Online Education, Continuing Education
PR Newswire | January 08, 2024
The ASU W. P. Carey School of Business and Televerde Foundation have worked alongside community partners to offer a unique PATHS program for women as they transition out of prison. PATHS, an acronym for Prepare, Achieve, and Transform for Healthy Success, teaches skills in personal wellness, workplace readiness, employment strategies, mentoring, financial literacy, and lifelong learning. The program begins while the women are still incarcerated and continues through their reentry and transition back into society.
"We are thrilled to expand our partnership with the ASU W. P. Carey School of Business, further empowering women through education," said Michelle Cirocco, executive director of Televerde Foundation. "Our PATHS program goes beyond just providing skills; it's about transforming lives. This expansion marks a significant step toward reducing recidivism and opening new opportunities for women from all walks of life to rewrite their narratives. It also underscores our belief in education as a crucial driver of personal growth and societal advancement. We are committed to helping these women become positive role models in their communities and building a brighter, more secure future for themselves and their families."
Julia LaRosa, clinical associate professor, and Kostas Voutsas, assistant teaching professor, from the Department of Management and Entrepreneurship, are two members of the W. P. Carey community who teach in the program. They focus on workplace readiness skills through college-level business fundamentals, business communication, and professional development courses.
As of fall 2023, women who complete the Career PATHS coursework earning a C or better have the opportunity to turn their completed work into college credit through ASU's Universal Learner program. The associated fees are currently covered by Televerde Foundation, with future iterations also being funded by the generosity of donors through the ASU Foundation.
"Turning time in prison into a college education experience is truly inspiring," says Voutsas, who teaches the Effective Communication for Career Success class. "It is a practical course that empowers students to communicate as leaders, embrace diversity and inclusion, build positive relationships, and maximize efficiency and effectiveness in the workplace. It explores both verbal and nonverbal communication, cross-cultural communication, customer service, the writing process, writing mechanics, interviewing and resume techniques, as well as delivering presentations with confidence."
Since the program's inception in 2020, the results have been truly remarkable. Of the 161 students who have completed the program, the recidivism rate is zero compared with the expected 40% to 60% rate. According to the Televerde Foundation, graduates' salaries are also 61% to 75% higher than their less prepared counterparts.
While the quantitative outcomes are extraordinary, the qualitative impacts are equally important. Mary Montemorra, a PATHS graduate, explains, "Televerde Foundation and PATHS have given me the ability to fit into a community that once felt so far away. Remember, being sent to prison means the society you once were part of decided to remove you from its communities physically. PATHS gave that community back to me."
One benefit of the Universal Learner program is the connection it helps non-traditional students form with ASU. "At W. P. Carey, we are prioritizing access in the communities we serve," says Raghu Santanam, senior associate dean for Executive Education, Corporate Partnerships, and Lifelong Learning. "Connecting PATHS to ASU as a for-credit course legitimizes the hard work these women are undertaking and makes it easier for them to transition into college in the future."
Higher education is indeed more within reach for individuals involved in the justice system. As of July 1, 2023, the FAFSA Simplification Act provisions make PELL grants available to all qualified incarcerated people to further pursue post-secondary education through approved Prison Education Programs (PEPs).
"A mere vision has blossomed into a sustainable program," says LaRosa. PATHS is "dedicated to aiding incarcerated women in reshaping the course of their lives and those of their families. Witnessing the transformative impact of a college education unfolding within our community is truly remarkable and the high point of my career."
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Corporate Learning Systems
PRWeb | October 25, 2023
Vector Solutions, the leading provider of training and software solutions dedicated to helping schools make their communities safer, smarter, and better, today announced it has acquired PATHWAYos, the leading platform for connecting K-12 schools and students to work-based learning opportunities. The acquisition expands Vector Solutions' footprint at the intersection of education and industry with a move into the Career and Technical Education (CTE) market. The transaction brings together two companies passionate about providing best-in-class technology to support building a stronger and more successful workforce.
As the lines between education and employment increasingly blur, Vector Solutions and PATHWAYos aim to support students on their chosen career paths and bridge the gap between education and workforce-ready skills. Today, Vector Solutions provides skills and safety training to over 2,000 industry customers, who use that training to ensure their workforce has the necessary skills to perform their jobs effectively. Together with PATHWAYos career-connected learning software, Vector Solutions will be able to offer CTE courses, industry-recognized credentials, and safety training content to K-12 students, districts, intermediaries, state agencies, and colleges. In the future, Vector Solutions plans to use the PATHWAYos platform to connect its industry customers with trained talent, supporting customers in addressing skills gaps and labor shortages by providing a direct 'skills-based' talent pipeline.
Our acquisition of PATHWAYos reaffirms our commitment to helping students excel on their chosen career paths, said Jonathan Cherins, Chief Executive Officer of Vector Solutions. The combined power of our offerings will serve to bridge the skills gap between students seeking more training and work-based learning opportunities and industry customers looking to build a skilled workforce.
PATHWAYos was established in 2017 with a mission to unlock work-based learning opportunities for all. Its mission is to change how students view their options, how educators see their workload, and how the industry considers its growing talent pool. Work-based learning (WBL) prepares students for the job market and helps build a pipeline of skilled workers, all while lowering recruitment and training costs for employers, and expanding economic development in local communities. The company's WBL programs have impacted over 800,000 students across 2,000 schools in 30 states, leading to more than three million work-based learning hours logged.
"Joining forces with Vector Solutions catapults us to an ambitious new era, where we can serve as an unrivaled catalyst for Career and Technical Education," said Cecilia Retelle Zywicki, CEO of PATHWAYos. "Our aim is nothing short of empowering students at scale by unlocking paths towards the future they want, and granting access to economic mobility that often is reserved for an exclusive subset of students. Together, we aspire to impact countless students, breaking barriers between education and the workforce, and reshaping the landscape."
Vector Solutions serves over 24,000 customers and thirty-one million end users across the Education, Commercial, and Public Sector markets. With an increased focus on CTE, Vector Solutions will accelerate its presence in this critical market. The company will support students no matter what path they choose to take into the workforce and enable industry customers to access a pipeline of skilled talent. Post acquisition, PATHWAYos will be a product under a new business unit within Vector focused on CTE. The combined expertise and resources will strengthen Vector Solutions' CTE offerings and solidify its position as a leader in the industry.
About Vector Solutions
Vector Solutions is the leading provider of impactful technology solutions dedicated to driving safer, smarter, better decision-making in the world's most critical industries. Embedded into daily workflows to drive improvements in compliance, safety, performance, and preparedness, our software includes training management, industry-focused online course libraries, EHS management, workforce scheduling, risk communication, operational readiness, and more. Vector's unique combination of information and technology - delivered when and where it is needed - is integral to our more than 34 thousand clients looking to achieve better outcomes and safeguard lives. Vector is committed to providing resources to support those who need them most and launched a collection of free courses on critical mental health and safety topics through Vector Cares. For more information, visit http://www.vectorsolutions.com. For access to free Vector Cares courses visit https://www.vectorsolutions.com/about-us/vector-cares/.
About Vector Solutions for K-12 Education
Vector Solutions for K-12 Education is a leading provider of training, software and professional development solutions committed to creating safer, smarter and better school environments. Trusted by more than 5,000 K-12 districts in the United States, Vector's award-winning suite of products save administrators time, improve compliance, and streamline administrative processes. Vector trainings on imperative topics like safety and compliance; inclusive instruction; mental health and well-being; diversity, equity and inclusion; and cybersecurity enable students and teachers alike to make schools safer, more inclusive, and more effective places to work and learn. For more information about Vector Solutions for K-12 Education, visit http://www.vectorsolutions.com/k12.
About PATHWAYos
PATHWAYos® is the innovative software at the center of all career-connected learning. School districts, states, and career centers can now collaborate with businesses to expand work-based learning programs. The software streamlines processes while allowing partners to provide numerous opportunities that enhance the development of skills required by the workforce of the future. The world-class platform is quickly becoming a household requirement for innovative school districts.
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Continuing Education
PR Newswire | January 09, 2024
Today, Collaborative Classroom and FluentSeeds announce a merger into a single nonprofit organization to serve educators and other adults responsible for nurturing children's language, literacy, and social and emotional learning from birth through grade 8. With this merger, Collaborative Classroom is uniquely positioned to provide seamless support for children from birth through early childhood and beyond, ensuring kindergarten readiness and long-term academic success.
Collaborative Classroom's evidence-based literacy and social and emotional learning programs and wraparound professional learning serve students and educators in grades K–8, with some programs extending through grades 9–12. Collaborative Classroom is one of the largest education nonprofits in the country, supporting educators in all 50 states in over 1,000 school districts.
FluentSeeds supports adults, including parents, family and community members, child care providers, and other educators, with ©SEEDS of Learning, a rigorously-researched and proven set of literacy and social and emotional frameworks for children from birth through age 5. FluentSeeds currently serves more than 4,000 adults and 30,000 children in a variety of environments including home, community child care, pre-kindergarten, transitional kindergarten, and K–2.
On a daily basis, this newly merged organization already impacts nearly 2 million children across the nation.
Collaborative Classroom President and CEO Kelly Stuart says, "Bringing FluentSeeds into the Collaborative Classroom family of programs is especially exciting because it allows us to support children throughout their earliest years—a long-term goal of our organization. We know how crucial the first five years are for children's social, emotional, and early literacy development. FluentSeeds' expertise and offerings perfectly position us to serve even more children."
Stuart adds, "Collaborative Classroom's and FluentSeeds' instructionally aligned and consistent, research-based frameworks are already used together with great success in schools and districts across the country. Recently, The Oakland REACH released a study on the impact of their tutoring programs that utilize SEEDS and our SIPPS® program. We are confident this merger will impact children from the beginning of their literacy journey and ensure their success as confident, fluent readers."
FluentSeeds Executive Director Kate Horst says, "The gift of SEEDS and its impact on early literacy and social-emotional development will continue to spread in an ever-widening circle, thanks to Collaborative Classroom's mission, people, programs, and professional learning. Their deep literacy expertise and commitments to evidence and impact align with our strong foundations of birth to kindergarten professional development and SEEDS quality interactions. We are delighted to bring our FluentSeeds staff, friends, and partnerships into Collaborative Classroom's excellent programming and far-reaching impact."
The new organization will operate under the banner of Collaborative Classroom, and Kelly Stuart will continue to serve as President and CEO. FluentSeeds' Executive Director, Kate Horst, will serve as both a senior advisor and a member of the Collaborative Classroom Board of Trustees.
Susan Wally, Chair of the Collaborative Classroom Board of Trustees, says, "On behalf of the entire board, I want to welcome Kate Horst to our board and share our excitement and optimism as Collaborative Classroom expands its ability to support young learners through this merger with FluentSeeds. These two extraordinary organizations share a commitment to helping all those who teach and support young learners to access high-impact, evidence-based strategies and quality resources. We look forward to using our combined expertise and expanded scale to build vital literacy and social-emotional skills for our youngest children, as well as those who have already begun their K–12 journey."
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