Growing Inland Achievement

Category: News

  • Bill Gates writes about his experience visiting Chaffey College in Rancho Cucamonga

    Bill Gates writes about his experience visiting Chaffey College in Rancho Cucamonga

    In a recent blog post titled “A map from classroom to career,” Bill Gates reflects on a recent visit to Chaffey College to learn more about creating effective pathways for students to achieve their academic and career goals. This is one of the many promising programs across the country that is putting students on a path to continue their education after high school before they’ve even graduated.

    By providing dual enrollment, advising, and wraparound support, students receive college credits and the guidance they need to smoothly transition into college and continue their education. Many students receive job offers before they even graduate. Read more about Gates’ visit.

    The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has been a close partner of the Inland Empire Educational Network for several years and is consistently impressed by the work across the region. As one of six Transformation Intermediaries in the nation to be selected by the Gates Foundation, Growing Inland Achievement is working closely with all Inland Empire postsecondary institutions to bring support from the Foundation to drive equitable student success. Postsecondary leadership should contact Dr. Thomas Dickson, GIA Director of Institutional Support, at thomas@gia.echofactory.dev, for more information on how your institution can receive support.

  • Education Insight: Where Policy Helps and Hurts Local Education

    Education Insight: Where Policy Helps and Hurts Local Education

    About This Episode

    Season 3. Episode 5.

    In the Inland Empire, our students count on teachers and administrators to help them make it to graduation. But in fact, they, our whole community, are counting on legislators to create good education policies. Policy that makes the road to graduation equitable, affordable, and possible. Are the policies that affect our students working for them or against them? This week three top experts lay it out for us. Dr. Nohemy Ornelas, Vice Chancellor of Educational and Student Support Services for the San Bernardino Community College District. Ann Marie Sakrekoff, the Interim CEO of Growing Inland Achievement, and Dr. Brittnee Quintanar, of Norco College conducted a study that put her in front of our top education leaders asking what they think about it. Join us for the next Education Insight. 

    Featured Guests

    Dr. Brittnee Quintanar

    Norco College, Counselor and Instructor.

    Brittnee Amberley Quintanar, Ph.D., has worked in higher education since 2006, primarily with California community colleges located in the Inland Empire of southern California, a region with historically low college-going and completion rates. Previous roles include alumni coordinator, grant program coordinator, and institutional researcher. Presently Dr. Quintanar serves as counselor, guidance instructor, and guided pathways faculty coordinator at Norco College. Her work over the last decade helping primarily neo-traditional students navigate the complexities of our higher education systems, serve as the as the impetus for her policy-focused research and advocacy.

    Dr. Nohemy Ornelas

    Vice Chancellor of Educational and Student Support Services, San Bernardino Community College District.

    Dr. Nohemy Ornelas is the Vice Chancellor of Educational and Student Services at the San Bernardino Community College District, where she oversees industry partnerships, workforce training, and manages programs to support students reach their academic and career goals. Throughout her 25 years serving the public and 18 years in higher education, Dr. Ornelas has promoted equity-minded programs to expand educational opportunities for students and families. Before joining SBCCD, Dr. Ornelas served as Associate Superintendent/Vice President for Student Services at Allan Hancock College, focusing on implementing the college’s Student Equity Plan, SSSP, Outreach Plan, the Noncredit Student Success and Support Plan, and the Student Equity and Achievement Program. She developed the college’s center for Dreamers, expanded the Student Veteran and DSPS programs, and rolled out the Hancock Promise. She has received numerous accolades, including the Future Leaders of America Latino Legacy Award, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s Honored Alumni, the Pacific Coast Business Times 40 under 40 award, and Santa Barbara County’s Commission for Women Service Award. A first-generation college student, Dr. Ornelas began her educational career as a community college student, completed her bachelor’s degree at the University of California, Santa Barbara, master’s degree at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and earned her doctorate in education at California State University, Fresno.

    Ann Marie Sakrekoff

    Interim President & CEO, Growing Inland Achievement.

    Ann Marie Sakrekoff has been named Interim President & CEO of Growing Inland Achievement (GIA), effective May 15, following the retirement of Dr. Carlos Ayala.

    GIA serves San Bernardino and Riverside Counties as a regional, cross-sector network of education, government, nonprofit and business partners in the Inland Empire; collectively, they work towards a shared vision of educational and economic success.

    Sakrekoff has over 20 years of higher education and nonprofit leadership experience, including her current role as GIA’s Chief Operating Officer.

    Sakrekoff stated, “I am proud and excited to take on the Interim CEO role during such an exciting time for GIA as we continue building on our service to the Inland Empire educational network of students, families, institutions, and community partners. GIA will remain focused on its mission, impact, and growth while we search for our next permanent CEO.”

    Interview Highlights

    5:14 – Brittnee describes her research on public higher education. 

    6:11 – Brittnee reflects on how she helps students on a day-day basis and helps navigate their way through higher education.

    9:23 – Brittnee shares more details on her recent dissertation study.

    13:13 – Brittnee explains the startling discovery behind research regarding the roadblocks to local college and university student success.

    31:30 – Nohemy describes how the student experience has improved as a direct result of good policy.

    33:26 – Nohemy shares an area that really needs work and could benefit from the policy change.

    35:35 – Nohemy describes the process of developing district policy and procedures for educational services.

    39:19 – Nohemy talks about work being done locally and on capitol hill to address current student barriers and issues. 

    42:27 – Ann Marie gives insight into hot topics surrounding local and statewide education policy.

    44:04 – Ann Marie shares some of the good work being done here locally in the Inland Empire.

    46:22 – Ann Marie shares the positive impacts seen due to Assembly Bill 469 being passed.

    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.

  • Education Insight: Celebrating Local Educational Success

    Education Insight: Celebrating Local Educational Success

    About This Episode

    Season 3. Episode 4.

    Last month, a number of people in the Inland Empire were honored for extraordinary achievements in Inland Empire education. This week, we’d like you to meet a few of them. How does it feel to be recognized as the teacher or administrator of the year? What does an 8th-grade Fontana kid have to do to win the regional spelling bee and end up headed for the national competition? Plus, a look at the biggest STEM competition in the Inland Empire-where over a thousand science-loving kids converged to give it all they know for the Inland Empire Science Olympiad—all that and more on the next episode of Education Insight.

    Featured Guests

    Craig Petinak

    Director, Public Relations & Communications Services, Riverside County Superintendent of Schools.

    Craig Petinak is the Director of Public Relations and Communications Services at the Riverside County Office of Education where he leads an award-winning team of creative designers, communicators, and video producers. He serves as the “unofficial chief storyteller” for the transformational impact of education on the lives of individuals, the community, and society as a whole.

    Craig’s human-centered work blends the creative and strategic with the tactical and timely. From crisis communications and authoring press releases, to leading video productions and crafting internal newsletters, Craig also supports the school communications professionals within each of the county’s 23 districts to help them elevate their own schools, students, programs, and communications expertise.  

    Beth Schwandt

    Music Teacher, Lake Hills Elementary School in the Alvord Unified School District.

    “We’re up, UP WITH PEOPLE, we meet ‘em wherever we go. Up, UP WITH PEOPLE, they’re the best kind of folks we know. If MORE people were FOR people, all people everywhere, We’d have a lot less people to worry about and a lot more people who care!”

    I was in the 5th grade, at an Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming, sitting in the audience of a UP WITH PEOPLE concert, and after hearing the harmonies, seeing the choreography, and experiencing the joy and the message, I knew I wanted to be a music teacher and a choir director. 

    My path was not direct, but after years of incorporating one period of the choir while I taught computer literacy or language arts, I finally became a full-time music teacher at the age of 53, and I wouldn’t trade one note of the journey along the way to realizing my dream! 

    My greatest contributions have been recruiting, training, and mentoring new music teachers at every level, and empowering them with curriculum, repertoire, pedagogy, and instruments. My greatest accomplishment has been building programs from the ground up; first, the Villegas Show Choir, next the Hillcrest Show Choir, and finally, the elementary music program. Exposing students to the arts through field trips, plays, concerts, workshops, and performances has instilled a rich passion and a life-long love for music in their hearts. 

    Jupharnoor Singh

    8th-grader, Heritage Intermediate, Etiwanda School District.

    My name is Jupharnoor Singh (Jup). I am 13 years old and in 8th grade from Heritage Intermediate in Etiwanda School District. This is my second year participating in the Spelling Bee. Last year (2022) I was the first person from my school to win the District Spelling Bee and got second place in the virtual San Bernardino County bee competition. This year I won the District Bee again and went on to win the SB county spelling bee which helped me secure a place in the National Competition in Washington DC from 30th May to 1st June.

    I speak 3 languages and got fluent in English in 2nd grade as my native language is Punjabi. In school, I always try to do my best and work hard to be an A + student. From 3rd grade onwards, I have been participating in the Battle of the Books (B.O.B) competition in which I secured good rankings every year.

    I love to play chess and basketball. I earned a black belt in Tae-Kwon-Do when I was 9 years old. After the spelling bee, my goals for this year are to get selected into my high school basketball team, and finally write a short story and hopefully get it published.

    Karin Westerling

    Director, Inland Empire STEM Science Olympiad.

    Karin Westerling is a native-born Riversider. While earning a Ph.D. in biology at UC Irvine, she discovered that teaching was even more fun than bench science. A four-decade career teaching science to students in college, high school, and middle school followed. Now retired, Karin can’t quite quit the teaching bug. She is a water aerobics instructor and serves on the board of the So. Cal Tri-Counties Branch of the International Dyslexia Association and helps out with the Inland Empire Science Olympiad.

    Interview Highlights

    1:45 – Craig shares how it feels to be named the Classified Administrator of the Year.

    3:41 – Craig describes his work as the Director of Public Relations and Communication Services at Riverside County Office of Education.

    9:50 – Craig reflects on his proudest achievement in his position thus far.

    13:43 – Craig explains what he wishes people knew about Riverside County Schools.

    16:03 – Beth describes her role as a music teacher at Lake Hills Elementary School.

    17:43 – Beth shares the ways that music empowers students in that nothing else can.

    19:22 – Beth describes how music influences the academics of a student.

    22:01 – Beth talks about her greatest accomplishment.

    30:28 – Karin gives insight into how the Inland Empire Science Olympiad first got started.

    31:31 – Karin explains how many teams come to participate in this event

    46:45 – Karin shares why events like this cause a shift in kids’ passion for science here in the Inland Empire. 

    41:06 – Special Feature: Jupharnoor Singh, 8th-Grader, Heritage Intermediate, Etiwanda 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.

  • Two-County Education Collaborative Appoints Ann Marie Sakrekoff as Interim President & CEO

    Two-County Education Collaborative Appoints Ann Marie Sakrekoff as Interim President & CEO

    Photo Caption: Ann Marie Sakrekoff facilitates a leadership workshop on local education challenges and opportunities. Sakrekoff leads the two-county education collaborative to expand our educated workforce, thriving communities, and a vibrant economy that creates prosperity for all.  Photo by GIA staff.

    Sakrekoff will lead the organization while the board searches for a permanent CEO. A national search will start now with a new CEO expected by the Fall of 2023.

    INLAND EMPIRE, CA – Ann Marie Sakrekoff has been named Interim President & CEO of Growing Inland Achievement (GIA), effective May 15, following the retirement of Dr. Carlos Ayala.

    GIA serves San Bernardino and Riverside Counties as a regional, cross-sector network of education, government, nonprofit and business partners in the Inland Empire; collectively, they work towards a shared vision of educational and economic success.

    Sakrekoff has over 20 years of higher education and nonprofit leadership experience, including her current role as GIA’s Chief Operating Officer.

    Sakrekoff stated, “I am proud and excited to take on the Interim CEO role during such an exciting time for GIA as we continue building on our service to the Inland Empire educational network of students, families, institutions, and community partners. GIA will remain focused on its mission, impact, and growth while we search for our next permanent CEO.”

    Diana Rodriguez, GIA Board Member and Chancellor of the San Bernardino Community College District praised Sakrekoff’s experience.

    “Ann Marie’s passion for helping Inland Empire students achieve their college dreams is truly inspiring. With her deep understanding of the challenges facing students in the region, she is committed to ensuring that every student has access to the resources they need to succeed,” said Rodriguez.

    “Whether through innovative programming, advocacy efforts, or community outreach, Ann Marie is dedicated to making a meaningful difference in the lives of our students. Her unwavering commitment to this cause has made her an invaluable asset to Growing Inland Achievement, and we are confident that under her leadership as Interim CEO, the organization will continue to make great strides in improving educational outcomes for students throughout the Inland Empire,” Rodriguez added.

    Sakrekoff was the first employee hired by GIA’s Board of Directors in 2005, helping to lead the organization since its inception.

    “Ann Marie has served as the operations leader for the GIA since its early days. She has been a steady force and an excellent collaborative leader focused on advancing our region’s higher education and workforce goals,” said Sheila Thornton, GIA Board Member and CEO of OneFuture Coachella Valley. “Her dedication to student success is evident throughout her work. We’re grateful to Ann Marie for being willing to serve in this interim position.”

    GIA’s board of directors anticipates launching a search for a permanent President & CEO in the coming months.

    “Ann Marie is an exceptional leader poised to continue GIA’s efforts to increase equitable educational attainment in the Inland Empire,” said Dr. Kim Wilcox, GIA Board Chair and Chancellor of UC Riverside. “The board fully believes in her abilities to lead the organization while we search for a permanent CEO.”

    Growing Inland Achievement, serves San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, in a regional cross-sector network of education, government, nonprofit, and business partners in the Inland Empire, bringing more than $20 million and collectively working towards a shared vision of educational and economic success.

    About Growing Inland Achievement

    Growing Inland Achievement, which serves both San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, is a regional cross-sector network of education, government, nonprofit, and business partners in the Inland Empire, collectively working towards a shared vision of educational and economic success.

    GIA staff support this work by researching issues and opportunities, developing financial resources for the region, and connecting diverse stakeholders across the two-county region of the Inland Empire.

    GIA’s shared vision is that by 2035, San Bernardino and Riverside Counties will be widely recognized for their educated workforce, thriving communities, and vibrant economy that creates prosperity for all. 

  • Projected Shortfalls in Postsecondary Enrollment Capacity in the Inland Empire by 2030

    Projected Shortfalls in Postsecondary Enrollment Capacity in the Inland Empire by 2030

    By 2030, the shortfall in enrollment capacity at Inland Empire postsecondary institutions could potentially result in thousands of qualified students being denied a seat, with a disproportionate impact on low-income and students of color. Meeting the postsecondary needs of the residents of the Inland Empire (IE) is of urgent importance. Click to read more.