Red for Riverside

Riverside Adult School needs our support.

Photo Credit:  Press Enterprise

In spite of the Maintenance of Effort of Clause put in place by the State Legislature, "The adult school’s $3.6 million budget last year has been slashed to $1.8 million this year. Its staff of 52 full- and part-time employees has been cut to 19 positions." - Press Enterprise

Click the "read more" link to learn more.

After the Accident

 

Five years ago, Wall Street crashed into Main Street.

There were many victims. 

Folks who lost their jobs.

Folks who lost their homes.

Folks who lost their schools.

Adult Education was one of the many felled by those events and in so many ways, we are still struggling to recover from them.

The future is unsure.   While I declared "victory" on the Rebuild Adult Education petition, I'm not so sure now, because the promise of 500 million in Designated Funding in 2015 seems less concrete now. 

What exactly does the future hold? 

Click the "read more" link to find out.

Top 10 Reasons Why A School District Should offer Adult Education Within The New Consortium System

From the CCAE (California Council for Adult Education) Website:

SB 91 contains the provision requiring districts to spend the same amount of funding for Adult Education in 2013/14 and 2014/15 as was spent in 2012/13, pursuant to AB 86 to establish Adult Education consortia.

Top 10 Reasons Why A School District Should Offer Adult Education Within the New Consortium System
 

 Hit the "Read more" link to see them.

Update Riverside: Reason for Concern & Action

The Press-Enterprise article, "Riverside: Adult School Programs Slashed" is cause for great concern.

Even though the MOE (Maintenance of Effort) clause stipulates that if an Adult School was open in 2012, it must be open now and at the same funding level, the District has cut Adult Ed programs.

Paul Steenhausen of the Legislative Analyst’s Office in Sacramento, said...    “They’re not allowed to spend less,” said Steenhausen, whose office provides nonpartisan fiscal and policy analysis for the Legislature. If they do, he said, they could be in violation.             (From the PE Article)

Reductions at the Riverside Adult School, from 2012 to 2013, include:

ENROLLMENT: From 1,200 to 185

COURSES: to 6

BUDGET: $3.6 million to $1.8 million

STAFF: 52 to 19

(Statistics from PE Article)

Even though we the people of California, including many Adult Education students, staff, and supporters passed Prop 30...

Even though the Legislature created the Maintenance of Effort clause to ensure the survival of Adult Schools...

Even though Adult Education is wanted and needed in Riverside, where 24% of the population is foreign-born and 15% lives under the poverty level...

The District has made these cuts.

Click the "read more" link to learn more.

How Can You & Your Community Get Involved in the Regional Consortia Planning Process?

That's what we all want to know - and what we're finding out together.

Here's some information and ideas that might help us get started:

Hit the "read more" link to see them.

The Update Series: Working Together to Rebuild Adult Ed

Around the state, thanks to Prop 30, the support and backing of the Legislature, the Governor's May Revise, and the MOE clause (Maintenance of Effort means if an Adult School was open in 2012, it has to remain open and at the same funding level until 2015 when the new Regional Consortia system kicks in)...

Adult Schools are hanging on, hanging in, and working hard for a brighter future.

What that brighter future looks like depends on current planning and future budgets. 

We can be part of both processes by sharing information with each other, the Legislature, and the Governor.

I want to run an Update Series that showcases what's happening in Adult Ed around the state, at K12 Adult Schools, in Community College Non-Credit Adult Ed Programs, in Family Literacy Programs, in Jails & Prisons, anywhere Adult Education is happening.  (An example about Oakland is here.)

Hit the "read more" link to learn more.

CCAE Says: Now is the Time to Plan!

From the September issue of the CCAE Communicator:

 

Now is the Time to Develop Your Regional Consortium for Adult Education 

Contributed by Chris Nelson Past President

As you know, the State Budget now has $25 million set aside to provide planning grants to regional consortiums for Adult Education.  CCAE believes that you should take the initiative in developing the Regional Consortium in your local areas.  AB 86, which is now the law, says a regional consortium must consist of at least one adult school and one community college district.  We strongly suggest to begin your planning now, even before meeting with your community college leaders.  You can start by:

• Doing your own brainstorming on what you would like to see in a regional consortium (i.e. - improved transitions for adult learners, articulated career/ academic pathways, outreach and counseling, common assessments, etc.). 
• Apprising your district and community partners on what the regional consortium is about through AB 86.
• Reaching out to your neighboring adult schools in your community college district and beginning to meet to jointly figure out your needs.
• Assessing who else could be key players for your regional consortium.

In early September, the State Chancellor's Office and the California Department of Education will be convening work groups to develop an application and a process for regional consortium planning grants.  We expect an application to go out to the field sometime in the fall, so it is never too early to begin your regional consortium.  

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You can also take this questionnaire that I made so that everyone can share can share their needs, hopes and ideas for the Future of Adult Ed.  The results of the questionnaire will be shared publically.