Shasta Adult School

The Program of Practice

We find that most of our adult ed students are intimidated about even going back to finish high school diploma. Common anxieties expressed during intake are related to being embarrassed about not finishing and/or afraid they are going to fail. We have estimated that more than 90% of students wanting to enroll have never had any career guidance from their parents or prior adult role models and, they are mostly potential first-generation college students.



About four years ago, we began automatically asking students during the intake process about their plans once they have earned their diploma or equivalency. The idea of college attendance often comes with overwhelming feelings. Most think they would not even be eligible or qualified to be a college student, so it is off of their radar. Many do not know about the availability of free college tuition and other financial aid for which they might qualify. Additionally, they tend to view college as what is portrayed in the media: ivy covered buildings, hours of highbrow lectures, and long nights of reading large textbooks. Since they consider themselves already unsuccessful in school, this creates another mental hurdle. Our students are often unaware of hands-on, vocational/technical training programs that may be available to them in our community leading to a career within 6-24 months.

The Response

Become a bridge between being an adult ed to student to being a college student

Immediately get students thinking about "beyond the diploma" and what they intend to do once they finish

Whether they have a plan or not, help them consider what options that may be available to them locally (Shasta College, trade/vocational training, etc)

Let them know what resources are available to make them successful (financial aid, EOPS, justice involved program collaboration with probation, former foster youth program, Student Services)

Attempt to begin the process of them getting started without having them navigate getting to and through the physical location of the college/school, locate the right building, and identifying the right contacts that can help them

Inspire them with exposure to possible careers to consider

Motivate them by providing specific career outlooks, pay, steps to success

Show them that they can begin earning money in a chosen field in as early as six months, and then continue up the "ladder" of that existing training by getting additional certification/degrees

Teaching them about concurrent enrollment as a "baby step" to taking a class at the college that will double dip as high school and college credit

Encourage them to sign up and enroll at our location to start the process

Dangle the carrot of future career and employment success to help encourage them to finish their high school diploma.

The Unique Features of the Program

Lunch & Learn events are held one day each fall and spring semester.

Student input and requests drive the presentations for the event.

Having the event on OUR campus encourages attendance. Students are familiar with our location and our environment. They don't have to drive somewhere new or go someplace foreign to them. This provides a level of comfort.

Start promoting the event to all existing and newly enrolling students about three months prior. Provide the date and possible career information as well as speakers that may be in attendance.

Let students know this will be a conduit to get them started so they do not have to navigate a new process on their own. Ask all presenters to provide physical takeaways about the program.

The format is designed in short, easy to digest 45-minute presentations and a short Q&A afterwards. Additionally, we ask the presenters to stay in the classroom afterward for students to ask one-on-one questions and they can actually help students go on our computers and apply to a program the same day. Meeting program representatives and talking with them increases the students’ comfort and self-efficacy.

Ask all presenters to tell success stories so they can envision the possibilities.

FREE EVENT and FREE PARKING.

OFFER FREE LUNCH. This is always enticing for students and allows them to fit the event into their schedule should they have to work or do other errands that day. Additionally, it creates a more informal, comfortable environment for the students and presenters.

OFFER DOOR PRIZES: Students sign up ahead of time for each event. At the event, students sign in for each presentation allowing organizers to see the attendance rate. Students can often find excuses or distractions preventing them from showing up on the day of such an event, not realizing the value. When signing in, students are given raffle tickets. Door prizes are given away at each session as well as overall prizes for the day. They are typically related items such as college merch/branding items and student backpacks stuffed with useful items for school (notebooks, pens, water bottle, first aid kit, chargers, umbrella, etc.)

PROVIDE REMINDERS ABOUT THE EVENT: Every student gets an email with a reminder about which sessions and the times they signed up for to remind them about the topics they were interested in. Additionally, they get a text reminder the day before to help increase attendance.

TEACHERS ENCOURAGE ATTENDANCE: Teachers try to encourage attendance at one-on-one appointments leading up to the event and they also offer the chance to do their teacher appointments on the same day to make it more convenient.

The Outcome

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE: Recent grads are invited to attend so they can begin the process of taking the next step and to help them transition easier into college life. Current students are motivated to finish when they see the options open to them once they are finished. They are also encouraged to take a college course concurrently so they can get the taste of college life and earn high school/college credits with just one class. Brand new students are immediately exposed to the possibilities by getting started at Shasta Adult School and persisting.

VARIETY OF OPTIONS: By showcasing a buffet of career options (health care, welding, construction, heavy equipment, diesel technology, trucking, HVAC) in just one day, students can quickly and easily explore the doors that are available to them once they earn their diploma and what career environments may sound appealing to them.

ATTENDANCE: We typically have 30-40 students actually attend the event. Students get just enough information that the Q&A sessions are lively and interactive. Our program speakers spend time afterwards talking individually with students, giving them specific contact information as needed, and actively help them on the computer with applying and navigating the enrollment process. They also address specific concerns such as financial aid, transportation, daycare, living expenses as a student, etc. Presenters from the college have found the events informative for the decisions they need to make regarding outreach and support for this student population. The number of presentations from the community college have increased over the last several semesters. The most recent Lunch & Learn event featured a complete agenda of presentations from programs at Shasta College.

RESULTS: Students leave excited, inspired, encouraged, and less intimidated. Since most of our students come from adverse circumstances (teen pregnancy/parenting, homes of abuse, foster care, homelessness), many are seeing an actual attainable path for the first time and are connecting with people who believe in them and are available to help them be more successful than they originally pictured.