Growing Inland Achievement

Category: Support

  • College Futures Foundation Provides $687,000 to Support Regional Guided Pathways Work in the Inland Empire

    College Futures Foundation Provides $687,000 to Support Regional Guided Pathways Work in the Inland Empire

    College Futures Foundation awarded $687,000 in funding to support seven community colleges in the region to implement Guided Pathways initiatives from October 15, 2020, to June 30, 2022.

    Guided Pathways provide students with clear course-taking patterns to encourage better enrollment decisions and a clearer path to graduation. “For Guided Pathways to work, colleges must implement an integrated, institution-wide approach to support students from the point of entry to attainment of high-quality postsecondary degrees and careers,” said Dr. Carlos Ayala, President and CEO of GIA. “This generous grant from College Futures Foundation will ensure professional development and support for Guided Pathways is available to all of our community colleges here in the Inland Empire.”

    Five of the Inland Empire’s twelve community colleges have already been selected to participate in the statewide California Guided Pathways project. These colleges include; Chaffey College, Moreno Valley College, Norco College, Riverside City College, and Victor Valley College. Grant funding from College Futures Foundation supports the remaining seven colleges with coaching and guidance similar to what is being offered in the statewide program. These colleges include; Barstow College, College of the Desert, Copper Mountain College, Crafton Hills College, Mt. San Jacinto College, Palo Verde College, and San Bernardino Valley College.

    GIA in partnership with Guided Pathways Regional Coordinators Angelica Ibarra and Leslie Valmonte, and national experts will provide customized direct support for individual campuses as well as professional development training and guidance on implementing Guided Pathways across all colleges in the region. Additionally, funding will allow GIA to host a regional Guided Pathways Virtual Summit, taking place on April 28-29, 2021. “This grant provides the necessary funds for the colleges to engage with the National Center for Inquiry & Improvement across several categories of support, said Ann Marie Sakrekoff, Chief Operating Officer of GIA. “These categories include two-day convenings for all 12 regional colleges, one-day workshops on key guided pathways issues, sub-regional sessions for groups of colleges facing similar challenges, and individual college site visits that are designed to support their institutional implementation.”

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  • Regional Website Launches to Support Inland Empire Class of 2020

    Regional Website Launches to Support Inland Empire Class of 2020

    The new website helps to connect Inland Empire students with college advising and other critical resources, including technology and basic needs support.

    Growing Inland Achievement, a regional collective impact organization seeking to increase Inland educational attainment rates, recently launched IEStudents.org, a website to support high school students as they transition to college amid the coronavirus pandemic. The website provides access to college advisors and current information on the changes in college admissions, testing, and financial aid.

    The idea for a regional support website stemmed from a post-secondary education task force comprised of educational leaders across the region, who have united to develop support mechanisms for students amid the crisis. GIA staff and students supported the website build with guidance from the task force and other partners across the region.

    “With the help of our partners, GIA launched IEStudents.org based on the vision of connecting high school students with critical information and college advising support to ensure the pandemic does not inhibit any student’s journey to college, especially those more likely to fall through the cracks. The college success advisors page helps to match students with a college success advisor to assist with their individual needs,” said GIA Director of Operations & Partnerships, Ida Hermosillo.

    GIA student interns played a crucial role in developing the website and curating the site content. “The website is easy to navigate and very helpful for students,” said GIA Intern, Ian Sherman. “I’m very proud that I have played a key role in building and maintaining this website to help students like me here in the Inland Empire to pursue their dreams of going to college.”

    Partners in the Inland Empire Educational Network offered insight on the educational challenges presented by the pandemic. Feedback from the network highlighted critical student needs and helped to drive the website architecture and page content. Each section of the website contains pages with relevant and timely updates for students, such as updates regarding financial aid administration, emergency funds, food resources, technology, and virtual learning support, among other student success resources.

    “I’m grateful for the many Inland Empire colleges and organizations that came together to work collectively and remove barriers for high school students making a transition to college during this difficult time,” said President & CEO of GIA, Dr. Carlos Ayala. “I’m also extremely proud of our GIA staff and interns who stepped up to develop this outstanding website resource for students in our region.”

    Growing Inland Achievement is a bi-county,  educational collaborative in the Inland Empire that brings together leaders across K-20 education, civic, and business sectors. GIA organizes and collaborates with the Inland Empire Educational Network to create innovative practices that achieve large-scale social and institutional change. Visit GIA’s website at inlandempiregia.org to learn more.

  • Growing Inland Achievement Regional Survey

    Growing Inland Achievement Regional Survey

    Growing Inland Achievement (GIA) has reached its fifth year of operation and is now strategizing how to build capacity and scale our regional collective impact for the next five years. Although projects to help students amidst the COVID-19 pandemic require much of our attention today, we recognize the importance of planning for the future and how we can best serve the needs of our region.

    With oversight from our Board of Directors and funding provided by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, we are developing a comprehensive business plan in the coming months. Your thoughts, opinions, and ideas are critical to this process as we develop a road map for GIA’s future.

    Please take 5-10 minutes to fill out our survey and share it with your peers. If you have questions, please let us know at info@gia.echofactory.dev.

  • Inland Empire Adult and Professional Education Programs Gets Boost from Bank of America

    Inland Empire Adult and Professional Education Programs Gets Boost from Bank of America

    Growing Inland Achievement (GIA), a regional collective impact organization seeking to improve the Inland Empire economy by increasing regional levels of degree attainment, has received a $25,000 grant from Bank of America to support adult and professional education in the Inland Empire.

    GIA facilitates collaboration among regional stakeholders to identify and implement measurable strategies to create institutional change and increase regional educational attainment levels.

    “This generous grant from Bank of America will support GIA’s initiatives to bring together regional leaders to examine viable strategies and review institutional opportunities, alleviating barriers to college education for adult learners,” said Dr. Carlos Ayala, CEO at GIA. “We are very grateful for Bank of America’s commitment to advancing the Inland Empire and improving the quality of life for our residents, especially during these unprecedented times.”

    Families in the Inland Empire struggle with generational poverty and the ability to earn a living wage as a result of low postsecondary education attainment rates. Although the Inland Empire is the most populous region in California, adults here are less likely to pursue higher education than in other areas of the state, and many of those who do enroll in college are not able to finish their education.

    “There is a direct correlation between educational achievement and income, and tackling the Inland Empire’s education gap is key creating sustainable financial stability in the region. The strategic work of Growing Inland Achievement will be even more important following the crisis to prepare adults with the education and skills training for potential new professions,” said Al Arguello, Inland Empire market president, Bank of America.

    “Nearly one in four adults in the Inland Empire has some college attainment but has not completed a degree,” said Sorrel Stielstra, Director of Research at GIA. “We need to open doors for these individuals to return to school, earn postsecondary credentials, thrive in the workforce, and contribute to our regional economy.”

    GIA tracks regional data on educational attainment and its link to the labor market in the region. On average, individuals in the Inland Empire who have earned a Bachelor’s degree earn approximately $24,000 more annually than those with just a high school degree. GIA has plans to host a series of data workshops in the fall to explore the regional alignment between educational and occupational pathways, which may help to inform decision-making in response to the effects of the global pandemic on the region.

    A portion of grant funds from Bank of America will support efforts to identify and recruit key community members to serve on an adult and professional education Action Network Team and accomplish three goals:

    1)    Identify specific areas of support needed for adult learners to return to and/or complete their education;

    2)    Identify realistic implementation strategies;

    3)    Create a data collection and measurement process to measure impact and inform policy.

    Action Network Teams are the backbone of GIA’s collective impact model and bring together the Inland Empire higher education network, regional educators that combine expertise to work toward a vision of student success. 

    Growing Inland Achievement is a bi-county, collective impact intermediary in the Inland Empire that brings together leaders across K-20 education, civic, and business sectors. GIA organizes and collaborates with the Inland Empire Educational Network to create innovative practices that achieve large-scale social and institutional change. Visit our website, inlandempiregia.org, to learn more.

     

  • GIA Grant Funding Available to Support Inland Empire Students

    GIA Grant Funding Available to Support Inland Empire Students

    Grant Funding Available to Support Inland Empire Students

    COVID-19 Emergency Funding of up to $50,000 and Innovation Awards Funding of $150,000 Available for Educational Organizations Supporting Inland Empire Students

    Growing Inland Achievement (GIA), an educational intermediary organization seeking to improve the Inland Empire economy by raising the region’s educational attainment rates, has announced that COVID-19 Emergency Funding is now available for educational organizations supporting critical student needs amidst COVID-19. Organizations may apply for up to $50,000 in funding from now through April 21. Additionally, GIA has extended the application deadline for their $150,000 Innovation Awards to April 30.

    School closures and economic shutdowns due to the global pandemic have created educational and financial challenges for Inland Empire students and institutions. GIA created the COVID-19 emergency fund to assist with immediate challenges the coronavirus pandemic will present for students in the next 3-9 months.

    “The regional effect of the coronavirus requires us to focus on the educational and economic challenges of the present moment to continue the pursuit of the network’s shared vision,” said Ann Marie Sakrekoff, Senior Director at GIA. “After many conversations with our educational partners throughout the region, we have identified three focus areas for the emergency grant funding including; student basic needs support, class of 2020 college transition support, and technology assistance.”

    Awardees of emergency funding will be informed of approval and have funding distributed by May 4, 2020.

    In addition to the COVID-19 emergency funding, GIA will continue with their Innovation Awards which awards grants of $150,000 to organizations working towards accomplishing one or more of five measurable goals:

    • Align educational policy initiatives regionally via cradle-to-career collective impact model.
    • Increase college preparedness, particularly in math, resulting in a 20% reduction in the number of students requiring remediation at matriculation from high school to college within five years. 
    • Increase baccalaureate, associate, certificate, and credential attainment by 15% across the two counties within five years. 
    • Increase the six-year graduation rate by 10% over five years.
    • Improve career preparedness through strengthened partnership with industry to better align education with workforce development needs. 

    Applications for Innovation Awards are due by April 30 and funding is dispersed in two parts to grantee organizations in June 2020 and May 2021.   

    Growing Inland Achievement is a bi-county, educational collaborative in the Inland Empire that brings together leaders across K-20 education, civic, and business sectors. GIA organizes and collaborates with the Inland Empire Educational Network to create innovative practices that achieve large-scale social and institutional change, and prove working together is more impactful than working alone.