We've Got Tools

Opposable thumbs are not the only thing that make us human.

 

 

 

The ability to think and to ask questions, to consider past, present, and possible futures, are tools more important than thumbs.

 

And we've got 'em.

 

As the money from increased tax revenues and Prop 30 flows in, and we make choices about how and where to spend it on education, across the state, let's use 'em.

 

Here are some bits to help us:

 

Click the "read more" link to see them.

Edsource: Legislators Debate Proposal as Oakland Reinstates Proposal

Edsource is an excellent source of news about education and one of the few news sources to cover Adult Ed adequately.

Here's a good article with the latest news:

Hit the "read more" link to read it.

Just the Facts, Ma'am: The LAO Report on the Revise

The LAO - the Legislative Analyst Office - is this really cool fact gathering and analyzing group that is non-partisan.  That means their job is to find out the facts about something and not care if it makes Democrats or Republicans or Independents or you or me happy.

They are the Joe Friday of California.

And here is their report on the Gov. Brown's May Revise.

Hit the "read more" link to see it.

Now, Before the Knife

This Thursday, April 11, Gov. Brown's plan to shift Adult Ed out of the K-12 programs and solely into the Community College system, will go before the following Senate subcommittee:

 senator.block@senate.ca.gov (Marty Block, chair)
Senator.Wright@senate.ca.gov (Senator Roderick D. Wright)
senator.wyland@sen.ca.gov (Senator Mark Wyland)

Now is the time to contact these committee members and tell them Gov. Brown's plan is not what is best for California.  You can refer them to the petition.  You can refer them to this blog.  You can describe, in your own words, what YOU think is best for Adult Education.

We can and should keep Adult Education as it has been for many, many years:  primarily in K12 districts with a few programs within Community Colleges.  We can and should keep serving immigrants, parents, job seekers, and seniors.  There is no need to make massive changes in how Adult Ed is delivered or what it delivers.  It does a bang-up job of supporting California.

The problem is the money.

Speak Up

 

 Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.

 Martin Luther King Jr.

 

 

Too much has already been lost.

Time to SPRING BREAK 4WARD.

Check out A4CAS - Alliance for California Adult Schools - on Facebook.

Sign the petitions:

Rebuild Adult Education:  K-12 and Designated Funding

Stop Gov. Brown's Plan to Shift Adult Ed to the Community College System

Or write a letter or email in your own words expressing your own ideas to Gov. Brown and/or the State Legislature.

Read the latest article on why Adult Ed is worth saving.

Read what Tom Torlakson had to say on moving Adult Ed out of the K-12 programs.

(To paraphrase, if it ain't broke, don't fix it!  The K-12 Adult Schools work fine!)

Speak up.

 

 

 

LAO Calls for Dedicated Funding Stream

The Legislative Analyst Office's report "Restructuring California's Adult Education System" is now out.

(The LAO is California's Nonpartisan Fiscal and Policy Advisor)

It affirms the value of Adult Ed and notes that both K-12 and Community College delivery systems have their strengths.

Note Recommendation #4:   a dedicated stream of funding that creates incentives for cooperation among providers, with new adult education funds allocated based on regional needs.

Here is a summary of the report with links to read the report in full.


Restructuring California's Adult Education System

December 5, 2012

PDF

HTML

Video

A century and a half after the founding of adult education in the state, we find that the system faces a number of major problems and challenges, including: (1) an overly broad mission; (2) lack of clear delineations between adult education and collegiate coursework at community colleges; (3) inconsistent and conflicting state-level policies; (4) widespread lack of coordination among providers; and (5) limited student data, which impairs the public's ability to hold the system accountable for performance. Given adult education's numerous and significant challenges, we believe the system is in need of comprehensive restructuring. This report lays out a vision and roadmap for a more efficient and effective system. Our package of recommendations includes: (1) a state-subsidized system focused on adult education's core mission; (2) common, statewide definitions that clearly differentiate between adult education and collegiate education; (3) a common set of policies for faculty and students at adult schools and community colleges; (4) a dedicated stream of funding that creates incentives for cooperation among providers, with new adult education funds allocated based on regional needs; and (5) an integrated data system that tracks student outcomes and helps the public hold providers accountable for results.

At Risk: Adult Schools in California

EdSource has an excellent article, "At Risk:  Adult Schools in California."

Click and download to read the entire article.

Here's the opening overview:

Adult schools are facing the biggest threat to their existence since the first school was founded in California a century and a half ago.  An EdSource survey in October-November 2011 found that 23 of the state's 30 largest school districts had made major cuts to their adult education programs, including Anaheim Union High School District, which eliminated their 73-year-old program in 2010-11.

This spring, the Los Angeles Unified School District threatened to close its entire adult education program.  But in a tentative agreement with union negotiators reached on June 8, the district agreed to maintain the program, though at a much smaller level.

Adult education programs are an important strand in the state's safety net, offering community-based classes to some of the state's neediest adults ranging from the unemployed, the disabled, and the elderly to ex-offenders re-entering society and immigrants trying to learn English and become citizens.

In California, English as a Second Language (ESL) is by far the largest adult education program.  The second-largest is the GED/high school diploma program, followed by job training classes through career-technical programs.  In recent years, adult schools have served more than 1 million students annually, but there is no accurate count of how much enrollments have declined as a result of the state's budget crisis.

Click on the link above to read the full article.

Unseen Casualties

Teacher David Doneff wrote this excellent article,

"Unseen Casualities of the Budget War:  California Adult Schools,"

which Danny Weil published in The Daily Censored.

The article does a superb job of explaining what is happening and why, as well as the larger ramifications of where we're headed unless we make the choice to change direction.

Fact Fest

It's National Adult Education and Family Literacy Week (September 10 - 16)

From the National Coalition's Twitter Fact Fest:

Adult Education, Jobs and the Economy

Workers without a High School diploma are nearly 2 times as likely to be unemployed than those with at least some college & have much lower wages.

Workers with a HS diploma and above are less likely to be on government support, saving states & federal government money.

Helping undereducated adults get a GED or equivalent can raise over $8,865/yr in fed, state, and local taxes per student.

Economists predict that by 2018 63% of jobs will require a postsecondary education.  Adult Ed & literacy are the key to success.

Adults in  Adult Ed career pathways bridge programs are 56% more likely to earn college credit; 26% more likely to earn cert/degree

To stay on track with other OECD countries, the U.S. will have to produce an additional 24 million credentials by 2025.

College degree gap needs to be filled by adults currently in workforce. Not enough HS grads to meet demand.

Researchers estimate that a HS diploma’s contribution to the economy could amount to more than $250,000/graduate over a lifetime.

Adult Education Supports Jobs & the Economy. Learn more & see how you can take action for Adult Ed: http://bit.ly/AE-Jobs

Adult Literacy

93 million adults in need of raising basic reading & math skills. Get the facts about Adult Ed: http://bit.ly/adultedfacts

More than 35.7 million adults ages 18-64 do not have a high school diploma. C more facts: http://bit.ly/9fJkcU

1 in 7 adults can’t read job apps, bedtime stories, prescription labels, or ballots. What will you do to help?

50–80% of adults in Adult Ed may have a learning disability, explaining in part why they were not successful in public schools

85% of all individuals w/learning disabilities have difficulty reading (National Institute of Child Health & Human Development)

Family Literacy

A mother’s reading skill is the greatest determinant of her children’s future academic success, outweighing all else Children whose parents are involved with them in #family #literacy activities score 10 points higher on standardized reading tests.

One year of parent education has a greater  impact on the chance of a child attending college than does an extra $50,000 in income.

Kids spend five times as much time outside the classroom as they do in school. Caregivers must be equipped to support their learning.

There is no substitute for the parent’s / primary caregiver’s role as a child’s 1st teacher, best coach, & most concerned advocate.

Teach the parent; reach the child. Support family literacy programs.

Of the 93M adults in the U.S. w/basic or below basic  literacy levels, 30 million are parents or primary caregivers of children ages 0-8.

Teaching parents reading strategies increases child’s language and literacy outcomes. Support family literacy programs.

Funding

Preserve and invest in adult education. Adult Ed drives economic mobility for adults & families and economic recovery for America.

 

Health and Health Literacy

Health literacy programs raise adults’ understanding of medical problems b4 they become critical = medical cost-savings.

Nearly half of American adults– 90 million –have difficulty understanding & using health info.  See related facts: http://bit.ly/aUFF2J.

High School Dropouts

Each HS dropout costs the US economy ~ $260,000 in lost earnings, taxes, & productivity over lifetime (Amos, 2008).

Approx 1M youth drop out of HS. Adult Ed is the key to recovering revenue losses and realizing economic potential of HS dropouts.

Students who drop out tend to earn less, perform less well in society, & have a lower quality of life. See more facts: http://bit.ly/9fJkcU

Many HS drop outs must work multiple jobs just to support their family. See more adult literacy facts: http://bit.ly/9fJkcU

Immigration and Integration

Adult Ed helps immigrants integrate into the U.S. See more about Adult Ed’s role & how you can help: http://bit.ly/integrationAE

 

Limited English language proficiency is a barrier for immigrants to meaningful employment in the U.S.

English language proficiency is critical to obtaining jobs commensurate with immigrants’ competencies.

60% of legal immigrants who are eligible for citizenship had limited-English proficiency.

Legislation

Reauthorize the Workforce Investment Act. See articles on NCL’s WIA Reauthorization Priorities: http://bit.ly/d8w49b .

 

Poverty

In 2005 21% of families with no HS diploma were living below poverty, compared to 7.1% of those w HS diplomas.

 

Adult Ed lifts people out of poverty: Higher salaries, good job opportunities, higher savings, better working conditions.

Return on Investment of Adult Education

Adult Ed benefits the economy: Increased tax revenues, business productivity, consumption, & WF flexibility; decreased public assistance.

 

Adult Ed benefits people: Higher salaries, better job opportunities, higher savings, improved working conditions, professional mobility.

Find quick facts on the return on investment of Adult Ed via @NCLAdvocacy: http://bit.ly/pUFFCb .

Workplace Literacy

Adult workplace literacy programs help workers gain new levels of skills as new demands arise.

Distress Call from the Big Ship

Adult Education in California is attached either to K-12 districts or to Community College Districts.

It is attached to Community College Districts in San Francisco, San Diego, and Santa Ana.

Right now, there is all kinds of trouble in San Francisco.

CCSF - City College of San Francisco - like every public school in California, has been hit by budget cuts.

On top of that, it's got accreditation trouble.

It is also the largest college or university in California.

With a huge non-credit - that is to say, Adult Education program.

Read more details about this in New America Media's article "City College Closure Could End San Francisco’s Adult Education Program."

Including these details:

Why Bother With ESL for Adults?

Here's why:

Ten Ways Immigrants Help Build and Strengthen Our Economy.

Or how about the fact that Georgia Tripled Economic Activity By Investing In Adult Education."

Or how about the fact that Silicon Valley knows the value of and is activily pursuing effective ESL training for adults on the Peninsula?

And if that's not enough for you, consider the fact that

From SVEF: Adult Education's Existential Crisis

From the Silicon Valley Educational Foundation's "Thoughts on Public Education" website comes this insightful article (part two of a two-part series):

Adult Education’s Existential Crisis

Need to “Hunker Down” and Fight

Posted on 6/13/12 on http://toped.svefoundation.org/

By Kathryn Baron

This is the second of a two-part series on adult education in California. 

Click here to read part 1.

Adult education in California is nearly as old as the state itself. Today, the program that has helped millions of people learn English, earn a GED, and receive job training for 156 years is facing extinction. A new report released today by EdSource concludes that these schools, which provide second chances for the state’s most needy adults, “are as much at-risk as many of the people they serve.”

The report, aptly titled At Risk: Adult Schools in California, surveyed the state’s 30 largest school districts and found that 23 had made significant cuts to their adult education programs. In many cases, they lost at least half their funding. One of them, Anaheim Union High School District, shuttered its 73-year-old adult school.

“The important thing to remember is that these adult school programs are serving a population that really falls through the cracks,” said Louis Freedberg, Executive Director of EdSource. “This is a population that needs basic education in basic skills, that needs help with English as a Second Language, and for whom there is really no other place to go to get these basic services.”

Adult ed cuts in 30 largest districts. (Source: EdSource) (Click here to read article on the original website so you can click to enlarge graphic.)

These draconian cuts have taken place in just the past three years. Until 2009, adult education funding was protected as a categorical program, meaning districts could not use the money for any other purpose. But that February, faced with a massive budget shortfall, the Legislature and Gov. Brown removed 39 programs – including adult ed – from this restriction and gave school districts flexibility to use the funds wherever they were most needed.

"Adult Ed Falls to Flexibility" - from SVEF

     From the Silicon Valley Educational Foundation's Website "Thoughts on Public Education - TopED:  Analysis, Opinion and Discussion on California Education Policy" comes this important article:

Adult Ed Falls to Flexibility

Districts are sweeping the funds into K12

Posted on 6/11/12 on the Silicon Valley Educational Foundation's Website "Thoughts on Public Education."

By Kathryn Baron

This is the first of two articles on the state of adult education in California. The second piece will run on Wednesday, June 13.

The sun was still melting through the gray morning sky as teacher Don Curtis rode his bicycle into a warehouse yard belonging to Oakland Unified School District, opened a large garage door, and backed his classroom into the parking lot.

The mobile classroom parked at West Oakland Middle School.

“It has taken some getting used to driving this vehicle, trust me. The big thing is the back end; when you turn, the back end swings out quite a ways,” said Curtis. But after eight years, he’s had plenty of practice driving the district’s 35-foot-long RV retrofitted with 12 computer workstations and a large screen for projecting lessons.

The mobile classroom, run by the school district’s adult education program, fills several spaces on a busy street next to Oakland’s Urban Promise Academy Middle School. It’s also full on the inside, with nearly two dozen parents of Promise Academy students sitting snugly on chairs and stools in order to buddy up at the workstations, while Curtis teaches them the basics of computer literacy: setting up email, doing a simple web search, and navigating the parent information section of the district’s website.

On the sides and front of the RV, painted in multicolored letters, is a sign reading “Sharing English Together.” But that tag line is archaic. Despite the high-tech equipment inside, the RV is emblematic of a threatened species, a relic of Oakland’s once thriving adult education program.

Don Curtis teaches computer literacy and drives the classroom.

The district’s program no longer offers English as a Second Language. It has also cancelled basic skills classes for adults who left school very young, often to work, and, at the other end, has dropped a high school diploma program for students who are a few credits shy of completion. A popular certified nursing assistant program is down to two sessions instead of seven, and two of the three schools have been closed.

Facts

• California has provided adult education for over 150 years.

• Adult schools cost far less per student than K-12, colleges and universities.

Millions of Californians need adult education, yet the number who access it is shrinking.

• 5 million adults lack high school diplomas

• 7 million adults not fluent in English

• 1/3 of California youth drop out before graduation • 80% of need unmet (California Department of Education estimate)

• 1,861,434 – Number of Adult School students in school year 1990-1991 700,000 – Number of Adult School students in school year 2011-2012 350,000-400,000 – Estimated number of Adult School students after 2012 (California Federation of Teachers ((CFT)) convention Adult Education Workshop April 2012)

• 82% of school districts have used Flexibility to transfer adult education funds to K-12 programs since 2009. (CFT Workshop)

• Over 300 adult education programs in K-adult districts 32 already closed –about 10% 44 have lost 50%-90% of funding – almost 15% (from a self-reported survey of adult schools statewide)

The LA school board voted to close its adult school on March 13 of this year. (Huffington Post June 7, 2012)

• Largest adult school system in the state with well over 200,000 students – more than the University of California.

• The Adult Education program uses only about 2% of the LAUSD's budget and serves almost one-third -- 27.7% -- of the total number of students in the school district. (Huffington Post June 7, 2012)

• 1.7 million inhabitants of Los Angeles County live in poverty. (CFT Workshop)

• LA County has the highest percentage of children with foreign-born parents. (The Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health, May 17, 2012)

• Adult education centers last year reduced the LA school district's high school dropout rate by 10%, according to the Associated Administrators of Los Angeles (AALA) (Huffington Post February 13, 2012) Note: Many more students received high school diplomas or equivalents via adult education after dropping out.

California has the 8th-largest economy in the world. (CA Department of Finance) The problem is not lack of money. We can afford to fully fund all public education.

Thanks to Teacher David Doneff for compiling this fact sheet.

Why It's Worth Saving

Wondering why we should save adult education when we're in the middle of a budget crisis and there's not enough money to go around?

Our Assistant Director Tim Doyle has a few good reasons why:

Over 20% of adult Californians, 5.3 million people, lack a high school diploma or equivalent degree.  Half of these people have less than a ninth grade education in a time when education beyond high school is the prerequisite for workforce success.

More than 3 million adult immigrants lack basic English skills.  These immigrants and their children will be the replacement generation for the retiring baby boomers who had the highest levels of education and salary compensation in US history.

Adult Schools provide the foundation level of education for these groups of people.  The opportunities that Adult Schools provide for immigrants to enter and high school dropouts to re-enter the education system do not exist anywhere else.  There is no seat for these students when Adult Schools close.

Governor’s Brown proposal on education funding, called the Weighted Student Formula, would eliminate funding for Adult Schools.  His plan calls for money to be redirected to schools that serve high levels of low income and English learner chilldren.  But closing education opportunities for the parents of those students will only make it more difficult for these children to achieve when their parents do not have the skills to get a job or to support their child’s education.

Tell your legislators to oppose Governor Brown’s Weighted Student Formula. 

Some Numbers

Adult schools are not new. They are not something that started in the "crazy" 1960s or in the New Deal 1930s. They over 150 years ago.

The first "evening school" to teach adults elementary basic skills and vocational training and teach English to immigrants started in San Francisco in 1956 in a church basement.

Other evening schools were estabilish in Oakland in 1871, Sacramento in 1872 and Los Angeles in 1887.

Will we still have them 2087?

Or even 2020?

That remains to be seen.

Do we need them?

Definitely.

Why?

Take a look at these numbers:

One in five adults in California lacks a high school diploma or GED.

The unemployment rate is nearly 11%.

20% of Californians speak English "less than very well."

Nearly half of Latino and African American students do not graduate from high school.

Ever try to create a strong, modern economy with labor that lacks basic math and reading skills?

Ever get into a car accident with someone who can't speak English?

Ever try to teach a class of kids whose parents speak little English and can't understand what their children need to study at home?

Ever try to deal with difficult social challenges in a culture where many people don't speak the same language?

Ever wonder why California spends more and more on prisons but less and less on schools?

California should be expanding, not defunding, adult education.

More numbers:

In the 1998-99 school year, there were 1,555,88 adult school students.

In 2011-12, there are approximately 700,000 adult school students.

And after 2012, we may be down to 350,000 to 400,000 students.

What about the other thousands of people who lack high school diplomas or GEDs, can't read or do basic math, can't speak English well, and need vocational skills?

Exactly how will they be making this state a better place to live, work, and share a life with?

Because we do share a life with them.

No matter where we live, in the farthest reaches of the Sierra, the most remote part of Death Valley, or the most securely gated community along the coastline, we are sharing a life with everyone who lives here. Sharing resources, tax revenue, freeways, schools, hospitals, courts, air and water with everyone who lives here.

Even if we hate every other person who lives in this state, even if we believe they deserve their wretchedness, even if we are happy they are unhappy, how exactly are we making our life better by making their life worse?

Not only is the educational system in California like a four-legged chair, our life here is, too.

Make life wretched for others, and soon enough we find we're no longer sitting at the top of the heap, but are amidst a wreckage we ourselves caused.