The final weekend opened with an engaging session from the Cradle-to-Career System’s (C2C) team, How the Cradle-to-Career System Can Create Educational Equity. Mary Ann Bates and Ryan Estrellado discussed how they are implementing the plans for C2C. The C2C will create California’s first statewide longitudinal data system that will link preschool through high school data, postsecondary education data, and career data to see the long-term outcomes for education and workforce. Dr. Tessa Carmen de Roy explained how CaliforniaColleges.edu, which provides college planning and application tools, will also be scaled up as part of the C2C effort. The presentation included information about how the fellows and others can get involved in C2C’s implementation by joining their listserv, applying for an advisory board, and attending public meetings.
Dr. LeAnn Fong-Batkin and the C2C team.
Dr. Mia Settles-Tidwell provided her final session, Levers of Transformative Change: Racial Justice Policy and Action Planning. The group discussed ideas for how to create education policy change in the community college, postsecondary, nonprofit, and governmental sectors. She wanted to leave the fellows with a reminder that they are a lever of transformative change and are “At the Table” activists.
Catalina Cifuentes (Riverside County Office of Education) and Michael McCormick (Val Verde Unified School District) discussed their education reform efforts. The California Student Aid Commission’s Race to Submit effort started in the Inland Empire. Catalina discussed the importance of using data to see student outcomes. To continue to create change, fellows should begin with their why.
Catalina Cifuentes (Riverside County Office of Education) and Michael McCormick (Val Verde Unified School District) pictured with Dr. LeAnn Fong-Batkin.
Polly Chandler presented Leveraging Your Strengths to Create and Lead Change. As a challenge to the fellows, she gave them an activity where they had to agree on which CliftonStrengths would be useful to create change, categorizing them and organizing them. Polly left the fellows with many resources the group can use to leverage their strengths going forward.
CliftonStrengths activity with EPFP Fellows
Dr. Keith Curry, president of Compton College, presented his talk on Unapologetic Leadership. Keith explained his career journey and his work as an Equity Avenger. He has a laser focus on racial equity–eliminating racial disparities and improving outcomes for everyone. He is an unapologetic leader–meaning that our positions and decisions will impact students and their families for generations.
Dr. Keith Curry, president of Compton College, presenting.
Then, the fellows presented their action projects that they have been working on throughout the year. Presentations on improving career technical education policy, community schools, and practitioner inclusion in education policy making demonstrated ideas the fellows had learned over the course of the year in EPFP. Catalina Cifuentes and Eric Peterson (Murrieta Valley Unified School District, Concordia University (Irvine), and Riverside County Office of Education)) provided fellows with feedback and discussion after their presentations.
Finally, it was time to present the final certificates to the fellows.
2022-2023 Fellows with their certificates.
Congratulations to our 2022-23 EPFP fellows!