented at the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity, the Strengthening Student Success Conference and the Puente Project statewide trainings.

The award-winning Puente Community College Program​​ founded statewide in 1981 has been on the College of the Sequoias campus 25 years. COS is an Hispanic-Serving Institution based in Visalia with two other campuses also in Tulare County.

CAP, founded in 2010 by two community college teachers who wanted to do something about the poor outcomes of students placed into remediation, is a faculty-led professional development network that supports the state’s 114 community colleges to implement reforms that substantially increase student completion of transferable, college-level English and math requirements, a critical milestone on the path to degrees and transfer.

See the CAP blog and a webinar conversation with the guest author.

Inaugural CVHEC Blog: ‘What the CV-HEC is Happening’

With the fall semester in full swing on college campuses across the nation, we take a look at the past 18 months since the Covid-19 pandemic shut down the world —  as we crawl back to some sense of normalcy — through the “blog eyes” of our CVHEC southern regional coordinator, Stan A. Carrizosa Sr., retired College of the Sequoias superintendent/president. Stan reflects on the ups and downs, lessons learned and the opportunities to be had from this era. This new CVHEC blog, “What the CV-HEC is Happening,” will feature members of our team, board of directors, partners and guests occasionally presenting insights into the world of higher education.   

 

Making our Mark on History: Looking Back on a
Pandemic Year in Valley Higher Education

By Stan A. Carrizosa Sr.
Retired Superintendent/President, College of the Sequoias
CVHEC Southern Regional Coordinator

2020 was a year like no other!

Like so many during the pandemic lockdown I found myself in a heightened state of introspection, securing my health and safety, adapting to new forms of communication, trying to recreate routines for the simplest of things like sleeping, eating and exercising … and of course binging on classic movies. An all-time favorite that popped up one day is “Apollo 13” which is the historical account of the infamous mission to the moon that went terribly wrong!

I began to see the pandemic and its impact on community colleges through the eyes of the astronauts on Apollo 13. Like NASA we were at the height of our success, riding a strong economy, new funded state mandates to address historic trends in low student achievement, and unprecedented growth in partnerships and collaboration.

Then with one quick stir of the oxygen tanks an explosion derails our lunar module and sends us into crisis-response mode as we fight for our lives:

  • We turned our entire institution on a dime and transitioned to fully remote education and online classes and services.
  • We scrambled to make technology, training, equipment and support available to students and staff.
  • We changed our modes of communication, outreach and follow-up to comply with health and safety mandates that required us all to remain physically isolated from each other.
  • We endured significant periods of panic, uncertainty, and confusion as we waited for the “return flight plan” from headquarters to come before running out of oxygen.

Looking back now on those flashes of hopelessness we are reminded of the power of the human spirit and our tremendous resiliency. With vaccines gaining significant momentum we are now feeling the sense of relief that our “heat shield” has survived the intense impact of re-entry and we’ve landed safely in the ocean and preparing to return to mission control.

We know that when we must, we can mobilize very quickly. When we are not marred in regulation, bureaucracy and political power struggles we can get things done and achieve incredible feats just because they are best to serve students and staff.

We have learned many things that will help us going forward as we enter a new “normal” that in many respects, we will never be the same as we were pre-pandemic. It is exciting to be part of shaping this new future that now must address challenges like increasing statewide access to quality internet/broadband, continuing use of remote communication modalities for things like counselor/advisor appointments, small-group office hours, extended learning opportunities, tutorials and just about any other engagement that we previously limited to face-to-face experiences.

Finally, we have learned much about providing higher quality instruction. We’ve learned how to enhance virtual learning and build a sense of community among online classes. We better understand the individual needs of learners and how to differentiate instruction to meet these needs. We know how to cultivate virtual study groups and build relationships among students in a virtual setting.

This fall semester offers us the most exciting opportunity in a generation, to be the leaders who will shape a new course for higher education in California community colleges. Many recount the Apollo 13 mission as an historic failure where others consider it NASA’s finest hour.

I tend to agree with latter and as we look to the future of community colleges, remember beneath all the red tape, mandates, equity plans and pathways, in California community colleges we are doing our own little share of God’s work, and there is no purpose more destined to succeed!

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