Black History is Adult Education History - Valentine to Septima Poinsette Clark - and Proposal for Scholarship in Her Name

 Happy Black History Month! Happy Valentine's Day!

And do you know of Septima Poinsette Clark? 

Her contributions to human rights, civil rights, voting rights, labor rights, the teaching profession, public education, and Adult Education were profound - yet, as is so often the case with the contributions of Black women, they are rarely discussed in the classroom. 

And by classroom, I mean not only K12 and college classrooms but also teaching training programs - specifically those for Adult Education teaching and administration credentials. 

We currently face a teaching shortage in all branches of education. Due to the impact of the cuts and closures a few years back, this shortage may be most extreme in Adult Education.  We also face in all branches of education a lack of diversity in teachers and administrators. 

Now would be a good time to consider a scholarship in Septima Poinsette Clark's name to invite in more Black women to the profession -- How that scholarship would be funded --What would the parameters would be --Whether the intended recipients should be broader than Black women to include other women of color --These are all questions to consider and discuss. 

Read through the information below to learn a bit more about Septima Poinsette Clark and her phenomenal impact on the US, the Civil Rights movement, the teaching profession, and Adult Education. Ask your colleagues in the field - in professional organizations, unions, and faculty rooms - what they know about her, why they they do or don't know about her, what their thoughts are on the current teacher shortage, and the need for more diversity in teaching and administration.  

Your thoughts and recommendations are welcome here - in the comments or a published guest post.

Septima Poinsette Clark

Black History is Adult Education History

Black History is Women’s History

Black History is Labor History

Black History is Human Rights History

Black History is Citizenship History

Black History is American History

• https://ncwomenofcivilrights.wordpress.com/septima-clark/highlander-and-citizenship-schools/ Highlander Center and Citizenship Schools

• When Septima Clark lost her teaching job in Charleston, she left South Carolina to work at the Highlander Folk School in Tennessee. At Highlander, Clark continued her passion for adult education, and taught students and visitors from all over the South to read by reciting parts of the U.S. Constitution.  The Highlander School held workshops for Civil Rights activists, and trained its students to become community leaders through a range of seminars on topics including union organization, human rights discussions, voter education, and basic skills like money management.  Highlander attracted both white and African American Southerners of all education levels to converge and discuss social issues. Attendees also had the privilege of listening to inspiring speakers including Eleanor Roosevelt and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to help spark social activism.  Septima’s work at Highlander led to the birth of other citizenship schools across the South.1

• Clark, Septima Poinsette | The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute

• A pioneer in grassroots citizenship education, Septima Clark was called the “Mother of the Movement” and the epitome of a “community teacher, intuitive fighter for human rights and leader of her unlettered and disillusioned people” (McFadden, “Septima Clark,” 85; King, July 1962). 

• The daughter of a laundrywoman and a former slave, Clark was born 3 May 1898 in Charleston, South Carolina. In 1916 she graduated from secondary school and, after passing her teacher’s exam, taught at a black school on Johns Island, just outside of Charleston. For more than 30 years, she taught throughout South Carolina, including 18 years in Columbia and 9 in Charleston.

• Septima Clark - SNCC Digital

• “Septima Poinsette Clark pioneered the link between education and political organizing, especially political organizing aimed at gaining the right to vote. “Literacy means liberation,” she stressed knowing that education was key to gaining political, economic, and social power.

• Long before SNCC’s Freedom Schools, Clark was developing a grassroots citizenship education program that used everyday materials to think about big questions.” - SNCC 

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Septima_Poinsette_Clark

• Septima Poinsette Clark (US National Park Service)

• https://www.biography.com/activist/septima-poinsette-clark

• Freedom's Teacher: The Life of Septima Clark Paperback – February 1, 2012

Septima’s Life - in her own words:

• Ready From Within by Septima Poinsette Clark 

• Echo in My Soul, By Septima Poinsette Clark With Legette Blythe

Letter to President Biden: "The Stakes Are High, The Need Is Great, and The Time Is Now."

In California, the bulk of funding for Adult Education - especially for Adult Schools - is through the state. Only a relatively small portion of funding is from federal sources. In many other states, the reverse is true. What happens on the federal level determines funding realities for Adult Ed in many parts of the US and influences policy for Adult Ed in every state. This letter - written by John Mears in conversation with many others - is an important summary of why it is so important that Adult Ed be seen, valued, and funded. 

About Mr. Mears:  John Mears has taught ESL to adult immigrants for Los Angeles Unified School District for more than 35 years. He has advocated for adult education with the California Council for Adult Education (CCAE) and United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA). This letter was a joint effort, with the generous help of many professional educators and advocates, as well as adult learners, throughout the USA.

April 26, 2021

The Honorable Joseph R. Biden

President

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, DC 20500

 

Dear Mr. President:

Thank you for leading the fight against the pandemic with a vigorous national strategy. Now we need an equally vigorous national strategy to address an ongoing systemic failure that has been long in the making:  increasing numbers of under-educated adults. 

We, the undersigned, are educators who have dedicated our lives to meeting the lifelong learning needs of adults nationwide. Our group also includes adult students who have benefited from adult education programs. We are delighted to see that your American Jobs Plan “will better tailor services to workers’ job seeking and career development needs through investments in Expanded Career Services and the (Workforce Investment and Opportunities Act) Title II adult literacy program.” However, we want to ensure that all U.S. adults who need foundational skills -- including immigrants, regardless of their ability to work -- will be served.  

In the United States, 19% of adults are profoundly in need of literacy skills development and 29% lack critical numeracy skills. These adults are overrepresented in communities of color—the same communities that have been most adversely affected by the COVID-induced health and economic challenges that are rooted in systemic inequity. They are also especially vulnerable to the COVID pandemic, as low-skilled adults are often first out of the job market and last back in during times of economic crisis. A recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics analysis indicates that anticipated job growth for those with a high school diploma or less is 0% to -2.3%, while all other education levels show positive growth.

The lack of skilled, well-trained workers in our nation caused nearly 7 million jobs to be unfilled in the U.S., even before the pandemic, according to the Labor Department. Now, as the economy is rebounding, the unmet need for sufficiently trained and literate workers is even greater. U.S. industry and business leaders have been sounding the alarm about this problem since the 1990s -- yet opportunities for adults to get basic education and job training have eroded substantially in the past dozen years. These deficiencies cripple our economy, our competitiveness on the world stage, and efforts to “Build Back Better.”  

Your ambitious goals of naturalizing immigrants bring additional challenges. Millions of immigrants need to learn English as a Second Language (ESL), U.S. history and government, and get on the path to U.S. citizenship.  This group already represents at least half of adult learners and will almost certainly grow in the near future.  

Nationwide, many states and communities already offer adult basic (or foundational) skills education programs; but since the 2008 recession, many of these programs have been drastically curtailed or eliminated due to budget cuts. Surviving programs have increasingly relied on federal tax dollars through WIOA – the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act -- and matching state and local funds, which may also be cut. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has further eroded adult education programs by forcing most instruction online, through virtual education platforms. Although online instruction presents daunting challenges, especially for the economically disadvantaged, it also offers exciting opportunities for educational programs that can be offered nationwide.  

Especially given the educational challenges that come with your ambitious plans for immigration reform, we propose the following: 

·        Increased funding overall. At current levels of funding, adult education programs are able to serve under 3% of the adults who could benefit from their programs. Furthermore, in the next five years, adult education programs are expecting a significant surge in participation, like the surge that happened following the last economic downturn. Steady yet significant increases in funding over the next five years will allow programs to build the capacity they need to address the increased demand. We support Senator Reed's request for $1 billion in initial aid through pandemic response funding and a doubling of the annual appropriation for the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act state grant program (Title 2 of WIOA) over the next five years, beginning with an $810 million appropriation for FY 22.

·        More free or low-fee lifelong learning opportunities -- available both in-person and online nationwide. Adult Education and Literacy, as adult foundational skills are referred to in the WIOA legislation, should include: adult basic education, including adult basic literacy; all levels of English language learning instruction and U.S. citizenship test preparation for immigrants and refugees (ESL or ESOL); digital literacy skills; adult high school diploma programs; high school equivalency preparation programs; and other important educational services for adults such as older adult programs, workplace basic skills, and family or intergenerational literacy programs). We also believe that occupational training, including Integrated Education and Training, especially for new “green jobs” (wind energy, solar, etc.) is important. If offered online, these programs could be accessed anywhere in the USA. However, in-person instruction is generally preferable, especially for the economically and technologically disadvantaged, and it should be expanded and offered through a wide range of organizations and institutions: district K-12 school systems, community colleges, community-based organizations, public libraries, faith-based organizations, correctional institutions, etc.  

• A new “amnesty” program for immigrants. In the late 1980s, many adult education programs in the USA mobilized to facilitate President Reagan’s amnesty program (the Immigration Reform and Control Act) by gearing up quickly to offer classes in ESL and citizenship to many thousands of immigrants who are now proud U.S. citizens.  We believe that a similar program would admirably serve our nation’s economy and civil society, and reward millions of honest, hard-working but undocumented immigrants with well-deserved security.  

·       Coordination of funding among local and national educational systems, so that federally funded programs, state-funded programs and community-based groups can function more effectively together.  Components of these systems would include, among others: learning management systems; shared databases; professional development systems for everybody (not just funded programs); common assessments for common data; etc.   

·       Community and family focus. Educating parents has a profound ripple effect throughout families and communities. Critics of adult education say we should “just focus on the kids,” but parents’ educational levels correlate with their children’s success in school. Los Angeles Unified School District has community adult schools that provide hubs of learning for children and parents alike. Where possible, they offer childcare to facilitate parents’ education. This approach is already working well in other adult education programs across the country.

·       Senator Reed (D-RI) and Senator Young (R-IN) have introduced the Strengthening Research in Adult Education Act (S. 1126). We enthusiastically support this bipartisan bill and urge your administration to support it as well.

As adult educators, as lifelong learners, and as advocates, we -- and thousands of our colleagues -- would be delighted to work with your administration to develop new and expanded educational programs for adults nationwide.  

The stakes are high, the need is great, and the time is now. 

Sincerely, 

John Mears

ESL teacher, West Valley Occupational Center

LAUSD Division of Adult and Career Education

Los Angeles, CA

 

Sharon Bonney

CEO, Coalition on Adult Basic Education

Cicero, NY

 

Deborah Kennedy

Executive Director, National Coalition for Literacy

Washington, DC

 

Michele Diecuch

Senior Director of Programs, ProLiteracy

Syracuse, NY

 

Federico Salas-Isnardi

Director, Mayor’s Office for Adult Literacy

Houston, TX 

 

Silja Kallenbach

Vice President, World Education, Inc.

Boston, MA

 

Ira Yankwitt

Executive Director, Literacy Assistance Center

New York, NY

 

David J. Rosen

President, Newsome Associates

Co-founder and Steering Committee Member, Open Door Collective

Board Member, ProLiteracy

Boston, Massachusetts

 

Rosa Aronson, PhD

Interim Executive Director, TESOL International Association 

Alexandria, VA

 

Marty Finsterbusch

Executive Director, Voice of Adult Learners United for Education (VALUEUSA)

Media, PA

 

Cynthia Eagleton

ESL Teacher, San Mateo Adult School

CFT Local 4681

San Mateo, CA

 

Kristen Pursley

Adult School Teacher, West Contra Costa Adult Education

Contra Costa County, CA

 

Christine Ramirez,

President, California Council for Adult Education/Los Angeles Metropolitan Section

Los Angeles, CA

 

Sean Abajian

Principal, El Rancho Adult Education Center

Pico Rivera, CA

 

Dr. Carolyn Quetzal

Instructional Technology Teacher Advisor, LAUSD

Diversity, Inclusion, and Educational Equity Advocate

Los Angeles, CA

 

Veronica Montes

Director, School & Family Support Services

Culver City Unified School District

Culver City, CA

 

Dr. Janet Eyring

Emerita Professor of TESOL

California State University, Fullerton

Fullerton, CA

 

Dr. Vanessa Wenzell

Emerita Professor of TESOL

California State University, Dominguez Hills

Dominguez Hills, CA

 

Dr. Cherry Campbell

Academic Director (ret.), American Language Institute

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA

 

Wendy B. Smith, Ph.D.

Professor Emerita, Department of English

California State University, San Bernardino

San Bernardino, CA

 

Dr. Ann Snow

Professor of Education/TESOL

Chair, Division of Applied and Advanced Studies in Education
California State University, Los Angeles  

Los Angeles, CA    

 

Jean Wong, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, The College of New Jersey

Dept. of Special Education, Language & Literacy

Ewing, NJ

 

Donna M. Brinton

Lecturer/Academic Coordinator (ret.), Department of Applied Linguistics & TESL

UCLA ESL Service Courses

Los Angeles, CA

 

Sabrina Peck

Professor Emerita, Linguistics/TESL

California State University Northridge 

Northridge, CA

 

Juan Carlos Gallego

Professor of TESOL and Spanish, California State University, Fullerton

Fullerton, CA

 

Paula Rainey

Managing Director, The English School at Lawrence Road Presbyterian Church

Lawrenceville, NJ

 

Marina Kravtsova

Alumna of San Mateo Adult School

San Mateo Adult School English Learner Specialist

Advisor to Student Council and Student Ambassadors

Volunteer Coordinator

Former Member of California AB86 Workgroup

San Mateo, CA

 

Shara Watkins

Trustee, School Board

San Mateo-Foster City School District

San Mateo, CA

 

Merari L. Weber, Ed.D.

Associate Professor/ESL Department Chair

Coordinator, ESL & SCE Guided Pathways

School of Continuing Education

Santa Ana College

Santa Ana, CA

 

Osiel “Ozzie” Madrigal, Ed.D.

Workforce Development Coordinator, Associate Professor, & Department Chair

Santa Ana College School of Continuing Education

 

Laura Porfirio 

President, Arizona Association for Lifelong Learning

Tucson, AZ

 

Dr. Meghan R. McBride 

Alumni Advisor to the COABE Board of Directors

Atlanta, GA

 

Ligia Andrade Zúñiga, MPA

School Board Trustee, San Mateo Union High School District

Civil Justice Advocate

San Mateo, CA

 

Stephen Reder, Ph.D.

Professor Emeritus of Applied Linguistics

Portland State University

Co-founder, Open Door Collective

Portland, OR

 

San Mateo Adult School Federation of Teachers

CFT Local 4681

San Mateo Adult School

San Mateo, CA

 

Lynnette Garcia, Debra Kattler, Debi Rose, Marilynn Kaplan, Heather Lietch, David Pollack and Sophia Mahoney-Rohri

Team leaders and moderators, Indivisible SF Peninsula CA14

San Francisco, CA

 

Consuelo Lara and Jessica Peregrina, Co-Chairs

West County Concilio Latino

Contra Costa County, CA

 

B.K. Williams

Co-Coordinator, Richmond Progressive Alliance Steering Committee

Richmond, CA

 

Jan M. Frodesen, Ph.D.

Emerita Professor

English for Multilingual Students Program

Department of Linguistics

University of California, Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, CA

 

cc:

Vice President Kamala Harris

Dr. Miguel Cardona, U.S. Secretary of Education

U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (all members)

U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Labor, HHS, and Education (all members)

Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT 3^rd District)

Senators Reed (D-RI) and Young (R-IN)

Amy Loyd, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Strategic Initiatives, Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (serving as Acting Assistant Secretary)

Adult Education pairs the power of knowledge
with the superpowers of connection and accessibility.
Fund 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

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

Words of Wisdom from SMAS Student Wendy Samayoa

Wendy Samoyoa served as 2017-18 Morning Student Council President
at San Mateo Adult School. At the 2018-19 Candidate Forum, she said
her farewells in a powerful speech which speaks to the value of Adult
Education not just at San Mateo Adult School but across our nation.
Here, with her permission, is her speech. Please read it and share.

Wendy Samoyoa

Farewells seem to always have a bittersweet flavor with
feelings that are intertwined, although their nature is different.
I feel sadness, satisfaction and also, a certain relief to be able
to transfer the responsibilities of the position because it’s time
for new leaders. But, above all, the feeling that gains the
most strength is, without a doubt, gratitude. Today culminates
an important period in my life, a period in which it was a privilege
and an honor to preside over this Student Council. It was a year
of commitment and, in turn, a year of projects, opportunities and
challenges, of hard work, meetings, strugglesfor the improvement
of student services, community work and professional
and human growth. I must admit that it was not easy to carry
out this task, but it was worth the effort and, in exchange, we
obtained achievements and agreements for the benefit of all
of us. As President of the 2017-2018 Student Council of the
San Mateo Adult School, I want to thank you for your support
and all the work you do every day so that adult education in San
Mateo is getting better and better.Thanks to the administration,
especially to Director Tim Doyle for welcoming us, for listening
to our complaints and supporting our activities. Thanks to
Stephanie Kriebel, our teacher adviser, for the trust and

responsibility placed in us, for her never-ending support.
Thank you to all the teachers and staff members who in different ways
always give their support. Thanks to those who with their work
and enthusiasm accompanied me in this adventure, because they have
believed in us and always supported us. Also, I would like to acknowledge
Vice President Jackie Lhereux and Secretary
Williams Avelino, who were key leaders in the work done and
who accompanied me in the quest for better student services.
I would also like to thank the representatives of each classroom,
for the work they did and for always showing up to participate
in our activities.For me it is very humbling to be in front of you
today; Being president of this school taught me something
important: believe in myself and believe in what we can
achieve together. This "faith" in us has materialized over
the course of a year, work that I have done with selflessness,
honesty and team effort.

During my time at this school, one of the areas that most
interested me was being able to collaborate in various activities.
The possibility of going with my colleagues to different experiences
allowed me to know the difficult realities in which we live day by day
and also to understand that adult education is the only transforming
force that can make a difference in many families. Beyond solidarity,
we need adult education to be the driving force of a country, so that
we all advance alone and achieve the merits, not thanks to the
charity of a few, but to our own work.We are not numbers nor are
we the results of a test; We are people who want to change the
world and for that we need tools that are not only learned in
classes, but with experiences that allow us to get out of the
bubble in which we live and open our eyes so that we can see the

reality of this country that today, more than ever, needs our
critical look as a starting point for real structural changes in the
country.I am talking with you as a student and partner committed
to generating a positive impact in our school. Today, this country
needs young people and adults who strive not only to be better, but
to offer their efforts for all and do it selflessly, and we are the ones
who have the tools to transform this country.

To you, the candidates. I wish you much encouragement and
strength in this new stage, and no advice because I know that
you are committed to yourselves and this school, and have the
vision, qualities and experience to carry on this journey. Know that
you can count on my support at any time.

It has been a pleasure for me to represent all of you and to be able
to work so that our vision is always within reach. I thank you all for
the support and I hope that my work has been to your liking and
that you will carry on this mission. The sky is not the limit!

Thank you, Wendy, for your service as a leader and for taking
the time to write this inspiring, empowering, and important speech
- and then share it with us.

After her speech, SMAS Student Council Adviser Stephanie Kriebel
presented Wendy with a special award from OTAN

Stephanie Kriebel and Wendy Samayoa
with OTAN award.
SMAS Director Tim Doyle in the background.