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PR# S411B210027
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EEDW Insights and Highlights
January 2024 EEDW Project Newsletter
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We're entering project year 3, the half-way point for EEDW. Eight Early College High Schools and more than 1,500 students are participating in the project. Target students are receiving specialized encouragements and new opportunities to engage in Information Technology with their higher education partners and industry professionals.
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Below, you can read highlights from our partners in the project, learn what motivates them, and get their perspective on the value that EEDW is bringing to schools and students!
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We're also providing project updates, new opportunities, and access to useful resources for counselors, administrators, and students!
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HED Partner Spotlight
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ANNIE WILLMON, SAN JUAN COLLEGE
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“Life and Dual-Credit is a
Mountain to be Conquered!”
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High school students are a growing and significant student population in higher education, particularly in community colleges, and the trend of starting college early is here to stay. There is much work to be done to ensure equitable access for diverse student groups in terms of outreach, advising, mapped or easily understood college and career pathways, and making courses available at the college campus, in high schools, and online. Relationship building over time and ongoing communication within K–12 and college partnerships are crucial to implementing strategies that will facilitate students’ success.
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"We need a better understanding of how Dual Credit partners can design their programs to serve the widest population of students possible."
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ECHS Instructor Spotlight
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ATHENA TALK, BOND WILSON TECH CTR
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Athena never thought she’d be teaching computer science because she originally had no idea what that entailed, considering her education is in environmental and political science. When planning out the future of their school, Bond Wilson came upon the idea of offering Athena a job in Computer Science [CS] because she was a quick learner and always up for a challenge. She is forever grateful for the computer science community and found through the NM CS Alliance and their summer PD opportunities, unconditional support from her then administrator, Milo McMinn, for putting her onto this pathway as well as all those wonderful individuals who saw a place for her in CS.
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"IT is not an isolated industry. It overlaps with every other sector, which makes it a versatile career opportunity."
read more...
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Deming ECHS Meta Team
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The principal of Deming ECHS, Mr. Bryan Simpson, is big on making students aware of and enrolling in IT pathways. With that, one of the most successful projects that was started with the EEDW grant was the “META” after school program. This stands for Math-Engineering-Technology-Applications. They 3D printed, built, and programmed a robot for a robotics competition. This puts them in an environment where they are talking about tech and surrounded by other students in tech. It’s really opened students awareness of tech-related career choices.
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"Students are more aware of the technology classes that they can take, and they are talking and discussing them more."
read more...
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Business Spotlight
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In order to ensure that EEDW remains consistently aligned with the technologies, trends, and practices of the local tech industry, partnerships with organizations and professionals are crucial to our work. Our Business Partnership Team collaborates monthly to discuss various aspects of the project and its upcoming activities. They provide valuable real-world perspective and insight, ensuring that our project’s mission is in tune with industry needs.
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This allows us to inform our education stakeholders of the key skills and competencies that will enhance students' workforce readiness, fostering a strong connection between academic learning and industry demands.
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We are so grateful for their contributions in our project's mission to empower the next generation of tech professionals!
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If you are interested in becoming part of our Business Partnership Team, we would love for you to join us! Reach out to Jaime Cherry, jcherry@nmrec1.org for more information.
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EEDW UPDATES AND NEWS
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Mentoring
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Success requires more than technical skills!
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We're launching the industry mentoring project through EEDW. Small groups of students will have the opportunities to interact with industry leaders over 5 sessions to strengthen their professional skills and get a head-start to succeed in their future careers!
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These mentoring experiences are available to target students in our partnering ECHSs. Let's get students signed up now!
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Counselors Resources
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Counselors: We appreciate you!
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You are the linchpin to making this project work through your interactions with students. We're asking for your support, but we're also working to make your jobs easier and more satisfying so you can focus on helping the students in your care.
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We have launched a new Counselors page with resources, opportunities, and tools--Just For You! We'll keep updating and adding new content, so check back often.
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See You in Texas!
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We are presenting at the 2024 National Summit for Dual Credit Programs in February. More about the conference:
https://www.dualsummit.org/
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ECHS/IHE Coordinator Eric Arpelar and Project Director David Bowman both have presentations. We'll feature the EEDW program, share findings, and explore policies, practices, and conditions that foster student success in their dual-credit programs.
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We hope to see you there!
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ECHS Counselors and Leadership, IHE partners, and Industry representatives are...Gathering for a full day of collaboration on February 28, 2024.
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Shout Outs to Our Industry Advisory Panel!
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We are thankful all your input, guidance, and support.
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- Chris Hammer: Cybersecurity Specialist, ANM
- Kent Hodges: Senior Operations Manager, Encantado Technical Solutions, LLC
- Kirk Gourley: General Manager, Oso Grande Technologies
- Stephen Rickman: Director of Network and Information,
City of Clovis, NM
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A Few Final Thoughts about EEDW
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The success of this project depends on one thing: increased student enrollment in online IT courses. That's what we're studying through our federal funding, and we all have a part to play in making this happen.
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Information Technologies reaches into every career field, including hospitality, retail and business, medicine, engineering, sciences, and more. In a state like NM, expanded access to higher education IT programs is essential to preparing students for the workforce, as are improved systems and supports to help high school students succeed in their higher education coursework.
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With EEDW, we're examining strategies to encourage students to enroll in those courses, whether or not they have selected IT as a career pathway. Along the way, we're looking at the conditions that lead to student success and equitable access to learning opportunities.
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Student tracking and data collection are critical to understanding students' experiences and the role of each partner in the process, and we're looking at the data closely. One thing we know: Ongoing discussions with students about the value of IT courses are as important as the collaboration among partners, thus creating a comprehensive system approach that helps students pursue their interests and find success in their chosen career pathway.
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We have the potential through EEDW not only to improve learning experiences during the high school years and post-graduation studies but also to prepare students for success when they first step into their professional positions.
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Thank you for all you do!
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