By Olivia Madera
Simi Institute for Careers and Education, formally known as Simi Valley Adult school is part of the Simi Valley Unified School District, specifically their adult education program. They are also a part of the Ventura County Adult Education Consortium program.
Marketing Coordinator Ann-Marie Espinoza said the school rebranded its name in 2016 to broaden their horizons as well as expand their clientele and demographic.
“There is sort of a stigma with adult education, people associate it strictly with remedial classes or just diploma which we do offer and those are fantastic programs. But we are also a trade school,” Espinoza said.
There are four distinct departments for CTE programs the school offers which include business and computers, cosmetology, manufacturing, and medical. They also offer special interest programs such as Parent and Child Education that is open to parents of children ages one to five, Spanish in the workplace, Notary Public, Real Estate, and English as a Second language.
Espinoza said the school opened in 1936 and used to have more community interest programs but later moved away into the job sector to get people trained for more trade careers.
“Our slogan is career in a year or less,” Espinoza said.
She said majority of the programs are semester-based with some open-entry classes where students can enroll at any time. These classes are available to students based on their own schedule which Espinoza said lets them decide how quickly they want to complete the program.
Also offered is an Integrative Education and Training program with a machine technology program. Students who enroll in machine technology can start training for their career and while they do, they can receive English language support from ESL teachers.
“So, as they’re learning the trade they’re also learning the exact language they’re going to use in that job, so it goes hand in hand,” Espinoza said.
She said their computer basic classes also have Spanish language support and there is a medical English program that teaches medical terminology to ESL students so they can transition into English medical programs.
The school offers over 30 programs and is partnered with Ed2Go where there are 500 online classes students can take.
Espinoza said though they don’t have FAFSA or federal funding agencies they have scholarships and grants that students can apply for from local partnerships with agencies and companies. There is also a job and career center on campus that helps give students support with interview training, resume building, counseling, and job hunting.
“We kind of hold your hand the whole entire way you’re never like left hanging, you can always get support here,” said Espinoza.
Because the school is part of the Simi Valley Unified School District, we are able to offer significantly lower cost classes. Espinoza said we try to make the education process as fast and painless as possible with plenty of support.
She said the goal of the school is to see students go all the way and reach their objectives but also let others know that they are a trade school with career training programs. She also said the school is in a good geographical spot close to Los Angeles and Ventura County and is year-round.
There is a wide range of people that come from all over to enroll in the school which Espinoza said is due to the school being inviting to schools in Los Angeles County and charter schools in the valley. She said this helps expand their reach and spread the word about the school.
Another highlight of the school is their machining program which Espinoza said is unique as it is connected to HAAS automation in Oxnard. She said they are able to give funding to the school to the point where most students in the program don’t pay much at all.
“That’s sort of what we are looking to grow is to have those industry partners that can help us fund these things and have more scholarship opportunities,” said Espinoza.
A goal Espinoza said she wants for the school is to find more financial aid funding and hopefully join FAFSA one day. She said the school is also looking to expand more programs and their first carpentry cohort started last year and is going well. This cohort is a part of the school’s new construction and trade center, and they also want to open an HVAC program, electrician program and plumbing program in the next five years.
“We always want to be evolving and moving towards like what’s happening and stay afloat of what’s trending,” Espinoza said.
Espinoza said the school is always looking to find new avenues to go down and overall is a very motivated team ready to support their students anyway they can.
To register for classes at the Simi Institute for Careers and Education you can visit the website https://www.simiinstitute.org or by calling at 805-579-6200 or you can visit the school at 1880 Blackstock Avenue, in Simi Valley.