اینترنت

برچسب: sustainable

  • Building sustainable STEM pathways requires trust, collaboration 

    Building sustainable STEM pathways requires trust, collaboration 


    Bianca Alvarado debriefs the San Diego STEM Advisory Community Committee during a meeting at the Elementary Institute of Science.

    Credit: Courtesy Digital Promise

    In sunny San Diego, opportunities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields are steering the city’s economic growth more than ever before — presenting a future bright with possibilities.

    Yet too many students are missing out on opportunities to access the STEM careers that advance the region’s prosperity. 

    According to San Diego’s 2030 Inclusive Growth Framework, 65% of low-income jobs in San Diego are “predominantly held by people of color.” In the technology, biotech and clean tech sectors, Hispanic and Latino communities are underrepresented, despite the projection that they will constitute nearly half of San Diego County’s future workforce. At the same time, talent scarcity has become a new normal in San Diego.

    But we can reverse those trends by investing in cross-sector partnerships and community-driven collaborations to help students access more opportunities in STEM fields.

    That’s why we launched the San Diego STEM Pathways initiative, which involves a wide range of community partners working to guide more than 100,000 students toward well-paying STEM careers in San Diego’s high-impact industries. This bold ambition reflects a statewide opportunity to align local innovation with California’s broader economic and impact goals.

    To bring everyone together, we engaged different industries through a collaborative design process that ultimately laid the groundwork for our efforts in the region. A 14-member committee of regional leaders representing early childhood education, K-12, postsecondary, workforce development, community-based organizations, and philanthropy reflected on why prior collaborations failed and identified some key factors missing. 

    To achieve our shared vision of building STEM pathways rooted in community co-design and shaped by the innovation and talent already present in the region, connection, trust and co-creation are essential. Our goal is to build upon existing efforts by fostering alignment across systems, thereby expanding access to opportunities for all students. Achieving meaningful collaboration also requires creating an environment where participants can openly address challenges.

    The cross-sector team devoted months to listening, learning and documenting insights. Key emerging themes included the need for: 

    • Clear communication and a deep understanding of partners’ motivations and aspirations.
    • Aligning efforts through early and ongoing conversations with community members, students, industry leaders and local partners to co-design well-rounded STEM pathways. 

    With support from Digital Promise through dedicated staff to help facilitate the advisory committee and track progress, we have created space to foster relationships and trust. (Digital Promise is a global nonprofit that works with educators, researchers, technology leaders, and communities to design, investigate, and scale up innovations that empower learners.)

    Building trust involves planning, consistency and taking actions that contribute to a larger goal. Demonstrating a long-term vision through smaller, incremental actions helps maintain momentum. Given that our advisers are high-level executives, flexibility and a collaborative space where their contributions are valued and not burdensome are crucial for their input to flourish. This requires ongoing nurturing, especially as we move toward a collective regional collaboration. 

    When communities feel seen, heard and valued, they become co-architects of change. They readily contribute when we engage with them on their terms and at their capacity, rather than expecting them to adapt to our requirements. By accommodating their needs and meeting them where they are — whether they are ready to collaborate, learn, stay informed, or actively participate — we uplift collaborators to become co-creators of change and engage at their desired level. 

    That’s how we’re building durable systems that truly reflect and serve the needs of all learners across the state of California. 

    Advisory members began developing their solution concept ideas earlier this year and are now moving toward launching a mini-pilot. Their innovative, community-driven concepts include: 

    • An effort to support preschool and elementary educators with real-world training that inspires young students in math and science and sets them on a path toward future success through partnerships with local colleges, experts and community partners.
    • A program that will work closely with students and families — especially those experiencing housing insecurity — to expand access to STEM through after-school activities, college visits and campus stays that build excitement and readiness for higher education.
    • A South Bay initiative that helps students grow their interest and confidence in STEM from middle school through college by combining hands-on learning, career exploration and local partnerships to prepare them for real-world success.
    • An easy-to-use online hub where families, educators and partners can find local STEM programs, support services, and ways to work together to create opportunities for all students.

    “Building Bridges: Cultivating Interconnectedness for STEM Pathways in San Diego,” a new report produced by the initiative, provides additional information about each of the concept ideas. 

    As this work continues to gain momentum, the path forward demands deeper engagement with those most impacted — parents, community members and local leaders. But authentic collaboration doesn’t begin with action plans; it begins with trust. As we continue to deepen our partnership, we are constantly reminded that investing in trust-building isn’t a detour from progress; it is progress.

    •••

    Bianca Alvarado is the director of the San Diego STEM Pathways Initiative at Digital Promise, where she spearheads a collaborative effort to ensure access to STEM education and career pathways in San Diego County.

    The opinions expressed in this commentary represent those of the author. EdSource welcomes commentaries representing diverse points of view. If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelines and contact us.





    Source link

  • Strategic, sustainable residencies can help solve the teacher shortage

    Strategic, sustainable residencies can help solve the teacher shortage


    Teacher candidates in the Claremont Graduate University teacher residency program spend an entire year working with a mentor teacher in Corona Norco Unified classrooms.

    Courtesy: Claremont Graduate University School of Education Studies

    Public schools in California are facing historic staffing challenges: rising rates of dissatisfaction and burnout within the current workforce and unprecedented shortages of future teachers, as increased housing and education costs deter potential teachers from entering the field. 

    But university teacher preparation programs and school districts can create more effective partnerships to meet these demands.

    Historically, the partnerships between teacher preparation programs and school districts have been transactional: teacher preparation programs place student teachers in districts for short periods of time without considering district needs. To change this dynamic, teacher preparation schools launched residency programs to ensure new teachers better understood the communities they were serving. Residencies are similar to student teaching models, but differ in that they are for a full year. Within a residency, aspiring teachers take on increasingly more responsibility in the classroom alongside a mentor teacher for the entire year, gain familiarity with the ebbs and flows of the school year, and assume full teaching responsibilities by the end of the year. 

    Over the last five years, California has dedicated more than $350 million for teacher residencies to better prepare future educators and help diversify the workforce. Research shows candidates who go through a residency become more effective teachers more quickly than those launching their careers through other pathways, and they are likely to remain in the profession longer. It costs a district roughly $20,000 to hire a new teacher; by reducing turnover, residencies are not only good for new teachers and K-12 students, but also for school district budgets. 

    Unfortunately, budget cuts and day-to-day needs have limited districts’ capacity to develop residency programs, and aspiring teachers have avoided them because the full-year commitment and small or nonexistent stipends offered by many programs renders them unaffordable to most. 

    One promising avenue to meet these challenges is by creating mutually beneficial partnerships between university teacher preparation programs and school districts to help place and nurture new teachers in the field. These partnerships require transparency, a clear vision, and shared investments. With these elements in place, they have the opportunity to meet districts’ staffing needs and teacher preparation programs’ enrollment goals while surrounding new teachers with systems of social and professional support. These partnerships also provide stipends and embedded professional development that enrich existing teachers’ work with new avenues for leadership as mentors to new teachers.

    One example of a creative and effective partnership can be found between Claremont Graduate University and Corona-Norco Unified School District. The university and the district had worked together for many years, with Corona-Norco hiring many Claremont alums, but they had never formalized a partnership. With a foundation of mutual trust and understanding, the district shared data about their current and anticipated staffing needs, and the faculty of the Claremont teacher education program shared insight into their students’ experiences, strengths and needs entering the profession. Understanding the benefits that a residency program provides to veteran teachers, students and the district as a whole, the district committed to paying residents a living stipend from reallocated budget dollars. 

    A shared vision is key to a successful partnership. For example, both the university and the district have a strong commitment to diversity. This is visible in the diverse participants recruited by Claremont’s teacher education program, who are drawn to its deeply rooted commitment to social justice and humanizing relationships. It also reflects Corona-Norco Unified’s mission to foster the wellness of their students by cultivating an educator pool that better reflects the diversity of its students and communities. This mutual commitment to what teaching can and should be created pathways for recruiting experienced mentor teachers from the district interested in professional development with the university that leveraged and built from their knowledge and expertise. Research shows that grouping mentors in community with other experienced teachers and giving them opportunities to engage not only as practitioners but also as intellectuals helps fend off burnout and gives them a renewed sense of purpose.

    The teacher residencies that have come out of this partnership buffer participants from the overwhelm and burnout so many other new teachers face by embedding them within a community of support that includes university advisers and faculty alongside mentor teachers and advisers at the district. The residents not only learn from their university classes and experiences in their mentor teachers’ classrooms, but also from opportunities to work with colleagues to support students who are struggling academically, working with small groups of students, analyzing students’ work with department teams, and interacting with parents and caregivers at drop-off and during teacher conferences. The breadth and depth of these experiences give residents confidence that when they step into their own classroom, they’ll be ready to meet the needs of students and have colleagues to call upon when they need support. 

    District leaders are ready to hire their residents after they earn their master’s degree and credential and eager to have more residents at their school sites. School principals note that residents provide data-driven, hyper-personalized instruction to students that they otherwise would not be able to offer. Students love residents, often running up to them during lunch and recess for hugs. And parents and caregivers appreciate having more people around who care about their kids. Having more adults on campus who know and are known by more students benefits everyone. 

    With more partnerships like this, the possibilities to innovate and strengthen learning for everyone at our schools grow exponentially. This story is just the beginning. 

    •••

    Rebecca Hatkoff, PhD, is the interim director of teacher education at Claremont Graduate University.

    Debra Russell works as part of the California Educator Preparation Innovation Collaborative team at Chapman University to promote strategic teacher residency models across the state. 

    The opinions in this commentary are those of the authors. If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelines and contact us.





    Source link

  • Upgrading facilities can make schools safer and more sustainable, panel says 

    Upgrading facilities can make schools safer and more sustainable, panel says 


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGqkDmCeweo

    From securing school entrances to making campuses more resilient to climate change, districts throughout the state are looking to voters to upgrade their facilities. 

    An EdSource Roundtable on Tuesday, “Election 2024: How voters can help repair California schools,” discussed what a $10 billion state bond and $50 billion in local construction bonds on the November ballot could make possible. 

    “To make the choice of going to an uncomfortable learning condition in our schools, or to stay at home … .is a choice that students should not have to make,” San Lorenzo Unified Superintendent Daryl Camp said during Tuesday’s discussion. “Students should be able to learn in an environment that’s comfortable for learning.”

    Funding for school facilities 

    This November, California voters will decide whether to support school districts getting money for facilities through two avenues: a $10 billion state bond and, depending on individual location, a local bond measure. 

    State construction bonds require a 50% majority to pass, while local bonds need 55% of the vote. 

    The statewide bond — which would be approved by voters passing Proposition 2 — would give $8.5 billion to K-12 schools and another $1.5 billion to California’s community colleges. Voters haven’t passed a bond of its kind since 2016. 

    Of the funds for K-12 schools, $4 billion will be allocated toward modernizing, retrofitting and rehabilitating buildings, according to Sara Hinkley, the California program manager at UC Berkeley’s Center for Cities and Schools. Meanwhile, $3.3 billion would go toward new construction, and smaller amounts are designated for charter schools and career technical education. 

    But according to Hinkley, the vast majority of funding for school facilities in California comes from local bond measures. 

    Districts can also apply to have the California School Facilities Program match those funds on a project basis, but that money is set to expire in early 2025 unless voters pass Proposition 2 to add funding to it for the first time in eight years. 

    “I know a lot of districts have put measures on the ballot in November in hopes of being able to apply for and secure some of that state funding,” Hinkley said at Tuesday’s discussion. “And for a lot of districts, that is really the only way they’re going to be able to fund some of these projects.” 

    The difference bonds could make

    Del Norte Unified School District has a motto: Keep the wet out. 

    In 1964, the district’s schools were rebuilt following a tsunami and flood. Now, Brie Fraley, a district parent who was on Tuesday’s panel, said some of the schools have leaky roofs and open ceilings. 

    It has been 16 years since the district in the state’s far north had a bond measure on the ballot — and Fraley is concerned about the lack of support so far. 

    “Unfortunately, we did a poll, and the majority of the community members here are not in favor of Measure H that the school board trustees are putting on the ballot,” Fraley said. “So I’m really concerned about access to statewide resources if our community isn’t supportive of it.” 

    Many districts have already benefited from passing local bond measures, the panelists agreed. 

    As a result of poor infrastructure and frequent break-ins, Hallie Lozano, a panelist who is a literacy coach at Dyer-Kelly Elementary in Sacramento County’s San Juan Unified, said their school was completely rebuilt after input from teachers, families and students. 

    They made the school entirely indoors, built it so visitors had to check in at the front office, added spaces for counselors and other interventionists and ensured there were enough bathrooms. 

    “It makes you feel more valued as a professional,” Lozano said during Tuesday’s discussion. “I think it makes students feel more valued as students, and the families recognize that we’re really giving everything we can to our students and the community.”

    She added that the upgrades have also helped with teacher retention. 

    “Every year, somebody was leaving, or a few people were leaving,” she said. “And now we rarely have people leave unless there’s a promotion, or somebody’s moving out of the area. But it’s not something that happens like it did.”

    Sara Noguchi, the superintendent of Modesto City Schools, said the local bond measure would help the district upgrade the 50- to 90-year-old facilities to 21st century standards. 

    At San Lorenzo Unified, Superintendent Camp is hoping voters pass a local bond measure to help bring air conditioning to its schools amid rising temperatures — in addition to safety and technological upgrades. 

    “The climate situation is real. It’s apparent. I feel it every day I visit classes, especially on the heat wave,” he said. “It’s not every day, but the days that it’s hot, I have to say, yeah, it’s a challenge getting students to be there and to stay there.”

    Other considerations

    As voters decide whether to pass their state and local bonds, superintendents have to weigh their schools’ needs with declining enrollments.

    But Camp said a smaller enrollment doesn’t necessarily mean fewer schools. Instead, he said some facilities could be converted to purposes such as “wellness rooms” to meet the social-emotional needs of students. 

    Camp added that many schools will also need to make sure they have the facilities to accommodate 4-year-olds in transitional kindergarten. 

    Making sure the distribution of state funds is equitable is another concern, the panelists agreed, because wealth disparities between districts are vast. 

    “When I think about equity, I think about what is fair,” Fraley said during Tuesday’s discussion. “And then, if California wants to be the best in our academics, we need to be fair to all students, so that we all have a fair chance at meeting our academic goals.” 





    Source link