Social Justice & Equity in Adult Ed - Survey from Crystal Korbas

An understanding of social justice and equity is crucial to providing meaningful and effective Adult Education. 

Crystal Korbas from Pleasanton AE is conducting a survey of CA adult education teachers and admins to learn more about adult ed teacher preparation and professional development related to social justice and equity. 

More info / link to survey: https://forms.gle/gxvWHDuZMnUnHyE69

Please take the survey and share with your colleagues in Adult Education!  

SMAS Student Shelley Cheng Writes to Governor Newsom

San Mateo Adult School Student Shelley Cheng shares her letter to Governor Newsom:

Dear Governor Newsom,

I am Shelley Cheng, from China. My family moved to the U.S. two and a half years ago because my husband’s job brought him here. Now my daughter is in a public high school in Burlingame, and I am an ESL student at San Mateo Adult School in California.

I deeply appreciate the strong actions that you and your administration have taken on protecting California populations from the spread of COVID-19. Today, I wrote this letter to you to ask you and your administration to protect the funding for adult education, which may be possible budget cutting for some public institutions and agencies to balance budgets in California.

Undoubtedly, adult education is an essential component for California, which is home to almost 11 million immigrants. Adult educators help thousands of immigrants find a better job and life. Even during the quarantine, all the teachers and staff have still been doing their best to make connections with all students by remote classes to teach and support us. Take me as an example, while I was working in China, I didn’t have a chance to use English, so my English skills were very inadequate. Thus I felt anxious and lost my confidence when I first came to the U.S. I was even afraid to communicate with people who speak English. I still remember when my daughter's school teacher first called me, I couldn’t understand anything she said. I was defeated with nowhere to go and nothing to do. My life was stranded because of my language restriction. Fortunately , taking involvement in our school’s classes and programs have improved not only my English skills but also my soft skills. I have made many new friends who are from different countries with different cultures, and we have supported each other like family members and shared information to overcome common barriers. Eventually, I regained my confidence and self-esteem while I volunteered both inside and outside of our school.

In addition, in order to build our self-confidence and to guide us in our new lives here in the USA, our school has built a good connection with the local community to offer opportunities for students to contribute to our school and community. Thus, Some classmates found jobs by taking job searching classes or other career training programs. As a student ambassador, I can help new students adapt to the new environment of our school; as the Census 2020 ambassador, I have visited other adult schools and did presentations to help more people feel comfortable to participate in being counted in the Bay Area.

I am just an ordinary person who has benefited from Adult Education and is capable of giving back to the society in California, United States of America. In order to help more people and families, please don’t cut the budget from adult education.

Thank you again for your continuing leadership and for considering Adult Education. I am proud to stand with you, other advocates for Adult Education, and all people to keep our communities safe and healthy.


Sincerely,


Shelley Cheng

San Mateo, CA, 94401

May Revise Follow Up Letter Writing

Writing Letters to Legislators

Here’s some info to help you:

Our message:

We know: the COVID crisis costs a lot of money. 
Governor Newsom had to change the budget proposal and make some cuts.  

All public Ed has some cuts.  Adult Ed has bigger cuts.

Adult Ed has never recovered - been adequately funded again - from
the big cuts of 2008/9.

California needs strong Adult Ed for a strong recovery. 

Adult Education can help people survive the crisis and recover. 
English, job skills, health information, GED, High School Diploma,
and citizenship can help people take care of their families, help their
children with remote learning, work from home, find new jobs, and
volunteer in the community.  

Stable funding for Adult Education will help stabilize California

Letter How To

• Basic info on how to write a letter to a legislator.
• You can write one basic letter and send it to several legislators.  
• Change the name, of course!
• Change some details.

Who are your legislators for where you live?  

• Find out here:  http://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov/

Be sure to mention if you live or work in someone’s district!

Note: It might be helpful to write to  Assemblymember Phil Ting

Why Asm Ting?

* He is on the Budget Subcommittee about Education.

* He is also the Vice Chair of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee.

* “Because of his experience in the financial sector and as the
San Francisco Assessor-Recorder, Ting has become a leading voice

on California’s finances. He now serves as Chair of the Assembly

Budget Committee after having served as Chair of the Assembly

Committee on Revenue and Taxation.” 

Assemblymember Phil Ting  Website

Contact info:

• Capitol Office:
• P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento, CA  94249-0019
• Tel: 916 - 319 - 2019
• District Office
• 455 Golden Gate Ave, Suite 14600, San Francisco, CA  94102



San Mateo Adult School
students with letters to legislators

• Tel: 415 557 1178

Phil Ting’s statement on the May Revise

SMAS Student Edy Vasquez Writes to Governor Newsom

Edy Vasquez is a student at San Mateo Adult School. You can read more of his story here.

In the midst of this pandemic, as we face economic uncertainty, he writes a letter to Governor Newsom:

Governor Gavin Newsom

1303 10th St., #1173

Sacramento, CA. 95814

April 23, 2020

Dear Governor Gavin Newsom,

I am Edy Vasquez,  from Guatemala. I’m  a student at  San Mateo Adult School in
California, United States of America.  

With all due respect, I am writing this letter to you. thanking you for the
effort made in the state of California, keeping everyone safe from COVID 19,
looking after our health and coming to town.  This was an excellent job done
as a governor.  From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for everything.  '

The reason for this letter is because I understand there may be possible budget
cutting for some public institutions and agencies. To continue to function properly,
we need balanced budgets. 

For this reason I took the liberty of writing this letter and to concentrate on adult
education in our county. I attend San Mateo Adult School. Education is very
important for both children and adults. By educating ourselves, we can better
serve the State of California and provide a better economy by producing work.  

On the other hand, if our school continues to be funded, teachers will not be
unemployed, they will be able to contribute to the state that which is valuable,
which is education. I hereby ask you to reconsider aid for all adult schools. As a student,
I see education as the key to success for the future of my family and to improve the
education of my children. On the other hand, I help my community from school
by participating in the programs that exist in the school, which are census,
green team, hot food service, student ambassador, and more.

Please don’t cut our budget. Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Edy Vasquez

Edy with the message:
Adult Education Matters!

Letter to Legislators: Keep Adult Ed Funding Strong and Stable!

My personal letter to legislators:

April 26, 2020

Re:  Stable Funding for Adult Education

Dear Legislator,                 

I’m a veteran ESL Teacher at San Mateo Adult School, former union officer in our local CFT 4681, and a representative on the CFT Adult Ed Committee.  I’m a member of CCAE - the California Council for Adult Education.  I author the Adult Education Matters blog. I work with other advocates around the state to reveal the secret that Adult Ed is the hidden gem of California.

I am writing to you about the possibility that Adult Education may once again see horrific cuts - and what a disaster that would be for California.

We know that the current pandemic is severely affecting the economy and will for a while.  We know the revised budget for California will need to be leaner and it necessarily be “meaner” in several difficult but necessary ways.  We know that the choices we make now will be long-lasting and will shape what comes after probably for decades - similar to decisions made during the Great Depression and World War II.  

That’s why I’m writing to ask you to ensure that funding for Adult Education remains STABLE. 

I am very concerned that where Adult Ed is concerned, there might be a repeat of what happened the last time we had a less severe economic downturn.  In 2008, when Wall Street crashed into Main Street, Governor Schwarzenneger flexed K12 Adult Ed funding so that K12 Districts could use it to survive their own cuts - forgetting that Adult Ed educates and supports the families and communities raising the kids the K12 districts serve.

This was disastrous on multiple levels.  Over 70 Adult Schools closed, all were cut, and Californians across the state lost access to ESL, Job Training, Citizenship, GED, High School Diploma Programs, Parent Education, Financial and Health Literacy, and Older Adults Programs.

When Governor Brown restructured Adult Education, he narrowed it to a more “workforce” focus, eliminating funding for Financial Literacy, Home Economics (Life Skills!), Parent Education, and Older Adults Programs, forgetting that ending free Financial LIteracy programs right after a housing meltdown in which thousands of Californians lost their homes was not a wise idea and that life skills are crucial to community health (See: Problems with Pandemics), and that Parent Education and Older Adults programs support healthy communities which raise healthy kids, lower medical costs, and boost community contributions.

What will happen now?  What rationalization might be used to eliminate Adult Ed funding or narrow the focus even more?

We know - already - that this pandemic is going to reshape our culture, state, and economy in deep and long-lasting ways.  We need to think carefully about what we fund and why as we work our way out of it and into a post-pandemic California. 

We need low-cost programs that encourage physical, mental, economic, family, community, and civic health ---- THAT’S ADULT EDUCATION!

Some industries - such as the restaurant and entertainment industries - will be deeply impacted for a while. Those Californians who were working in these jobs will need free or low-cost, short-term job training in new fields ---- THAT’S ADULT EDUCATION!

We need Californians to be able to support their kids in school - including understanding how to help them navigate a new world of remote learning, make community contributions, and engage in civic matters - THAT’S ADULT EDUCATION!

We need every California to have free or low-cost, easy access to the education they need to move out of this difficult crisis and into a recovery that serves and lifts everyone - THAT’S ADULT EDUCATION!

Adult Education is part of the COVID Recovery Team!

But if it’s defunded?  It can’t play its important role on that team - the community base, turn on a dime, low cost member who is always there in a crunch and a crisis to help the team win the game.

PLEASE do everything you can to ensure Adult Education remains funded at the amount it is now. 

Connect with other legislators.  Jose Medina and Kevein McCarthy in the Assembly are folks who know and understand - from lived experience - the value of Adult Ed.  

Sincerely,

Cynthia Eagleton

Adult Ed Week 2020: K12 Adult Ed is on the COVID Recovery Team and Needs Stable Funding to Do That Work!

April 20 to 24 is  Adult Ed Week 2020 - but not the way we thought it would be.

Many of us were revving up to attend CCAE Leg Day followed by the CCAE State Conference in Sacramento.  We were going to push again on the 110 million ask for Adult Ed Funding.  (Remember - Adult Ed has been under-funded for over ten years!)

SMAS Teacher Jessica
Wearing her Red for Adult Ed
and a facial covering
fto #BeatCOVID

Then COVID happened.

Does Adult Ed still matter?  Do K12 Adult Schools have a special role to play in the COVID Recovery process?

Will English language skills, job skills, health literacy, citizenship, GED and high school diplomas, make a positive difference as we navigate and recover from this crisis?

We know the answer is YES!   Adult Education Matters!  Now more than ever!  

Do crises sometimes mean disaster for K12 Adult Schools?

Here's what Dawn Koepke, CCAE Legislative Analyst says:

This is a critical point and one that needs to be remembered as we talk to our legislators about the importance of Adult Education, especially as we move through this crisis and into what we expect to be rough financial times ahead.  As communicated very clearly from the Governor and our Legislature, there are difficult financial decisions ahead. The last time we faced a similar situation Adult Education experienced the effect of local flexibility, and the Adult Education system statewide was almost dismantled in its entirety. The Department of Finance and legislators openly admitted after that this was a mistake in policy.

K12 Adult Ed as a means to COVID Recovery needs to be

in the public mind and discourse.

in Legislative mind and discourse

in Governor and Dept of Finance mind and discourse

Adult Ed Week is all about that - So how can we make that happen while we shelter at home?

Here's how:

1. Dialogue with your students

• Ask your students how and why Adult Ed is especially important now as we cope with this crisis
• Ask them how they plan to rely on it as we work to recover from the crisis
• Provide your students with info about the situation
• Adult ed underfunded
• State budget needs to be rewritten because of COVID
• We need make sure the Governor and Legislator knows Adult Ed Matters  

2.  Social Media

• This week, take photos of yourself wearing #Red4AdultEd
• Ask your students to do the same
• If you're zooming, with student permission, grab a screen print of you and your students wearing Red for Adult Ed - maybe holding up signs saying Adult Education Matters
• Share the photos on social media with hashtags and stats and stories about Adult Ed
• Post stories old or new that showcase the value of Adult Ed - especially now when we are facing a Recession/Depression situation.

3.  Emails and letters - click here for help from CCAE

• Write your State Senator, Assembly Member, and the Governor about Adult Ed Funding - and mention K12 Adult Ed specifically
• Letters on paper have more impact than emails
• Phone calls are super fantastic - call and ask to talk to the aide in charge of education
• If you make a phone call, dialogue with the aide you speak with - ask them what their Member plans on pushing for in this new budget, what their priorities are, what their questions about the role of Adult Ed might be

4. Join CCAE   

• CCAE is the only organization specifically devoted to K12 Adult Ed - and remember, K12 Adult Ed gets the worst cuts - much worse than CC Adult Ed
• This week they are having a webinar - Legislative Advocacy Reimagined  - sign up for it!
• If your register for the webinar, you can watch it later, at your convenience

5.  If you work at a school with a union, join the union if you're not a member, and get involved if you are!

• San Mateo Adult School has done great things for Adult Ed through CFT Local 4681
• Unions are doing a lot right now to to help educators, students, and families cope with this crisis
• Be part of that good work and have a stronger voice in advocacy for K12 Adult Ed, by joining the union and being active in it

6.  Take action - take a photo, write a letter, reach out to your networks

* Celebrate and advocate through photos, stories, letters, emails, and calls. 

* Talk with your students

     * Ask them for feedback on how Adult Ed is helping them cope with this crisis 

     * Ask them how it can help them recover as the pandemic recedes 

     * Ask them what they need from Adult Ed now and in future to survive, take care of their families, and navigate the economic fallout from this crisis

* Join CCAE and/or your union and get involved in advocacy.

* Share why Adult Ed Matters with your network of friends and family.

Remember, failure to take action can lead to a crisis -- and wise action can help us recover. 

Take wise action!

Why?

Because #AdultEducationMatters!

#AdultEdTeamRecovery

#COVIDRecoveryTeam

#K12AdultEdMatters

#AdultEdRevsRecovery

#StableFundingStableFuture