Dear SDCCE Community,

Today marks the first day of Black Student Success Week! Please join us for an empowering interactive experience! This year's theme, "Building A Better Future Together: The Urgency Is Now," underscores our commitment to fostering educational growth and success among our Black students. All SDCCE events (see flyer) will be held at Mid-City Campus in Room 203 and virtually via Zoom.

I also want to wish all who celebrate a happy Passover, which is observed from April 22nd through April 30th. Passover is a Jewish celebration of liberation and is commemorated over a seven day period with food, prayer, and community.

Lastly, I look forward to celebrating our students' birthday during our annual scholarship and awards ceremony taking place this Friday, April 26th from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Educational Cultural Complex. We will award a generous $87,475 in scholarships and awards to 188 SDCCE career and college bound students!

Enrollment Updates

SDCCE’s overall enrollment for spring stands at 30,887 (6% greater than this time last year, and a 0.5% increase from last week). SDCCE’s overall headcount is currently 16,334, an increase of 7% compared to last spring (15,228) and a 1% increase compared to the previous week (16,174). FTEF scheduled for the spring semester is 3% greater than last spring (191.16 to 185.17). View enrollment report here.

My series of President's Coffee and Chats/Staffing Study Roadshows continue this week:

• Monday, April 22: West City – Conference room 119, 10:15am
• Tuesday, April 23: North City – Multi Purpose room 101/102, 2:30pm
• Wednesday, April 24: Mid-City – Conference Room 127, 4:00pm
• Friday, April 26th: Educational Cultural Complex – President’s Conference Room 106, 12pm

SDCCE has exceeded all past years in the number of student assessment data collected during SLO assessment week! Look for institutional data results in the upcoming SLO Newsletter and SLO Assessment Week 2024 in review. In the meantime, let's celebrate this milestone in SLO Assessment Week participation. Thank you Marne Foster, Stacy Surwilo, Esteban Alvarado, Margaret Posner, Carrie Lewis, Lee Blackmore, Kirsten Lachenmayr, Diana Vera-Alba, Jesus Rivas, Finnley Armacost and the entire SLO team for leading these critical efforts for our college!

Our college's Emeritus Program will host its fourth annual benefit concert this Saturday, April 27th, at 3 p.m. at  Canyon Crest Academy (5951 Village Center Loop Road). Admission is free, donations are encouraged.

Thank you to all who joined us for this year’s Faculty Appreciation "All Stars" Event! View and Download your photos here.

SDCCE Healthcare Professor Kenny Parker went on air with FOX 5 San Diego and nationally with BorderReport to discuss our tuition-free healthcare career training programs and to welcome immigrants and refugees to our college.

I am pleased to announce robotic welding is coming to SDCCE! While our students already have access to five tuition-free welding certificates: Shielding Metal Arc Welding; Gas Metal and Flux Cored Arc Welding; Gas Tungsten Arc Welding and Pipe Welding, a $300,000 technology upgrade is underway. The 100,000 square foot welding facility located at the Educational Cultural Complex will be equipped with a plasma cutter robot, a welder robot, electrical upgrades to equipment installed in the 1970s, as well as new smart TVs and cameras for HyFlex teaching. Learn more in the Times of San Diego, here.

Jack Finocchio, student welder at San Diego College of Continuing Education, joins KPBS Midday to share his experiences learning and working as a skilled-trade student. Tune in here.

In honor of National Welding Month, we are featuring #SDCCEGrad Sarah McKee, a former educator now welder.

Counselors are here to help! As we approach the end of the academic year, please encourage your students who are close to program completion to connect with a counselor, so we can provide assistance with the following:

• Exploring other CTE programs
• Transitioning to College
• Graduation and Promise Application
• Career Services
• Updating Student Educational Plan
• Academic Counseling Related Services

The District Office of Professional Development Office will present a live Zoom Sexual Harassment Prevention Training with SHIFT in recognition of Sexual Assault Awareness Month and Denim Day 2024 on April 23rd from 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM.
Please register at: https://bit.ly/sdccdconsent College Flex #21560 | CE Flex # 31507

Our West City Campus ASB is sponsoring an Earth Day event on April 26th. They will be screening a movie, The Big Make. All are welcome to attend.

Save the date! A Districtwide 2024 Undocumented Student Conference will be held on May 3rd at City College.

Save the Date! SDCCE will host the African Immigrant Experiences and Challenges in Education for Workshop on May 13th from 1:00pm - 3:00pm.

Please RSVP to attend an enlightening workshop facilitated by Dr. Siri Brown. The workshop will focus on the African immigrant experience and the challenges faced by Black students, including those from Haiti and Somalia. It aims to explore the broader context of Black immigration and diaspora and encourage participants to be agents of change.

For SDCCE professional development opportunities, see flyer or visit the professional development web page for upcoming workshops.

SDCCE's USS Midway Museum welding partnership, Emeritus Professor Helena Wei, and a Q and A with Chancellor Gregory Smith are featured in the district's Spring 2024 With Excellence (WE) Magazine!

Our student's in the Emeritus writing courses with Professor Esteban Alvarado are garnering exciting success!

Our California Poet Laureate, Lee Herrick, launched his poetry project Our California to select and publish poetry from each county that celebrates the beauty of our state and communities. Six poems were selected to represent San Diego County, and three of these poems were written by members of our Writers Workshops including Jeff Armstrong, Rodney L. Lowman, and Yvonne Sherman. Read here.

Emeritus student Michelle Smith has been selected by Mounarath Powell Dance company to adapt her piece Ode to Jesse, which highlights racism in America both historically and within our modern age. This will be part of their Transformative Visions show May 2-4 at 6:30pm.

The San Diego Poetry Annual featured 11 of our Emeritus students; Ann M. Alves, Carre St. Andre, Tim Calaway, Nancy Foley, Lloyd Hill, Chi Ping Hu, Rodney L. Lowman, Linda Smith, Jean E. Taddonio, Marg Wafer, Lawrence Weiner.

Congratulations Professor Esteban Alvarado and to your students! This is a big win for our college.

With support from SDCCE ESL/Family Literacy Coordinator, Ildi Carrillo, Fay Elementary School was approved as an off-site location to offer two new free SDCCE English as a Second Language (ESL) classes for parents starting April 22nd.

More than 300 middle school students from across the county came together to attend workshops on college preparation, leadership, black empowerment, and more at the San Diego County Office of Education 2nd Annual Black Student Summit. Our Associate Dean of Outreach, Tavaris Franklin was among the speakers. Learn more here.

Dr. Franklin Garrett and SDCCE's CalWORKs team attended the 2024 CalWORKs Association Conference to highlight the wonderful work our college is doing for our CalWORKs students.

SDCCE's Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Committee Members held their first meeting for 1stGen on April 18th at Cesar Chavez Campus.

$4,225 of the $30,234 raised by SDCCE’s Team ABI (Acquired Brain Injury) during the 2024 surviveHEADSTRONG Walk and Health Fair, a fundraiser hosted by the San Diego Brain Injury Foundation will be distributed to students on April 26th in the form of a scholarship during SDCCE’s annual scholarship and award ceremony.

For SDCCE Classified Professionals, the 2024 STAR Conference will be held on Thursday, May 23rd, from 8:30 am to 1:30 pm at North City Campus! Breakfast and lunch will be served.

A reminder that all requests of the Communications Department must be approved by a dean or vice president and requires submission of a request form. You can find the Project Request Form link on the Faculty and Staff Resources Page of our website. Allow ten working days for a request to be completed. If a request needs immediate attention, please complete the form and contact the Public Information Officer.

President's Updates

I had the honor of presenting at the Study of Community College (CSCC) annual conference. I joined the Presidential Panelists panel to discuss Leading Change: Equity-Centered Leadership in Community Colleges. I proudly presented on noncredit reform and the transformative work SDCCE is leading for adult learners across the region.

I am excited to announce our new partnership with Clark Construction Group. The organization will host their first San Diego cohort of Strategic Partnership Program (SPP), this fall to empower business leaders. Classes will be held at the Educational Cultural Complex; applications are now open.

The Research Corner

This week we invite you to check the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office Management Information System Datamart. This resource will generate reports about student enrollments, services, outcomes, courses, and faculty data related to Colleges in California. Take a minute to review this resource and email jsalcedo001@sdccd.edu if you have any questions.

President's Office Hours

President's Office Hours are back! Individual zoom meetings will be 20 minutes and are available on a first come first serve basis. If you would like to schedule a virtual appointment with me, please email sdccepresident@sdccd.edu for detailed information.

Best,