Want More Info @ Adult Education, Adult Schools, and Adult Learners in Action?

Start here:

a4cas.org  ----  website with links to most everything

adulteducationmatters.blogspot.com ------ search by topic

saveouradultschool.org --- the best facts and analysis around on Adult Ed policy

unitedadultstudents.org ---- Adult Learners in action in Los Angeles

smaceesl.blogspot.com  --- ESL Student Blog – search “student voice” for student essays & actions

saveadulted.wordpress.com - record of advocacy for Adult Ed in Los Angeles


Hit the "read more" link to learn more.

Task Force Breaks New Ground on Immigrant Integration

From The Hill's Congress Blog:

Task Force Breaks new Ground on Immigrant Integration  April 17, 2015

This week, the White House Task Force on New Americans released a first-of-its-kind report on integrating immigrants into American society. It breaks important new ground and furthers our national discussion on the issue. Its recommendations represent a step forward that must be built upon.

Crucially, the report recognizes that ensuring that immigrants are able to fully participate in the workforce is sound policy—not just for individual immigrants, but for their American-born neighbors, employers, and the communities in which they live.

Without immigrants, the U.S. workforce will not be sufficient to replace the workers expected to retire between 2010 and 2030. And as our economy has changed, so has the process of incorporating newcomers. Unlike in decades past, a hands-off approach that assumes immigrants will spend their working lives in jobs with little need for workforce training or English skills or is no longer true.Today’s economy demands higher-order English and numeracy skills—even for workers at entry levels. Farther up the ladder, U.S. employers have an unmet need for qualified workers, particularly for middle-skill jobs, which require more than a high school education but not a bachelor’s degree. Approximately 55 percent of today’s job openings are middle-skill, compared to just 44 percent of workers.

Hit the "read more" link to learn more.

Short List of Growing Support for Parent Education and Older Adults

State Funding for Older Adults and Parent Education Adult Education will end in July of this year.

All along, many folks have thought these programs were valuable.  They simply didn't think there was enough money to pay for them, coming out of Great Meltdown of Wall Street, Main Street, and Adult Education. Others, like the folks at the LAO (Legislative Analyst Office), thought the mission of Adult Education should be narrowed to a more work-oriented focus.  (They also thought the two systems - K12 Adult Ed and Community Adult Ed should stay as they were - separate, just better coordinated.)   Meltdowns are the perfect time to re-form things because everything is nice and gooey and often there have already been losses, changes, etc.  This idea is the central tenet of the Shock Doctrine.  Before you get too upset about that, just remember that can swing in any direction.  It might be a direction you like.  It might be a direction you don't like.  It's just one of those things that's true and also encapsulated in the idea that crises = opportunity.

In any case, that's what happened.

Now, as we get close to when these changes -

State funding for Adult Education through the new Regional Consortia Block Grant System will go toward only these five programs:

*   Elementary and secondary basic skills, including classes required for a high school diploma or high school equivalency certificate

Classes and courses for immigrants eligible for education services in citizenship and English as a second language and workforce preparation classes in basic skills

Education programs for adults with disabilities

Short-term career technical education programs with high employment potential

Programs for apprentices

go into effect, there is growing support for programs which will no longer be financially supported by the State.

What will happen?



I don't know.  But here's a list of the growing support.  

(Click here for the longer version of this post.)

Hit the "read more" link to see the list.

People Are The Wind; Politicians Are The Sail: Growing Grassroots and Legislative Advocacy for Parent Education and Older Adults Programs

Lick your finger and stick it in the air.

Feel that?

The wind is shifting.

Hit the link to learn more and go here for the short version.

AB 1112 (Lopez): New Hope for Family Literacy and Parent Education

Assemblymember Patty Lopez has introduced AB 1112, which would provide state funding for Family Literacy and Parent Education.  State funding for Parent Education will otherwise end on June 30th, 2015, as Parent Education is not one of the five core programs funded through AB86. 

Analysis of Assembly Bill 1112 (Lopez)

Date of Hearing: April 8, 2015

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

 Patrick O'Donnell, Chair

 AB 1112 (Lopez) – As Amended March 26, 2015

 [Note: This bill is doubled referred to the Assembly Higher Education Committee and will be heard by that Committee as it relates to issues under its jurisdiction.]

SUBJECT: Adult education: consortia: parenting education: family literacy education 

SUMMARY: Authorizes adult programs, California Community Colleges (CCC) noncredit courses and classes, and the adult education regional consortia, established pursuant to Education Code (EC) Section 84830, to provide family literacy education. Specifically, this bill: 

Hit the link to read the rest.

Perspective: Adult Learner Poling Tang writes about High Quality Education within the Adult School System

Poling Tang is a student in the Writing Intensive class taught by Mary Peros at San Mateo Adult School.  The Writing Intensive class helps ESL students develop writing skills for college, career, and civic engagement.

Poling wrote the following essay as extra homework during Spring Break, "to express my gratitude to the adult school education system which plays an important role in my journey of life."

Thank you, Poling, for writing this remarkable essay and for sharing it with the larger community.  And thank you, Teacher Mary, for helping your students to give voice to their wisdom in the English language.

Hit the link to read her amazing essay.