ICYMI: Lodi “Growing Futures” Initiative Featured in National Documentary.

Dear Friends and Colleagues, In Case You Missed It, we are sharing a new short documentary from The 74 Million titled “How a California Wine Region Is ‘Growing Futures’ By Turning Vineyards Into State-of-the-Art Classrooms”. It profiles the work of the Growing Futures initiative - a partnership between Lodi Unified, Delta College, and the Lodi Winegrape Commission. The Growing Futures Initiative is so important to us because we are focused on preparing the youth of our region to do what they love and earn what they need to in adulthood. We believe partnerships and programs like this one are essential to achieving that goal. This career connected learning program will give students exposure to and experience with some of our region's largest industries, and provide a realistic pathway for them to pursue careers in viticulture and agriculture if they are interested. In case you missed this too, CBS 13 Sacramento highlighted the partnership and documentary last week. Prior to the documentary release, we held an event welcoming new Lodi USD Superintendent Neil Young into his new role, and providing a preview of the documentary to our local community. You can see coverage of this event here: Lodi News: Neil Young looks to be a rudder as he takes over as Lodi Unified superintendent Fat City Feed: Stockton And Lodi Leaders Congratulated Lodi Unified School Board's New Superintendent Stocktonia: Neil Young looks for [...]

2023-08-24T15:58:06+00:00August 24th, 2023|A+ Monthly Newsletter, News, Press Release|

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|

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|

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|

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|

Education Brief Highlights Urgency of Student Academic Needs in Stockton Coming Out of Pandemic

San Joaquin A+ publishes policy brief about education coming out of the pandemic - and proclaims that local education leaders would be crazy if they don’t get creative in support of students. Stockton, CA [10/27/20] – Today, San Joaquin A+ (SJA+) released a policy brief titled: Education Coming Out of the Pandemic – We’d be Crazy if We Didn’t Get Creative… The brief is a compilation of the most recent data available for education outcomes across the county and in the Stockton Unified School District, as a way to set a baseline for student learning progress coming out of the pandemic. The report shares a short list of creative recommendations based off of a year of surveys and engagement conducted by SJA+ that will help to spur improvements in student learning. “I’m grateful to the community leaders and partners who shared their insights to help us create this report,” shared Don Shalvey, CEO of San Joaquin A+. “Over the last few months, we’ve reviewed a myriad of data - local and national, and from students and parents - and those conversations identified a number of creative solutions that I’m confident will help our students overcome the many challenges they’re facing in our schools.” The brief is broken into four parts, starting with baseline data about SJ County and Stockton Schools, and the impact of COVID [...]

2021-10-27T16:42:43+00:00October 27th, 2021|Announcements, News, Press Release|

TEACH! Academy Launches in Stockton for 2021-22 School Year

New early college high school program opens to provide high school students with a direct, affordable pathway into the teaching profession [September 10, 2021] Stockton, CA - Local officials celebrated the launch of TEACH! Academy today on the campus of the Teachers College of San Joaquin in Stockton. TEACH! Academy opened this month as a joint effort by the staff at the Venture Academy Family of Schools, San Joaquin County Office of Education, Teachers College of San Joaquin, and San Joaquin Delta College. 26 students started the program this year as freshmen. The school plans to add a new grade each year, with room to accommodate more students in each grade level as they do. "We couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity this program will provide for the students enrolled this year and for all those who will attend in years to come,” said Dr. Troy A. Brown, San Joaquin County Superintendent of Schools. “The launch of this school is a testament to the hard work of our San Joaquin County Office of Education team and our partners. We look forward to continued collaboration to grow this program and to nurture the students here into the talented educators of the future for our region.” TEACH! Academy is designed to provide students with a free associate degree in elementary education from San Joaquin Delta College [...]

2021-09-21T18:53:11+00:00September 21st, 2021|Announcements, News, Press Release|

San Joaquin A+, Lodi USD, Delta College, and the Lodi Winegrape Commission Identified for Innovative Planning Grant

Partners receive ‘Reach for the Upside’ planning grant in the amount of $250,000 to design an early college high school program focused on the wine growing and hospitality industries. [Read more about this grant at the Lodi News Sentinel] [July 15, 2021 - Lodi, CA] Nonprofit San Joaquin A+ is partnering with the Lodi Unified School District, Delta College and the Lodi Winegrape Commission to design an early college high school career and technical education (CTE) curriculum to prepare students for careers in the wine growing and hospitality industries. The team participated in a design competition throughout the spring hosted by the Stanford Design School and funded by the Genentech Foundation, and has been identified as one of 11 design teams to receive a grant of $250,000 to continue planning into the upcoming school year. “We couldn’t be more thrilled to be involved in this great partnership,” shared Don Shalvey, CEO of San Joaquin A+. “When the Stanford Design School selected our team for this opportunity, we knew there would be great potential with the quality of organizations involved, but have been blown away by the ideas that leaders from Lodi USD, Delta College, and the Lodi Winegrape Commission have brought to the table, and look forward to collaborating to make this early college high school program a reality for our youth.” The program has [...]

2021-07-19T15:59:50+00:00July 19th, 2021|Announcements, Press Release|

New Poll Shows San Joaquin County Parents Are Ready for Children to Return to School in Person; Are Concerned About Children Falling Behind

Residents Want Transparent, Accountable Process for Federal Rescue Dollars; Priorities Include Overhauling Region’s High Schools, Tutoring Support for All Children, and Mental Health Counseling  SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY [JUNE 1, 2021] - A new poll released today by the nonprofit San Joaquin A+ shows that 67% of parents feel comfortable with children returning to school in-person full-time, and most parents are concerned that their children have fallen behind because of the pandemic. Residents of the greater Stockton area also want school district leaders to run a transparent, accountable process for allocating a once-in-a-generation infusion of federal funds coming to the region from the American Rescue Plan. The poll, conducted by Change Research, surveyed 573 adults in the Stockton, Lodi, Manteca, and Lincoln school districts. “San Joaquin County residents are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to the pandemic, but they’re also grappling with what that means for their children’s academic futures,” said Don Shalvey, CEO of San Joaquin A+. “Our poll shows that residents are deeply concerned about the impact of learning loss, and they want to see their school districts use federal rescue dollars to not only mitigate that loss, but to transform our education systems to better prepare our students for success in today’s economy.” In total, school districts in and around Stockton are set to receive roughly $400 [...]

2021-06-14T18:48:08+00:00June 2nd, 2021|Announcements, News, Press Release|
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