Model Programs

Martinez Adult Education developed a short-term optical assistance apprenticeship training program that leads to certification and licensure to support the needs of the region and employers.

Rio Hondo College (RHC), in collaboration with Los Angeles County Office of the Assessor (LACOA) and Workforce Development Aging and Community Services (WDACS), designed and implemented an educational opportunity to employment pathway for students to meet the ongoing hiring needs for appraisers in public and private sectors.

ESL enrollment, even before the pandemic, at Whittier Union Adult School had was healthy. However, there were few ESL students concurrently enrolled in CTE courses. There were several reasons this lack of ESL students was occurring. For example, ESL and CTE class meeting times conflicted or were at inconvenient times that lengthened a student’s day. In addition, ESL students were often unaware of the option to take CTE classes. Neither the ESL students nor the CTE instructors had a strong connection to each other. In response, some of the unique features of our program include bringing the CTE teacher into the actual ESL classes twice a week. These embedded courses prepare the students for the second step of the pathway. A 30-minute period of embedded support (tutoring) at the end of each 3-hour lesson was created. This embedded support allows each teacher to work with small groups that need extra instruction. The school provided Chromebook loaners for a $25 deposit so that students could have internet access as well as capacity for word processing and other laptop features.

In the fall of 2020, a two-way, bilingual texting platform was launched, intentionally integrated with our student data to address barriers to entry and communication.

Bassett Adult School opened an Electrician Trainee Program to increase the number of individuals who pass the California State Electricians Exam and are placed into jobs as Electricians.

Kern Adult School launched the Recycling Lives course to provided adult learners with the principles of recycling glass including entrepreneurship and business fundamentals in response to increased homelessness, long term unemployment, substance abuse, and previously incarcerated individuals in need of job readiness/workforce development opportunities.

Riverside Adult School and the Riverside Unified School District partnered to implement a substitute preparation program to address student challenges with obtaining employment and the shortage of substitutes in the district.

Mental health challenges impeded the success of adult learners at Torrance Adult School. The school's Student Support Services team developed a robust collection of resources and held live virtual workshops on a variety of mental health topics such as stress and anxiety coping skills.

CTE teacher observations determined ESL and ABE/ASE students struggled in CTE classes due to language barriers. In response to this observation, Torrance Adult School implemented a number of Integrated Education and Training models to support learners.

To address the need for alignment and consistent student enrollment, outcomes and transitions tracking across the consortium, the quarterly consortium-wide data study sessions were created.

A network of more than 10 navigators created many resources and tools; however, the constant flow of information led to information gaps and inefficiencies. To address this problem, a comprehensive overview of the Transition Specialist role and the creation of the Transition Specialist Resource Hub promoted a common understanding of the function within and across member agencies.

The impact of COVID-19 reinforced the need for the consortium to provide faculty and staff with significant, consistent and targeted professional development to support their transition to remote education. In response, Lunch with LARAEC was created: weekly, virtual, moderated sessions open to all LARAEC member-district personnel as well as practitioners from across the state.

Southwestern College and Sweetwater Adult School understood there was a need to increase job readiness for adults with disabilities' students and partnered with the Goodwill Industries of San Diego County on the Job Readiiness Certificate Program.

The SBCC Remote ESOL programs provides students with multiple remote learning options depending on their interest, availability, and life circumstances, and the impact of this program was included in a case study sponsored by World Education, Inc.

In response to a fragmented network of providers, the Inland Empire Adult Education transitions workgroups developed a vision, strategic direction, specific measurable accomplishments and an action plan to help students transition to postsecondary and employment.

To inform the Riverside region of the adult education programs and services provided, the ABOUT STUDENTS Consortium partnered with News and Review to create a multi-purpose publication focused on information, outreach and advocacy.

In response to the three major barriers ABE and ASE students face at Corona-Norco Adult School (CNAS), the CNAS Blended ABE program provides four hours synchronous instruction augmented by two or more hours of asynchronous online coursework via the Canvas Learning Management System.

The SDCCE Online Faculty Mentoring program supported more than 300 instructors and counselors in providing distance education.

In response to the results of an action research study, the LARAEC Edge conference addressed barriers to transition programs in the region.