Improving Access to Skyline College for ESL Students
In response to the goals for the Skyline College Equity
Plan, the project will conduct a study to measure accessibility,
retention and success of the ESL population and identify barriers
facing this student population. Strategies will be developed
to increase ESL student enrollment. An interdisciplinary discussion
on how to begin moving towards a Hispanic Serving Institution
may occur if large numbers of Spanish-speaking students are
identified as having issues of accessibility, retention and
success.
Disability Awareness Month Celebration: October 2005
Skyline
College DSP&S and the Museum of Tolerance (MOT) Alumni
Group will co-sponsor bringing a well-known Bay Area leader
(to be announced upon confirmation) to Skyline College to
address their personal experiences with learning disabilities
and their path to success. The project goals are:
- To foster appreciation and respect for those who learn
differently among the greater college community
- To promote the concept that persons who learn differently
are intelligent and capable
- To model the role of an effective self-advocate that
students with learning "disabilities"/differences
can respect and follow
Presentation of "Kick" a one-person play from
the National Coalition Center for Justice: October 2005
The
Skyline College MOT Alumni Group continues to create a climate
where tolerance and diversity topics are examined and discussed.
"Kick" is the story of one high school students
decision to confront the issue of stereotyping. The two-day
event features facilitated discussions both prior to and at
the conclusion of the performance. Four performances are planned,
with one offered to high school students.
WOW! Speaker Series: October 6, 13, 10, 27, 2005
Three
respected local authors will read and speak about their writing
in conjunction with the Lit 166 Women on Writing course (.5
units CR/NC) scheduled for four Thursday evenings in October.
The guest faculty will be two Bay Area authors who were featured
at the past WOW! Conferences and one author who will present
her work for the first time at WOW! 2006. The speaker series
is open to the public with a modest registration fee of $15
per evening or $45 for the series.
Film Festival presented by the Museum of Tolerance (MOT)
Alumni Group: February 2006
The film festival will present
two films, Talking Roots and Mixed Feelings,
on Feb 6 and 9, 2006 and feature the filmmakers who will be
on hand to provide insight and a personal perspective about
their films. This film festival focuses on issues of bi-cultural
awareness, identity, and coming to terms with ones heritage
through a journey of self-discovery. The selected films reflect
the mission of the MOT: Individually, MOT Alumni at Skyline
College aim to foster tolerance by demonstrating model qualities,
celebrating diversity, and speaking out when hearing or seeing
examples of intolerance. Collectively, MOT Alumni aim to foster
tolerance by endorsing activities that celebrate diversity,
and by cultivating other related educational endeavors.
"Access to Higher Education Forum: Making the Connection"
February 2006
The Minority Student Alliance, a new coalition
of student organizations including the Pre-Med Club, the Society
of Hispanic Professional Engineers, the Latino America Student
Organization, the Filipino Student Union, and the Black Student
Union, will present a one-day conference for high-school students
and their parents who are from communities that have been
historically underrepresented in higher education. The sessions
will be designed to educate, inform, and motivate potential
Skyline students to enroll in college. In many instances,
language is a barrier for parents therefore simultaneous bi-lingual
sessions will be held.
National Library Week Celebration: April 2-8, 2006
The Skyline College Library will invite a prominent Bay
Area writer (TBD) to speak during the observance of National
Library Week to celebrate the magic of reading and the
significance of free access to knowledge.
1906 Centennial Project: April 18, 2006
Involve Skyline
College in an extensive regional commemoration of the great
earthquake on the nearby San Andreas Fault and related fires
in San Francisco with the development and installation of
a permanent informational plaque for the campus. A guest speaker
will provide a special presentation for the 1906 Earthquake
Centennial Commemoration.
Skyline Stars
Transfer Student Hall of Fame contains photos,
brief bios and words of wisdom from successful transfer students
and provides inspiration to current and prospective Skyline
College students. The "Hall of Fame" highlights
the success of Skyline College students, many who have overcome
significant life challenges, are from economically and educationally
disadvantaged backgrounds and are the first in their families
to go to college.
Learning Communities: Learning communities
are powerful ways to deliver instruction that have been shown
to significantly raise student success by helping students
integrate their knowledge, making success in one cluster of
classes more likely to lead to success in others. A variety
of approaches are used to build these learning communities,
with intention to restructure the students learning
experiences to build community among students, between students
and their teachers, and among faculty members and disciplines.
Adewole Project
Adewole means "The crown (head)
is welcome into the house" in the Yoruba culture of West
Africa. The Adewole Project will sponsor a series of for-credit
lecture/media presentations featuring independent filmmakers,
directors and authors who are connected to communities of
color and offer perspectives on the impact of oppression and
the resilient spirit that continues to overcome.
College Readership
USA Today will be provided to Skyline
students Monday through Friday during the Fall 2005 semester.
Each week, an online quiz on the past weeks news will
be provided and prizes awarded for the highest score. The
quizzes will be developed by Skylines Phi Theta Kappans
for their fellow students and offered via the internet at
skylinecollege.edu.
Kababayan Program Mentorship and Community Support
Kababayan
is a new transfer and support program with the goal of increasing
proficiency in English skills in college, work and life. Kababayan
focuses on the Filipino/Filipino-American student experience.
This is the third and final year of funding from the Presidents
Innovation Fund. Program goals are:
- Establish a mentoring component linked to English classes
- Establish community support for the program.
- Link mentoring and community support to the instructional
components
- Explore the feasibility of adding classes to the program.
- Enable program participants to travel to neighboring
colleges.