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R&DE’s Stepping Stones to Success: A Lifeline to a Better Future

On a recent afternoon, Antonio Gutierrez Segovia sat in pre-algebra class inside an Arrillaga Family Dining Commons conference room, his mathematical reasoning book cracked. Gutierrez Segovia and his classmates focused intently on a word problem neatly outlined on the white board before them: Two-thirds of Mrs. Jensen’s students passed the exam. If there are 24 total students, how many passed the exam?

Gutierrez Segovia faced this problem after he had already worked an eight-hour day as a custodian in Student Housing Operations. Still, there was nowhere the 25-year veteran would rather be.

That's because, for the first 19 of his years at the university, Gutierrez Segovia spoke minimal English and worked two jobs while raising six young children. The language barrier with the Stanford students he served was frustrating, as was his inability to help his children with their homework.

So, 15 years ago, when most of his children were grown, Gutierrez Segovia took an English class through Stepping Stones to Success (SSTS), a Stanford workplace education program created by Residential & Dining Enterprises (R&DE) and designed for entry-level university employees. He is working his way toward earning his General Education Diploma (GED). His wife, Maria, a custodian in Student Housing Operations, was taking English and computer classes. For many others, SSTS has become a lifeline to a better future.

SSTS course descriptions and enrollment information

 

SSTS was launched in 2003 by Dr. Shirley J. Everett, Senior Associate Vice Provost for R&DE, and Senior Adviser to the Provost on Equity and Inclusion. “Lifelong learning is an important part of R&DE culture. One of the ways we show our staff how important they are to our organization is by investing in their professional and personal development,” said Everett. “It is so rewarding to hear from working learners how SSTS has transformed their lives, and from managers who say their acquired skills make them more engaged and productive employees.”

 

Promising efforts employed

  • SSTS promotes equitable access to education, career advancement, and personal development
  • Courses offered in subject areas critical to job performance to increase and cultivate employees' English language, digital technology, math, reading and writing skills, and computer skills  
  • Program also includes GED, computer literacy to citizenship preparation, Basic Office Management, such as the National Career Work Readiness Credential, and  College preparatory courses
  • SSTS also offers life skills workshops
  • The entry-level administrative skills curriculum includes Basic Office Management and preparation for the National Career Work Readiness Credential
  • Courses are STAP funds eligible, so the employee does not bear the cost of participation
  • All university staff members, including those who are members of bargaining units, may participate in the program
  • SSTS is part of the Community Engagement Program through the Haas Center for Public Service. Stanford student volunteers serve as tutors for SSTS

 

Dr. Christine Gabali has served as the program’s director since its inception. Gabali, a Stanford alumna, was resident fellow in Roble Hall, where she saw first-hand the language divide between students and the staff members who served them. Since the inaugural SSTS cohort of 10 working learners, over 300 have participated in one or more SSTS classes.

For years, Gabali crisscrossed campus Monday through Friday, teaching classes in six locations between 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Weekly one-hour classes were timed to coincide with various departments’ 30-minute lunch breaks, with an additional 30 minutes of paid release time provided by the home department.

The schedule for most virtual classes is flexible, and they meet for 30 minutes three times per week, allowing for occupational needs and working learner's availability.

 

Gabali said SSTS meets the needs of all types of learners, from the very educated international visiting scholars who would like to improve their English language skills, to non-English speakers to those with little and no formal education. Gabali, who speaks six languages, says that one should be cognizant of such a diverse group and customize the curricula. “How can you provide educational material to adults who are from different countries, and who have different needs in terms of education level?” Gabali said this is key.. 

“I call it ‘concierge workplace education,’ ” she said. “This program really is about investing in our people. Completing these classes gives employees the skills and confidence to help them succeed – on the job and in life.”

For Hilda Pelaez, a 14-year Stanford employee who currently works in housekeeping at the Stanford Hospital, SSTS has been a game changer. Pelaez has been attending GED classes up to the start of when the public health restriction orders were issued. She hopes to return to classes soon.

“I am very tired when I finish my work but when I see my teachers, I’m very excited,” she said. “They are always patient.”

When the mother of three grown sons speaks about SSTS, she oozes enthusiasm. “Until three years ago, I understood only one word my supervisor said: ‘clean.’ Now I am very proud because I understand my supervisors, the nurses and patients. This program for me is beautiful.”

Jonathan Sington, who tutors in Spanish, said he finds teaching in the SSTS program more gratifying than teaching assistant in an undergraduate class.

"For me, classes come first, but for them, it's family, work, commuting here—all of those things. I don't know who's going to come —sometimes working learners have conflicts and can't make it, but they're always invested when they do come. Always. And it's because they want to be here, they actually just want to learn."

There is no stopping the SSTS working learners, that's for sure. Most of them hope to continue with their professional and personal advancement.  At present, they are enrolling in the virtual SSTS classes to learn how to communicate using Zoom. Yessica Lopez from Arrillaga Family Dining Commons mentioned how learning about Zoom helped her hone her skills to help her daughter with her school work during the COVID pandemic while schools were still closed. 

"It is not easy to learn Zoom," says Maria Carranza, a custodian in Student Housing, "but I have learned a lot and will continue to learn." This last comment resonated with all the SSTS working learners enrolled in the Zoom classes learning English, Pronunciation, Conflict Negotiation, Professional Presentations.

They feel empowered; they feel hopeful and feel they are given equal opportunities in learning.

Through the virtual classes, SSTS is narrowing the digital divide for those employees who would otherwise have no opportunity to join the digital world.

Watch how our working learners' lives have been transformed by Stepping Stones to Success.