Alamo Colleges' The number of students graduating from the Alamo Colleges this May increased by 35% over the number of graduates in spring 2011, establishing a new record for spring graduation. A total of 2,813 students graduated with degrees or certificates in May 2012, compared to 2,090 in May 2011. "We congratulate our graduates on successfully completing their educational goals," said Alamo Colleges' Chancellor Dr. Bruce Leslie. "We also congratulate our faculty and staff on their successful efforts to increase the number of students who earn a degree or certificate before leaving Alamo Colleges," he added. Exemplifying the success of Alamo Colleges' graduates was Travis Early College High School student Andrew De Luna, who spoke at San Antonio College's graduation ceremonies. De Luna received two associate degrees from SAC as a member of the first graduating class of Travis Early College High School. He will be attending Yale University in the fall. This was the first year that students graduated from Travis, earning their college degree along with their high school diploma. At Northwest Vista College, the graduates included Veronica Martinez, who earned her associate of arts in teaching. At the graduation ceremony, she shared her inspirational story of going to college after a 20-year break. Â Martinez never gave up the hope of achieving a college education and setting an example for her children as a single mother. She persevered until her dream was fulfilled. Her goal now is to go on to become a teacher. Â
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This fall, the Alamo Colleges will officially open the new Alamo Colleges Workforce Development Center of Excellence to be located at 203 Norton at Port San Antonio, adjacent to St. Philip's College's Southwest Campus. The new center is located in a 40,000-square-foot building on 29.68 acres of land, previously part of Kelly AFB and transferred to the Alamo Colleges by Port San Antonio under a sales agreement approved by the Alamo Colleges Board of Trustees in December 2011. The newly renovated facility will house classrooms for the Information Technology and Security Academy (ITSA), a conference center, a UPS store and a business incubator space. ITSA is a dual credit program for high school students focusing on computer science. The business incubator space will be used by small, "startup" businesses to office from while they grow their business. The new center also will serve as a regional education and workforce training center for workforce innovation that: creates high skill/high wage career pathways for area high school and Alamo Colleges' students; delivers world class training and professional development courses and workshops for existing workers; and conducts activities that promote economic prosperity in the Alamo region. A major function of the staff at the new center will be to work with Port of San Antonio companies to seek funding resources for new and existing worker training. The Alamo Colleges have been instrumental in delivering high quality aerospace technology education to hundreds of aerospace workers at Port San Antonio for over a decade—both through degrees it confers and customized programs for Port customers, including Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Kelly Aviation Center and Chromalloy. Today there are 14 aerospace-related businesses at Kelly Field, Port San Antonio’s industrial airport. The firms directly employ approximately 5,000 workers and generate over $1.3 billion in regional economic activity.
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Earlier this year the Alamo Colleges' Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) program was cited by the Chronicle of Higher Education as one of the nation's model programs for students who require basic skills development in order to succeed in technical training. The program also was recently featured in a new American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) publication. ASTD is the world's largest professional association dedicated to the training and development field. The article featured the Alamo Colleges' collaboration with University Health System (UHS) in training incumbent UHS workers who were limited in English proficiency to be certified nursing assistants. In further recognition of the I-BEST program's success, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board last fall awarded the Alamo Colleges $550,000 to assist the Alamo Colleges in developing new I-BEST programs in health services, advanced manufacturing, construction and information technology. The grant also allowed the Alamo Colleges to continue to deploy a variety of educational interventions designed to provide developmental education and adult basic education students with access to credit-bearing technical training. I-BEST provides training and employment assistance to students who require basic skills development in order to succeed in technical training. “It allows students to access full college credit training programs immediately. rather than build English skills over six months or a year through a traditional ESL class,†said Anson Green, director of work-based English solutions at Alamo Colleges. “For example, in a medical assistant I-BEST program, the workers will learn the trade, but they will also learn the language needed to be successful in the training, trade and employment all at the same time." Alamo Colleges implements I-BEST in 11 occupations, with options in both college credit and continuing education. After comprehensive assessment, students enter a short-term, industry-specific Career Exploratory and Skill Enhancement (Career EASE) course. This provides industry-specific basic skills and/or English language development as well as information related to the industry, training and employer expectations and the work environment. |
Alamo Colleges I-BEST Program Featured in National Publications
Rackspace's $50,000 donation will fund the purchase of laptops, robot kits and software, plus pay for staff, allowing 120 students who will be entering 4th through 6th grade this fall to participate. A majority of these students will be from groups underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) areas. Eligibility status for the Federal Free or Reduced Fee school lunch program will be used as the standard for enrollment. Time Warner Cable, for the third year in a row, is providing scholarships for 36 middle school students to attend the robotics camps at Northwest Vista College, St. Philip's College and Northeast Lakeview College. The funds are provided as part of Time Warner's Connect a Million Minds (CAMM) initiative. The Texas Workforce Commission is also providing funding for 24 high school students to attend Space TEAMS summer robotics camps at each of these same colleges. Northwest Vista College is partnering with the Girl Scouts and the Young Women’s Leadership Academy of the San Antonio Independent School District for the high school teen girls camp. Northeast Lakeview College is partnering with Boysville for its high school camp.
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