Fulshear-Katy Community Guide & Directory 2022-23

educators are ready to embrace this change, and we can expect the children to march boldly and conf idently towards the future. HIGHER LEARNING FACES CHALLENGES Changes are Coming Higher Education continues to evolve as adults are looking to begin a career, change their current course, take advantage of a free or sponsored education oppor tunity, or advance their career with a higher degree. The pandemic changed the face of education, and the workforce, in ways that could not be predicted. The U.S. is currently experiencing a historic rise in inf lation and a substantial boom in job openings, two factors that are propelling a movement named the “Great Resignation.” Employees realized they could make a life-changing decision easier than before given the current conditions of home-to-life balance. Progressing technology has also made returning to school easier than ever. Interested prospects can now handle their schedules, even with a current job and children, since there are more options for on-campus, online, and hybrid learning. A hybrid school model means they meet both online and in-person. Although local colleges like

Houston Community College (HCC) and University of Houston-Victoria currently have no data since the movement has just begun, it will cer tainly be an interesting trend to follow in the coming years. Getting Back on Track The current college environment is still recovering from the unprecedented changes and the long-lasting effects of the pandemic. Although there has not been an influx of new students, University Communications at U of H, Marisa Ramirez shares, “Discretion was left to professors to reduce class density by offering hybrid classes. Many students chose that method of instruction, reducing the number of students physically on the instructional site. Additionally, there may be fewer students, but they are taking more classes.” The increase in classes is showing up in niche areas like the Colleges of Nursing and Technology at UH at Sugar Land, which continue to see great interest from students focused on this area. Furthermore, bringing the UH/ HCC Engineering Academy to UH at Katy will provide more options for students in our region. The recent opening of the HCC-Katy campus across the street from UH at Katy is expected to spur student interest . that does not mean classes are slowing down. Senior Director of

rich oppor tunities rooted in technology application. We continuously look for ways to embed technology standards into our curriculum. And let ’s face it , we are learning from the kids too! Online assessments are attractive because they provide some real benef its, such as faster results, f lexible scheduling, and accommodation suppor t for students. As educators, we are continuing to research innovative ways to increase this experience in the classroom.” Parents may wonder how the new platform will affect students that utilize cer tain accommodations for learning disabilities or Special Education services. The redesign will still allow those students to qualif y for the help they need and deserve. Accommodations for eligible students will include pre-reading of allowed tex t , expanding and enlarging passages and tex t , and content and language suppor t . In addition, an online dictionary and notepad will be available to students in the online testing platform. Natalie Mar tinez , Executive Director of Research, Assessment and Accountability in Katy ISD says, “As the world is ever-changing and adapting to new technology enhancements, students will benef it from aligning their routine technology experiences with standardized testing.” The districts and

Additionally, Houston Community College is seeing an overall decrease in enrollment . The communications off ice states they “are committed to offering programs and courses to students at an accessible and affordable rate.” As the job market strengthens, historically colleges will see a decrease in enrollment numbers. The average age of an HCC student is 27 years old, so online courses have been and continue to be very popular. Younger students are not the only ones struggling to get back into the hang of things in the classroom. HCC says, “Student learning has suffered due to lack of face-to-face engagement . Labs, presentations, testing, student collaboration, etc. , have all suffered due to Covid-required remote learning.” In uplifting news, more than 50% of HCC ’s engineering courses are now back on campus and even their online courses are hybrid. Students might prefer the convenience of online courses for a variety of reasons. Age does not change the fact that to be successful , there is a difference between what students want , and what students need to succeed. With all the conveniences that working and learning remotely brought us for a couple of years, nothing can ever replace a hands-on, face-to-face, peer-engaged, learning environment .

Sharing Hope in Northern Fort Bend County We Assist with emergency needs We Equip people to improve their lives • Parent Classes “Raising Highly Capable Kids” • Finance courses and ESL classes • Job Connection Transforming hurting people into healthy families through the hope of God For more information call 832-332-5163 or visit our website www.FamilyHopeFulshear.org FAMILY HOPE • Provide food to 30,000+ people a year • Assist with medical, rent and furniture • Serve with us at our Food Fair every second and fourth Saturday of the month

FULSHEAR-KATY COMMUNITY GUIDE & DIRECTORY 2022-23 ISSUE 67