MINUTES CLEAR Plan 2030 Education and Economic Competitiveness Livability Resource Team Alabama Power Auditorium, Anniston 9:00 am January 10 th, 2013 Present: Cleveland, Jesse, Co-Chair (Community Action Agency of Talladega, Clay, Randolph, Calhoun, & Cleburne Counties) Friend, Jim, Co-Chair (Alabama Power) Meehan, William, Co-Chair (Jacksonville State University) Merkel, Charles, Co-Chair (East Alabama Mayors Association) Myers, Ashley, Staff Facilitator (EARPDC) Brice, Belvie (Gadsden-Etowah County Progress ) Burney, Bridget (Gadsden State Community College) Curtis, Bill (EARPDC) Engley, Elizabeth (JSU) Fathke, Donna (EARPDC) Griffin, Marshall (Alabama Power) Hammett, John (JSU) Harrison, Darryl (Point University) Hayes, Luanne (Cherokee County Industrial ) Jennings, Kay (TCR Child Care Corporation) Knowles, Christy (Region Chair) Marlowe, Steve (Alabama Power) Moses, Gerry (Tallapoosa County Schools) Murphy, Patricia (The Learning Tree, Inc) Nothdurft, Debbie (Representing Jeff Goodwin Oxford City Schools) Spratlin, Steve (Southern Union State Community College) Sumners, Sherri (Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce Swafford, Jennifer (JSU CED) Terry, Cotina (Randolph County Economic Authority) Call to order/introduction Mayor Merkel called the joint Education and Economic Competitiveness LRT meeting to order and provided a project introduction. He mentioned the two teams are still trying to get representation from the entire region, especially the southern counties. Mr. Freind went through the CLEAR Plan 2030 grant application strategies (see attached). He thought they were similar to the Region, which he serves on and asked Ms. Christy Knowles to present the Region Strategic Plan. Hopefully at the end of her presentation, we can see if we already have the strategies in place that we are charged to address in the grant application. Region Presentation Ms. Knowles, the chair for the Region, gave the Region presentation (see attached). She stated the needs a larger voting board, so if it is something you would be interested in, they would love to hear from you. The website for Alabama s is www.alworkforce.dpe.edu. Discussion Mr. Freind asked if the group thought the plan addresses the directives of the team? What are the team s suggestions on how to change the strategies? The group thought yes, but perhaps the strategies could be used as a starting point, because there is no reason to recreate the wheel. Education and Economic Competitiveness LRT Meeting Minutes 1 January 10 th, 2013
Dr. Meehan suggested adding two new goals to the Education goals relating to workforce development. 1) Collaborate with regional workforce development councils to link industry needs with training and education. 2) Work with state agencies to obtain grants to support training and education. Ms. Sumners mentioned a deficiency in a SWOT analysis several regions did included work ethic. Work ethic has been an attraction for a long time, so if we are losing it, we need to do something to address it. Mr. Freind agreed and spoke about the Ready to Work program. Mr. Moses, the new Career Tech Director at Tallapoosa County Schools, said their goal is to start a brand new career tech center. They want to start programs at the lower level than the post- secondary level. It is part of a total package that can t be effective by only starting once they become adults; instead it needs to start as early as the middle schools with programs and books for every student. Mr. Freind said maybe teaching people how to get ready for work and going to work is one of the ways to address marginalized populations. Ms. Sumners said part of the unintended consequences of pushing for the four year high learning in k- 12, is that we don t have the work study programs as much in high schools. We need to have the understanding that not every child is headed to a four year degree and we need to look at some alternatives so they can understand the work place and why it is important. Mr. Cleveland asked if all the schools have career tech programs? Mr. Moses said most of them have some type of career tech program, often they are Family and Consumer Science, formally Home-Ec, courses, or a business program, or maybe an agro-science program. There has been a focus away from career tech; however, the trend is to go back towards career and technical education. Mr. Cleveland asked what the real causes are for the dropouts? Ms. Knowles said there may be some studies out there. But it may be that the four year college doesn t fit for everyone. Students are getting out of High School, not knowing about the other skilled programs and then they get into a four year college and they are not successful or they don t like it, they don t know what else to do. While in high school, if students are taking honor courses, they will never have the chance to take the skills classes. Mr. Cleveland said at one time people understood not everyone is cut out for a four year school, which is why there are two year schools. This is not the thinking anymore, we need to find a way to retroact that kind of thinking. We need to know more about what is happening in our region in terms of what is causing the dropout gap. Dr. Meehan said just slightly more than 26% of the adults in this country have a baccalaureate degree. Recently the adult population in Alabama who has a baccalaureate degree crossed over 20%. It is incumbent on all of us, especially those in education, to provide clear pathways to our students to have a variety of career choices, whether it is career tech or a four year degree. It is up to the individual to make that decision. We need to prepare for them a clear pathway to show that they can get to where they want and teach skills on the very basic level. We know that if students graduate with a baccalaureate degree they will have a higher income for the rest of their lives. But there are a lot of other ways to get to success in life; however, right now they don t have a pathway to follow. Education and Economic Competitiveness LRT Meeting Minutes 2 January 10 th, 2013
Ms. Jennings said there isn t a career tech option at her child s school. It is called consumer science and it is an elective. There needs to be more opportunities for students to be exposed to options and a common language for them. And we need to teach problem solving and accountability. Mr. Moses does an interest inventory with all his students to determine what their interests are and what they are successful at. He doesn t like the thought process of some students just aren t meant to go to college. He feels like we need to provide them a variety of skills that give them options; prepare them for four year, two year colleges, or for work all at the same time. Mr. Freind mentioned Dr. Bice is trying to head back to what Mr. Freind called distributive education when he was in school, where kids were getting a job, were in a shop class, or getting some other skills. Mr. Freind said there is no one shot approach that fits everyone. It is a complex issue with a multifaceted answer. You can see the linkage that exists between economic competitiveness and education; we must have trained workers and we need to promote it as a part of our strategy for the CLEAR Plan 2030. If we do than we will find those opportunities. Approval of previous meeting minutes The October 11 th, 2012 meeting minutes were motioned to be approved by Dr. Meehan with Mr. Cleveland seconding. The minutes passed with no discussion. CLEAR Plan 2030 Project Update Ms. Myers spoke about the project s Livability Survey. She discussed the survey goals for each County (see attached). She also spoke about the CLEAR County Conversation meetings happening in each County. The first one will be on January 24 th at the Childersburg campus of CACC. She also stated the other teams Health, Transportation, Housing, Community Engagement are all working on studies as well and if people in attendance know of anyone who should be included, please let us know. Open Discussion and Announcements Mayor Merkel said he was a little disappointed there weren t more Chamber of Commerce folks at the meeting and we will reach out to them again. He mentioned we need more business entities involved in this project. Hopefully by having the next meeting in a more southern location in the region, more people from the south end will attend. The next meeting date is Tuesday, February 19 th, the third Tuesday at 9 am at the Alexander City campus in Central Alabama Community College Betty Carol Graham Technology Center. Mayor Merkel said the CEDS is another thing along with that we can use as a point of beginning to help develop further. Dr. Meehan said he would like to take action to add to the Education goals. The Education LRT voted to include the following two goals to the Education LRT goal list (see attached). Collaborate with regional workforce development councils to link industry needs with training and education. Work with state agencies to obtain grants to support training and education. Adjourn Education and Economic Competitiveness LRT Meeting Minutes 3 January 10 th, 2013
Economic Competitiveness Directives NOFA Plan for economic development activities, examples include: o Stimulate the regional economy and create jobs o Creation/expansion of existing commercial and industrial centers o The reuse of existing areas such as brownfields o Utilization of structures for new economic development ventures o Creative reuse of vacant property o The designation of underutilized commercial and industrial spaces to accommodate arts related enterprises o The establishments of cultural districts or other opportunities for the creative sector to partners with business, civic, and diverse community leaders o The creation of microenterprises and small business incubators o The inclusion of underrepresented populations in economic sectors o Full utilization of existing programs to advance economic opportunity, such as the HUD section 3 program o Innovative project financing o Training to support the full range of workforce and worker needs in the region CLEAR Plan 2030 Application Utilize the existing CEDS process and to produce a regional economic and workforce development strategy that is informed by the regional visioning and scenario planning sessions and all of the other studies completed in the CLEAR Plan 2030 planning process, which include: o Transportation o Land use o Housing o Environmental The Regional Economic and Strategy needs to: o Increase the proportion of workers prepared to participate in core economic growth sectors o Identify emerging and growing sectors and skills employers will be seeking and align those skills with education and job training programs o Increase opportunities for marginalized populations o Promote increased use of compact development o Seek to balance industrial recruitment and small business development o Provide or create jobs where there is existing infrastructure Additionally, o Job training and education will need to be a factor in the CLEAR Plan 2030 in order to better align skills with job requirements. o The region desperately needs to embrace sustainability as a means of curbing sprawl, promoting economic development, improving the environment, and providing more equity for all. CLEAR Plan 2030: Community Livability for the East Alabama Region
1/24/2013 The s initiative is to link workforce training with industry needs to grow our State and Regional economy and CREATE JOBS! The is a strategic alliance of business, government and education. Region includes Cherokee, Etowah, Calhoun, Cleburne, Talladega, Clay, Randolph, Coosa, and Tallapoosa counties. We do this state-wide through 10 s that work to meet the needs of their region. Our Members Represent Various Industries & Government Agencies SL Wellborn America Cabinet, Inc. Coosa NE Alabama Valley Regional Medical Center Medical Center Preferred Forte Power Health Systems Services, Inc. McCartney Bridgewater Construction Interiors, Inc. Company, Inc. Lake Pallet Martin Chief Manufacturing Area Economic Talladega Economic Members of Region 1
1/24/2013 Industries are always looking for places to start, grow, and expand. A skilled workforce will draw industry to our area. Alabama s Outlook 190 200 Bachelor s Degree About 20% About 20% or higher Skilled (i.e. Community 20% 6% College/Tech Training) Unskilled 60% 1% Our high schools and the Alabama Community College System have a significant impact on our workforce to ensure that they have the necessary skills to bring to our region s industries. We support programs that connect individuals with the many skills and training opportunities available and/or needed in our workforce today. A National View About The Skills Gap So what is happening to the 80 students that don t graduate from college within six years? 2
1/24/2013 The works to put the puzzle pieces together to promote a skilled workforce that is ready to work, that will draw industry to our region and improve our economic health. So how do we do it?? Each year the Governor s Office of provides grant money for workforce development training. The Region. works with local high schools and the Alabama Community College System to link industry needs with the right skills training/knowledge. works with state agencies to obtain grant dollars to support these training efforts. Community Colleges compete for these grant dollars by creating programs that Provide training for high demand skills based on industry input Emphasize the importance of education and skills training to supply the current and future workforce needs of the Region Region strives to.. It is all about getting our workforce Improve education and education Improve educational offerings and funding funding Continue and enhance programs to assess, Continue retrain, and and enhance place dislocated programs to workers assess, retrain, and place dislocated Use workers economic opportunities to attract new residents and turning this training and knowledge into jobs!!! 3
1/24/2013 Let s Talk Success Region has approved grant dollars to fund programs to provide education and training in areas such as Healthcare Customer Service Representative Metal Workers (i.e. Welders) Heavy Equipment Operators Energy Technicians WE NEED YOU! Let s Talk Success Contact Us Specific programs that have been funded within Region Alabama Regional Center for Welding Automation Electronic Healthcare Record simulation for Nursing students Dual-Enrollment for approved programs Career Coaches for Secondary Schools Programmable Logic Controllers If you are interested in being a part of this process and/or learning more about the, please contact Why We Need You? Contact Us Together, business, government, and education can build a strong, well diversified Region economy. Indeed, one cannot achieve success without the other and that is why For more information on Alabama s please go to www.alworkforce.dpe.edu/ 4
1/24/2013 Contact Us Or Contact Region Directly At Tim McCarthy - jtm8@paveaway.com Christy Knowles- Christy.knowles@cvhealth.net
CLEAR PLAN 2030 Livability Readiness Survey As of January 7, 2013 County Total Population % of Region's Population 1% 1% Goal Surveys Completed % of Goal Complete Calhoun 118,72 2% 1,186 1,200 39 29.9% Chambers 34,21 7% 342 30 3 0.9% Cherokee 2,989 6% 260 300 4 1.3% Clay 13,932 3% 139 10 3.3% Cleburne 14,972 3% 10 10 14 9.3% Coosa 11,39 2% 11 10 0 0.0% Etowah 104,430 22% 1,044 1,100 26 2.4% Randolph 22,913 % 229 20 29 11.6% Talladega 82,291 17% 823 900 41 4.6% Tallapoosa 41,616 9% 416 40 6 1.3% Totals 470,469.00 100% 4,70,000 487 Total Started Survey: 18 Total Finished Survey: 43 * Note: Numerical difference due to people not completing the survey after entering data in county field January 7, 2013
Education Livability Resource Team Educational pressing issues: 1. Increase educational attainment by beginning with early education and giving people the opportunity to advance their education. 2. Decrease dropout rate with specific tasks, programs, and ideas for how to accomplish this. 3. Work together to use resources. 4. Collaborate with regional workforce development councils to link industry needs with training and education.. Work with state agencies to obtain grants to support training and education. Educational Assets 1 university system to help coordinate with community colleges and primary schools 3 community colleges Consortium of superintendents Talladega College Some virtual education Physical access Models of excellence, Ex) Piedmont, etc. City libraries- Alabama virtual library and book mobile Educational Opportunities Dual enrollment Accelerated high school Access system K-12 Schools in Calhoun County relationship with Apple Engineering programs instead of vocational tech programs in the schools o Robotics in high schools (training on how to teach it) Leadership of schools and cities (learning from others in region) Broadband expansion Educational Challenges Accessibility to education- Online is good, but access to internet can be problematic Politics People have lost interest in the school system in some places Rural internet issue- access and affordability Revised: January 10, 2013 CLEAR Plan 2030: Community Livability for the East Alabama Region