Strengthening the Workforce
Workforce Implementation Committee
CAN convenes the Expanded Learning Workforce Implementation Committee. Between 2020-2021, the Committee will focus on the following strategies:
- Data Collection: Establishing a shared understanding of the job titles, job descriptions, and employment requirements of the Expanded Learning workforce.
- Career Pathways: Articulating a common vision of the Expanded Learning workforce that outlines the many entry points into, within, and beyond Expanded Learning careers. The Unifying Vision of the Expanded Learning Workforce in California will be released in spring 2021.
- Equitable Workforce Strategies: Exploring and developing an earn and learn model that will promote career advancement and economic mobility for low-income people and people of color.
Expanded Learning Teacher Apprenticeship Pathway Project
The Expanded Learning Teacher Apprenticeship Pathway project aims to create pathways for Expanded Learning professionals to become teachers. The project will examine the viability of a partnership role for Expanded Learning program providers in a teacher residency program model, and explore other teacher pathway and apprenticeship models. Ultimately, increasing access for Expanded Learning professionals into and through teacher preparation programs will result in more diverse teachers and teachers better prepared to meet the needs of students, and pathways for Expanded Learning professionals to thrive in their careers.
Expanded Learning Workforce and COVID-19 Advisory Group
Across the state and country, communities of color and low-income communities––the very same communities that make-up a large percentage of the Expanded Learning workforce––are being disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. CAN rapidly convened Expanded Learning stakeholders across California to surface the impact of COVID-19 on the Expanded Learning workforce. To ensure the Expanded Learning field advances equity- and justice-centered recovery strategies, an equity strategy screen was developed: Considerations for an Equitable Recovery for the Expanded Learning Workforce.
Recommendations for the Development of a Diverse and Thriving Expanded Learning Workforce
The Recommendations for the Development of a Diverse and Thriving Expanded Learning Workforce report, developed by the Workforce Strategy Committee, was released in February 2019. The report includes policy recommendations, workforce data collection needs, and partnership opportunities to strengthen opportunities for the Expanded Learning workforce in their career development.