Horizon Education Alliance Inc

HORIZON EDUCATION ALLIANCE EXISTS TO STRENGTHEN COLLABORATION, INCREASE INNOVATION, AND MOVE EVERYONE FROM HOPE TO BELIEF THAT ELKHART COUNTY WILL BE TRANSFORMED THROUGH EDUCATION.

THE ADULT PATHWAYS SYSTEM IS FOCUSED ON EXPANDING THE COMPETENCY-BASED APPRENTICESHIP MODEL, WHILE CONTINUING TO MAINTAIN AND STRENGTHEN THE SUPPORT PROGRAMS THAT ALLOW ADULTS FROM DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS TO PARTICIPATE IN CERTIFICATION AND APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS. HEA HAS DEVELOPED STRONG PARTNERSHIPS WITH IVY TECH, GOSHEN COLLEGE AND INDUSTRY PARTNERS TO DELIVER THE INDUSTRIAL MANUFACTURING TECHNICIAN (IMT) APPRENTICESHIP, WITH TRACKS IN PRODUCTION AND LOGISTICS. IN ADDITION, APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS IN I.T. AND HEALTHCARE FOR ADULTS ARE READY TO LAUNCH. FIVE HIGH SCHOOLS HAVE BEEN SET UP TO SERVE AS SATELLITE SITES THAT CAN SERVE ADULTS (AS WELL AS STUDENTS) IN THE IMT PROGRAM WITH UNLIMITED USER LICENSES, CREATING EFFICIENCIES AND REDUCING COSTS THAT WILL HELP SUPPORT SUSTAINABILITY. THE INVESTMENT OF TIME AND RESOURCES IN DEVELOPING AND DOCUMENTING THE IMT PROCESS IS FACILITATING REPLICATION IN OTHER MANUFACTURING PROGRAMS, AS WELL AS PROGRAMS IN ADDITIONAL SECTORS. ADDITIONALLY, THROUGH HEA'S PARTNERSHIPS, WE ARE ABLE TO REACH DIVERSE POPULATIONS: HEA IS PARTNERING WITH LABOR INSTITUTE FOR TRAINING (LIFT) AND GOSHEN COLLEGE TO DELIVER THE CERTIFIED PRODUCTION TECHNICIAN (CPT) TRAINING (WHICH IS THE FIRST COMPONENT OF THE IMT APPRENTICESHIP) IN SPANISH. HEA'S FUNDING FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT (DWD) SUPPORTS OUR ADULT BASIC EDUCATION (ABE) PROGRAMS, OUR INTEGRATED EDUCATION AND TRAINING PROGRAMS (IET) AND OUR WORKFORCE EDUCATION INITIATIVES (WEI). THE IET AND WEI FUNDING SUPPORTS HEA IN REACHING DIVERSE POPULATIONS WITH PRE-APPRENTICESHIP CERTIFICATION PROGRAMS AND APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS. THE IET FUNDING SUPPORTS HEA'S PARTNERSHIP WITH GRACE COLLEGE AND THE ELKHART COUNTY JAIL TO DELIVER THE CERTIFIED LOGISTICS ASSOCIATE (CLA) CERTIFICATION TO INCARCERATED ADULTS. HEA CONTINUES TO SERVE ADULTS IN THE HIGH SCHOOL EQUIVALENCY (HSE) PROGRAM, ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING (ELL) PROGRAM AND LITERACY PROGRAM AS WELL, WITH A FOCUS ON TRANSITIONING ADULTS FROM THESE PROGRAMS INTO THE PRE-APPRENTICESHIP OR APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS. HEA ALSO PROVIDES REMEDIATION SERVICES FOR ADULTS IN THE APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS, WITH EACH ADULT COMPLETING AN INTAKE PROCESS THAT INCLUDES ASSESSMENTS OF BASIC SKILLS TO ENSURE THEY ARE PREPARED FOR SUCCESS IN THE PROGRAM.

THE STUDENT PATHWAYS SYSTEM IS FOCUSED ON TWO PRIORITIES: 1) CAREER AWARENESS AND EXPLORATION INITIATIVES AND 2) YOUTH APPRENTICESHIPS, WITH THE GOAL THAT ALL ELKHART COUNTY STUDENTS GRADUATE FROM HIGH SCHOOL WITH AN IDENTIFIED CAREER PATHWAY THAT INTEGRATES RELEVANT HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE AND POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES. CAREER QUEST, MANUFACTURING DAY AND AN INTRODUCTION TO APPRENTICESHIPS ARE ALL INTEGRATED AS PART OF THIS CORE CURRICULUM. CAREER QUEST WAS LAUNCHED IN APRIL 2019 TO PROVIDE ALL 7TH GRADERS WITH THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPLORE CAREERS IN FOUR HIGH-DEMAND INDUSTRIES: ADVANCED MANUFACTURING, CONSTRUCTION, HEALTH SCIENCES AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY. MANUFACTURING DAY NOW REACHES ALL 8TH GRADERS EACH YEAR. INDUSTRY-INFUSED PROJECT-BASED LEARNING HAS INCLUDED ABOUT FIFTY TEACHERS EACH YEAR, WHO ARE PAIRED WITH BUSINESS PARTNERS TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT AUTHENTIC PROJECTS WITH STUDENTS. INDUSTRY-INFUSED PBL CAN BE IMPLEMENTED IN CLASSROOMS ACROSS K-12, BUT THERE HAS BEEN A PARTICULAR FOCUS ON LATE MIDDLE SCHOOL AND EARLY HIGH SCHOOL.ELKHART COUNTY HAS MADE SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS IN THE DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A YOUTH APPRENTICESHIP MODEL. ALL SEVEN SCHOOL DISTRICTS, IVY TECH, AND LOCAL BUSINESSES COLLABORATED TO LAUNCH YOUTH APPRENTICESHIPS ACROSS 7 PATHWAYS: ADVANCED MANUFACTURING, BUSINESS, EDUCATION, FINANCIAL SERVICES, HEALTHCARE, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, PARALEGAL, WITH 17 APPRENTICES IN THE 2020-2021 SCHOOL YEAR. THE STRUCTURES ARE BEING PUT INTO PLACE TO EXPAND TO A MUCH HIGHER NUMBER OF APPRENTICES IN UPCOMING YEARS. ALL 17 APPRENTICESHIPS ARE REGISTERED WITH THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR WITH EACH BUSINESS PARTNER SERVING AS THE SPONSOR. THE YOUTH APPRENTICESHIP TEAM ALSO WORKS WITH BUSINESSES TO BECOME SITES FOR APPRENTICES AND TO UPLOAD JOB POSTINGS TO OUR APPRENTICESHIP PORTAL IN TIME TO MATCH WITH INTERESTED STUDENTS EACH SPRING. OUR TEAM HAS CONTINUED TO WORK CLOSELY WITH CAREERWISE COLORADO FOR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT, AND WE ARE ALSO PART OF THE NATIONAL PARTNERSHIP TO ADVANCE YOUTH APPRENTICESHIP (PAYA) NETWORK AND THE STATE DESIGN TEAM FOR YOUTH APPRENTICESHIPS.

THE TRIPLE P POSITIVE PARENTING PROGRAM FOCUSES ON STRONG FOUNDATIONS FOR LEARNING CENTERS ON THE GOAL THAT ALL CHILDREN AND YOUTH IN ELKHART COUNTY THRIVE IN ALL ASPECTS OF THEIR DEVELOPMENT THROUGH EXPERIENCING NURTURING ENVIRONMENTS - ENVIRONMENTS THAT SUPPORT PRO-SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, ARE RESPONSIVE TO THEIR NEEDS, AND LIMIT EXPOSURE TO TOXIC STRESS - IN THEIR HOMES, SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES. HEA COORDINATES THE TRIPLE P POSITIVE PARENTING PROGRAM, WHICH IS BEING IMPLEMENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CHILD AND PARENT SERVICES (CAPS), SOCIAL SERVICE AGENCIES, SCHOOLS, LIBRARIES, HOSPITALS AND HEALTH CENTERS, EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTERS AND OTHER COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS. TRIPLE P IS THE MOST EVIDENCE-BASED PARENTING PROGRAM IN THE WORLD, AND THE ONLY PARENTING SUPPORT SYSTEM DESIGNED TO SERVE ALL PARENTS THROUGH OFFERING PARENTING SUPPORT AT DIFFERENT LEVELS OF INTENSITY AT SETTINGS THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY. TRIPLE P ENCOURAGES PARENTS TO CHOOSE STRATEGIES THAT WORK FOR THEM AND HELPS PARENTS APPLY THE SKILLS THEY LEARN TO MULTIPLE PARENTING STRUGGLES, SO THAT THEY BECOME SELF-SUFFICIENT, CONFIDENT PARENTS.

EARLY LEARNING: KINDERGARTEN READINESS CONTINUES TO SURFACE AS A KEY INDICATOR FOR SUCCESS IN THE LATER YEARS. AS PART OF THE ONGOING ATTENTION TO A LIFESPAN APPROACH, HEA RECOGNIZES THAT EARLY LEARNING AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT HAPPENS IN MANY DIFFERENT CONTEXTS FROM BIRTH THROUGH THE EARLY YEARS WHICH MAKE IT CRITICAL TO ENSURE THAT CHILDREN AND YOUTH IN ELKHART COUNTY: 1) THRIVE IN ALL ASPECTS OF THEIR DEVELOPMENT THROUGH EXPERIENCING NURTURING ENVIRONMENTS - ENVIRONMENTS THAT SUPPORT PRO-SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, ARE RESPONSIVE TO THEIR NEEDS, AND LIMIT EXPOSURE TO TOXIC STRESS - IN THEIR HOMES, SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES AND 2) EXPERIENCE EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES OR SETTINGS IN THE HOME, DAYCARE OR PRESCHOOL THAT SUPPORT THE INTEGRATION OF THE FOUNDATIONAL, SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL, DEVELOPMENTAL AND ACADEMIC SKILLS FOR SUCCESS IN SCHOOL AND LIFE. TO THIS END, HEA HAS ENGAGED IN RESEARCH, COLLABORATION AND STRATEGIC COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TO CONSIDER THE EXPANSION OF HIGH-QUALITY LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES AND FAMILY ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES FOR CHILDREN AGES 0-5 TO ENSURE READINESS FOR KINDERGARTEN. THESE EFFORTS HAVE INVOLVED EARLY INVESTMENTS OF TIME AND RESOURCES FROM LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS BEYOND HEA STAFF THAT INCLUDED MEMBERS OF THE HEA BOARD OF DIRECTORS, LOCAL EMPLOYERS, COMMUNITY MEMBERS, THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF ELKHART COUNTY, AND THE SOURCE (HOSTED BY OAKLAWN). HEA HAS ALSO INVESTED IN FACILITATION SUPPORT FROM TAMARACK INSTITUTE, WHO WILL CONTINUE TO GUIDE OUR LEARNING ABOUT SYSTEMS-LEVEL SUPPORT AND PLANNING FOR EARLY LEARNING AS WELL AS BUILD OUR CAPACITY FOR LEADING FUTURE WORK AT THE SYSTEMS LEVEL.

THE ADULT PATHWAYS SYSTEM IS FOCUSED ON EXPANDING THE COMPETENCY-BASED APPRENTICESHIP MODEL, WHILE CONTINUING TO MAINTAIN AND STRENGTHEN THE SUPPORT PROGRAMS THAT ALLOW ADULTS FROM DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS TO PARTICIPATE IN CERTIFICATION AND APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS. HEA HAS DEVELOPED STRONG PARTNERSHIPS WITH IVY TECH, GOSHEN COLLEGE AND INDUSTRY PARTNERS TO DELIVER THE INDUSTRIAL MANUFACTURING TECHNICIAN (IMT) APPRENTICESHIP, WITH TRACKS IN PRODUCTION AND LOGISTICS. IN ADDITION, APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS IN I.T. AND HEALTHCARE FOR ADULTS ARE READY TO LAUNCH. FIVE HIGH SCHOOLS HAVE BEEN SET UP TO SERVE AS SATELLITE SITES THAT CAN SERVE ADULTS (AS WELL AS STUDENTS) IN THE IMT PROGRAM WITH UNLIMITED USER LICENSES, CREATING EFFICIENCIES AND REDUCING COSTS THAT WILL HELP SUPPORT SUSTAINABILITY. THE INVESTMENT OF TIME AND RESOURCES IN DEVELOPING AND DOCUMENTING THE IMT PROCESS IS FACILITATING REPLICATION IN OTHER MANUFACTURING PROGRAMS, AS WELL AS PROGRAMS IN ADDITIONAL SECTORS. ADDITIONALLY, THROUGH HEA'S PARTNERSHIPS, WE ARE ABLE TO REACH DIVERSE POPULATIONS: HEA IS PARTNERING WITH LABOR INSTITUTE FOR TRAINING (LIFT) AND GOSHEN COLLEGE TO DELIVER THE CERTIFIED PRODUCTION TECHNICIAN (CPT) TRAINING (WHICH IS THE FIRST COMPONENT OF THE IMT APPRENTICESHIP) IN SPANISH. HEA'S FUNDING FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT (DWD) SUPPORTS OUR ADULT BASIC EDUCATION (ABE) PROGRAMS, OUR INTEGRATED EDUCATION AND TRAINING PROGRAMS (IET) AND OUR WORKFORCE EDUCATION INITIATIVES (WEI). THE IET AND WEI FUNDING SUPPORTS HEA IN REACHING DIVERSE POPULATIONS WITH PRE-APPRENTICESHIP CERTIFICATION PROGRAMS AND APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS. THE IET FUNDING SUPPORTS HEA'S PARTNERSHIP WITH GRACE COLLEGE AND THE ELKHART COUNTY JAIL TO DELIVER THE CERTIFIED LOGISTICS ASSOCIATE (CLA) CERTIFICATION TO INCARCERATED ADULTS. HEA CONTINUES TO SERVE ADULTS IN THE HIGH SCHOOL EQUIVALENCY (HSE) PROGRAM, ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING (ELL) PROGRAM AND LITERACY PROGRAM AS WELL, WITH A FOCUS ON TRANSITIONING ADULTS FROM THESE PROGRAMS INTO THE PRE-APPRENTICESHIP OR APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS. HEA ALSO PROVIDES REMEDIATION SERVICES FOR ADULTS IN THE APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS, WITH EACH ADULT COMPLETING AN INTAKE PROCESS THAT INCLUDES ASSESSMENTS OF BASIC SKILLS TO ENSURE THEY ARE PREPARED FOR SUCCESS IN THE PROGRAM.

THE STUDENT PATHWAYS SYSTEM IS FOCUSED ON TWO PRIORITIES: 1) CAREER AWARENESS AND EXPLORATION INITIATIVES AND 2) YOUTH APPRENTICESHIPS, WITH THE GOAL THAT ALL ELKHART COUNTY STUDENTS GRADUATE FROM HIGH SCHOOL WITH AN IDENTIFIED CAREER PATHWAY THAT INTEGRATES RELEVANT HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE AND POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES. CAREER QUEST, MANUFACTURING DAY AND AN INTRODUCTION TO APPRENTICESHIPS ARE ALL INTEGRATED AS PART OF THIS CORE CURRICULUM. CAREER QUEST WAS LAUNCHED IN APRIL 2019 TO PROVIDE ALL 7TH GRADERS WITH THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPLORE CAREERS IN FOUR HIGH-DEMAND INDUSTRIES: ADVANCED MANUFACTURING, CONSTRUCTION, HEALTH SCIENCES AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY. MANUFACTURING DAY NOW REACHES ALL 8TH GRADERS EACH YEAR. INDUSTRY-INFUSED PROJECT-BASED LEARNING HAS INCLUDED ABOUT FIFTY TEACHERS EACH YEAR, WHO ARE PAIRED WITH BUSINESS PARTNERS TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT AUTHENTIC PROJECTS WITH STUDENTS. INDUSTRY-INFUSED PBL CAN BE IMPLEMENTED IN CLASSROOMS ACROSS K-12, BUT THERE HAS BEEN A PARTICULAR FOCUS ON LATE MIDDLE SCHOOL AND EARLY HIGH SCHOOL.ELKHART COUNTY HAS MADE SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS IN THE DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A YOUTH APPRENTICESHIP MODEL. ALL SEVEN SCHOOL DISTRICTS, IVY TECH, AND LOCAL BUSINESSES COLLABORATED TO LAUNCH YOUTH APPRENTICESHIPS ACROSS 7 PATHWAYS: ADVANCED MANUFACTURING, BUSINESS, EDUCATION, FINANCIAL SERVICES, HEALTHCARE, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, PARALEGAL, WITH 17 APPRENTICES IN THE 2020-2021 SCHOOL YEAR. THE STRUCTURES ARE BEING PUT INTO PLACE TO EXPAND TO A MUCH HIGHER NUMBER OF APPRENTICES IN UPCOMING YEARS. ALL 17 APPRENTICESHIPS ARE REGISTERED WITH THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR WITH EACH BUSINESS PARTNER SERVING AS THE SPONSOR. THE YOUTH APPRENTICESHIP TEAM ALSO WORKS WITH BUSINESSES TO BECOME SITES FOR APPRENTICES AND TO UPLOAD JOB POSTINGS TO OUR APPRENTICESHIP PORTAL IN TIME TO MATCH WITH INTERESTED STUDENTS EACH SPRING. OUR TEAM HAS CONTINUED TO WORK CLOSELY WITH CAREERWISE COLORADO FOR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT, AND WE ARE ALSO PART OF THE NATIONAL PARTNERSHIP TO ADVANCE YOUTH APPRENTICESHIP (PAYA) NETWORK AND THE STATE DESIGN TEAM FOR YOUTH APPRENTICESHIPS.

THE TRIPLE P POSITIVE PARENTING PROGRAM FOCUSES ON STRONG FOUNDATIONS FOR LEARNING CENTERS ON THE GOAL THAT ALL CHILDREN AND YOUTH IN ELKHART COUNTY THRIVE IN ALL ASPECTS OF THEIR DEVELOPMENT THROUGH EXPERIENCING NURTURING ENVIRONMENTS - ENVIRONMENTS THAT SUPPORT PRO-SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, ARE RESPONSIVE TO THEIR NEEDS, AND LIMIT EXPOSURE TO TOXIC STRESS - IN THEIR HOMES, SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES. HEA COORDINATES THE TRIPLE P POSITIVE PARENTING PROGRAM, WHICH IS BEING IMPLEMENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CHILD AND PARENT SERVICES (CAPS), SOCIAL SERVICE AGENCIES, SCHOOLS, LIBRARIES, HOSPITALS AND HEALTH CENTERS, EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTERS AND OTHER COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS. TRIPLE P IS THE MOST EVIDENCE-BASED PARENTING PROGRAM IN THE WORLD, AND THE ONLY PARENTING SUPPORT SYSTEM DESIGNED TO SERVE ALL PARENTS THROUGH OFFERING PARENTING SUPPORT AT DIFFERENT LEVELS OF INTENSITY AT SETTINGS THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY. TRIPLE P ENCOURAGES PARENTS TO CHOOSE STRATEGIES THAT WORK FOR THEM AND HELPS PARENTS APPLY THE SKILLS THEY LEARN TO MULTIPLE PARENTING STRUGGLES, SO THAT THEY BECOME SELF-SUFFICIENT, CONFIDENT PARENTS.

EARLY LEARNING: KINDERGARTEN READINESS CONTINUES TO SURFACE AS A KEY INDICATOR FOR SUCCESS IN THE LATER YEARS. AS PART OF THE ONGOING ATTENTION TO A LIFESPAN APPROACH, HEA RECOGNIZES THAT EARLY LEARNING AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT HAPPENS IN MANY DIFFERENT CONTEXTS FROM BIRTH THROUGH THE EARLY YEARS WHICH MAKE IT CRITICAL TO ENSURE THAT CHILDREN AND YOUTH IN ELKHART COUNTY: 1) THRIVE IN ALL ASPECTS OF THEIR DEVELOPMENT THROUGH EXPERIENCING NURTURING ENVIRONMENTS - ENVIRONMENTS THAT SUPPORT PRO-SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, ARE RESPONSIVE TO THEIR NEEDS, AND LIMIT EXPOSURE TO TOXIC STRESS - IN THEIR HOMES, SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES AND 2) EXPERIENCE EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES OR SETTINGS IN THE HOME, DAYCARE OR PRESCHOOL THAT SUPPORT THE INTEGRATION OF THE FOUNDATIONAL, SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL, DEVELOPMENTAL AND ACADEMIC SKILLS FOR SUCCESS IN SCHOOL AND LIFE. TO THIS END, HEA HAS ENGAGED IN RESEARCH, COLLABORATION AND STRATEGIC COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TO CONSIDER THE EXPANSION OF HIGH-QUALITY LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES AND FAMILY ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES FOR CHILDREN AGES 0-5 TO ENSURE READINESS FOR KINDERGARTEN. THESE EFFORTS HAVE INVOLVED EARLY INVESTMENTS OF TIME AND RESOURCES FROM LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS BEYOND HEA STAFF THAT INCLUDED MEMBERS OF THE HEA BOARD OF DIRECTORS, LOCAL EMPLOYERS, COMMUNITY MEMBERS, THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF ELKHART COUNTY, AND THE SOURCE (HOSTED BY OAKLAWN). HEA HAS ALSO INVESTED IN FACILITATION SUPPORT FROM TAMARACK INSTITUTE, WHO WILL CONTINUE TO GUIDE OUR LEARNING ABOUT SYSTEMS-LEVEL SUPPORT AND PLANNING FOR EARLY LEARNING AS WELL AS BUILD OUR CAPACITY FOR LEADING FUTURE WORK AT THE SYSTEMS LEVEL.