Tag Archive for: California Community College

Math Task Force continues AB 1705 work with April 19 convening

Secondary education voices invited to join discussion

Discussions to improve calculus pathways for STEM students amidst a pending deadline this summer continues with the third “Central Valley Way to AB1705 Success” Convening set for Friday, April 19 in Fresno that will also bring more secondary education voices to the table and a review of guidance issued by the California Community College Chancellors Office last month.

Registration is now open for the event in Fresno presented by the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium Math Task Force with the Charles A. Dana Center (University of Texas at Austin) from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Fresno Convention Center, the site of two previous in-person convenings last fall and in January.

The event will re-convene community college math educators, administrators and institutional researchers working since the fall towards compliance with the final stage of AB1705: validation of equitable placement, support and completion practices for STEM programs.

Signed into law by Gov. Newsom in September 2022,  AB 1705 is an amendment to the landmark legislation AB 705 (Irwin, 2017) which transformed placement and developmental education in the California Community Colleges. AB1705 supports full and comprehensive implementation by, among other requirements, specifying that colleges must demonstrate the benefit of transfer-level math preparatory courses for STEM Calculus 1 based on the following conditions:

  • The student is highly unlikely to succeed in the first STEM calculus course without the additional transfer-level preparation.
  • The enrollment will improve the student’s probability of completing the first STEM calculus course.
  • The enrollment will improve the student’s persistence to and completion of the second calculus course in the STEM program, if a second calculus course is required.

From now until July 1, colleges have the opportunity to validate that their preparatory courses meet the aforementioned AB 1705 standards.

Since passage, the state’s community colleges have worked towards compliance of various aspects of AB1705 including 19 Central Valley community college members of CVHEC through representatives serving on the consortium’s Math Task Force consisting of math faculty and administrators.

The task force has held several virtual and in-person work sessions since October designed to collaborate in unity for compliance. At the last convening Jan. 26, more than 82 math and administrative representatives from the community colleges — including several campus research professionals — and one high school principal met with the task force to explore five strands of curriculum planning:

  • Validating Prerequisites;
  • Designing Precalculus for 2025;
  • Math Support Outside and Inside the Classroom;
  • Building an AB 1705 Campus Team; and
  • Guided Self-Placement.

Since the Jan. 26 meeting, the strand leads have been preparing summaries of their breakout discussions held that day, said Dr. John Spevak, CVHEC regional coordinator who oversees the consortium’s Math Task Force.

Member college teams are also preparing summaries of the tentative plans they developed in the afternoon breakout sessions for oral reports. Additionally, the workgroups have been meeting and will report out on their progress in April regarding the strands.

A good portion of the April 19 meeting will be devoted to the data collection underway by CVHEC community college research professionals related to student success in math, part of the valleywide Data Collection Project under development by the consortium, said Spevak, who will again co-facilitate the April event with Dana Center colleague Dr. Tammi Perez-Rice.

 

Secondary ed voices 

This next convening will also include representatives of K-12 school districts, including several high school principals who have already worked with CVHEC through the Central Valley Math Bridge Program.

“It’s important to bring into the conversation high school leaders and our colleagues who care as much about the future math success of students as community college math educators do,” said Dr. Benjamín Durán, CVHEC executive director.

That conversation was begun at the January convening of community college math professors and administrators when Marlena Celaya, principal of Orosi High School and former high school math teacher, told the group that Central Valley high school educators would very much like to participate in future discussions about math success for Central Valley students.

Spevak said this development will also foster additional learning about the high school math landscape as it pertains to college readiness.

Any Central Valley secondary education officials interested in attending the April 19 convening are welcome, he added.  

 

CCC ‘validation memo’

Also up for discussion will be a Feb. 27 validation memorandum by the California Community College Chancellors Office entitled AB 1705 Validation of Equitable Placement, Support and Completion Practices for STEM Programs.

The Chancellor’s Office also presented a webinar March 4 to further discuss the details of this guidance and address questions.

The Dana Center and CVHEC teams are presently reviewing the CCC memo to provide analysis that will help guide the Math Task Force’s five strands committees and will be presenting its memo assessment in the coming weeks, said Joan Zoellner, M.A., who is the lead for the Dana Center’s Launch Years Initiative;

In a preliminary review of the memo, Zoellner noted that while the CCC memo provides direction on the validation process for transfer­ level math placement and enrollment practices for STEM programs, it indicates that no more than one transfer-level prerequisite shall be offered prior to calculus.

“The options for that prerequisite course are limited by the memo and validation options as well,” Zoellner said.

She recommended that consortium community colleges review the chancellor’s office memo and some of the findings presented to determine how it affects their respective campus.

“If possible, work with your IR department to confirm those numbers and results prior to the April 19 convening,” Zoellner advises.

 

For more info: centralvalleyhec@gmail.com

For media inquiries: Tom Uribes – cvheccommunications@mail.fresnostate.edu (or text 559.348.3278).

 

See also: 

 

 

CVHEC NEWS: ACBO Honors KCCD Chancellor-Emeritus Burke with Excellence Award

Thomas J. Burke

Tom Burke, chancellor-emeritus of Kern Community College District, was honored by the Association of Chief Business Officials/California Community Colleges with its ACBO Achievement of Excellence Award last month.

Burke, who now serves as coordinator of the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium Transfer Project  and this month was named to lead the Consortium’s Kern Master’s Teacher Up-skilling Pathway for English and Mathematics, was presented the prestigious award during ABCO’s annual conference (Oct. 24-26) in Indian Wells, CA.

Formerly the Walter Star Robie, the award is presented to professionals in California community college business administration who have demonstrated outstanding achievements and exemplary service as chief business officials in their respective districts and the state of California.

Burke served the California Community College system for 24 years including 15 as KCCD chief financial officer before being named the district’s chancellor in 2016. He retired in July, 2021 and in December, Burke was conferred chancellor emeritus by the KCCD Board of Trustees.

CVHEC  Dual Enrollment Convening set for March 17 in Fresno

The “Establishing Dual Enrollment Pathways in the Central Valley” convening Thursday, March 17, will bring more than 150 secondary and postsecondary educators together in person for the first time since the pandemic shutdown to address challenges and barriers to dual enrollment success.

Presented by the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium, the convening will be from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.  at the DoubleTree By Hilton Hotel in downtown Fresno.

Registration to participate is now open at: https://bit.ly/DEpathwaysCV (the hotel link is https://bit.ly/DoubleTreeFresno).

This second convening will continue the work started on March 5, 2020 – two weeks before the pandemic shutdown – which resulted in several initiatives that have enhanced the delivery of dual enrollment in the region:

  • Improvements in the CCCApply application process to the California Community College system.
  • The Dual Enrollment Upskilling Teachers Master’s Program that provides access to state funding through the Fresno K-16 Collaborative providing funds for high school English and math teachers to earn their master’s degrees.

“This unique event — intersegmental collaboration at a regional level — will be highly interactive and will engage audience members with panel presenters from valley colleges and high schools including practitioners and student success stories,” said Dr. Benjamín T. Durán, CVHEC executive director.

This renewed localized promotion of dual enrollment began in Spring 2019 when Central Valley community college leaders approached CVHEC to provide convening assistance surrounding dual enrollment, a strategy that allows secondary school students to earn college credits before their high school graduation.

As a result of the discussions in these early gatherings, the Central Valley Dual Enrollment for Equity and Prosperity (CVDEEP) Task Force was formed with about 60 community college and K-12 educational leaders who deliver dual enrollment services valley-wide.

“These educators endeavor purposefully and strategically in addressing the complexity of dual enrollment to spotlight both challenges and best practices for colleges and high schools in the nine-county CVHEC region,” Durán  said.

In June 2020, CVHEC released a 16-page report, “Dual Enrollment in the Central Valley, Working Toward a Unified Approach for Equity and Prosperity;”   by former CVHEC Strategies Lead Virginia Madrid Salazar, Esq., that highlights this work and provides a blueprint to strengthen dual enrollment delivery in the Central Valley. (Also, see her blog in this issue: https://bit.ly/CVHECblog-DualEnrollment021822).

Check for updates and event follow-up at the CVDEEP Convening Website

SEE: CVHEC report, “Dual Enrollment in the Central Valley, Working Toward a Unified Approach for Equity and Prosperity” and press release).

 

BACKGROUND

In 2016, a new dual enrollment option was introduced through Assembly Bill (AB) 288, amending Education Code (EC) 76004, and creating the College and Career Access Pathways (CCAP). This legislation enabled more high school students to take college courses taught by college professors on their high school campuses.  California AB 30, signed by Governor Newsom in October 2019, expands and protects dual enrollment through 2027.  

CVHEC media contact: Tom Uribes • tom@uribes.com • 559.348.3278

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