CVCC Adult Basic Education Academy chosen for NCCCS pilot program
Catawba Valley Community College’s Adult Basic Education Academy is one of two Intellectually and Developmentally Disabled (IDD) programs in the state community college system to be selected for a pilot program run through the North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS).
08/15/2022
Out of 58 community colleges and 11 community-based organizations, CVCC was chosen alongside Brunswick Community College to help develop Best Practices for IDD programs for other community colleges across the state.
The grant provides more than a quarter of a million dollars over a period of two years to assist the CVCC IDD program in establishing Best Practices research and implementation. Ultimately, this pilot means CVCC is a lead college which serves as a model for IDD Best Practices.
“Our differently abled students are amazing employees,” said Dr. Chanell Butler Morello, associate dean of College and Career Readiness at Catawba Valley Community College. “Our IDD students need quality education, and many community colleges don’t know where to start. With these toolkits, community colleges can serve this population to the best of their ability.”
Adult Basic Education (ABE) coordinator Vickie Vinson is delighted to receive the grant, and expects the project will yield positive results not only for our college, but also for colleges across the state.
“Over the last five years, the ABE Academy has developed a strong Employ-ABILITY Pathway through cross-departmental collaborative efforts between College and Career Readiness, Human Resources Development, Workforce Development and Business and Industry Training at CVCC,” Vinson said. “The receipt of this grant is a direct result of the effort put into establishing a strong academic and vocational training opportunity for our IDD population on campus, and the positive student outcomes from the existing program. With the additional grant funds, we will have the opportunity to expand our current program into more career-specific classes and trainings for our students.”
As part of the IDD pilot, Vinson and her colleagues will develop a toolkit to help others implement Best Practices in IDD curriculums. Each toolkit workbook will include specific information that college faculty and administrations may use as a self-assessment process while they begin to develop or improve their programs. In addition, these workbooks will incorporate resource pages to inform colleges about available assistive technologies and to list key contacts at the state and national levels. Once developed, the toolkits will be distributed to other community colleges to help them set up a successful vocational training program for the IDD adult population in their area.
“The pilot program also allows CVCC the opportunity to look into more creative ways to serve the IDD population across campus,” Vinson said. “We believe our differently abled students have so much unlocked potential and this is a tremendous opportunity to share that potential with the community by preparing well-trained, qualified employees for the local job market.”
This year, Vinson decided to focus on Early Childhood Education and Manufacturing pathways. After researching job data for the Unifour area, Vinson and her College & Career Readiness colleagues at CVCC determined that there is a high demand in these areas and additional training would help all of the CCR students, specifically the ABE students, to find the right jobs upon completion of these programs.
There are 46 students enrolled in CVCC’s Adult Basic Education Academy program with classrooms on both the East Campus and the Alexander Center for Education in Taylorsville. Throughout the year, these students participate in the Working Smart Program and take classes in digital literacy, computer literacy, employability skills, hospitality & tourism and marketing as well as many other vocational classes offered through Workforce Development and Human Resources Development.
Although CVCC has had an ABE pathway since 2017, the program is looking to develop more career-specific pathways for all types of College & Career Readiness programs, in addition to the very successful Employ-ABILITY Pathway that is currently offered.
Morello, Vinson and their colleagues hope these pathways will remain open to all ABE, ESL and Adult High School Secondary Credentials. Expanding these industry-specific pathways will allow students in IDD programs to leave CVCC full of confidence and competence in any career they wish to pursue.
For more information on the Adult Basic Education Academy at Catawba Valley Community College, please visit Adult Basic Education website.
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