Educational leaders anticipate growth, development in next decade

Exciting growth is coming to Folsom's world of education, from the grade school level to community college. That was the message of the recent Meet the Leaders event at Bayside Church in Folsom and presented by Choose Folsom. Attendees heard from Dr. Art Pimentel, the president of Folsom Lake College, and Erik Swanson, the new superintendent of Folsom Cordova Unified School District (FCUSD). Dr. Pimentel had a celebratory tone as he said Folsom Lake College recently recognized its 20-year anniversary, and now he is looking at exciting new developments for the next 20 years. During the pandemic, colleges experienced a fairly dramatic dip in student population, but now, FLC has not only recuperated but surpassed pre-pandemic enrollment, with 11,000 students, said Pimentel. One program Swanson and Pimentel are especially excited about is their partnership in their dual enrollment program, which allows Folsom high school students to take college courses at FLC. "This is particularly important for us as we focus on equitable outcomes for our students: low-income, first-generation students, students of color," Pimentel said. "When you introduce a concept of college to them early they are more successful to graduate from high school, go to college and be successful in college." There are exciting new educational opportunities coming to FLC: It is already one of the few community colleges in the state that offers an Artificial Intelligence certificate; soon, it will also be the first community college to have an AI department within the college. "AI is going to be the wave of the future. We want our students to be prepared and have some level of opportunities and education programs with artificial intelligence," said Pimentel. Another exciting development: Sutter Health recently made the largest single donation the Los Rios Community College District has ever received: $2.5 million. Those funds will help build up a much-needed healthcare-oriented program at its Rancho Cordova center. "We are going to be offering, starting fall of next year, a certified nursing assistant program," Pimentel said. "We will have medical laboratory technology, we'll have emergency management technology, radiology technology and then we're expanding and looking into surgical technician, medical assistant and also imaging." Dr. Pimentel also excitedly discussed the campus' new $80 million, 75,000 square-foot science building, which will open in March 2025. There are also talks about exploring a hotel and conference center on the college campus, where visitors could easily watch sporting events or attend shows at the Harris Center. Swanson is fairly new to his job as superintendent. He stepped into the role in July. Swanson said unlike many other school districts in the state, Folsom is experiencing a steady growth; FCUSD has more than 22,000 students, and that number is expected to grow to 30,000 in the next decade. Swanson said there are 37 schools in the FCUSD, but in the next 15-20 years, they will likely need 16 new elementary schools, four new middle schools and two high schools, primarily in the new development area south of Highway 50. With all those new people, FCUSD is already equipped to improve communication between school staff and people who are limited in their English skills; Swanson said there are 95 languages spoken in the school district. All of their front offices are now equipped with a device that can help with translation. "So if you're a non-English speaking person, you can come into our front offices and essentially, you can pick your language, and there's lots of languages including dialects of particular languages, and you speak into it with your home language and it translates on the other side with an AI voice in English and translates it right then and there," said Swanson. Swanson said he's an advocate and product of the four-year college experience, but he recognizes it's not for everyone. In that regard, he is excited about the dual enrollment partnership with FLC; the goal is to guide students down a path that is best suited for them, whatever that may be. "So each and every one of our 22,000 students, when they walk across that stage when they're 18, has a plan for what we call 13th grade … whether that's a trade, workforce, military or a two-year or four-year, we're going to be really intentional about making sure all of our students have a plan," Swanson said. The next Meet the Leaders will be held in early 2025.