Gutierrez was the sole Klamath Falls educator among nearly 20 individuals in education and business to attend the invitation-only roundtable. Brown’s tour also included high schools in Bend and Eugene, where she urged students to become involved in raising graduation rates. The visits were part of a tour leading up to the State of the State address she delivered during a joint session of the Oregon Legislature Monday in Salem.

Gutierrez told Brown about the college’s efforts that started in 2013 to recreate the successes of a career academy approach first implemented by South Texas College.

“My main focus was on the successes of how much our students here in this part of southern Oregon are much more academically prepared, and I gave credit to some of the things we borrowed from Texas,” Gutierrez said.

“We have the data to back up that what we did five years ago, it’s working,” he added. “The graduation rates are improving.”

Innovative solutions

Gutierrez said, at the time in 2013, community college officials scoured Oregon and couldn’t find the innovative solutions needed in the Klamath Basin.

“We looked across the United States and we found a place in Texas,” Gutierrez said. “We implemented those ideas from Texas here and we’ve gone all out. And it’s been five years, and we stuck to the plan.

“I said, ‘Governor, I’m happy to report that it’s working, the needle is moving,’” Gutierrez added.

“It was done with strong cooperation with our K-12 partners, and one of the ways we did it was with dual credit at the high school (level). We didn’t lower our standards.”

During the roundtable, Gutierrez said he was also asked about any challenges currently hindering KCC.

“Right now, one of the things that’s hindering us from working even more with our K-12 partners is that we don’t align with them with semesters,” Gutierrez said. “We’re quarters and they’re semesters, and that’s difficult for the students to go back and forth with us.”

Semester pitch

Gutierrez plans to meet with the Higher Education Coordinating Council on Thursday, where he may also pitch the concept of semesters for KCC, and other community colleges.

“It is expensive to do that,” Gutierrez said, but emphasized the potential impact.

“I believe it would help K-12 students really take more dual credit,” Gutierrez said, “… by us moving to semesters.”

The difference would look like changing from a roughly 11-week quarter to roughly 15- or 16-week semester.

“Can you imagine how seamlessly we can go from our K-12 partners and the students back and forth?” Gutierrez said. “That would really help with student retention, student success, and student completion. Right now, we don’t line up.”

Gutierrez said to work around problems associated with semesters vs. quarter systems, the community college has synchronously beamed courses to various high schools.

“That is growing because our K-12 partners want more of that,” Gutierrez said.

KCC successes

Gutierrez also used the visit with Gov. Brown as a way to highlight KCC’s cumulative successes during the last five years with the college’s proactive approach to addressing the need for dual credit options for Klamath Basin high school students.

“We started with the highest dev-ed (developmental education) rate of all 17 community colleges (statewide),” Gutierrez said. “Five years later, we dropped that in half.”

“We need to celebrate,” he added.

Gutierrez said the community college plans to celebrate its successes along with a grand opening for Founders Hall and the Work Skills Technology Center May 10.

“To really say, look what’s happening,” Gutierrez said. “This is not a time to slow down, but a quick pause and reflect, and say, ‘It’s working. Alright, we’ve got to keep going.’”

Long-term vision

Gutierrez said his long-term vision for moving forward, he would like to see more four-year bachelor degrees available at KCC. He also would like to see the creation of apprenticeship programs with middle and high schools as well as a full dual-credit certificate for high school students at graduation. All are concepts that would require approval from KCC’s Board of Education.

“These things don’t happen alone,” Gutierrez said. “We need full engagement, full commitment from our community. That’s how these things happen.”

Gutierrez will speak about partnerships with city schools at the Klamath Falls City Schools District board meeting on Monday, Feb. 12.

He also pledged his commitment to remain in his role at KCC at the discretion of the board, which has renewed his contract based on merit and performance each year since he started in April 2012.

Gutierrez said his next renewal consideration, at the “will” of the board, is planned for June or July.

“I have no plans to leave this community,” Gutierrez said. “Our community is engaged and supportive so I have no plans to go anywhere.”

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A Seat at the Table (H&N)