CFT Resolution 4 "Ensure Adult Education Exists in Best and Fullest Capacity" Passes at the CFT 2016 State Conference

In mid January, CFT Local 4681 of San Mateo Adult School wrote and passed a resolution about Adult Education.  You can the Local 4681 resolution in full here.   Local 4681 then took their resolution, titled, "Resolution to Ensure that Adult Education Exists in Best and Fullest Capacity" to the CFT Adult Education Commission on January 23rd.   The Adult Education Commission considered it, made some alterations to it - primarily shortening it - kept the same title, and then passed it.

CFT Adult Education Commission members at their January 23rd, 2016 meeting.

Chair Jack Carroll is in the center bac.  Lily Adlawan, center front,

is the Local 4681 member who brought the resolution to the meeting.

Kathy Jasper, in the red Adult Education Matters t-shirt, is an AEC member

and also a CFT Vice President in the CFT State Executive Council.

Both resolutions - different with the same name and the same intention - were submitted to the CFT 2016 State Convention. 

At the convention, Local 4681 President Bruce Neuberger, Vice President David Doneff, and myself, Secretary Cynthia Eagleton met with members of the Adult Education Commission and agreed on a compromise position.  Resolution 3, the Local 4681 version, was withdrawn from consideration.  Resolution 4, with one amendment (the line, "and especially, more money for high need areas" in the "be it resolved" section), was submitted and passed in the Professional Issues: Early Childhood/K12 Committee and then voted first to the floor of the General Assembly - where it was resoundingly passed on Saturday, March 12th.

Hooray!

Thanks to all who worked to write and pass this resolution.  May it bring increased understanding of the value of Adult Education and increased support.

Notice that in the "be it resolved" section it advocates for the passage of legislation which supports any of these points.

AB1846, here we come.

Here is the resolution as passed, in full:

Hit the link to see it.

Perspective: "Adult Education, Why Does It Matter?" by Lucy Ochoa

The following piece was written by San Mateo Adult School student Lucy Ochoa.  Ms. Ochoa wrote the piece for a journalism class at U.C. Berkeley.  In her home country of Ecuador, she is a journalist.

Adult Education,

Why does it matter?

 

By Lucy Ochoa

It's 6:30 pm on Thursday, the last day of school before the weekend. About twenty students rush into a room at the main campus of San Mateo Adult School, greeting each other in different languages. After signing the attendance sheet they choose seats behind of one of the long wooden tables that face the whiteboard.

Click  the "read more" link to learn more.

CFT Local 4681's Resolution to Ensure that Adult Education Exists in Best and Fullest Capacity

CFT Local 4681, out of San Mateo Adult School, passed the following resolution:

Resolution to Ensure that Adult Education 
Exists in Best and Fullest Capacity

Whereas education is a human right for people of all ages, and

Whereas Adult Schools have been serving the people of California from every community, including those with the greatest needs and least resources, for over 150 years, and

Whereas, during the last recession, Adult Education was the only branch of public education in California which was nearly eliminated through a combination of funding cuts and allowing districts to take any and all adult school funds for other purposes (Categorial Flexibility), and

Whereas K-12 adult schools were saved only through the determined action of teachers, students, administrators, and their allies, and

Click the "read more" link to learn more.

Perspective: Run, Don't Walk to See "The Big Short" To Understand How Everything Happened

This is a Perspective piece.  Mine - Cynthia Eagleton's.

Too often, the conditions out of which bad things happen, never get examined.

Poor health, economic collapse, the devastation of Adult Education, or any other bad thing - you can always trace them back to conditions.

In a diabetic coma?  Did you check your blood sugar levels this morning?  Take your meds?  Exercise?  Over exercise?  Fail to exercise?  How did you get diabetes in the first place?  Were you overweight and inactive for decades?  At risk due to a family history?  Look hard and ask the right questions, and you'll understand why you have diabetes and why you're in a coma.

The cuts and closures of Adult Schools in 2009 and the years following came as a result of an economic collapse that was felt worldwide.

How did that collapse happen?

Click the "read more" link to learn more.

What Happened At Acalanes?

What happens when funding is threatened, reduced, removed, and destabilized for programs paid by the public and designed to serve it? Click on the "read more" link to find out.

The Battle for Adult Education in California: Historical Context

From left to right,
Bruce Neuberger,
George & Kristen Pursley
Cynthia Eagleton

At the 2015 Network for Public Education Conference in Chicago, Kristen Pursley, Bruce Neuberger, and I presented a panel entitled, "The Battle for Adult Education."

The Conference was deep and powerful.
An AEM post on the conference is coming soon. 

Cuts and reform in California Adult Education are part of a larger puzzle affecting every piece of Public Education in the US.  To understand what is happening in Adult Education in California - and to influence it in a positive direction - we need to understand what is happening elsewhere - and we need historical context.

Historical context is what Kristen provided at our panel discussion.  Kristen is a lead ESL teacher at West Contra Costa Adult School.  She is a founding member of COSAS - Communities Organized to Support Adult Schools, a group that formed in response to the cuts six years ago and has met weekly since.   She authors the Save Your Adult School blog, a priceless repository of facts and insight about Adult Education. 

Click the link to see her powerpoint:

Same Story - Different Continent

Across the pond from us, in the United Kingdom, Adult Education is undergoing similar reforms and cutbacks.

Check out these blogs and articles for more information:


The Learning Age

The Learning Age:  Adult Education and Austerity

Dancing Princesses blog

"Adult Education is Being Slashed and Burned - This is Too Important to Ignore" - by Lola Okolosie, The Guardian, March 2015

"Ed Reform of Adult Ed in the United Kingdom" - Alan Tucket, The Guardian, October 2014

"150,000 Will Lose Right to an Adult Education" -  The Independent, July 2012

"City Lit Head Deplores Cuts to Adult Education" - The Guardian, October 2010

"Mendelson Slashes Adult Education" - The Guardian, November 2009

"Global Vision or Corporate Welfare: The Privatization of Adult Ed in the New Millenium" Jennifer Sumner

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.

Video of the March 11th Joint Legislative Informational Hearing on Adult Education: Moving Forward

The video of Wednesday's Joint Legislative Informational Hearing on Adult Education: Moving Forward is available on The California Channel.   Click here to go right to the video.

This was an informational hearing. In other words, no one voted on anything. It was a sort of check-in on the whole AB86 process.  Folks checked in to report what is happening in the whole mighty, messy, complicated everyone come together under the big tent Regional Consortia Creation Game.  The legislature needs to know what is happening and how things are going and whether or not people are being served or will be served or won't be served because the Legislature will be voting on these matters in future when it votes on a budget. 

I highly recommend that you watch or listen to it as you chop vegetables, fold laundry, flea-comb your cat, or perform some similar task which enables you to listen while you work.

It is a long, meaty hearing full of information about what is happening, what people think, what people know, what people think they know but actually don't, what people want to know, what people need to know, and lots of other stuff all leading us to gaps in understanding that need to be filled.

People, by the way, refers to everyone.  It refers to we, the people.  And it refers to the people that we, the people, elect to represent us at the decision making table.

Best quote from the hearing came from San Mateo Adult School Director Larry Teshara:
"While our colleagues are looking for dessert, we're looking for dinner."

Public comments begin at 2:43 and include:
Commissioner Irma Beserra Núñez (Los Angeles)
George Porter (Berkeley)
Kristen Pursley (West Contra Costa)
Wendy Plew (CTA)
 
Watch or listen to the hearing at  The California Channel - Recent Archive 

Look for: 

March 11, 2015 Joint Legislative Informational Hearing on Adult Education:  Moving Forward

2 hours and 58 minutes

1426057223

Agenda

Video Open Video Only in Windows Media Player

MP4 Video

Perspective: Down by the Riverside, Repairing My Wheels

(This is a Perspective Piece.  In this case, mine... my personal perspective on current affairs.)

 

Monterey Coast 2009

This weekend, I've been thinking back on another Presidents Day Valentine's Day Combo Platter Weekend.


What's that on the horizon?

Way back in 2009.

I remember it like it was yesterday, not just because I had a great time in Monterey with my daughter and my folks...  but because I drove down there right after my boss called us together to tell us that in order to deal with the economic recession and keep K-12 schools going, Governor Schwartzenegger was "flexing" Adult Ed money.

Flexibility

The flexibility provided by the budget package is unprecedented. Local educational agencies (LEAs) will be able to redirect funding from 40 programs to “any educational purpose.” They will also be able to use restricted account balances from 2007–08 for any educational purpose.  Read more here.

I remember driving out to the motel to meet my parents.  Distracted by this news, I had spaced out. Now I found myself lost, in a marsh.  My daughter was asleep in the back seat.  Hmmm, I thought, this flex feels like bad news.  Real, real bad news.  Serious like cancer bad news.  Also, where the heck am I?

But when to my surprise, I accidentally found the motel, and greeted my parents and settled in, when I opened up my lap top and emailed my co-workers from the motel room, many didn't seem as upset as was.  It will all be okay, many said.  Things will be fine.  Really?, I thought, Am I crazy?  I don't feel like it will  I feel like we are in seriously deep, stinky and steep, deep, deep doo-doo - up to our eyeballs.

Hit the link to read more.

1/15/15 Update on Berkeley Adult School

An update about the situation at Berkeley Adult School from the Berkeley Adult School Facebook page.  (For the backstory on the situation, see this AEM post or this Berkeleyside article.)

Some of the more than 100 supporters of the

Berkeley Adult School at the board meeting.

Photo: Seung Y. Lee

The immense support, letter writing, social media/blog posting, phone calls and participation in various meetings from friends of BAS recently have been received by our Board and it is important that we continue to advocate for our programs, to organize to inform and have a presence at meetings, write letters, and invite Board members to visit. We are moved and grateful for the unified support of ...our school particularly from our staff. Local stakeholders have written letters, made phone calls and spoken at meetings. At Wednesday evening's Board meeting, Superintendent Evans said "We're not in a position to talk about long-term solutions." While the Superintendent's recommendation to re-purpose our site as an elementary school has been postponed, it remains one of two long term solutions, the other to build a new elementary school at the Oregon Street property. In mid-February, the Superintendent's staff will be looking at projected enrollment for Fall 2015 and determining which elementary schools need new modular classrooms as a temporary solution. If elementary enrollment continues to increase we may have to face the possibility that our advocacy turns to keeping us whole and finding a new location. 

Students and faculty from Berkeley Adult School

stand and hold signs in solidarity

 against relocation of the school at Wednesday’s board meeting.

Photo: Seung Y. Lee

 Adult Education is a tool for social justice and like other worthy causes, we need to always highlight the good work we do by informing our Board, District staff, and legislators, asking the press and public to come and write about who we serve and how we do it, attend and participate in school district meetings, engage our students to work with us and stay in the limelight. BAS staff will be focusing our attention on alternative solutions for our Board to consider other than spreading our classes through the district and the value of the investment in keeping us whole. 

 

There will be a town hall style meeting in mid-February regarding the future of BAS, please stay tuned for details and plan on attending if you can.

Thank you for your support.

"We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope." Martin Luther King, Jr.

Please see the AEM post, "All Out for Berkeley Adult School" for a full list of resources, contact info, media coverage, etc.  That post will be continuously updated.

 

All Out For Berkeley Adult School

Destabilization leads to problems.

Destabilization makes an individual, a group, or an institution vulnerable to disease, infiltration, attack, and at worst, death or extinction.

Stabilization not only keeps the individual, group or institution strong, it enables the individual, group or institution to provide shelter, support, and sustenance to others. 

Help or harm - in domino effect.

Hit the "read more" link to see how that plays out in Berkeley.

CFT: Adult Educators Facing Uncertain Future

From the December 12 "Inside CFT" e-newsletter:

CFT fights for Adult Educators facing uncertain future

Adult educators across the state face an uncertain future.  The Local Control Funding Formula eliminated funding for adult education, and districts are only required to fund it through the end of this school year.  AB 86 legislation created new structures to fund adult ed in both K-12 and community colleges, but the process currently leaves teachers and students with more questions than answers.  The committees formed to answer those questions excluded educators, staff and students from the beginning.

Hit the "read more" link to learn more.

Must Read SYAS Blog Post Series on Community Colleges and Adult Schools: How They Work and Who Does What

The always chock full of facts and insight Save Your Adult School Blog has a new series on

Community Colleges and Adult Schools:  How They Work and Who Does What.

The series is a must-read.


For that reason, I'm providing links to post in the series and a few pull-out quotes here. 

I urge you to read the series in full.  (As posts are added to the series, I will add links here.)

Part 1   The Community Colleges Credit and Noncredit Programs.

"The “Ending California’s Public Adult Education…” presentation is well worth reading, as it explains why the noncredit/adult school model is under attack. While the model welcomes all students, it is particularly helpful for adults who are not only busy, but dealing with the stresses of poverty. In this type of class, students who had little formal schooling as children or never did well in the traditional school system find a home and begin to fulfill their potential. But with no grades, no credentials or degrees, no hard beginning and end date, it doesn’t look much like what we typically think of as “school.” It’s that “focus on learning” that throws people. Learning? What about grades and tests?
But anyone who has taught this type of class can tell you it works, and furthermore, there are standardized test results and other data that demonstrate its effectiveness. There is more than one way to educate people, and not everyone benefits from the formal school model."

Part 2  Adult Schools:  Community Interest and Mandated Programs

"Adults with low levels of literacy are exactly the students both adult school mandated programs and community college noncredit programs were designed to serve. With more than five million people in need of these services, the efforts of both adult school mandated programs and community college noncredit programs are sorely needed, and both must be significantly expanded, if the educational needs of California’s adults are to be adequately met."

Part 3  Who's Doing What

"The LAO report does not demonstrate much “overlap” between community colleges and adult schools. A concern that there is “overlap” or duplication of effort between community colleges and adult schools is one of the driving forces behind proposals to reform the adult education system, including the AB86 Regional Consortium process. Governor Brown even proposed to eliminate adult schools in 2013 because of this supposed overlap. The LAO report mentions “overlap” as an issue, but the breakdown on page 11 of the report does not show much overlap at all. Instead, it suggests that a division of labor between adult schools and community colleges has already naturally evolved, and that the consortia will work best if they plan to build on the division of labor that already exists, rather than reinventing the wheel."

Part 4  The Differences May Surprise You - How Immigration, Parking, Standardized Testing, and More Affect Adult Schools and Community Colleges

"Adult schools are school, and community colleges are college. This may seem so simple it shouldn’t even have to be stated, but it plays out in surprising ways. Because one is part of the K-12 school system and the other is an institution of higher learning, adult schools and community colleges interact very differently with the immigration system, have different approaches for making education affordable for low income students, and are even differently distributed throughout the state."

Students Get A Seat At The Table

Fantastic news!

Students will (finally) get a seat at the decision-making table.

There will be two student reps amongst the new AB86 Workgroup Configuration.

Hit the "read more" link to learn more.

From the "Things That Are Disturbing" File: David Perdue and Adult Education



Robert Reich, on his Facebook page, shares:

 

“I spent most of my career” outsourcing jobs, said David Perdue, a business executive who’s running for Senate from Georgia in one of the closest-watched and tightest races in the nation. "This is a part of American business, part of any business. Outsourcing is the procurement of products and services to help your business run. People do that all day." He blames America’s jobs losses instead on “bad government policies: tax policy, regulation, even compliance requirements. It puts us at a competitive disadvantage with the rest of the world.”

David Perdue is a Commissioner on the National Commission on Adult Literacy.   He is also CEO of the Dollar General.  And as of November 5, he's a U.S. Senator from Georgia.

There are two big organizations that help shape Adult Ed policy on the national level, NCAL (the National Commission on Adult Literacy), and NCL (the National Coalition for Literacy).

They aren't only the shapers, of course.  Grassroots groups, Teachers Unions, Legislators, Think Tanks, Academics, there are many.  But these two groups definitely have an impact and they work on the national level, which is important. 

More and more, things are flowing in a top down and federal sort of way - Common Core, College & Career Readiness, these are changes flowing from DC.  California is and isn't embracing these changes.  We are a big state with an economy stronger than most of the world's countries.  California doesn't say yes to everything.  It sometimes does things its own way and until the Crash of 2009, it had much stronger and better Adult Education than most states which it funded with its own money - unlike many states.  All that in mind, it is still 1 of 50 states united under a Federal Government which has been changing public education in a number of significant ways.   And where California isn't saying "yes" to changes suggested by the Federal Government, it's making its own changes.  All in all, in California and everywhere else in these United States, public education is changing.

None of that, in and of itself, is good or bad.  It is change.  As always, we need to be awake to what is changing, look it over closely in light of the big picture, and then consider how the changes do or don't benefit our people.  If and where we think the changes are beneficial, we need to nurture and encourage those changes.  If and where we consider them harmful, we need to take steps to arrest the bad and begin the good.

Back to our story, the similarity of the names and acronyms - NCL and NCAL - makes it hard to remember which is which but it's important to try.  They are different in some important ways.  I won't try to detail the differences here.  I'll doing so to my "List of One Hundred Posts I Need to Write."

I will note that NCL and NCAL are similar in an important way.  Both have received big funds from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation.  History of NCL here.  History of NCAL here.

From the "Adult Ed Reform" post on the Alliance for California Adult Schools Blog:

National Commission on Adult Literacy - The Council grew out of two background assessment and planning projects carried out in early 2001. Funding for that work came from Harold W. McGraw, Jr., The Ford Foundation, and The Carnegie Corporation. One project assessed the status and lingering problems of adult literacy, following the work of the Business Council for Effective Literacy (BCEL); the other explored the feasibility of establishing a blue-ribbon commission on adult literacy. Both projects developed lengthy research and action agendas, and the rationale for them. CAAL was formed to build on that foundation, including the work of BCEL, its predecessor organization.  Chairman of NCAL, David Perdue (Dollar General Literacy Foundation)


I created my own powerpoint on Adult Ed Reform for the Grassroots Summit last summer in June 2014 but have yet to post it on this blog.

One thing that is always strange and interesting to me is the involvement of Dollar Stores in Adult Education.  Both of the big Dollar stores have been involved in Adult Ed philanthropy/policy (Dollar General and Family Dollar).  Dollar General - David Perdue's company - is now in pursuit of Family Dollar so we may be down to just one horse in the race very soon. 

On the one hand, I can see that a Dollar Store corporation would understand the struggles of people who, because of poverty, are very likely to shop at Dollar Stores.  Poverty has a strong connection with lack of education.  And yet, the fact that David Perdue, CEO of Dollar General, considers outsourcing something to be proud of... Wow, how does this work?  How does outsourcing connect with a place to buy cheap stuff made by people working very hard jobs probably without a lot of work and safety rules connect with Adult Education?  If you are providing people with a place to buy cheap stuff and you are sending jobs overseas, what kind of education might you suggest would be best for the country?

Who benefits?  That was the question that drove my own powerpoint on Adult Ed Reform and I suppose at some point I should post it here.

In the meantime, I wanted to be sure you knew about Mr. Perdue.

You can put it in your "Things That Are Disturbing" file where it will hopefully compost into "Great Ideas For How to Increase Democracy and Public Engagement in Great Public Education."

Such things do happen.

From this...

...to this... It happens!

CCAE November Communicator: The Countdown Begins

For the full November Communicator, click here.  Here is the Legislative Update:

 

The Countdown Begins

 

The countdown has begun - 11 weeks to the release of the January FY 15-16 budget proposal that will provide insight in to the future of adult education.  While we believe we have made significant headway with the Department of Finance (DOF) this fall, we are not likely to know the details until the proposal is released, January 9th. This is certainly unnerving for us all, without question.  Nevertheless, we put a strong strategic advocacy plan in place to help impact the outcome and are feeling very good about it. At the local level you have stepped up in a big way - garnering support from your superintendents, boards, community, elected officials, and more. At the state level, we have also been working hard to put together a strong coalition to support K12 adult education and fight for a budget plan that ensures stability for the K12 system ahead of the March 15th layoff notice deadline. We've held countless meetings with stakeholders, elected officials, legislative budget and policy staff, DOF, and more.

 

In terms of the key issues we've been focused on, they include:

• Focused on a Dedicated, Stable Funding Structure for K-12 Adult Schools 
• Transition Year - Maintain K12 Capacity
• Utilizing Existing State Fiscal Infrastructures to Apportion Funding
• AB 86 Plans Inform & Drive Funding

We believe these are critical components of a workable January budget proposal. As a matter of fact, we have prepared and put forth our own CCAE and CAEAA proposal that addresses these key issues in a manner that is consistent with the goals of the Administration and DOF - win / win! Our proposal would provide for FY 15-16 to be a transition year whereby roughly $350 million would be taken from the DOF-proposed $500 million pot to maintain capacity in the K12 system - first and foremost. This will help ensure stability for existing capacity in K12 adult schools by giving school districts a clear sense of what they can expect to include in their FY 15-16 budgets for adult education and avoid the need to issue layoff notices by the March 15th deadline. The $150 million leftover would go towards addressing the needs and gaps outlined in the AB 86 regional plans across the state. Certainly, $500 million is nowhere close to sufficient to meet the needs that exist today, but it is a start and we have the commitment from Finance to allocate at least that in January's proposal. At this point, the critical component is to ensure stability and avoid losing current capacity - we believe this approach helps achieve that in the transition year. Additionally, we are proposing that the FY 15-16 budget also allocate the FY 16-17 funding and set up a process to decide how best to distribute that funding to the regions and at the local level based on the AB 86 regional plans starting in the second year. Starting such planning early, with an idea of what school districts will have to budget with going in to the next budget cycle, will help provide greater clarity in budgeting year over year. 

 

And while we believe we have made considerable headway in working with DOF, we are not out of the woods yet. One key issue that remains a challenge is the flow of resources. DOF continues to be interested in an approach whereby funding would be provided to the Community College Chancellor's Office (CCCO) for distribution to the regional fiscal agents who would then distribute the funding to the consortium partners. We continue to have serious concerns with such a distribution approach. We believe strongly that such an approach would run the risk of distancing adult education programs from K12 districts. Regional plans build upon the unique identity of K12 adult schools and so it is imperative that they continue to be tied to CDE and their individual school districts. This connection is critically important in terms of access for the students the K12 system serves; the learning mechanisms associated with basic skills needs that builds upon the K12 model of teaching to ensure proper uptake of the education that is more closely aligned to K12 curriculum; staffing issues related to contracts, oversight, development, etc.; accreditation; federal oversight and matching; and more.  Should the direct fiscal connection to CDE and the individual school districts be lost, K12 adult schools will lose their identity and the undeniable benefit to the students we serve will be destroyed as school districts are distanced from support of their adult schools. This preventable wedge would potentially reduce the access so many of our students rely on.

 

It is for these reasons that CCAE and CAEAA have offered a proposal that would model the distribution of funds similar to the Perkins funding model whereby CDE is provided the allocation from the federal government and with an Interagency Agreement with the CCCO provides the CC allocation to the Chancellor's office to distribute to its community college districts. Similarly, our proposal would provide the funding, consistent with the Perkins model and DOF's interest in providing the funding to the CCCO's office, to the CCCO's office and require an Interagency Agreement with CDE to allow CDE to in turn distribute the funds directly to school districts using its existing fiscal infrastructures. We believe we are on solid ground with such a proposal that would avoid the bureaucracy and concerns with a local fiscal agent and utilize existing fiscal infrastructure through CDE and the CCCO - effective and efficient.

 

In terms of moving forward over the next 11 weeks, we urge you to continue your efforts at the local level to garner support for maintaining K12 adult schools and current capacity. And for those schools that have not yet finalized their Nascar or Superintendent letters, we ask you to wrap them up and send them in to the Governor within the week. Finance will be presenting their proposal to him very soon, and we want to be sure he is hearing from across the state. Additionally, continue to meet with your local legislators as we move towards January.  Of note, some districts will have new members elected as of November 4th - be sure to know who your members are and for those that are new we urge you to work quickly to bring them up to speed on our efforts and what lies ahead. In terms of specific talking points for your legislators, we recommend the following key points be made:

 

1) Maintain & Stabilize K-12 Capacity

2) Transition Year w/ Maintenance of Capacity Funding for K12 Out of FY 15-16 Allocation

3) Perkins Model Distribution - CDE Allocation to K12 Districts through Interagency Agreement w/ CCCO

 

Again, we feel like we are on very solid ground with our proposal, which we have shared with DOF and the Legislature. Keep up the great work at the local level, and rest assured we won't rest until K12 adult schools are stabilized. We have a strong, supportable plan that protects the critical access to our programs and services and will continue to push forward with advocacy to ensure its intent is included in the January proposal. Strength in numbers!

 

To access the funding proposal and related documents, as well as the list of cc emails for your Nascar and Superintendent letters, you can visit www.ccaestate.org.

 

 

"I'll take a stable budget for K12 Adult Schools, please,
for 300... "

 

 

Montebello Adult Ed Advocates October Newsletter

From the Adult Education Advocates in the Montebello Community, the October Newsletter:

ADULT EDUCATION

A Newsletter on Adult Education in California

October 2014

SB 173 ADDS TO THE MIX ON CONSORTIA PLANNING

With significant amendments, Senator Carol Liu’s SB 173 passed the legislature and was approved by Governor Brown. As amended, its provisions add to the factors applicable to the present AB 86 work, calling for the following:

• Requires the California Department of Education (CDE) and the state Chancellor’s Office (CO)
to issue assessment and policy guidelines to be used for purposes of student placement in adult
education.

• Requires CDE and CO to issue policy recommendations to the legislature regarding a comprehensive accountability system for adult education.

• Requires CDE and CO to issue recommendations on adult education fees.

• Requires the CO, in conjunction with CDE, to annually report on courses and student
enrollments in adult education, and report on deficits in course offerings based on needs
identified by adult education consortia.

• Requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing and the Academic Senate for California
Community Colleges to submit recommendations by July 1, 2016 on the reciprocity of adult
education instructors in K-12 districts and community colleges.

The good news is that with the enactment of SB 173, the legislature and Governor are affirming that the work of the adult education consortia is being taken seriously. SB 173 further affirms that a new adult education program will begin on July 1, 2015, and the continued work of the consortia will be needed to implement the AB 86 consortia plans. The added factor of the SB 173 accountability also will serve to inform state decision makers on the effectiveness of adult education!programs.

What to Do . . .

MULTIPLE APPROACHES NEEDED TO INFORM LEGISLATORS

As 2015 approaches and the state legislature and governor begin their work, it becomes critical that all state legislators are aware of what is at stake for adult education and that they get information on your programs and your AB 86 consortium work. One approach to informing legislators will not be enough.

Versions of the following are needed: Visits to local offices; Invitations for legislators to see your
programs and participate in your events; and Letters from staffs and students.

The current reality in the state legislature is that an increasing percentage of members comes from families that are much like those of students in adult education. The new President Pro Tem of the State Senate, Kevin de Leon, in his inaugural speech, praised his mother for overcoming significant barriers in raising her family. The support is there in the legislature, but members need the information to become fellow advocates for adult education.

Developed by Adult Education Advocates in the Montebello Community

October 2014: What's Next?

Upcoming events and things to think about in the Amazing Adventure of Stabilizing Adult Education and K12 Adult Schools: 

1.  CCAE Webinar - Thursday, October 23rd, 3:30 pm - the latest info and strategy ideas from CCAE - the California Council for Adult Education.  CCAE puts special focus on K12 Adult Schools - their future, their funding.

2.  CATESOL State Conference - Thursday, October 23 through Sunday, October 26 - Santa Clara.
Student Leaders from San Mateo Adult School will present a workshop on Student Leadership and Community Building on Friday at 3:30 pm.  Click here to see the full program.  The conference attracts people from around the state so it's a good chance to share ideas and information.  Friday evening folks interested in Adult Education will meet for dinner (location TBA).

3.  AB86 Webinar - Friday, October 24th, 12 to 1 pm.  This webinar will include an AB86 Summit Debrief.  What does the AB86 Workgroup consider the results of the Summit to be?  Find out at the webinar.

Additionally, you can see video from the AB86 Summit here (when they get that going).

And you can access material from the AB86 Summit here.

The summit was a very important event.  It was the first real chance for folks from around the state - both teachers and admin - to share ideas, concerns, experiences, information - in person and all together.  Much good came out of it.  I highly recommend you watch the video and look over the materials.

4.  Powerpoint from the Community College Academic Senate on Adult Ed and Non-Credit.  This powerpoint is a good look inside how the Community College folks are approaching the Regional Consortia process.  What is their perspective?  What are their concerns?  What are their ambitions?  I highly recommend you look at it.  To see it, go to the Resources page on the a4cas.org website and scroll down to the bottom of the page, in the Community College section.  Click on the link for the powerpoint. 

The Community College Academic Senate, in 2011, recommended that all Adult Education be delivered by the Community College system.  It's always a good idea to know what they are thinking about and advocating for.  They are a formal, recognized body with their own funding (which I am in the process of learning more about).   The K12 Adult School community has no equivalent.

5.  CTA State Council - October 24th to 26th.   CTA is California Teachers Association, the larger of the two major teachers unions in California.   Los Angeles is the biggest Adult School in California.  Their union - UTLA - is associated with both CTA and CFT.  CFT is California Federation of Teachers.  CFT had its State Council in September.

What does CTA think about Adult Education?  About K12 Adult Schools?  About the new Regional Consortia?  About funding - dual delivery or single stream through the Community College Chancellor's office?  What does CFT think?  Good questions - and if you are a member of one or both unions, you should be asking to find out.  More importantly, you should be speaking up to help decide the policy.

6.  Tuesday, November 4th - The Election.  Most important bit for Adult Ed:  State Superintendent.  The State Superintendent is the head of CDE - the California Department of Education - meaning, the boss of the K12 side of things. 

The current Superintendent is Tom Torlakson, who famously said, when Governor Brown wanted to put all Adult Ed inside the Community College system, "If ain't broke, don't fix it!"   Where does Torlakson stand on funding for Adult Education?  Dual Delivery?  Single stream through the Community College Chancellor's Office?  He hasn't said.  Which means we need to ask until he answers.

Running against against Torlakson is Marshall Tuck, the son of a retired Older Adults instructor at San Mateo Adult School.  Does that mean Tuck is a big fan of Adult Ed, K12 Adult Schools, and Older Adults programming?  Doesn't seem like it, based on what he's said and done.  Tuck is known as the former hedge fund manager who is a fan of charter schools.  But find out for yourself what Tuck does and doesn't want for Adult Ed and K12 Adult Schools by asking him.

Most politicians start out wanting to serve the public.  Many are pulled off course by the need for campaign money.  What is campaign money for?  It's for reaching voters.  If we do the reaching, they don't have the spend the money on sending us flyers that we throw in the recycling bin or buying ads on tv that we don't watch.  Call their campaign offices and ask them what they want for Adult Education and K12 Adult Schools.

If they want your vote, they can earn it by giving you answers.  They don't have to spend any money to tell you what they think.  It's a win-win for everyone.

If there's one thing I've learned in the Grand Adventure of Pushing for the Survival and Thrival of Adult Education, especially Community-Based K12 Adult Schools, while the Whole Country Thrashes and Shakes in a Struggle for Who Decides What Public Education Will Be and Who Pays For It and Who Will Benefit From It.... it's this:

It's our state.  It's our country.  It's our election.  These are our schools, our people, our future, our decisions.

And in some way, no matter how powerless we sometimes feel or in in part are, at the same time, we always have power.

The trick is remembering to use it.

Power = Responsibility = Choice.

What you choose to look into, learn about, ask about, speak about... this is your power.

How will you use it?

Your choices help determine what's next.

What do you choose?