Strands and Session Descriptions

Dual Enrollment in California: Challenges and Bright Spots
Dual enrollment is a proven strategy for success and completion, giving students "college knowledge" and experience. Some student groups particularly benefit including CTE, male, low-income, first-generation, and academically "at risk," making dual enrollment a strong equity strategy. Jobs for the Future and the Career Ladders Project will present our most recent dual enrollment research providing: common barriers in California, examples of innovations, and an examination of policy both in California and from other states.

Dual Enrollment: Program Logistics and Open Enrollment
Learn the ins and outs of developing and sustaining a successful DE program that withstands changes in policy, leadership, and evolving initiatives.

Dual Enrollment for the Get Focused Course and Stay Focused Modules
Learn about how colleges can grant DE credit for the GFSF 9th grade course and for the GFSF Follow-up Modules for 10th, 11th, and 12th grades.

Dual Enrollment: Navigating the Waters of Two Educational Systems
Beginning a DE program must start with building the critical relationships between the secondary school and community college. Other groups must be included, such as bargaining units and academic senates. With the right approach, healthy and sustained relationships can be built which lead to benefits for the respective schools and students.

Get Focused: Launching a Freshman Transition Course for All High School Freshmen
Learn the ins and outs of training your best faculty to teach the 9th grade course as well as details about the course itself which guides students to answer the questions: Who Am I? What Do I Want? and How Do I Get It?

Get Focused: Implementing a First-Year Experience/Student Success Course at the College Level
Hear how the GFSF college curriculum is being used as a first-year experience course that covers career exploration, decision-making, and student success. Students finish the course with a well-researched 10-year career and life plan and a skills-based education plan.

Get Focused: Mapping Out Ideal Elements for Guided Pathways Implementation
In order to get students onto clarified pathways, colleges and their high school partners have the opportunity to jointly rethink matriculation and educational planning. This session will provide resources to support a matriculation redesign including best practices for Get Focused course implementation, dual enrollment partnerships, sample course of record outlines, determining instructor minimum qualifications, and more!

Get Focused: Professional Development Options to Get Your Entire Team Trained to Implement GFSF
This session will detail workshops, webinars, conferences, online training, and training for counselors in how to use the students' 10-year Plans. Learn about the plethora of training opportunities for K-12 and college faculty, counselors, and administrators.

Stay Focused: Strategies for Implementing the GFSF Follow-Up Modules for 10th, 11th, and 12th Grades
Learn how to effectively integrate these 16-lesson follow-up modules in an existing class. This session will be an overview of each of the three modules.

Stay Focused: GFSF Follow-Up Module 1: In-Depth Curriculum Training
Participants will explore the 10th grade follow-up module and be given pacing guides and other resources. The 10th grade module has students research high-wage, high-demand careers as well as update their 10-year Plan.

Stay Focused: GFSF Follow-Up Module 2: In-Depth Curriculum Training
Participants will explore the 11th grade follow-up module and be given pacing guides and other resources. The 11th grade module helps students research STEM careers as well as learn about how to select an appropriate college major and update their 10-year Plan.

Stay Focused: GFSF Follow-Up Module 3: In-Depth Curriculum Training
Participants will explore the 12th grade follow-up module and be given pacing guides and other resources. The 12th grade module guides students to learn about college support systems, financial aid, college applications, and mock interviewing. Students also update their 10-year Plans as well as build a Skills-based Education Plan.

GFSF and CDE's College & Career Indicator
How is your school meeting the California Department of Education's College/Career Indicators? Students who complete the a-g approved GFSF dual enrollment course with a grade C- or better will fulfill one of the two Prepared requirements of the CCI indicator AND are eligible to earn 1 semester of Dual Enrollment credit (3 units) through their local community college.

GFSF Alignment with California Department of Education State Standards
This session will provide an integrated crosswalk on how each chapter in all GFSF curriculum, Middle School through High School, aligns to the CA Common State Standards for: English Language Arts, NGSS, Math, History/Social Sciences, CTE Anchor Standards, College and Career Ready Practice Standards, California Standards for School Counseling Profession, and MTSS. Attendees will know how to better deliver their curriculum regardless of what their teaching and/or counseling credential subject states by better aligning their subject matter with colleagues and ensuring they are all serving their students for successful outcomes by middle school transition and/or high school graduation.

K12 Strong Workforce Outcome Metrics
This session will discuss and elaborate on requirements for K12 SWP funding. Section 88828 has been added to CA Education Code which specifies that K12 LEAs applying for funding shall meet all of the listed minimum eligibility standards (paraphrased here): Informed by, aligned with, and expands upon regional plans and planning efforts occurring through the Strong Workforce Program; offers high-quality CTE instruction; provides quality career education and guidance; provides pupil services; provides work-based learning opportunities; leads to credentials and/or postsecondary or employment; staffed by qualified teachers; reports data including demographic data used for closing equity gaps and earnings of underserved groups.

Fostering Data Conversations that Support Guided Pathways Planning
Guided pathways present the opportunity to improve many aspects of college practice, culture, and structures, but how do you decide where to start? This session will walk you through several free data dashboards that provide data on students' outcomes in high school, transition to college, and college success. Then, you will learn ways to use these data points to support local planning and prioritization, including hearing examples of how other colleges have used data to focus their efforts.

Utilizing My10yearPlan.com® across the High School Campus for Academic Coaching
This session will detail successful use of the students' 10-year Plans, begun in 9th grade and updated through the GFSF Follow-up Modules in 10th, 11th, and 12th grades, by teachers, counselors, administrators, and even parents.

Using My10yearPlan.com® to Help Students Clarify their Guided Pathway Selection
Participants will learn how to utilize the online Skills-based 10-year Plan with students to achieve a well-informed pathway decision.

How Colleges can use My10yearPlan.com® to Help Students Enter their Guided Pathway Selection
This session will show how college leadership and student affairs professionals can leverage feeder high schools' online 10-year Plans to inform student Pathway and Major decisions before they reach their campus.

The College Counselor's Use of My10yearPlan Incorporating the 10-year Plan into advising for new students can lead to the development of abbreviated and comprehensive education plans that better fit the short and long-term goals of your matriculating students. When students have made informed decisions about their future, counselors can provide more relevant and robust resources to support student success in college and career.

Career Development in Middle Schools/High Schools
Participants will learn how the Building a Bridge to Your Future curriculum helps students become excited to engage in career planning in high school and how the GFSF curriculum will move them from a direction to a destination. The session will also explore the importance of non-cognitive factors, career self-efficacy, and relevant research.

Overview of the Building a Bridge to Your Future Curriculum
This session will provide an overview of the scope and sequence of the Building a Bridge to Your Future curriculum. Participants will be provided with pacing guides, instructional resources, best practice tips for implementation, and an overview of the instructor's guide.

Launching your GFSF Program with a Thematic Approach
Hear from GFSF schools that have found creative and impactful ways to launch their initiative with a school-wide theme that builds enthusiasm, community, and vision.

Whole School Buy-In: Changing the School Culture through Family and Community Involvement
This session will explore the powerful impact of a GFSF community effort. Learn how involving families and local industry can enhance your GFSF efforts.

Leading the Vision: The Role of the Lead Teacher
Learn how successful GFSF Lead Teachers implement the program and guide their colleagues and school community to a shared GFSF vision through ongoing professional development.

Meet the Pros: A Conversation with Mentor Teachers
This session will be a round table discussion where participants will have the opportunity to move to each table and learn from the best and most experienced GFSF high school teachers and administrators.

Keynote Presentation Follow-up Session with the Statewide Experts
Don't miss this opportunity with our Keynote speakers to ask targeted questions about K12 Strong Workforce, the CDE's College and Career Indicator Metrics, how to boost your efforts on the CA Dashboard, and the vision for bringing Guided Pathways to K12.

Funding Strategies: Concrete Ideas for Integrating Initiatives
GFSF provides a means for linking diverse improvement efforts across your campus and for bridging silos between CTE, general education, instruction, and student services. But what does that really look like? This session will share specific examples of how you can leverage funding, including how to write GFSF into your LCAP, and the work already underway through Strong Workforce to advance Guided Pathways.

Building Strong Alliances: Elements Within the New K12 Strong Workforce Program
This session will serve as a follow-on from the morning's opening keynote presentation on the new K12 Strong Workforce Program leading into community college Guided Pathways. Section 88821 of CA Education Code has been amended to establish The Strong Workforce Program as a K14 state education, economic, and workforce development initiative for the purpose of expanding the availability of high-quality, industry-valued career technical education and workforce development courses, programs, pathways, credentials, certificates, and degrees. Session participants will receive more in-depth explanation of the requirements as well as have the opportunity to ask targeted questions.

Crosswalk Showing how GFSF Meets the Guided Pathways Pillars
During this session, we will explore how to build on our past efforts and evolve our thinking about how students are recruited to, enter, and progress through our colleges so they complete their goals at markedly higher rates. We will begin by exploring a story of one college's journey to increase outcomes and will set the table for an exploration of guided pathways by focusing on the issues of economic mobility and equity and intersegmental alignment.

Adult Education with GFSF: Preparing Adult Students for Success in Colleges, Technical Training Programs, Work, and Citizenship
Want your students to reach economic independence by working in a career that they love? Use the GFSF/Career Choices and Changes curriculum to gently guide learners through the process of making some of life's most important decisions. Students exit the 18-week course with a researched, realistic, and actionable plan for their postsecondary education, career, and lifestyle. At Elk Grove Adult and Community Education's Career and Academic Preparation (Adult Basic Education) program, we are in our fourth year of using CCC, and about 95% of our 'graduates' have implemented their plans and are persevering. After completing the course, they are now more effectively contributing to their families, schools, workplaces, and communities through education/training and/or by earning a living wage from fulfilling careers. Come and see how CCC works and how it transforms lives.

Adult Education with GFSF: Preparing Adult Students for Success in Colleges, Technical Training Programs, Work, and Citizenship
Want your students to reach economic independence by working in a career that they love? Use the GFSF/Career Choices and Changes curriculum to gently guide learners through the process of making some of life's most important decisions. Students exit the 18-week course with a researched, realistic, and actionable plan for their postsecondary education, career, and lifestyle. At Elk Grove Adult and Community Education's Career and Academic Preparation (Adult Basic Education) program, we are in our fourth year of using CCC, and about 95% of our 'graduates' have implemented their plans and are persevering. After completing the course, they are now more effectively contributing to their families, schools, workplaces, and communities through education/training and/or by earning a living wage from fulfilling careers. Come and see how CCC works and how it transforms lives.