Democracy Matters

Click here to read about San Mateo Adult School students and staff attendance at the Oversight Hearing on Adult Education January 29th, 2014.

Click here to watch the hearing.

Click here to read what ESL Morning ESL Student Council President Marco said at the hearing.

Click here to read what former ESL Morning Student Council President Hitomi said at the hearing.

Click here to read what ESL Student Advocate Marina said at the hearing.

San Mateo Adult School ESL Students
Marina, Hitomi, and Marco speaking at the hearing.

The full AEM report is here.

Agenda and Background Info for AE Hearing on Wed Jan 29th

The agenda and the background information for the Oversight Hearing - Joint Senate Education and Assembly Higher Education Committees - are now available.

I recommend looking over the background information as well as scanning the agenda.

The Committee Members will be using this information to better understand Adult Education and make decisions about its future.

Click here to read the AEM post about the hearing.

Here are the agenda and background info:

Hit the "read more" link to jump in.

Jan 29th Hearing on Adult Ed: Your Chance to Speak

Wednesday, January 29th, at 9 am, there will be an "oversight hearing" on Adult Education for two committees of the California State Legislature.

This is a joint hearing of the Assembly Higher Education and the Senate Education Committees.

At the hearing for SB 173 in August 2013, Assembly Higher Education Committee members expressed a need for more information about Adult Education before making a decision about 173.

This "oversight hearing" is a response to the need for a better understanding of Adult Education - past, present, and possible future - before making any decisions about SB 173 or anything else that pertains to Adult Ed.

Hit the "read more" link to learn more.

Regarding Congress: We Have Work To Do

Thanks to Support Adult Basic Education in Arizona for this update:

A joint committee of the Congress, House of Representatives and Senate, came together to recommend Omnibus Appropriations that include Adult Ba...sic and Literacy Education State Grants, as well as all 12 regular appropriations bills for fiscal year 2014. The process allowed every program to be weighed individually and prioritized, with funding targeted to the most important and effective programs while lower-priority programs were reduced.

How did adult education fare? If approved by the House, Senate and signed by the President, adult education would be level funded at the FY 13 sequestration level - that is the same as the current, revised level for 041 and EL/Civics. In FY 12, the federal appropriation was $594,993,000; in FY 13, the appropriation was $563,955,000; and the FY 13 amount is what is being recommended. It is important to note that the committee could have chosen to increase our funding, as they did with HeadStart, or reduce our funding even more. Their decision to provide level funding means that WE HAVE NOT convinced our federal legislators that what we do is critical to economic development or K-12 education.
We continue to have work to do!

 

http://appropriations.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=366721

 

 

Click here for contact information for the Federal Government.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Federal Visit to San Mateo Adult School

On Tuesday, January 7th, Dr. Brenda Dann-Messier, US Dept of Education Asst. Secretary, and Cheryl Keenan, US Dept of Education Director of Education, visited San Mateo Adult School.

SMAS Director Larry Teshara, Dr. Dann-Messier, Teacher Daphne Lagios
Photo Credit: Tom Jung

Dr. Dann-Messier met with students in a roundtable discussion.

Roundtable Discussion with Dr. Brenda Dann-Messier
Photo Credit:  Tom Jung

Read ESL Student Advocate Marina's terrific write-up of that discussion here.

Read my ESL Student Blog post about the conversation between Ms. Keenan and Asst. Director Tim Doyle and SMAS teachers here.

SMAS Director Larry Teshara, Dr. Dann-Messier, Cheryl Keenan,
Asst. Directors Susan Williams and Tim Doyle
Photo Credit:  Tom Jung



More info coming.

Gov. Brown's Proposed 2014-15 Budget - The Regeneration of Adult Education?

You can read it here.  (Thanks, LA Times!)

The Adult Education section is on page 33.

I've copied it out here:

The 2013 Budget Act provided 25 million dollars Prop 98 General Fund for  two-year planning and implementation grants for regional consortia of community college districts and K-12 districts, $15.1 million Prop 98 General Fund Reversion for the Adults in Correctional Facilities, and required K-12 Districts to maintain the 2012-13 level of adult education and career technical education programs in 2013-14 and 2015-16.

Adult education consortia plans will be completed by early 2015, and the Administration intends to make an investment in the 2015-17 budget for adult education, including adult education in county jails, through a single restricted categorical program.  The Administration will continue to work jointly with the State Department of Education and the California Community College Chancellor’s Office  to complete the adult education consortia plans, while working with the Legislature to ensure that any legislation pertaining to adult education aligns with and supports the planning process currently underway and provides consistent guidelines to the K-12 and community college districts.

(Highlights mine.  But that "single restricted categorical program" is a big deal and I want to know more about how that would play out - the good, the bad, the new, etc.)

This is a proposed budget.  The public has to review and weigh in on it.  Same with the Legislature.  There is the whole tweaking, revising, voting, approving, not approving, arguing, vetoing, not vetoing yet to come.

In the meantime, what do you think?  Are we seeing the regeneration for Adult Education?

 

 

 

CFT California Teacher Magazine Article on Adult Ed - and Why We Need More Press Coverage

The November/December 2013 issue of the California Federation of Teacher's magazine, "California Teacher," contains the article, "New Regional Consortia Meld Programs." (Page 4)

Full disclosure:  I wrote the article.  I am also a member of CFT.

My thoughts:  I'm glad I could write it.  I'm glad CFT ran it.  I'm glad for the coverage of Adult Ed.

There is still inadequate understanding and coverage of Adult Education.

Edsource has not run an article about Adult Ed in a long while - and it needs to.

There has been little or no coverage of Adult Ed in the mainstream print media - LA Times, SF Chronicle, Sacramento Bee, etc. for a while now.

Meanwhile, big changes are taking place with little or no public understanding or input.

Hit the "read more" to learn more.