Developing a College Going Culture with Adult Learners: A Community College & CBO Partnership Cynthia Castellon (CUNY) John Hunt (CUNY) Julie Quinton (MRNY) NCTN Conference November 8, 2012

LaGuardia Community College One of 7 CUNY community colleges 17,000 credit students 40,000 Adult & Continuing Education students Pre-College Academic Programs (PCAP)  500+ students per year  Contextualized GED  I-BEST Basic Skills for Health Careers Center for Immigrant Education & Training (CIET)  500+ students per year  English and Civics  Immigrant ESOL Family Literacy  Welcome Back Center (VESOL/ I-BEST)

Make the Road New York Organizational Model  direct services  community organizing  city and state level policy advocacy Size and Scope  4 community centers  11,000 dues paying “members”, 675+ adult students per year Adult Education Offerings  ESOL with integrated civic engagement content  Citizenship preparation  Pre-GED and GED in Spanish, Spanish literacy  Basic computer literacy

Queens County, NYC Demographics 48% Foreign Born 27% Latino 51% of foreign born speak English “less than very well” 36% below 200% TANF poverty level 52% Latino HS drop out rate

Western Queens, NYC Latino Residents by Neighborhood (Age 25 +) Long Island City Jackson Heights Elmhurst 46% without a HS diploma/GED 47% without a HS diploma/GED 46 % without a HS diploma/GED

Western Queens, NYC Latino Residents by Neighborhood (Age 25 +) Long Island City 22% earned only a Secondary Credential Jackson Heights 22% earned only a Secondary Credential Elmhurst 25% earned only a Secondary Credential

National Center for Family Literacy Community College Partnership Initiative NCFL Mission  Inspire and engage families in the pursuit of education and learning together Project Goals  Address the challenges facing non-traditional Latino college students and their families  Foster and encourage partnerships between community colleges and literacy programs to improve transitions  Broaden the availability and targeted use of NCFL toolkits

LAGCC & MRNY Project Goals  Strengthen existing post-secondary transitions services and access for students  Expand available resources for faculty and student advisors  Deepen CBO and CUNY connections  Improve navigation of CUNY application process for literacy students and their families

En Camino Modules Modules Resources for facilitators

How The Partnership Works  Staff coordination to share college-going and college awareness resources  Develop joint lessons to support the use of En Camino modules in ABE and ESOL classrooms  Strengthen pathways from ABE/ESOL programs to CUNY entry, including navigation of application process  Staff professional development on modules and lessons  Disseminate the use of En Camino modules at all CUNY campuses and in adult lit community  Promote intergeneration use of resources at home

Considerations for Lessons  How do current students and their family members view college?  Current awareness of educational and career pathways?  Knowledge of college application process and timelines?  Interactions with community college system?  Access to internet?

Feedback from Students  “Now I can help my younger sister obtain a proper education.”  “Now I know about the system of education. This will be helpful for my family members and my kid.”  “The workshop made me think about my goals more frequently and the pathway to higher education.”

Exploring an En Camino Lesson 1.Who are the target clients, including family members outside the classroom? 2.Which college-going topics is the lesson exploring? 3.Could you implement such a lesson in your organization? 4.How would you tailor it to your populations or with your faculty? 5.What further follow-up activities would you include?

Contact Information Cynthia Castellon Pre-College Academic Programming John Hunt Center for Immigrant Education & Training Julie Quinton Make the Road New York

QUESTIONS??

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