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- Written by: Jesse Harrell
This past Saturday, Dan Maes organized a community service project at the senior center. The fundraiser took place from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. with the help of some of Carlé's very own students. Credit will be given in the next article.
Congratulations to our Student of the Week, Sara Peters. Peters worked very hard to earn this award. She is a new student this year at Carlé. Peters is a natural leader and role model who always tries to rise above all challenges. We are all very proud of her.
We’d like to give a very special welcome to Konocti Unified School District’s new superintendent, Donna Becnell. Student Nura Brown made a beautiful plaque welcoming the new superintendent and it will be awarded to her on her next visit to our site.
Our super secretary Barbara Dye works very, very hard for us here at Carlé and sometimes she seems superhuman for how much work she puts in.
However, like everyone else she needs a break sometimes. So with that in mind we here at Carlé would like to give a shout out to student Rosie Trejo, who gives Barbara the only time she gets all day to have a short lunch. Thanks for all your hard work and dedication, Rosie.
The end of the first grading period has arrived. Friday, Oct. 5, will mark this point and means we are already one-sixth of the way through the school year.
Unfortunately our Back to School night had to be canceled because of the power outage this last Thursday. We all here at Carlé are trying to reschedule and will let you know when it is calendered.
Lastly, the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery – or ASVAB – test was administered last Thursday to students at Carlé who signed up to take this test. Not only is this a great military test but it is also a great test for a student’s future.
The following are all of the students who took the test: Malia Askew, Forrest Ferris, Junior Garcia, Summer Gunn, Keanon Jardstrom, James Mora, Mayra Pantoja, Cody Perdock, Johnny Roofener, Lance Thurston and Levy Venuto.
Jesse Harrell is a student at Carlé Continuation High School in Lower Lake, Calif.
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- Written by: Editor
California Community Colleges Acting Chancellor Erik Skinner on Tuesday announced that a $1.62 million State Trade and Export Promotion (STEP) grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration has been awarded to the agency to help increase California exports and create more jobs.
The funding for the two-year, $60 million national initiative was authorized in 2010 under the federal Small Business Jobs Act, which aims to increase the number of small businesses that want to export and increase the value of exports for those small businesses that already export.
Centers for International Trade Development, which are on community college campuses throughout the state, will act as coordinating entities for training and technical assistance.
“This grant will help our community colleges provide more training and technical assistance for small businesses that have valuable products, but may need help getting them to markets outside of our borders,” Acting Chancellor Skinner said. “Opening up those new markets will spur demand for skilled workers and that’s where our world-class training comes in and helps boost our state’s economy.”
Preliminary results for the STEP program are very strong, the U.S. Small Business Administration said.
In Fiscal Year 2012, the federal agency is expected to report a 10-to-1 return on investment of federal grants.
The Small Business Jobs Act provided $60 million for the STEP Program for use over a two-year period.
The California Community Colleges received $2.54 million in STEP funds in 2011 and because California received almost $1 million less in the second and final year of funding the goals are smaller in scope but no less important.
Those goals include assisting 430 small in expanding exports to new markets of which at least 50 percent of those businesses will be owned and operated by minorities, women and veterans., assist at least 100 small businesses to begin exporting products and track $26 million in new international sales.
The STEP services are meant to meet the specific international trade development needs of state and local small business communities and vary from state to state.
Along with the training programs set up at California community colleges, STEP services include support for participation in foreign trade missions, foreign market sales trips, subscription to services provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Web site translation fees, design of international marketing media and trade show exhibitions.
California depends heavily on STEP program assistance for its overseas trade missions for small businesses to participate in more than 28 trade export promotion efforts.
Those efforts highlight the following sectors in high demand on a global scale: advanced technologies, biomedical manufacturing, food & agricultural products, health and beauty products and California wines.
Small businesses that promote export opportunities to the People’s Republic of China also are targeted for the grant funding.
“Helping California small businesses win new sales in foreign countries is an important way to boost local job growth,” said Paul Oliva, deputy director, international affairs and business development for Gov. Brown’s Office of Business & Economic Development. “Thanks to the U.S. Small Business Administration STEP grant, together with our federal and local partners, we anticipate hundreds of small enterprises to reap tens of millions of dollars of new business. That's a great return on investment."
The California STEP partners include:
• California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development;
• California Department of Food and Agriculture;
• California Chamber of Commerce;
• California Community Colleges Centers for International Trade Development at El Camino College, Long Beach College, Los Rios Community College District, Rancho Santiago Community College District, Riverside Community College District, Southwestern College, State Center Community College District;
• City of Los Angeles, Metropolitan Export Initiative;
• UCLA Anderson School of Management, Center for International Business Education & Research;
• USC Marshall School of Business;
• Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce;
• World Trade Center, San Diego;
• Los Angeles County Business Federation.
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A group of California community colleges this week were awarded almost $18 million in federal grants for the development and expansion of career training programs in advanced manufacturing, transportation and health care.
Several other California community colleges were part of consortiums with community colleges in other states that were granted almost $40 million to continue to develop partnerships with local employers seeking an educated workforce from which to hire.
The grants are the second installment of the $2 billion, four-year Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training initiative, an Obama administration program designed to promote skills development and employment opportunities among students.
The U.S. Department of Labor is implementing and administering the program in coordination with the U.S. Department of Education.
Colleges will use the funds to create affordable training programs that meet industry needs and invest in staff and educational resources.
In total, 297 schools across the country will receive grants as individual applicants or as members of a consortium. The grants include 27 awards to community college and university consortia totaling $359.2 million and 27 awards to individual institutions totaling $78.2 million.
“These grant dollars further our college’s vital role in preparing students for jobs that will help California’s economy,” said Van Ton-Quinlivan, vice chancellor of the California Community Colleges Workforce and Economic Development division. “This is an investment in our community colleges, and the role we play in meeting the demands of industry for a skilled workforce.”
Los Medanos College was the consortium leader for a California higher education group that received a grant of $14.9 million to create a regional workforce system that includes the development of career paths in the individual colleges and across the consortium.
The college group will do this through creating stronger ties between the colleges and the One-Stop Career Center system and by developing more career transfer pathways from the community colleges to the University of California and the California State University systems.
In addition to Los Medanos College, the consortium includes Berkeley City College, Contra Costa College, Diablo Valley College, Ohlone College, College of Alameda, Chabot College, Laney College, Merritt College, Solano Community College, California State University East Bay and University of California, Berkeley.
East Los Angeles College was awarded $3 million to increase the college’ success in preparing workers for logistics jobs at the Port of Los Angeles, the nation’s busiest port.
Cerritos College was part of the Tyler (Texas) Junior College Consortium that was awarded $12 million. City College of San Francisco and Los Angeles Valley College teamed with the Fortsyth (North Carolina) Technical Community College Consortium for a total of $14.9 million and Los Angeles Trade-Technical College joined the Northern Virginia Community College Consortium and will receive a piece of the $12.3 million grant.
“These federal grants are part of the Obama administration’s ongoing commitment to strengthening American businesses by strengthening the American workforce,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, a former trustee with the Rio Hondo Community College District. “This strategic investment will enhance ties among community colleges, universities, employers and other local partners while ensuring that students have access to the skills and resources they need to compete for high-wage, high-skill careers.”
The grants emphasize evidence-based program design and each grantee is required to collect student outcome data annually and conduct final evaluations at the end of the grant period. This will yield best practices in placing graduates in jobs that can then be shared with other colleges.
For more on the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office Workforce and Economic Development division, visit www.doingwhatmatters.cccco.edu .
The California Community Colleges is the largest system of higher education in the nation. It is composed of 72 districts and 112 colleges serving 2.4 million students per year.
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The SAT Report on College & Career Readiness released Monday revealed that only 43 percent of SAT takers in the class of 2012 graduated from high school with the level of academic preparedness associated with a high likelihood of college success.
These findings are based on the percentage of students in the class of 2012 who met the SAT College & Career Readiness Benchmark, which research shows is associated with higher rates of enrollment in four-year colleges, higher first-year college GPAs and higher rates of retention beyond the first year.
“This report should serve as a call to action to expand access to rigor for more students,” said College Board President Gaston Caperton. “Our nation’s future depends on the strength of our education system. When less than half of kids who want to go to college are prepared to do so, that system is failing. We must make education a national priority and deliver rigor to more students.”
SAT Benchmark
Among the high school class of 2012, 43 percent of all SAT takers met the SAT College & Career Readiness Benchmark. This percentage is consistent with that of the class of 2011, which also met the benchmark at a rate of 43 percent.
The SAT Benchmark score of 1550 indicates a 65 percent likelihood of achieving a B- average or higher during the first year of study at a four-year college.
The SAT performance of students in the high school class of 2012 continues to reinforce the importance of a rigorous high school education. Data confirm that students who complete a core curriculum and enroll in honors and/or Advanced Placement Program (AP) courses perform better on the SAT.
The relationship between high school course work and SAT performance is understandable, since the SAT is a valid and reliable measure of a student’s college readiness, and students who complete a core curriculum and participate in more rigorous course work are often better prepared for college. When students are better prepared for college, they are more likely to do well in college, more likely to stay in college and more likely to graduate from college – the keystone of our efforts to sustain American competitiveness and prosperity long into the future.
The Common Core State Standards have been designed to provide a rigorous learning platform that prepares our nation’s students to perform in the classroom, to succeed in college and to prosper in their careers.
More than ever, the population of students taking the SAT reflects the diverse makeup of America’s classrooms. Among SAT takers in the class of 2012, 45 percent were minority students, making this the most diverse class of SAT takers ever. Among public school SAT takers in the class of 2012, 46 percent were minority students.
Among the SAT class of 2012, 36 percent of all students reported their parents’ highest level of education as a high school diploma or less. Underserved minority students accounted for 46 percent of first-generation college goers. Conversely, underserved minority students accounted for only 20 percent of SAT takers in the class of 2012 who reported their parents had a postsecondary degree.
“Taking a college entrance exam is a critical step on the road to higher education, but many traditionally underserved students face financial, familial and geographic barriers that can prevent them from testing,” said James Montoya, vice president of relationship development for the College Board. “Low-income students are less likely to have parents who went to college, less likely to participate in rigorous courses and less likely to have completed a core curriculum. Providing these students with the support and resources they need is crucial to meeting our nation’s long-term college completion goals.”
Since 1970, the College Board has provided SAT fee waivers to low-income students for whom exam fees would present an undue burden in the college-going process. With the assistance of high school counselors throughout the country, the College Board’s SAT Fee-Waiver Service is making it possible for more low-income students than ever before to get on the road to college.
More students in the class of 2012 utilized SAT fee waivers than any class in the history of the program. Since 2008, participation in the College Board’s SAT Fee-Waiver Program has increased 61 percent.
During the 2011-12 academic year, the College Board expended more than $44 million in fee waivers and related expenses.
More than 1.66 million students in the class of 2012 took the SAT, making it the largest class of SAT takers in history.
The number of students taking the SAT in each graduating class has increased 6 percent since 2008, while critical reading scores have declined four points, writing scores have declined five points, and mathematics scores have remained stable during that time.