February Business After Hours Mixer
Date: February 23, 2012
 
New Member Welcome Reception
Date: March 21, 2012
 
New Member Welcome Reception
Date: May 16, 2012
 


Submit your event>>

Workforce Development Division

Sponsors

     

Celebrate Community Partners

Abbey, Weitzenberg, Warren & Emery
Empire College
Friedman's Home Improvement
G&G Supermarkets
Kaiser Permanente
PG&E
Redwood Credit Union
Santa Rosa Junior College
Spring Lake Village
The Press Democrat
Winzler & Kelly

Division Chair:  Bob Reynolds, Innovative Business Solutions

Mission Statement: To encourage greater collaboration between the Education Community and the Business Community, leading to creation of a more dynamic, progressive, and well-prepared local workforce.

The Workforce Development Division is highly focused on English Language Learning, working with a large coalition of community organizations, and focusing on several areas of English Language Learning.  The English Language Learning committee meets the second Friday of the month at 9:30.

The division plans the award-winning Mike Hauser Algebra Academy which targets English Language Learner students entering the eighth and ninth grades in the fall.  The students spend three weeks at sponsor companies, learning algebra standards and their application to high-tech real-world situations.

This division also manages the Chamber's Worksite Held Employee English Learning (WHEEL) program.  WHEEL is a 5-part program that employers can adapt to meet the specific needs of their own employees:

  • The program begins with "Turning Pages," a program of the California Parenting Institute that provides literacy education resources and practice for low income English language learner families with children 0-5 years of age.  The premise of "Turning Pages" is that when a parent is involved and engaged in their child's education, a child is much more likely to succeed academically.
  • The next component connects employees within a particular business with representatives of their local school district.  These representatives help parents learn to communicate better with their children's teachers and inform them about the educational resources available to their children.
  • The next part of the program is a series of after-hours English classes offered to employees at their workplace.  It becomes much easier for English-learners who have other responsibilities at home to attend English classes at their worksite. Classes can be tailored to include industry specific or safety related language.
  • Within the context of the English classes, a special Financial Literacy program, presented by Exchange Bank, gives employees basic skills to manage their personal finances, including instruction on creating a household budget, managing a checking account and savings accounts, and what to watch out for when applying for credit.
  • Finally, the employees are offered an opportunity to engage in some kind of community service project, as a group on their own time. This phase has been found to be particularly empowering, as well as building teamwork, morale, and self-esteem.

For more information, please contact Kelly Bass at 707.545.1414 x16 or kellyb@santarosachamber.com or click learn more here.

For Workforce Development Photos, click here.

Mike Hauser Algebra Academy Receives Champions for Children Award

In October 2011, Community Child Care Council (4Cs) awarded the Mike Hauser Algebra Academy its Champions for Children Award in the Business category. The video below, produced by 4Cs, highlights the Algebra Academy as well as other Champions for Children award winners.

Santa Rosa Chamber WHEEL and Algebra Academy Program featured in the North Bay Biz
The Chamber was featured in the October 2010 issue of the North Bay Biz for helping employees become more fluent in English through the WHEEL (Worksite Held Employee English Learning) program as well as closing the achievement gap in education between those who speak English and those who don't through the Algebra Academy program. Algebra Academy is a summer program for those entering eight or ninth grade, spending three weeks at partner companies: Agilent, JDSU, Medtronic and PG&E. To read the article, please click here.

The Institute for a Competitive Workforce (ICW) is the non-profit, non-partisan, 501(c)3 affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that promotes the rigorous educational standards and effective job training systems needed to preserve the strength of America’s greatest economic resource, its workforce. To read the ICW's report on supporting early childhood education, please click here. 

The following are companies that are currently actively participating in the WHEEL program:
Amy’s Kitchen
Best Western Wine Country Inn & Suites
Community Child Care Council
Dry Creek Rancheria
EMG Pickups
La Tortilla Factory
Lemo, USA
Neil-Med