The Faculty Center at Pierce College was filled with laughter and smiles Wednesday morning as LACCD Chancellor Francisco Rodriguez, opened up the district’s “Chat with the Chancellor” with light hearted jokes.
Rodriguez came onto campus to discuss with students and faculty the three major transitions the LACCD will be going through, as well as get feedback from the staff on campus.
“I’m thrilled to visit the students and faculty of Pierce College. There’s good folks, good vision, good energy, and it’s a wonderful way to start the day,” Rodriguez said. “What I’m hoping to get out of today is a sense of the pulse – the things that people like – so we can continue to reinforce the areas that we can improve on.”
He went on to explain that this “pulse check” for him is so that he can make sure that the district is providing the support needed by the people in it. Starting this fall, curriculum guidelines following AB 705 will remove placement test in Math and English.
Rodriguez assured the audience there will be tutoring and workshops in those subjects to help ensure student success.
Another one of the major transitions that was discussed was the change of the district’s current funding model. Rodriguez briefly touched on the subject, explaining that in about two and a half years that the district will be funded through a student-focused funding formula.
The second half of the “Chat with the Chancellor” forum was a chance for the Chancellor to hear from the people who are on campus everyday.
“These types of opportunities for [Rodriguez] are wonderful because he gets to see us in a different light, but for us it’s a great thing too. We get to engage with him and that’s what we want,” said Interim President Larry Buckley. “It gives him a first hand knowledge of the programs we have, and what we are doing effectively or even where we can improve.”
He had two prompts that he proposed to the audience, “What do you like about the school” and “What works?”
“I just wanted to hear the Chancellor talk about how he can help Pierce College, we are doing a lot of important things so making sure we get the proper funding to stabilize teachers so that we can help our students better,” said College Staff Guild, AFT 1521A Union Representative Miguel Montanez.
