Students and Community Benefit from Glendale College Collaboration    

 

 

 

Glendale’s Workforce Development program is an active coalition member in a partnership consisting of three local high schools and the College.  

 

Members of the coalition collaborate on a variety of projects including:

 

¨        FIRST Robotics competitions – students attending a magnet high school with an emphasis in science and technology have formed annual competitive teams to compete in FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) competitions (http://www.usfirst.org/robotics/). 

 

Preparation and lecture takes place at the high school, and technical work (drafting, manufacturing) takes place at the College.  Mentors for the team are secondary and post secondary faculty, and technical experts at Pasadena’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). 

This program has lead, in turn, to:

  •       Increased cross-curricular collaboration between secondary and post secondary industrial and technical education faculty members

  •       Formation of the College’s first Robotics Club by a female Electronics Technology faculty member

  •       Increased faculty contacts and employment opportunities with JPL

  •       Paid and unpaid student internships at JPL

  •      The first Glendale College robotics competition, “Race a R.A.T” (Rapid Automated Technology), involving collaborative efforts of technical and academic department faculty and students.

¨        Verdugo School-To-Career Partnership – high school and college students can connect to the world of work and explore a variety of careers through activities such as guest speakers, internships and mentoring.

 

¨        Jump Start –high school students can concurrently enroll in secondary and post secondary courses at Glendale College.

 

¨        Economic Alliance – a collection of San Fernando Valley business, industry and education leaders that promote and support education and economic development.  The Alliance provides the College with opportunities and connections for paid and unpaid internships, customized training, and marketing of services and programs tailored towards the business community.

 

¨        Character and Ethics Committee –as a sub-committee within the Chamber of Commerce, members worked toward defining and improving ethical standards used in work, school and daily life.  The committee identified 12 key words (one for each month of the year) – respect, honesty, trustworthiness, loyalty, courtesy, self-discipline, integrity, responsibility, fairness, cooperation, citizenship, and compassion.   These were then dispersed out into the community.  Examples included the prominent display of each word by local businesses and schools, and the inclusion of the monthly word into sermons by clergy and religious leaders.  Taking on a life of it’s own, the project became a private non-profit organization in 2003.

 

For more information, contact Jan Swinton, Associate Dean, Instruction & Workforce Development, Glendale College at:  818-240-1000 x5158 or jswinton@glendale.edu

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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