Special Populations Collaborative

About Us

Project Purpose

The California Community College Special Populations Collaborative Project’s goal is to improve access and performance in Career and Technical Education for students from special populations. Special population students are defined in the federal Perkins Career and Technical Education Act as “individuals with disabilities; individuals from economically disadvantaged families, including foster children; single parents, including single pregnant women; displaced homemakers; individuals with limited English proficiency; and individuals preparing for nontraditional fields.” A nontraditional field is one in which fewer than 25% of the workers in that field are of the student’s gender.

For special population students to succeed in an age of increasing competition for employment, proactive student support services are essential. The Special Populations Collaborative Project is designed to assist faculty and staff in guiding special population students to develop academic, technical, and workplace skills.

Project Activities

The project carries out the following activities,

  • Examining the performance and progress of special population students though analyses of the Chancellor’s Office Perkins Core Indicator data.
  • Identifying barriers affecting special population students
  • Identifying, developing, and disseminating materials and resources to support special populations, including sharing information on effective practices.
  • Linking with other state and federal agencies serving special populations and offering jointly developed professional development and technical assistance.
  • Expanding the relationship between the California Department of Education and the California Community College Chancellor’s Office in serving special population students.

Products and information emanating from the activities are posted
on this website.

Project Support

The project is funded by the Jonathan S. Perkins Career and Technical
Education Act through a grant awarded by the California Community
Colleges Chancellor’s Office to West Hills Community College
District.

Posts you might find useful: