SparkPoint at Skyline College

Funded by the California Community College Career Pathways Initiative, this collaborative seeks to improve education pathways and career-technical awareness for students enrolled in middle and high schools so they can achieve certificates and degrees in high quality career and technical education programs at the community colleges. With an emphasis on mitigating disparities in educational outcomes, key features of the project include the following:

• A partnership with San Mateo County Office of Education Regional Occupational Program to offer career exploration programs for Middle School students and Court and Community High School students
• Career and Technical Education Exploration (CTE) events such as workshops and conferences
• High School field trips to colleges to explore admissions and targeted CTE Programs
• Outreach to GED Centers (Coordinated with San Mateo County Workforce Investment Board's Youth Advisory Council)
• 30,000 SMCCCD Career Program Booklets distributed throughout the region
• Development of certificates and faculty in Automotive Technology
• CTE related professional development activities for Middle School, High School and Community College Counselors

The project is managed by Skyline College through the SparkPoint Center.

Funded by the California Community College Career Pathways Initiative, this community collaborative partners with the United Way of the Bay Area to launch the SparkPoint Center at Skyline College to support success and retention in Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs for students and their families working to achieve financial stability. SparkPoint Centers intentionally fine-tune these networks to create stronger aligned webs of support for those served by them. These enhanced networks increase families' economic growth by connecting them to a tipping point of resources bundled with excellent career certificates and degrees.

In this community collaborative, education will partner with the larger workforce development system and non-governmental agencies such as the United Way of the Bay Area develop and articulate curriculum, provide integrated contextualized instruction tied to labor market demand and embed academic success within a larger context of self sufficiency.

 

This includes development in three areas:

1. Employment and career development,
2. Work supports and public benefits, and
3. Financial literacy and asset-building strategies.

This approach will target:

• Career Exploration for 7th & 8th Graders
• Career Pathway Development for High Demand Employment Sectors
• Teacher and Faculty Externships in Business and Industry, and
• CTE Professional Development for Teachers, Counselors, and Administrators.

United Way Of The Bay Area SparkPoint Implementation Grant 2010-2011

 

United Way of the Bay Area (UWBA) supported implementation of SparkPoint at Skyline College as part of a regional SparkPoint Initiative to locate a SparkPoint Center in each of the Bay Area counties. SparkPoint at Skyline College will provide a full spectrum of services that builds better careers with certificates and degrees, provides the services and resources needed to meet goals, and, finally, maximizes the impact of services by teaching participants financial skills that will benefit them for the rest of their lives.

A key feature of the SparkPoint  model, which is based on the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Centers for Working Families  , is bundling of services. The rationale for bundling services is that a client who receives one service from a SparkPoint Center is more likely to achieve a major financial goal when that person utilizes a second service.

At SparkPoint Skyline College, service efforts include the following:

• Increasing income capacity through certificates and degrees
• Income Supports Services (Accessing public benefits and financial aid)
• Financial Education and Coaching
• Savings and Asset Development
• Educational Counseling

 

Bundling services from these service efforts targets the following outcomes:

• Achieve a self-sufficient income
• Repair and build credit (Credit score over 650)
• Build safety net savings of between 3-6 months of income
• Reduce debt to income ratio to below 40% of monthly earnings.

Bay Area Workforce Funding Collaborative
2010-2012

 

The Bay Area Workforce Funding Collaborative provides funding to develop stackable credentials that prepare students for advanced skill training and careers by providing multiple on-ramps to education and off-ramps to employment.

 

This project includes the following:

• Implementation of a Linked Learning Pathway for the Automotive Technology Program at Skyline College (a Skyline College Career Advancement Academy)
• Implementation of a Linked Learning Pathway to Teacher Preparation.
• Implementation of a data tracking system to collect and compile data on student outcomes, including successful completion of course work, job placement, and earnings. To fulfill this objective, this project replicated the Completer Leaver Survey developed by Cabrillo College.

Bay Area Workforce Funding Collaborative
2009-2011

 

The Bay Area Workforce Funding Collaborative funded a Skyline College proposal in response to their Request for Applications to Strengthen Student Services. The purpose of the proposed project was to establish a one-stop center where Career Technical Education (CTE) students can access multiple services related to employment and career development, work supports, public benefits, financial literacy and asset building.

A planning period (April 1, 2009 to October 30, 2009) joined core partners including Skyline College, California Employment Development Department, Jewish Vocational Service, and United Way of the Bay Area. Planning included site visits to Centers for Working Families at Central New Mexico Community College and Des Moines Area Community College, the project began in earnest in November 2009. This funding was instrumental to the implementation of SparkPoint at Skyline College.

The Strengthening Student Services Framework

1. Offer services in three areas – Increase income through education, Develop assets, and build credit with financial education and coaching;
2. Seamlessly integrate service delivery, appropriately “bundled” and sequenced;
3. Provide financial coaching for all clients: motivate and support them with culturally competent staff;
4. Promote and provide access to public and private benefits and mainstream financial services; 
5. Commit to continued engagement with clients over two-three years;

1. Evaluate, learn from and share data, supported by a user-friendly IT system that demonstrates results; and
2. Promote SparkPoint through the power of a common brand and marketing.
 

Three Planning Subcommittees

1. Service Integration,
2. Planning and Partner Development, and
3. Facilities and Logistics.