When you think of California’s Wine Country, the first places that come to mind are probably the lush vineyards of Napa Valley and Sonoma County. The truth is: great grapes grow all over the state – and Folsom Lake College is stomping on old standards by supporting an overlooked but vital viticulture region in the Sierra Nevada Foothills.
“Many may not have heard about El Dorado, Amador, Lodi, or Clarksburg,” says Lisa Meline, a recent graduate of the Viticulture program at Folsom Lake College.
“All are within 45 minutes of Sacramento, and each have their own unique wines due to their unique growing conditions and vineyard management practices.”
The region is especially fruitful for growing high-quality grapes, which are then processed into wine sold worldwide. The Sierra Nevada Foothills are a one-of-a-kind region for cultivating these fine grapes thanks to the rich soil and climate conditions. This expansive American Viticulture Area (AVA) stretches over eight counties, including El Dorado County — home to FLC’s El Dorado Center and more than 70 award-winning wineries.
Student Startups: Sierra College Invests in Aspiring Entrepreneurs with Mentorship and Microgrants
Think it takes a million dollars to turn an idea into a real business? Think again.
Sierra College is proving that with just a little bit of startup money and a whole lot of networking and support, entrepreneurial students can create their own businesses. Most importantly, they’ll also learn to develop an innovative mindset that can take them anywhere.
“Sierra College has always been a forward-thinking community college,” says Monique Brown, Co-Founder and Managing Director of the business accelerator The Growth Factory. This year, Brown is the college’s entrepreneur in residence. Thanks to Strong Workforce support, she’s been able to help kick-start the Sierra College Microgrant Program, where students can test out their new business ideas while learning creative problem-solving, critical thinking, innovation, and collaboration skills.
“The idea is to encourage students to take action on their ideas,” says Brown. “Over time, those are going to end up turning into real businesses.”
Initial Findings from the Dual Enrollment for Equitable Completion Initiative March 2023
Using a mixed methods research approach, over the next three years, RDP Consulting explores how 10 CCC and high school partnerships engaging in the DE4EC initiative provide expanded and equity-focused dual enrollment.RDP Consulting’s Theory of Change postulates that learner-centered activities that focus on recruiting, supporting, and guiding African American/Black, Latina/o/x, and low-income high school students will increase their access to dual enrollment. This achievement underscores a college-going culture, supports career and job readiness, and ultimately, leads to more positive academic, economic, and personal outcomes for participating students.
IELCE Resources to Support Immigrant Integration and Inclusion
The Enhancing Access for Refugees and New Americans (EARN) project aims to support adult educators in developing and delivering high-quality Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education(IELCE)/Integrated Education and Training (IET) programming in alignment with an immigrant integration approach.
Enhancing Access Spotlights describe and provide examples of specific aspects of IELCE/IET implementation. One such spotlight,Serving Internationally Trained Professionals in IELCE Activities, details how adult education programs can leverage IELCE activities to serve Internationally Trained Professionals (ITPs). ITPs frequently attend adult education programs; they often take English language acquisition classes or participate in IELCE activities. This spotlight shares promising practices that programs can use to support ITPs in applying their skills to navigate career pathways and to achieve economic integration.
EARN has also released an Expanding the Use of Online Resources in IELCE Activities to Support Immigrant Integration and Inclusion guide. Many online instructional resources, including curricula, courses, and tools, can be used to help English learners strengthen their language skills ,improve their digital literacy, and navigate life in the United States. One such resource is USA Learn's Access America course as it addresses key civics content and employability skills and contextualizes EL instruction with immigrant integration concepts.
Room Rate is $259.00/night plus applicable fees and taxes.
Check in 4:00 pm/Check out is 11:00 am
Rooms will NOT be paid for by the NFNRC
Important ***Voting Members & Proxies (only) will be meeting Wednesday September 13, 2022 (12-5:00) Lunch will be provided.
K-12 Engagement Sessions
North Far North K12 Strong Workforce Program Stakeholders,
With the ’23-’24 K12 Strong Workforce Program RFA impending release, the North Far North will be holding a series of Technical Assistance Sessions and Webinars over the next several months. The RFA and schedule of dates from the State has yet to be released but we are anticipating a similar schedule from previous years. North Far North is excited to announce the first two technical assistance dates for Regional Engagement Sessions. For clarity, the two engagement sessions will be similar in nature, as far as content that will be delivered. We wanted to provide options for those that want to attend face to face and those that prefer a digital format.
Please sign up for which session best work for you:
October 11-13, 2023 and pay only $450 for your admission to join us in Indian Wells. Discounts on groups of five or more are also available.
Network with peers from government, education, nonprofits, business and more.
Take back to your desk implementable strategies from our keynote speaker ,William Eggers, co-author of Bridgebuilders: How Government Can Transcend Boundaries to Solve Big Problems, and our other speakers and panelists selected f or their efforts in policy making, economic development, equity and climate resiliency.
Plus, take part in three interactive breakout session blocks that include these vital priorities:
August 10, 2023 - Chico, CA: ChicoSTART presents growTECH FEST 2023 October 11th + 12th at the Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Big Room. Right now, event-goers have a limited time to purchase Early Bird Tickets through August 31, 2023. Whether you're a die-hard fan of GTF, an eager first-timer, or just seeking an unforgettable experience, this is the perfect opportunity to be a part of something extraordinary!
Webinar: Charting the Course for a People-Powered Data System
Join us on Monday, August 21 at 11:00 a.m. for the release of a new research brief and an engaging conversation with the leadership of the California Cradle-to-Career Data System (C2C).Together, we will delve into the role of user-centered design (UCD) in establishing a data infrastructure that not only advances California’s goals of improving education and workforce outcomes for its residents but also fosters accessibility and engagement from all stakeholders.
The North Far North Regional Consortium is recruiting for the following open positions on the Coordinating Council.
CIO-North
CSSO-North
Student/Alumni-Far North
PURPOSE: The Coordinating Council will (1) provide consultation and advice on regional investments, (2) promote Career Education (CE) with their various constituent groups and (3) advocate for CE policy reform. This group is advisory and does not have voting rights.
MEMBER RESPONSIBILITIES: Ensure that regional constituency leadership groups are aware of NFNRC activities, actions and decisions. Provide information on policy related to career education programming and funding streams. Advocate on behalf of the Consortium regarding needed policy reform. Collaborate with the NFNRC staff to ensure information/format/etc. are appropriate for dissemination to Regional and state External Leadership. Communicate information shared by NFNRC with their respective constituent groups and college leadership. Inform NFNRC Executive Director of regional leadership’s questions, concerns, ideas. Act in the best interest of the region as a whole. Maintain an equity-minded lens in all decision-making. Attend meetings regularly or ensure attendance of designated alternate.
MEETINGS; The Coordinating Council will meet once a month (the last Monday of the month from 10 am-11 am) ; additional meetings may be called as deemed necessary. Meetings may be in-person or via videoconference.
The pre-conference sessions are on Tuesday, October 17, 2023, and run from 9-12 and 1:30-4:30. The full conference begins on Wednesday, October 18, 2023, at 8:30 am at OMNI Rancho Mirage. There will be three (3) conference days with powerful keynote presentations and plenary sessions. The conference will wrap up on Friday, October 20, 2023, by noon.
Multiple Pre-Conference Sessions, including Perkins Regional Meetings Two Keynotes Chancellor’s Office updates Three Concurrent Plenary Sessions Three Rotating Plenary Sessions 30 breakout sessions …and more.
