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Agriculture Employers Launch the Growing Futures Initiative for San Joaquin County Students

Leading Employers from the Wine and Agriculture Industry Come Together with Educators and Students to Announce Partnership in a Long-Term Effort to Provide New Pathways to Jobs [Lodi, CA]  - On Wednesday May 24th, 2023, the Lodi Winegrowers, the Lodi Appellation Inclusion Collective (LAIC), and leading employers from the agriculture industry in San Joaquin County convened to announce the launch of the Growing Futures Initiative focused on providing more inclusive pathways to agriculture jobs in the region long-term. Specifically, the group announced the formation of an Agricultural Partnership Board in San Joaquin County that will support a Career Connected Learning Initiative pilot program where students intern at the Lodi Winegrape Commission, Holt of California, and Acquiesce Winery this summer. “We formed LAIC with a primary goal of increasing diversity and inclusion in the wine industry in our appellation and beyond,” shared Rodney Tipton, LAIC Founder and co-owner of Acquiesce Winery. “We know that the most effective and sustainable way to do this is to begin by providing the proper education and exposure to young people from diverse backgrounds who are interested in our industry. The formation of the Ag Partnership Board and the launch of the Career Connected Learning Initiative can be the engine for bringing more and more diverse talents into our industry and help provide good jobs to local youth who want to stay in [...]

2023-05-25T18:58:02+00:00May 25th, 2023|Announcements, News, Press Release|
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High-Dosage Tutoring Initiative Launched for San Joaquin County Students

San Joaquin A+ and Amira Learning bring high-dosage tutoring pilot program to district partners like Linden USD to help students catch up from pandemic learning loss [April 25, 2023] Stockton, CA - On Tuesday April 25th, Amira Learning, San Joaquin A+, and Linden Unified School District joined with local leaders to share a first of its kind in San Joaquin County high-dosage tutoring pilot program in action - one that uses the Amira learning platform to help students make significant progress in reading. “We are so thrilled to collaborate with educators and school leaders to bring this program to San Joaquin County and Stockton students,” shared Don Shalvey, CEO of San Joaquin A+. “We all know what a toll the pandemic took on student learning, so to have the opportunity to work together to bring a high-dosage tutoring initiative to our young people that will not only help elementary students catch up, but will also provide tutoring, mentoring, and teaching experience to high school students, is truly a win-win for all of us.” In this unique pilot, Amira Learning and San Joaquin A+ are working with local schools in the Central Valley to hire high school students to tutor their elementary school peers using the Amira Learning platform. Research shows that high-dosage tutoring is beneficial for students, and peer tutoring allows for higher rates of [...]

2023-04-27T15:57:44+00:00April 27th, 2023|Announcements, News|
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New Poll Shows that 92% of Voters Support Early College High Schools

Voters in Stockton are pessimistic about job opportunities for people without college degrees and almost seventy percent (70%) of parents say local public schools need to change. San Joaquin A+ worked with a nationally recognized research organization called Public Opinion Strategies to conduct a telephone survey in Stockton, CA. The survey was conducted January 8-11, 2023. The survey was conducted among with 200 registered voters in Stockton, with an oversample of parents. The margin of error for a survey with 200 respondents in this context is ±6.93%. "The headline finding for us at San Joaquin A+ is that voters overwhelmingly support creating an early college high school program in Stockton (92% support) across party lines and education backgrounds," shared Don Shalvey, CEO of San Joaquin A+. "This support is largely driven by families being attracted to opportunities for students to receive college credits while still in high school, and by the belief that proposals for Early College and Career Oriented High Schools would lead to greater career options for youth in Stockton," he continued. "These responses reinforce a core goal of San Joaquin A+, which is to work with local schools to prepare young people to do what they love and earn what they need to have a family sustaining income by the age of 26." Other core findings include the following: Voters in Stockton [...]

2023-04-04T18:38:43+00:00March 28th, 2023|A+ Monthly Newsletter, Announcements, News|
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A Fresh Start for Stockton Students in 2023: Congratulations New SUSD Board Members – Our Students Need Your Support!

As we begin a new year, we want to congratulate the newly elected members of the Stockton Unified School Board. Congratulations to: Angel Ann Flores in Area 2, Donald Donaire in Area 5, Sofia Colon in Area 6, and Kennetha Stevens in Area 7. School boards are essential to preparing our young people for success, and the election of these candidates is a reflection of how important that role is in our community. Every day, we’re recognizing just how much learning time was lost during the pandemic, and how much work needs to be done to get our kids up to speed. 2023 is an exciting time to pursue new strategies and innovation in education, to rethink how schools operate and make changes that will benefit our kids. We see many solutions available in the year ahead: Offering tutoring that will catch students up on lost learning time and accelerate their learning even further. Supporting our teachers who have been through so much over the past few years, and doing more to recruit and develop a teaching corps from right here in the Valley. Creating high schools that better prepare students for the real world - allowing them to graduate ready for a career in some of the most exciting industries in our region. These are just a few of the many opportunities that our [...]

2023-01-05T17:25:17+00:00January 5th, 2023|A+ Monthly Newsletter|
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New Report Titled ‘Stuck in Neutral’ Details How Stockton School Board is Holding Back Progress in County’s Largest District

Report Calls for $109 Million Investment in High Dosage Tutoring, along with increased Social and Emotional Learning Supports to Help Bring Students Back from Pandemic [STOCKTON, CA] - Today, San Joaquin A+ released an education policy brief titled: Stuck in Neutral: How Governance Failures Have Held Back Progress in Stockton Schools and How More Focused Investment in Our Students Can Help Them Accelerate Forward. The brief is a status report on the state of education across San Joaquin County. The report shines a light on how despite pockets of progress across the county, dysfunction and leadership failures on the Stockton Unified School Board is holding back educators and students in the County’s largest and highest need school district; it then lays out a path forward for academic recovery from learning loss due to COVID-19 with more focused and transparent investment to support students. “We at San Joaquin A+ applaud the herculean efforts of teachers, parents, and school staff for the work they’ve done to support students over the last few years” shared Don Shalvey, CEO of San Joaquin A+. “When we look at what is happening in schools across San Joaquin County’s largest school system, data shows students are falling behind, and local feedback indicates that students and educators feel stuck in neutral.” The report is broken into a few key sections: It highlights pockets of [...]

2022-10-06T14:58:22+00:00October 6th, 2022|Announcements, News, Press Release, Report|
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Let’s Hear It for Our Teachers as We Close Another School Year

From Don’s Desk Teaching is as much a calling and passion as it is a profession and career. Those who choose teaching, whether kindergarten, middle school or high school, do it out of love for the mission of teaching and the difference teachers can and do make. To be honest, teaching looks easy until you try and do it. I didn’t think anything was harder than teaching adolescents and then after seven years of middle school I found myself in front of kindergarteners - for just one day - and it felt like a century of uncertainty and failure. From that day on I took the position that kindergarten teachers should be canonized. So today, let’s start by saying congratulations to every teacher you know and a shout out to the finalists for San Joaquin County Teacher of the Year: Staci Diaz, El Portal Middle School, Escalon Unified School District Tammy Hurst, Altamont Elementary School, Lammersville Unified School District Gary Pease, Jefferson School, Jefferson Elementary School District Annie Thompson, Ripona Elementary School, Ripon Unified School District Robert Winterhalter, Lodi High School, Lodi Unified School District Now, those who currently are teaching also know that not everything in the world of teaching and learning is perfect right now. Many of our educators are exhausted from two years of uncertainty and new challenges, and there are some new reports out about [...]

2022-05-25T17:17:41+00:00May 25th, 2022|A+ Monthly Newsletter|
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University of Pacific Education Summit brings Stockton and San Joaquin County education leaders together to explore solutions

Coming Out of the Pandemic, Education Leaders Come Together to Identify Common Problems and Identify Potential Solutions and Resources that Can Support Stockton Students [March 30, 2022] Stockton, CA - Today, the University of Pacific hosted the 2022 Education Summit, presented by Kaiser Permanente. Growing out of the Beyond Our Gates Convenings previously hosted by the University of Pacific, the summit is a one-time opportunity planned in partnership with San Joaquin County and Stockton leaders from local school districts, non-profits, business, advocacy, and government to reflect on lessons in K-12 education emerging from the pandemic. “As the largest university in Stockton, we know it is imperative to play a leading role in how we support our local communities and schools,” shared Mary Wardell-Ghirarduzzi, Vice President for Diversity Equity and Inclusion at the University of Pacific. “It is an honor to host this education summit and to serve as a convener and supporter for our K-12 leaders.” The summit agenda included opening words from Wardell-Ghirarduzzi, followed by an overview of education in the region featuring voices of local leaders, including a contribution by America’s Got Talent Winner Brandon Leake, followed by a data walk and facilitated discussion about what local data shows about student learning outcomes in San Joaquin County, and what solutions community members can bring forward to close gaps. Data shared at the summit [...]

2022-04-07T15:34:36+00:00April 7th, 2022|News, Press Release|
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San Joaquin A+ Speaker Series: Looking Out For the Little Ones

How Do We Expand Safe and High Quality PreK to Benefit All Children and Families in CA? On March 24, 2022 San Joaquin A+ facilitated a conversation on the future of PreK and childcare in CA. We’ve talked a lot about the challenges for K-12 education systems throughout the pandemic, but one of the greatest areas of change, opportunity, and challenge are in the early childhood and PreK space. Throughout the pandemic, childcare of young children has been and remains a challenge for parents in our county and across the State. At the same time, and in response to this challenge, California has identified funding to expand PreK for all children. And while this sounds good, with staffing shortages already plaguing this industry, and significant uncertainty about how to scale and expand the most effective early learning models, many questions remain. We have invited a group of panelists with expertise in programming, training, and governance of our PreK schools and systems, and are going to ask them the hard questions about how to make sure that we expand early learning opportunities with quality, and actually help solve some of the problems parents of young children have faced during the pandemic. The panel included:  > Troy Brown, County Superintendent, San Joaquin County Office of Education > Connor Sloan, San Joaquin County Office of Education > [...]

2022-04-04T19:12:11+00:00April 4th, 2022|A+ Speaker Series, News|
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San Joaquin A+ Speaker Series: Where Have All The Teachers Gone?

San Joaquin A+ hosted a group of local leaders and national experts to discuss the national teacher shortage, and what we can do to recruit and retain great educators in our region On Thursday, November 18th, local non-profit organization San Joaquin A+ (SJA+) hosted a webinar in the organization’s speaker series titled: Where have all the teachers gone? And why are we so optimistic that we can attract, recruit, develop, and maintain the teacher force we need in San Joaquin County? The discussion focused on the current state of teachers and teacher preparation in our country, with a focus on how we can attract, recruit, develop, and maintain the teachers we need for our school systems in San Joaquin County. You can see the presentation here and webinar recording here:    Panelists provided the latest information on teacher shortages, how other parts of the state and country are helping solve this problem, existing opportunities for prospective teachers, and why they should consider teaching in San Joaquin County.  This lively 45-minute panel discussion featured: Who: Bob Wise, former Gov. of West Virginia Ryan Borden, Senior Program Officer at Gates Foundation  Pharobee Kersey, First Year 2nd grade Teacher at Vincent Shalvey Academy Harry Black, Stockton City Manager You can also view clips and excerpts from the webinar on our facebook page.

2021-12-01T17:18:10+00:00December 1st, 2021|A+ Speaker Series, Presentation|
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San Joaquin County Child Savings Account Pilot Program Launches for the 2021-22 School Year

Local Organizations and Leaders Come Together to Offer Child Savings Accounts to Local Families and to Share their Joint Commitment to Invest in their Future Success [November 15, 2021] Stockton, CA – Today, local non-profit San Joaquin A+ (SJA+) brought together community leaders, program partners, and parents to commemorate the launch of the San Joaquin County Child Savings Account pilot program, and to share the community’s joint commitment to invest in the successful futures of local children. This event will launch the pilot year of the initiative, which will make the program available to over 2,000 families in the first year to have $750 placed in a savings account for each child, with these investments expected to grow to a minimum of $1,800 when each child in the program turns 18 and graduates high school. “We couldn’t be more thrilled to kick this program off with local families and community partners,” shared Don Shalvey, CEO of San Joaquin A+. “Studies have found that children from low-income backgrounds that have $500 or less in a College Savings Account are three times more likely to attend college and four times more likely to graduate, compared to those with no college savings. This is all about us as a community coming together to support these families, and to show them that we are invested in the future of [...]

2021-11-16T01:27:40+00:00November 16th, 2021|Announcements, News, Press Release, Uncategorized|
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