Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake Excel Center

[00:01] Announcer:

Welcome to Principal Center Radio, helping you build capacity for instructional leadership. Here's your host, Director of the Principal Center, Dr. Justin Bader. Welcome, everyone, to Principal Center Radio.

[00:13] SPEAKER_01:

I'm your host, Justin Bader, and I'm honored to welcome to the program Lisa Raciniak. Lisa is CEO of Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake, where she has worked for 26 years, and they are starting a new program called the Excel Center based on a national Goodwill model, which we're here to talk about today.

[00:34] Announcer:

And now, our feature presentation.

[00:37] SPEAKER_01:

Lisa, welcome to Principal Center Radio. Thank you for having me. Let's just jump right in. What is an Excel Center and who is it designed to help? Tell us a little bit about how your program works and maybe just give us a little bit of the national picture from Goodwill.

[00:50] SPEAKER_00:

So the Excel Center is an adult high school. It's for adults who, for whatever reason, couldn't complete high school. Our program is four days a week. When people come in, we create a calendar for them and a map on what classes they're going to take, when, how long they're going to be with us. Our academic terms are eight weeks, but we're very flexible because after all, we are dealing with adults who may have to take two buses to get to our facility and may have to drop off kids at school before they come. So we try to build in as much flexibility as we can for adults.

[01:27]

They may even be working. somewhere. People can be in this program for up to 16 months, and it's ages 21 and over, and it's completely free of charge. And we take people through no matter where they are with how many credits they need to graduate. We'll help them get those credits and get a high school diploma. What's unique about the program is it couples skills training credentialing with the high school diploma that when people leave, they're able to go out and get a job and hopefully a career that's what we call a middle skilled job with family sustaining wages.

[02:03]

Our hope is that this school really addresses a pretty big need in our Baltimore City region for people who didn't get their high school diploma. We've seen some statistics that between 60 and 80,000 people just in Baltimore City don't have their high school diploma. And this is needed because all of the skills training programs that are out there now require at least a reading level of ninth grade. So we need to bridge that gap and that's what the school will do.

[02:36] SPEAKER_01:

Wonderful. Well, as K-12 educators, you know, obviously we're concerned about students who don't finish high school. We're concerned about students who drop out, but when they do, they kind of disappear from our radar, right? We don't really know what happens to students after they walk away from high school. What is life like? What is the job market like for adults who reach their twenties without a high school diploma?

[03:03] SPEAKER_00:

Well, they're going to struggle because we know that people without a high school diploma earn as much as 70% less than people who do have one. We know that their income potential, but also the opportunities for other jobs are also limited. And so I think overall, it's a tough labor market to compete in without a high school diploma. And so what we want to do is get people diploma, get their credential, and get them on their pathway for a lifelong career.

[03:33] SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely. As we said in the introduction, Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake is opening a new Excel Center, but this is a model that has been in operation successfully nationwide for quite some time. Is that right?

[03:44] SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, we are going to be the 38th school to open in the country. There are a lot of Goodwills that are getting into the space because we know when we're looking at a person holistically, whether they need housing or They need recovery services, child care. They have a lack of employment history. They may have been incarcerated, leaving public assistance. All of these factors are addressed with the Excel Center. We have life coaches, we call them, that really do a whole life map.

[04:15]

And in that, we connect them to resources that they may need to address those barriers that I talked about. but also prepare people to work out how they're going to create a schedule, how they're going to map out transportation. We provide transportation vouchers with the Mass Transit Authority in Baltimore City. And we also have a drop-in daycare center for people with kids who, as long as they're in class, they can leave their kids in our daycare center and then come down and see them during a break. So what we're trying to do is make it as easy as possible and remove everything single barrier that we can so that we can get people to come attend and finish.

[04:56] SPEAKER_01:

Oh, that's huge to have childcare because certainly once you do have a child, that just makes everything more complicated, more moving pieces to arrange childcare. And of course, the cost of that and the opportunity costs that come with attending school just make that so difficult. What does the intake and assessment process look like? Because obviously if students didn't finish high school, they may be all over the place in terms of the skills and the needs that they have. So what does that look like when they begin in your program?

[05:23] SPEAKER_00:

Our first cohort starts today and we recruited 130 students we tested their reading and math levels before they came into our classes today and so they have to be 21 and not have a high school diploma from there it could vary so there could be an individual who dropped out in ninth grade and an individual who dropped out in the middle of 12th grade It doesn't matter to us. We're testing them and we'll meet them where they are at whatever level and work with them to get the credits and to of course, you know, develop that competency. So, you know, we know that the people that we have traditionally saw, people with disabilities, people coming out of the prison system or coming off of public assistance or, you know, may have been dislocated. Maybe they got laid off or maybe technology even replaced their job.

[06:18]

They're unique. And we know that adults are unique learners. They're not children, not youngsters. So our teachers are certified, of course, but they all are trained to teach adults. And when we take them through our program, when they get towards the end of completion, we will enroll them in one of our skills training certification programs. So we work with building trades.

[06:44]

We have pre-apprenticeship programs. We also have a pharmacy technician program. We work closely with CVS. We even have a mock pharmacy at one of the churches that we frequent. We have job fairs there and they're building out a whole CVS pharmacy in the lower level. So lots of jobs in those industries.

[07:06]

And then of course we do healthcare, a certified nursing assistant, geriatric nursing assistant, the medical technician, entry-level medical technician. And we chose these fields because they have a career pathway. You can quickly move up. Most of the employers that we work with have very distinct steps that you can take to get promoted and get to that next level, which is fantastic because so many people that we work with need additional skills once they get the job, once they get their foot in the door, and they have aspirations to do better. One of the things that motivates me the most about the school is that this is going to change families. So it's not just the individual we're affecting, but it's the whole family.

[07:49]

So imagine, you know, being able to help your kids with homework and your kids see a their parent getting up and going to school and work every day, and they're building in a work ethic. So I think this is going to impact generational poverty at a much greater level. Of course, we're only starting our school with 150 students, but I am very confident that we'll be able to attain more funding and open more schools. I think Baltimore City, a lot of the major metropolitan cities could probably do with more than one. school in their city. And that's what I want to do.

[08:23]

I want to open at least two or three more just in Baltimore City. Our territory spans most of metropolitan Baltimore and the Eastern Shore. And certainly there are lots of people out there. Like I mentioned in the beginning, you know, we think that there are between 60 and 80,000 just in the city without a high school diploma. We know the need out there is great. And so hopefully when we get rolling and we can demonstrate our success, we'll be able to attain more funding.

[08:52] SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, well, and that's great that you're connected with industries that, as you said, have a career pathway, right? Like we could probably all name dozens of jobs that don't require a high school diploma, but also don't really go anywhere, you know, that don't really provide, as you said, kind of a family sustaining wage. But you're saying you're able to connect graduates with career pathways that will start them, you know, from where they are, but then have the potential to increase in skills, responsibility and compensation.

[09:20] SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. And I think, you know, I was talking to someone earlier. I think that there's been a paradigm shift. I mean, probably when we went through high school, you know, we were all about getting ready for college. Everybody needs to go to college. If you're going to college, then, you know, what are you going to do with your life?

[09:36]

And I think that the trades and jobs that don't require a college degree have really got a bad reputation. And In actuality, the plumbers, the electricians, the health care workers, a lot of those positions that don't require degrees are, you know, six figure paying jobs. And I think that there's just been a stigma associated with those jobs that really we've done a disservice to folks who weren't ready to go to college or weren't college material, so to speak.

[10:07] SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and then as an economy, we realize, oh, we desperately need people in those jobs or it's impossible to get anything done, right? Like you want there to be someone to answer the phone. When you do have to call a plumber, you do need something built or repaired. Let's talk a little bit more about some of those industries. We talked about CNAs and you talked about the trades. Talk to us a little bit more about some of those trades that people are getting connected with after they finish an Excel center type program.

[10:35]

Because obviously there are skills that are required. There are skills that are taught in K-12 and there are skills that are taught in your program. What are employers, especially in the trades, looking for that Goodwill Industries helps candidates develop? Because I get the sense that there are multiple layers to this. There's reading, there's math. but there are, as you said, kind of the work habits and things like that.

[10:57]

Tell us a little bit more about the dispositions and the skills that people walk away with.

[11:01] SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. I mean, I think, as I said, you know, people that are coming to us for services, and we've helped thousands of people. We've been doing this workforce development work for over a hundred years, helping people get employed. And traditionally we've served people with disabilities. This opens up a much greater audience of people who, for whatever reason, dropped out. And the skills that employers need the most.

[11:27]

Here, number one thing, we need people to show up and show up on time, dressed appropriately, can work in a group setting, can get along with other people. Those are the basics. We focus on that initially to get people well-versed in learning to work. Then we spend time creating resumes, teaching people how to interview, and teaching people the basics of whatever industry they're going to work in. So if they're working in healthcare, our pharmacy tech training, for example, is done in an actual mock pharmacy. So it looks just like a pharmacy.

[12:07]

We're working with people to know how to talk with customers, how to talk with pharmacists. So we do all the language that's industry specific. for them, prepare them for what it's like to work in this industry, if there are environmental factors in the trades, for example, working outdoors. And we have a temporary staffing service that is intertwined with all this. So let's just say I want to be a veterinarian and I'm going to start out in healthcare. We may have a vet tech.

[12:40]

temporary position that someone could try out before they actually go into that field and see if they really like that, see if they're really comfortable with that, and they don't have to make a commitment in that industry. But all those fields have ladders. So we know there are lots of promotional opportunities and employers just want people they want people to come in with the right attitude with the credential with the high school diploma and the ability to learn and want to grow with that organization and that's really it it's not difficult, but it is. It's very difficult. I mean, working with humans who, for whatever reason, had life gotten in the way of them finishing high school or going into a skills training program. So this Excel Center will really help to help those people get a leg up.

[13:32] SPEAKER_01:

I wanted to ask if you had any advice as you've learned about adult learners and students who have not completed high school on time. If you had any advice for K-12 and you mentioned case management and some of the supports that you put in place to help people succeed. So as someone who sees kind of what works and what is not working for people in K-12, do you have any guidance for us who do work within the K-12 system to help more of our students so that we can send you fewer students And learn from what is working with your adult learners and maybe take some of those lessons to heart at the K-12 level.

[14:04] SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I think, you know, if I were teaching in a K-12, I guess the one thing I think that I've seen just over my last, you know, 26 years is that there's not a lot of life management skills, learning skills. And I think that's really important. Even my own daughter graduated from high school now, 2020. I still have to teach her how to balance a checkbook and do kind of like simplistic kinds of things that I don't think that we're preparing kids for now. And I also think it's a disservice to lead kids. our kids down this, you must have a college degree to get anywhere in life mentality.

[14:45]

Because I don't think that's true at all. I think there are lots of jobs out there that you don't need a college degree that you could be highly successful at. And I think that we need to start eliminating that stigma of those, you know, BOTEC kind of programs, because in reality, you You can see that's where our economy is going. And we're looking at a lot more technology. We need engineers. We need people to run equipment.

[15:11]

We need those kinds of jobs are out there and I think are in greater need than some of the other professions that we go be a lawyer, go be a doctor or dentist. We need plenty of people out there doing other manual labor kinds of jobs too. And they're very good paying and you know, not leading people down that path of must have a college degree, I think is probably really important for people that are in school now.

[15:43] SPEAKER_01:

You mentioned earlier that all of your teachers are certified teachers, but with a particular emphasis in working with adults. And we talked about some of the kind of support systems that are in place like childcare. When it comes to the teaching itself, what do you see as some of the key differences in working with adults? Because as K-12 teachers, we're certified to teach children and adolescents specifically, and not so much on the adult side. And even if you look at the college level, often college professors don't have any training to teach adults. They have only subject area expertise.

[16:17]

And we've probably all had a few college professors who seem to not really have any teaching expertise. What do you think it takes to be a successful teacher of adult learners?

[16:28] SPEAKER_00:

I think, you know, and I don't know the whole science behind it, but we know adults learn at a different pace and at a different level. And I also think there's a level of maturity also that has to be taken into consideration. So I think it's very different teaching adults and it requires some expertise for sure. When you're in college learning how to become a teacher and you learn kind of the ABCs, so to speak, tongue in cheek of teaching. When you teach adults, they've had life experience, their brains developed, they may have had work experience. So there's a certain level of, I guess, platitude teaching, training, and helping adults that's different than children.

[17:15] SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. And certainly the maturity sounds like a big factor. And I think we can probably all think of students who, you know, maybe if they had a little bit more time for development, a little bit more time to mature and And I've heard from quite a few adults who said, I was a terrible student in high school. I didn't have my head in the game. I wasn't mature. And now that I'm older, maybe they served some time in the military, had some life experiences that helped them mature.

[17:41]

They're ready to get back to education, ready to complete their degree and be able to move forward in life. Lisa, obviously there's huge value to the individual in completing a high school diploma and getting those skills and getting connected with employers that have career ladders in place. What are some of the collective benefits? Because as communities determine what to fund, what to contribute to, what to prioritize, there are cost-benefit analyses to conduct, right? What are some of the benefits to investing in adult education and And especially in high school diploma completion, what do you see happening in communities that makes this a good investment?

[18:22] SPEAKER_00:

Well, you know, I think my personal belief is that people who are earning their own paychecks have huge pride in that. And we work with people who may have not worked before, not had consistent working histories. And what we know about Excel Center graduates from our program other sister Goodwills that are running programs are that 70% of the graduates either enroll in college or they're employed within six months of completing the Excel Center program. That's tremendous. There's a 40% increase in employment for graduates and 39% of graduates increase their earnings compared to those without a diploma. But that's a lot of numbers.

[19:09]

But I think what it really boils down to is when you have neighborhoods and you see people working and you're setting an example for the other people, for the kids in that community, you're really making neighborhoods and communities better. As we start caring about work, start caring about a lot of other things, helping your kids with homework and being a part of the community. So I think there's a lot more engagement when people have jobs and they've achieved something. So many graduations I've been to before we started the Excel Center program, graduations from our skills training programs, you'll see graduates bring their entire families to the event because they've never walked across the stage. They've never received a certificate or any kind of, you achieved this.

[20:03]

They may have never even accomplished much to get recognition. And so it really means a lot. And, you know, you think about the confidence and, you know, the empowerment that you get from just that experience just by itself. And then you start proving it to yourself. You know, a lot of people come with us, they are living in poverty day in and day out, and we see a way for them to get out of it through employment. And that comes with education and skills training.

[20:35]

And case management obviously is the big part of that. So I think this is gonna be transformational for the communities that we serve for Baltimore City and for the whole state. I mean, we're really going to turn a lot of folks into very prideful taxpayers who are now part of, you know, a different world than they've experienced before.

[20:56] Announcer:

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