Program Components:

Academic/remedial support

Career counseling/exploration

Life skills

Mary Ann Kruse, Program Coordinator

Mary Ann Castellanos, Student Assistant

1313 12th Ave

San Diego, CA 92101

education, training, and employment to be more successful through better time and life

management.

San Diego City College’s New Horizons program conducted a needs assessment that

determined that single parent and displaced homemaker students have similar concerns.

These include where to locate child or medical care, how to access transportation

options, time management issues, questions about resumes and interviews, etc. The staff

was also faced with increased demand for service and thus the need to streamline

services. They decided to develop a planner than would enable students to manage their

time, access resources, and understand career options. The Planner includes:

• Student services available at San Diego City College

• A 16-month calendar with no dates in order to increase the usefulness and

decrease the cost per/semester

• Career Development Tips including:

Career selection

Career Opportunities

Career Opportunities

Non-traditional careers

• Employment Development techniques including:

Preparing for, finding, and keeping a job

Resume writing

• Life skill Strategies on:

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Effective Parenting

Money Management

Stress Management

Time Management

• Community and Emergency Resources

• Personal Directory

• Notes

The project coordinated with the graphic design department and development costs were

kept to a minimum by having graphic design classes compete to design the cover of the

planner. Because much writing was done prior to design and layout decision,

considerable re-writing had to take place. To avoid this, starting with the layout (size and

shape) is suggested, allowing for the writing to fit the design. The planner was funded

via a mini-grant from the San Diego Regional consortia for $3,400. There was a

$200.00 prize for the winning cover design. Printing was $2.12 each and 1500 were

printed for a total of $3380.00.

The planner was sent and marketed to all vocational education instructors at San Diego

City College. The students who have received and used the planner have reported back

that the use of a planner has made their educational and personal lives more focused,

organized, and enabled them to plan their time and classes more effectively.

Mary Ann Castellanos, a New Horizons student, and Academic Planner user, says that she

is better able to see the future outcome of her goals as she has them listed and broken

down in steps week-by-week. Additionally, she says that she likes that she can see the

path her education will take as she has it listed by semester. She says that it makes her

better able to “see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

In 2004-05 the program completed a third printing of the planning due to order from

District instructors and counselors.