Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Wenatchee Valley College (WVC), located in North Central Washington (NCW), is a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) that provides academic and community education to constituents in three Counties--Chelan, Douglas, and Okanogan. These three counties comprise the WVC service district (WVCSD), a 10,000 square mile expanse that is home to 164,116 residents. The significant contribution of the WVCSD to tree fruit and wine production is intricately woven into the fabric of the population identity, drawing individuals from diverse backgrounds who have migrated into this region, bringing with them a wealth of knowledge, skills, and hard work. The backbone of this labor force is dominated by Hispanic farmworkers, comprising approximately 62% of the agricultural labor force in the region. Despite this notable representation, most orchards and vineyards are owned and operated by White producers, signifying a harrowing disparity in ownership and representation within the agricultural sector. The Hispanic Orchard Employee Education Program (HOEEP) is addressing these inequities by cultivating the next generation of Hispanic agricultural leaders. The HOEEP program offers a nationally recognized certificate that has helped orchard workers rise from thinners and pickers to crew bosses, orchard and vineyard managers, and warehouse supervisors. The Sembrando Éxito: Cultivating Hispanic Leaders in Agriculture project aims to give more HOEEP students the additional skills and abilities that will give them access to higher paying orchard and vineyard field jobs, and the potential for land ownership and leadership roles in the industry.The Sembrando Éxito (Sowing Success) project will (1) revise courses in the HOEEP curriculum to incorporate modern content, research-based practices, leading edge technology, guided experiential learning, and leadership development activities; (2) develop a more strategic approach to outreach and recruitment; and (3) further expand pathways to college enrollment and degree attainment. These efforts will result in an increase of orchard and vineyard workers who can assume technical and managerial roles at their respective work sites. In addition, the transfer component of the project has the potential to impact the local and statewide food and agricultural industries by creating a pathway for an underserved segment of the population to attain higher level positions in the workforce. The expected outcomes for this project are that 90% or more of HOEEP students will complete the program and that each year a minimum of four students will enroll in an Associate Degree program, and that two or more students of those students will transfer to a four-year institution.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
The goal of the Sembrando Éxito project is to create educational pathways for Hispanic orchard and vineyard workers to achieve the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to advance in their roles within the agricultural industry; (2) transition from the certificate program to the AA/AS/AAST (Associate Degree-Transfer) degree; and (3) to encourage all students to continue their studies at a four-year institution.The objectives include:Project staff, in conjunction with WVC outreach staff, will recruit 90 orchard or vineyard employees each year for participation in the HOEEP certificate program.Each year, 90% of HOEEP participants (81) will attain a certificate completion with supported instruction and student services provided by WVC.Each year, 16 HOEEP students will attain their high school equivalency diploma (HSED).Each year, 6 HSED attainers will enter an Associate Degree program (AA/AS/AAS-T).By the end of the Sembrando Éxito project, at least six (6) HOEEP students will have transferred to an agriculture or related program at a four-year institution.Project faculty will revise five HOEEP courses to include research-based methodologies and relevant up-to-date technologies.HOEEP staff will engage in practices (formative and summative evaluation) that ensure continuous improvement.These objectives align with the HSI Education Grant Program objectives in the following ways. First, they address the need to attract and support students from underrepresented groups to undergraduate programs in the agricultural sciences. This, in turn, assures the agriculture workforce is equitable, resilient, and prosperous. Second, project objectives are designed to create a multi-level pathway that prepares students for careers related to the food and agricultural industry. Third, the revision of the curriculum is intended to improve instruction at the post-secondary level and create hands-on, field-based experiences that give farm workers the resources they need to succeed in private, non-profit, and public sector jobs. Finally, project objectives aim to provide orchard and vineyard workers with the knowledge and skills needed for safe practices in their respective jobs, ensuring all Americans have safe, nutritious food.
Project Methods
Two faculty members in the HOEEP program will serve as co-PDs for this project. They will oversee the four major components of the project (1) recruitment of participants; (2) curriculum revision; (3) implementation of the new courses; and (4) development of students' leadership skills and abilities.For the curriculum revision HOEEP faculty members will work collaboratively with faculty in the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Biology, Automotive Technology, the Dean of Allied Health and Technical Programs, the HOEEP Advisory Board, and WVC faculty and administrators to revise five HOEEP courses. In addition, the HOEEP team will collaborate with specialists in Information Technology, Computer Technology, and Industrial Technology to bring the technology component of the curriculum into the 21st Century. Curriculum updates will include (1) more experiential learning at the classroom level; (2) the use of more evidenced-based/research-based instructional strategies; (3) modern day approaches to pest management, farm management, and viticulture. In addition, the curriculum will be modified to incorporate advances in the use of technology in the agricultural enterprise. Among other things, students will learn to use drones in modern day agriculture (specifically in the tree fruit and wine industries), and they will learn to use computer software to assess the health status of crops and estimate levels of crop production.The External Evaluation will use a mixed methods approach to generate formative and summative information. Formative information will be used for continuous improvement of the program. Data collection methods will include surveys, focus groups, and interviews. Interviews will be 60-minutes in length and will be transcribed and uploaded into qualitative narrative analysis software called Dedoose. The transcripts will be coded to reveal overarching themes. All data collected will be analyzed, summarized, and used to develop an annual report. Formative data will be shared with program leadership in a timely manner for program improvement. Measures of success will include:Number of orchard/vineyard employees recruitedPercent of HOEEP students who attained a certification of completionNumber of HOEEP students who attained their HSEDNumber of HSED attainers who enter an Associate Degree programNumber of HOEEP students who transferred to an agriculture or related program in a 4-year university.Number of courses that were revisedNumber of HOEEP staff and advisory board meetings with a focus on reflection, data-driven decisions, and improvement