Growing Inland Achievement

Category: News

  • From Fear to Fluency: Empowering Minds in Math Education

    From Fear to Fluency: Empowering Minds in Math Education

    About This Episode

    Season 3. Episode 10.

    In this compelling episode of Education Insight, we delve deep into the growing concern of math anxiety and its profound implications on students within the Inland Empire. Math anxiety, the paralyzing fear of mathematics, often goes unnoticed but casts a long shadow on educational outcomes. This episode sheds light on the far-reaching consequences of math anxiety and the pivotal role it plays in students’ academic and career choices.

    Join us as we engage with experts, educators, and students who have experienced math anxiety firsthand. They share personal stories and insights, shedding light on the emotional and psychological toll it takes. Moreover, we delve into the societal repercussions of this dilemma, including economic disparities and career limitations.

    But it’s not all about problems; we also seek solutions. Our experts provide valuable guidance on addressing math anxiety, both in schools and at home. From innovative teaching methods to fostering a positive math learning environment, we explore the strategies that can help students overcome their fears and unlock their full potential.

    Don’t miss this important episode, as we strive to bridge the gap between math anxiety and success in the Inland Empire, working towards a brighter and more prosperous future for all.

    Featured Guests

    Michael Wangler

    Dean, STEM Academic & Career Community

    Michael currently serves as the Dean of Mathematics and Science within the STEM Academic & Career Community at Chaffey College. Before joining Chaffey in the summer of 2022, he served as the Director of Institutional Support at Growing Inland Achievement (GIA) during the 2021- 22 academic year. In addition to his work with GIA, he has worked for over 20 years in the California Community College system, both as a faculty member and an academic dean. His experience includes cross disciplinary efforts to build student-centered teaching and learning environments, and holistic student support systems to close equity gaps and increase student success and completion in STEM.

    Jennifer McCray

    Associate Research Professor and Principal Investigator Early Math Collaborative, Erikson Institute

    Jennifer McCray is an Associate Research Professor and the Principal Investigator of the Early Math Collaborative at Erikson Institute, a graduate school in child development.  The Collaborative provides professional development in mathematics to early childhood teachers nationally, conducts research on the teaching and learning of early math, and disseminates information through its books, journal publications, newsletter, and website.  Jennifer has run several federally funded projects to develop and assess the effectiveness of professional development.  She is the first author of Growing Math Minds, published by Routledge in 2018, and is the Lead Developer of a Toolkit on teaching math to young children for the Regional Educational Laboratory Appalachia, a program of the Institute for Education Sciences. Jennifer also helps lead the Racial Justice in Early Math project with colleagues from both Erikson and the University of Illinois Chicago.

    Interview Highlights

    3:57 – Adrienne describes dual enrollment and its benefits.

    7:15 – Adrienne speaks to how recent California mandates and initiatives may have influenced the growth of these new programs.

    8:34 – Adrienne explains what research shows about the impact of dual enrollment on a student’s academic achievements or even their future success.

    9:24 – Adrienne shares examples of dual enrollment activities that are taking place in our region and what is happening in the IE. 

    13:11 – Adrienne talks about strategies in place to make sure that equal opportunities are available for all students.

    20:18 – Jorge explains how dual enrollment aligns with his role at Riverside County Unified School District.

    21:28 – Jorge shares his experiences and thoughts on the current dual enrollment programs that are being offered at Riverside Unified School District.

    23:32 – Jorge gives insight into how dual enrollment makes students career ready.

    25:58 – Jorge describes what challenges students typically face in dual enrollment programs and how he addresses those issues. 

    32:43 – Jorge shares what he would like to see be the future of the dual enrollment program in his district and beyond. 

    36:31 – Special Feature: Avijeet Randhawa, 8th-Grader, Auburndale Intermediate School in the Corona Norco Unified School District.

    View our podcast page for more stories like this: https://gia.echofactory.dev/gia-podcasts/

    Education Insight tells the story of education in the Inland Empire through the diverse voices of those in and around the regional education community. The show is produced by Growing Inland Achievement, a collective impact organization in the Inland Empire with a mission to increase economic prosperity in the region by increasing educational attainment. Hosted by 30-year broadcast veteran Lacey Kendall, monthly shows explore topics ranging from education challenges and shortcomings to innovations and groundbreaking ideas that are driving student success.

  • GIA Hosts 7th Annual Toward a Shared Vision Summit

    GIA Hosts 7th Annual Toward a Shared Vision Summit

    Growing Inland Achievement (GIA) proudly hosted its 7th annual Toward a Shared Vision Summit at the Riverside Convention Center on October 25-26. With over 250 local leaders from diverse sectors in attendance.

    To kick off the summit, GIA welcomed a panel of local Inland Empire college students who fearlessly shared their firsthand experiences and insights regarding their education in the Inland Empire. Their candid feedback shed light on the strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement within the region’s educational landscape. Attendees were captivated by the students’ stories, which showcased both the triumphs and struggles they faced in their pursuit of higher education.

    Photo of student voice session

    Along with a highlight on student voices, GIA invited a panel of experts to address the pressing need for equitable support and fostering a sense of belonging within historically marginalized student populations. Panel experts included Sheridan McNeil Oyate Ohowicada Win (Respects the People Woman), the Director of Tribal Partnerships at North Dakota State University/ND EPSCoR, Matt Cuozzo, Chief of Staff at Excelencia in Education, and Dr. Deon Johnson the Institute for Capacity Building Knowledge Management Program Manager at UNCF (United Negro College Fund). During their panel, the three shared their strategies and best practices to help ensure that every student feels valued, supported, and empowered to succeed.

    Panel discussion on supporting equitable student success

    This year, GIA’s summit featured two distinguished keynote speakers, Dr. Anton Treuer and Dr. Victor Rios, who shared their expertise and provided attendees a new lens on crucial issues affecting education and students.

    Dr. Anton Treuer offers keynote presentation on day one of Toward a Shared Vision

    Dr. Anton Treuer, a renowned author and Professor of Ojibwe at Bemidji State University, captivated the audience with his personal stories and insight into race relations and indigenous experiences.

    Dr. Victor Rios, the MacArthur Foundation Chair and Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, brought his expertise in equity, anti-racism, cultural responsiveness, resilience, closing the opportunity gap, teacher well-being, and restorative justice to the summit. His insights shed light on crucial issues affecting education and society at large, inspiring attendees to act and foster positive change.

    Dr. Victor Rios offers keynote presentation on day two of Toward a Shared Vision

    Along with incredible keynote speakers, the summit offered a platform for attendees to dive deeper into pressing educational matters through breakout workshops. Workshop participants had the opportunity to learn from experts, share experiences, and explore innovative solutions that could drive educational progress and economic growth.

    Images of speakers and participants in breakout sessions

    Topics for the workshops included discussions on concurrent high school and college course enrollment, how students can qualify for and properly use financial aid, indigenous peoples’ education, championing equity for undocumented students, increasing success for community college students transferring to four-year universities, and more.

    GIA closed out the summit with its first-ever Toward a Shared Vision Awards. During the celebration, 12 individuals and groups were recognized for their significant contributions to educational attainment and economic success in the Inland Empire region while embodying GIA’s core values of equity, transformation, collaboration, innovation, and centering students.

    Images of Toward a Shared Vision Award winners

    GIA is proud to share that all event proceeds for the 2023 Toward a Shared Vision Summit will go toward GIA’s student scholarship fund. For information on future GIA events and initiatives, please subscribe to their email list.

    To view event photos, click here.

  • GIA Honors 12 Individuals and Groups at Its Regional Education Summit

    GIA Honors 12 Individuals and Groups at Its Regional Education Summit

    Growing Inland Achievement (GIA), a local nonprofit, recognizes contributions to educational attainment and economic success in the Inland Empire at its “Toward a Shared Vision Awards Ceremony” on Thursday, October 26th, at the Riverside Convention Center.

    RIVERSIDE, CA — GIA’s seventh Toward a Shared Vision Conference is set for Oct. 25-26 at the Riverside Convention Center. During the event, GIA will recognize seven individuals and five groups for their work in driving Inland Empire educational and economic success.

    “The Toward a Shared Vision Awards recognize individuals and groups making significant contributions to educational attainment and economic success in the Inland Empire region while embodying core values of equity, transformation, collaboration, innovation, and centering students,” said Ann Marie Sakrekoff, Interim CEO of GIA.

    “We received 25 nominations for individuals and groups throughout the region, all of which are deserving candidates,” said Sakrekoff. “While GIA is coordinating and hosting the awards, the decision on the winners was driven by our local education network. GIA brought together a diverse panel of representatives from local education and community-based organizations who deliberated and selected 12 individuals and groups to be recognized across six categories.”

    The awardees are:

    For Student-Centered Excellence:

    • Group: Children Deserve Success Program, San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools
    • Individual: Dr. Tomás D. Morales, President, California State University, San Bernardino

    For Excellence in Regional Transformation:

    • Group: Ontario-Montclair Promise Scholars
    • Individual: Assemblymember Sabrina Cervantes, California’s 58th Assembly District

    For Equity-Focused Excellence:

    • Group: College Futures Foundation
    • Individual: Dr. Henry D. Shannon, Superintendent/President, Chaffey College

    For Excellence in Regional Collaboration:

    • Group: Making Hope Happen Foundation
    • Individual: Kim McNulty, Vice President of Regional Strategy, OneFuture Coachella Valley

    For Excellence in Innovation:

    • Group: Office of Pre-College Programs, California State University, San Bernardino
    • Individual: Dr. Ivan Peña, Dean of Student Services and Counseling, Crafton Hills College

    For Excellence in Regional Leadership:

    • Individual: Julie Pehkonen, Chair, Inland Empire/Desert Regional Consortium
    • Individual: Dr. Judy D. White, President/Founder, MOSAIC, Retired, 12th Superintendent of Schools for Riverside County

    The October 26th, 2:00 pm awards ceremony caps the two-day Toward a Shared Vision Regional Summit. Tickets for the full two-day summit can be purchased for $129. A day-two-only ticket, which also includes the recognition ceremony, can be purchased for $65.

    Ticket sales will contribute to GIA’s student scholarship fund. Learn more about the awards and register to attend on GIA’s website: https://gia.echofactory.dev/tasv-2023-awards/.

    Since 2015, Growing Inland Achievement has been actively supporting educational attainment and economic success in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. To learn more about their mission and initiatives, please visit InlandEmpireGIA.org.

    For more information, contact: Jake Poore, jake@gia.echofactory.dev.

  • 2022-2023 Annual Report

    2022-2023 Annual Report

    We are pleased to share our 2022-2023 Annual Report, available to view below. This report is a testament to our collective efforts, highlighting the incredible achievements and milestones we have accomplished together.

    Within the report, you will find highlights on key projects such as Intermediaries for Scale, Action Network Teams (ANTs), student voice research, financials, and more.

  • Education Insight: A Roadmap to Success: The Collective Impact Model

    Education Insight: A Roadmap to Success: The Collective Impact Model

    About This Episode

    Season 3. Episode 9.

    In this enlightening episode of Education Insight, we delve into the extraordinary world of collective impact and its profound influence on local education. Across the nation, communities are rewriting the narrative of student success by convening a unique blend of leaders from business, economy, and education sectors. They’ve discovered that when diverse voices come together to tackle educational challenges, remarkable things happen!

    Join us as we sit down with two distinguished guests who are at the forefront of this movement. Sheila Thorton, President & CEO of OneFuture Coachella Valley, brings a wealth of experience in mobilizing communities for the betterment of education. She’ll share firsthand accounts of how collective impact has been a game-changer in the Coachella Valley.

    Jennifer Splansky Juster, Executive Director of the Collective Impact Forum at the Fielding School of Public Health, is a leading expert in the field. She’ll provide invaluable insights into the principles and strategies that make collective impact work, and how this approach is revolutionizing education outcomes nationwide.

    Tune in to discover the transformative power of collaboration, hear inspiring success stories, and gain a deeper understanding of how collective impact is reshaping the landscape of education. Whether you’re an educator, a community leader, or simply passionate about improving education, this episode will leave you inspired and informed. Don’t miss out on this enlightening conversation!

    Featured Guests

    Jennifer Splansky Juster

    Executive Director of the Collective Impact Forum, a partnership between the nonprofit consulting group FSG and the Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions

    Jennifer Splansky Juster is Executive Director of the fielding-building initiative the Collective Impact Forum, a partnership between the nonprofit consulting & research group FSG and the Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions. She is one of FSG’s leaders in collective impact field building, has worked on multiple collective impact engagements, designed training opportunities for thousands collective impact practitioners, and frequently speaks on the topic.

    Jennifer has co-authored multiple publications on collective impact, including the report Guide to Evaluating Collective Impact and the articles “Centering Equity in Collective Impact,” “Committing to Collective Impact: From Vision to Implementation,” and “Essential Mindset Shifts for Collective Impact.” Over the course of her career, Jennifer has also worked with a range of foundations, nonprofits, government agencies, and corporations across sectors on issues of strategy, evaluation, and program design.

    Former clients include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Marin Community Foundation, Girard College, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and Silicon Valley ALLIES.  A California native, Jennifer is a graduate of Stanford University and Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. She lives in Berkeley, California with her husband and two daughters.

    Sheila Thorton

    President & CEO, OneFuture Coachella Valley

    As President & CEO of OneFuture Coachella Valley, Sheila Thornton is guided by its mission to assure all students succeed in college, career and life – expanding and enhancing the local workforce so that our youth and economy thrive. Prior to the formation of OneFuture Coachella Valley, Sheila served as Vice President of Workforce Excellence for the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership (CVEP), where she led coalition-building, fundraising and program development for that division.

    In March, 2017, she spearheaded the transition from Workforce Excellence to OneFuture Coachella Valley, a separate 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose purpose is to advance a regional effort to align educational attainment with economic development. Sheila serves on the CSUSB Palm Desert Campus Advancement Board, the Growing Inland Achievement board of directors, the national leadership team for the Ford Motor Company Fund Next Generation Learning (Ford NGL) Initiative and the national advisory committee for Health Career Connection.

    She is a former board member of the Linked Learning Alliance in California, and the California Future Health Workforce Commission. Sheila received a B.S. degree in Applied Math from Loyola Marymount University. Her early career as an analyst and project manager for an economic research and consulting firm and as Director of Community Services for a non-profit hospital has established a solid foundation for her current work – building and leading an organization that uses strong coalitions to guide the region’s students and future leaders toward success.

    Interview Highlights

    3:57 – Adrienne describes dual enrollment and its benefits.

    7:15 – Adrienne speaks to how recent California mandates and initiatives may have influenced the growth of these new programs.

    8:34 – Adrienne explains what research shows about the impact of dual enrollment on a student’s academic achievements or even their future success.

    9:24 – Adrienne shares examples of dual enrollment activities that are taking place in our region and what is happening in the IE. 

    13:11 – Adrienne talks about strategies in place to make sure that equal opportunities are available for all students.

    20:18 – Jorge explains how dual enrollment aligns with his role at Riverside County Unified School District.

    21:28 – Jorge shares his experiences and thoughts on the current dual enrollment programs that are being offered at Riverside Unified School District.

    23:32 – Jorge gives insight into how dual enrollment makes students career ready.

    25:58 – Jorge describes what challenges students typically face in dual enrollment programs and how he addresses those issues. 

    32:43 – Jorge shares what he would like to see be the future of the dual enrollment program in his district and beyond. 

    36:31 – Special Feature: Avijeet Randhawa, 8th-Grader, Auburndale Intermediate School in the Corona Norco Unified School District.

    View our podcast page for more stories like this: https://gia.echofactory.dev/gia-podcasts/

    Education Insight tells the story of education in the Inland Empire through the diverse voices of those in and around the regional education community. The show is produced by Growing Inland Achievement, a collective impact organization in the Inland Empire with a mission to increase economic prosperity in the region by increasing educational attainment. Hosted by 30-year broadcast veteran Lacey Kendall, monthly shows explore topics ranging from education challenges and shortcomings to innovations and groundbreaking ideas that are driving student success.