The Kellogg Foundation has awarded a planning grant to New Mexico’s San Juan College (SJC) to develop and implement a program based on the model for SparkPoint at Skyline College (developed by the Annie E. Casey Foundation called the Centers for Working Families).
The visiting team included: Sara Kaynor, director of ECHO (Economic Council Helping Others); David Eppich, Vice President Student Services; Dr. Barbara Ake, Vice President Learning, Laurie Gruel, Senior Director, Institutional Research, Planning; Mabel Gonzalez, Director of ENLACE, Christy Ferrato, Director of Counseling and Advising; and Betti Souther, Coordinator of the Center for Working Families Planning Grant San Juan College. San Juan College hopes that planning will result in the launch of Center for Working Families (CWF) for students to access a range of economic supports to help them and their families achieve their educational and economic goals. To achieve this goal, SJC will ensure that stakeholders understand and commit to the CWF model and submit an implementation plan approved by the President’s Administrative Cabinet.
The SJC Planning Team chose SparkPoint at Skyline College as a model site for their planning grant to explore effective strategies for program planning and implementation, and identify strategies for building an expansive network of partnerships to round out the services and resources required by the model (click here to see the Program Logic Model for SparkPoint at Skyline College). Throughout the day-long site visit, Skyline College put its usual best foot forward with the help of partners from the United Way of the Bay Area (Ena Yasuhara Li) and San Mateo Credit Union (Michele Enriquez-Da Silva). A fun lunchtime with community partners included a Rock the School Bells Showcase to illustrate SparkPoint’s outreach into the community. Thanks to everyone here who supported the event including: President Stanback Stroud, Vice President of Student Services Joi Lin Blake, Vice President of Instruction Sarah Perkins, Dean of Enrollment John Mosby, Interim Dean of Counseling Nohel Corral, Financial Analyst Barbara Lamson, Executive Assistant Theresa Tentes, Events Coordinator Linda Bertellotti, Counselor Nate Nevado, and SparkPoint’s Adolfo Leiva, Melanie Espinueva, Julie Lamson, Heather Smith, Josh Jubelirer, Julie Brewer, Glenda Benavides, Dennis Mitchell, as well as Pacific Dining. For more information about SparkPoint at Skyline College and our efforts to disseminate our work, please contact Dr. William Watson at 650-738-7035, watsonw@smccd.edu.
Article by William Watson.