The Chancellor’s Equity for Excellence Project - “You cannot change any society unless you take responsibility for it, unless you
see yourself as belonging to it and responsible for changing it.” ~ Grace Lee Boggs
If you could have a positive impact on the probability that a student will stay enrolled
and succeed in our district, would you step up to help? Not sure? What if you knew
that it could be as simple as making a few telephone calls to connect with that student,
to check on how they are doing and whether they know about the resources we have available?
Would you step up then? Still not sure? What if you were told that you would be joining
with a number of other individuals throughout the district so you’ll have support
to do this? Sounding better? Then this opportunity might be for you!! Introducing
the Chancellor's Equity for Excellence Project, an initiative that seeks to advance
student equity and retention through learning and applying validation theory. Members
of the Chancellor’s 2017-18 Equity for Excellence team will become part of a cohort
of individuals provided with specialized training, support and opportunities to make
connections with underrepresented students and will also be eligible to apply for
funding to attend the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity (NCORE).
Student Voices: An Opportunity for Dialogue for Equity and Success - How often do we as educators have the opportunity to hear directly from our students,
about their challenges and successes? And how can feedback from our students add to
our own understanding of students and learning, and subsequently, help transform our
teaching practices and the institution as a whole? Come and participate in a panel
discussion with students followed by a workshop which will foster authentic dialogue
about best practices, and concrete ways in which we can serve our students better.
Presenters: James Nguyen, Political Science Instructor; Jila Maleksalehi, Early Childhood
Development Instructor; Steve Nava, Sociology Instructor; Carolyn Wilkins-Greene,
Dean, Social Sciences & Humanities; Rich Booher, Social Sciences Instructor; and Ameeta
Tiwana, Anthropology Instructor
MLC 105
Defining Employee Success: A Conversation Café- Working in small groups in our conversation café, participants will discuss and
define what the right environment, tools and resources are for all of us to give our
best each day, feel committed to our missions and those we serve, and identify how
that contributes to our own feelings of productivity, well-being and success.
Presenter: Mary Kay Englen, Senior Program Coordinator
MLC 108
Creating a Transgender-Inclusive Environment - Basic best practices for faculty members and staff to create a transgender-inclusive
environment. Despite our best intentions, we are often unknowingly engaging in common
normative practices that perpetuate trans marginalization. Participate in this lecture,
discussion, and Q&A to better understand the trans experience and gain some tools
to create a better college environment for our transgender community.
Presenter: Nick Chivers, Communications Studies Instructor
MLC 109
The Affordable Textbook Challenge: Monopoly, Chutes and Ladders and Other Pitfalls
in the Student Experience - This interactive board game will illustrate the unforeseen hazards, challenges
and pitfalls faced by students across the spectrum. Participants will learn about
the players and their roles in the textbook purchasing game: students, publishers,
faculty, and sellers. Both faculty and staff will walk away with a better understanding
of how they can affect the cost of books for our students and not leave it up to a
game of chance. Participants will leave with handouts of resources available to students
and considerations for textbook adoptions as well as information on systemic changes
which we might adopt and improve upon.
Presenters: Wil Byars, Senior Library Technician, and Sandra Blackborow, Instructional
Support Coordinator
MLC 110
Early Alert, Basic Skills, and Starfish--Oh My! - Are you a faculty, staff or manager feeling the urgency to do more, and do better
with equity on your campus? Do you want ideas on how Instruction and Student Services
can work collaboratively toward this goal? This session will discuss why Early Alert
intervention has been adopted by Foothill College as a critical component to the Student
Equity and Student Support and Success Plan (3SP), working to bridge the gap between
students, faculty and campus resources. Come hear about how the Foothill model works
and the insights we’ve gathered along the way, and see a demo of the new Starfish
Early Alert tool launching on MyPortal in the 2017-2018 academic year.
Presenters: Adrienne Hypolite, Early Alert Program Coordinator; Dokesha Meacham,
Academic Counselor; Maria Perezalonso, Student Success Support Specialist; Christopher
Chavez, Student Success Support Specialist; and Lan Truong, Dean of Counseling
MLC 111
Equity Mindset for Educators: What Does It Feel Like? - In this two-hour session, participants will take part in activities that model
an equity mindset, applicable to any situation where a district employee comes in
contact with students or colleagues. Ideally, participants will experience being heard,
seen, appreciated, and unjudged, important aspects of equity work. In the process,
participants will learn about student services and build community, as well as build
a knowledge base that any district employee can use in their work interacting with
students and colleagues at the colleges. This workshop will set the stage for follow
up activities and practices throughout the year.
Presenters: Hilda Fernandez, English Instructor; Patrick Morriss, Mathematics Instructor;
Rosa Nguyen, Chemistry Instructor; and Jennifer Sinclair, Mathematics Instructor
MLC 112
1500 Stories: Giving Voice to Economic Inequality- This workshop will offer curriculum and teaching ideas for how you and your students
could participate in a large scale socially engaged art and digital storytelling project
about economic inequality in the U.S. called 1500 Stories. The project is a collaboration
between the California History Center, the Euphrat Museum of Art, and the Vasconcellos
Institute for Democracy in Action in partnership with local community organizations.
Rising economic and class inequality places the common good in increasing jeopardy.
Currently in the U.S. the twenty richest people own more wealth than the bottom 50%
of Americans combined. One of the strategies of 1500 Stories is to foster empathetic
connections among people through the experience of listening and being heard; another
is to break the silence in the U.S. around class and economic position through the
idea that everyone, no matter what their socioeconomic status, has a story to share.
This workshop will provide practical resources for anyone interested in participating
in storygathering.
Presenter: Jennifer Myhre, Sociology Instructor
MLC 113
Learn Creative Tools to Walk Equity as Classified Professionals - Identify practical ways and processes to walk equity and self reflect as a staff member
to measure your own equity practices. Celebrate the way classified professionals
are currently walking equity. We hope you will be motivated to get involved through
creative opportunities to ascend and elevate our service and close the student achievement
gap.
Presenters: Victoria Kahler, Instructional Support Technician; Adriana Garcia, Administrative
Assistant I; and Angelica Esquivel Moreno, Program Coordinator II
MLC 260
Whaaaaaaat!? I’m a Mandated Reporter? - As educational professionals we are required by law to serve as mandated reporters,
which brings with it both responsibility and liability. In this session learn the
scope of your obligation and mechanisms for reporting allegations or suspicion of
abuse and/or neglect.
Presenters: Dorene Novotny, Vice Chancellor, Human Resources and Equal Opportunity; District Attorney; Stacey Cook, Vice President Student Services; and Laureen Balducci, Associate Vice
President Student Services
MLC 270
Hiring Through an Equity Lens - One of the greatest impacts you can have on our colleges and students is through your
participation on hiring committees. In this session we will discuss things that impact
our ability to hire candidates with the ideal combination of skills, talents, and
abilities. Learn how to craft a process to minimize and eliminate the negative effects
of implicit bias and other unconscious behaviors that can influence our decision-making.
Presenters: Pat Hyland, Director, Equity & Employee Relations, and Elaine Kuo, College
Researcher