On Feb. 15, 2019, twenty-five community members, RCC staff, and students participated in the first Adult Basics Skills (ABS) Department Advisory Board meeting.
Ailym Pinhero, one of the students, was an ophthalmologist in Venezuela. She started at RCC as an English Language Acquisition student, moved through ABS classes to improve her English, and is now applying to the RCC nursing program. Joshua Collins, a second student on the Advisory Board, passed his GED tests in a few months and is now on a path to become an RCC business major. Both students participated in the ABS Concurrent Enrollment Program (CEP) which allows qualified students to take up to two pre-requisite credit classes while they are still enrolled in ABS. This program has been very successful in transitioning ABS students to college classes.
Community members attending included representatives from the Medford school board, Department of Human Services, Housing Authority of Jackson County, Southern Oregon Education Services District, Quantum Innovations and Asante. Participants also included representatives from the following RCC departments: Allied Health, Career Services, Emergency Services, Latino Services, Library, Science, Social Science and SOHOPE.
Julie Rossi, director of Adult Basic Skills, presented an overview of the program and described several national and local awards the department has recently received, including the Bellwether Award, and recognition as the post-secondary champion for Career and College Readiness in Oregon. Participants learned about new developments in the program and were asked for input regarding student recruitment, retention and completion.
ABS looks forward to this ongoing community conversation and the opportunity to learn from the new Advisory Board and continue to work together to ensure student success in college, work and the community.