CLEARLAKE— This Thursday at the Judge’s Breakfast in Clearlake Dr. Lizette Navarette, President of Woodland Community College, gave an update on the current campus operations as well as plans for the near future to enhance services at the institution.
Navarette began the discussion expressing her gratitude for Lake County Campus staff sharing “I am always impressed by how kind and caring our staff is.” She specifically thanked Mary Wilson for all she does for the campus. Navarette elaborated on staffing, explaining the several open positions and five interim positions that require permanent replacements noting “We are working on meeting the needs of the community now and in the future.” Some of these positions include a dean, counselors, a marketing director and a biology instructor.
Attendance is a common problem amongst educational institutions, as the Lake County campus has not yet returned to their pre-pandemic enrollment. Coupled with what Navarette referred to as the “next recession” the Woodland Community College had begun discussions on making budgetary cuts, but where to begin? Navarette mentioned that the suggestion was made to cut some of the Athletics department, but she worries that there are certain students who only enroll for that department and without it the campus would be missing the mark for those types of applicants.
Lake County Office of Education Superintendent Brock Falkenberg commented on the fact that one third of Lake County residents commute outside of the county for work, the majority to Sonoma County. He asked what can be done to help keep the county’s workforce working here in Lake County. Navarette’s response was that the campus is working to better prepare students for local employment and plans to do so by providing more classes for medical professionals as well as viticulture considering how agriculture is still a leading industry in this county.
Falkenberg also inquired about the role of the college’s Acedemic Senate. Navarette outlined the senate explaining that it is composed of staff members who act as representation on behalf of the faculty. This body will address matters concerning staffing, retention, curricular and tenure matters as well as others. According to Navarette, the Woodland Community College campus has a great working relationship with the academic senate and continues to work in collaboration with them.
Ariel Carmona, editor of the Lake County Record Bee, asked about basic computer classes as it is not uncommon to encounter residents and employees in varous industries who cannot execute simple computer tasks such as operating the Windows operating system, for example. Patricia Barba, LCC Interim Dean, responded noting that currently the LCC does not have staffing to run their Adult Basic Skills Class. She said that she understands the need for such a class as she believes many students, especially ESL (English as a Second Language) students, who are often pushed through the system with minimal comprehension of the English language could benefit from such enrichment programs. Wilson joined this discussion sharing the truth about low literacy rates at LCC stating “Twenty percent (of students) have no High School Diploma. Twenty percent speak English as a second language, who mostly speak Spanish.” The need for a revival of the basic skills class is imminent, with Navarette sharing that they have been working with the state in order to provide “more targeted, specialized services.”
Navarette also spoke to attendees at the breakfast forum about the college’s recent efforts to hire a Dean, looking for a qualified person in the area, as well as other prospective additions to the full-time faculty and counseling, as well as other supportive services.
The Judge’s Breakfast is held every Thursday morning at 7 a.m. inside of the Masonic Lodge in Clearlake. Next week’s guest speaker is Ernesto Padilla, CEO of Lake County Tribal Health and the meeting will not be at the Masonic Lodge as the breakfast will be hosted for one time only at the Tribal Health South Shore Campus located at 14440 Olympic Drive in Clearlake. The breakfast will still begin at 7 a.m. and is being prepared by Rosey Cooks.
