Letter to Legislators: Keep Adult Ed Funding Strong and Stable!

My personal letter to legislators:

April 26, 2020

Re:  Stable Funding for Adult Education

Dear Legislator,                 

I’m a veteran ESL Teacher at San Mateo Adult School, former union officer in our local CFT 4681, and a representative on the CFT Adult Ed Committee.  I’m a member of CCAE - the California Council for Adult Education.  I author the Adult Education Matters blog. I work with other advocates around the state to reveal the secret that Adult Ed is the hidden gem of California.

I am writing to you about the possibility that Adult Education may once again see horrific cuts - and what a disaster that would be for California.

We know that the current pandemic is severely affecting the economy and will for a while.  We know the revised budget for California will need to be leaner and it necessarily be “meaner” in several difficult but necessary ways.  We know that the choices we make now will be long-lasting and will shape what comes after probably for decades - similar to decisions made during the Great Depression and World War II.  

That’s why I’m writing to ask you to ensure that funding for Adult Education remains STABLE. 

I am very concerned that where Adult Ed is concerned, there might be a repeat of what happened the last time we had a less severe economic downturn.  In 2008, when Wall Street crashed into Main Street, Governor Schwarzenneger flexed K12 Adult Ed funding so that K12 Districts could use it to survive their own cuts - forgetting that Adult Ed educates and supports the families and communities raising the kids the K12 districts serve.

This was disastrous on multiple levels.  Over 70 Adult Schools closed, all were cut, and Californians across the state lost access to ESL, Job Training, Citizenship, GED, High School Diploma Programs, Parent Education, Financial and Health Literacy, and Older Adults Programs.

When Governor Brown restructured Adult Education, he narrowed it to a more “workforce” focus, eliminating funding for Financial Literacy, Home Economics (Life Skills!), Parent Education, and Older Adults Programs, forgetting that ending free Financial LIteracy programs right after a housing meltdown in which thousands of Californians lost their homes was not a wise idea and that life skills are crucial to community health (See: Problems with Pandemics), and that Parent Education and Older Adults programs support healthy communities which raise healthy kids, lower medical costs, and boost community contributions.

What will happen now?  What rationalization might be used to eliminate Adult Ed funding or narrow the focus even more?

We know - already - that this pandemic is going to reshape our culture, state, and economy in deep and long-lasting ways.  We need to think carefully about what we fund and why as we work our way out of it and into a post-pandemic California. 

We need low-cost programs that encourage physical, mental, economic, family, community, and civic health ---- THAT’S ADULT EDUCATION!

Some industries - such as the restaurant and entertainment industries - will be deeply impacted for a while. Those Californians who were working in these jobs will need free or low-cost, short-term job training in new fields ---- THAT’S ADULT EDUCATION!

We need Californians to be able to support their kids in school - including understanding how to help them navigate a new world of remote learning, make community contributions, and engage in civic matters - THAT’S ADULT EDUCATION!

We need every California to have free or low-cost, easy access to the education they need to move out of this difficult crisis and into a recovery that serves and lifts everyone - THAT’S ADULT EDUCATION!

Adult Education is part of the COVID Recovery Team!

But if it’s defunded?  It can’t play its important role on that team - the community base, turn on a dime, low cost member who is always there in a crunch and a crisis to help the team win the game.

PLEASE do everything you can to ensure Adult Education remains funded at the amount it is now. 

Connect with other legislators.  Jose Medina and Kevein McCarthy in the Assembly are folks who know and understand - from lived experience - the value of Adult Ed.  

Sincerely,

Cynthia Eagleton

Contact Key Legislators to Ask for Increase in Funds for Adult Education

California is one of the biggest and strongest economies in the world - but funding for Adult Education still lags behind the funding it received prior to the global financial crash of 2008-09.  

For more on that topic and why now is the moment to ask for adequate funding, go here.

Alt text:  "Now" with clock at center

This is the moment.

Gather together with students, staff and community members.

Reach out to key legislators who sit on the Budget Subcommittees and to the Chairs of the Budget Committees to ensure they understand the importance of adequately funding Adult Education. 

Tell them why it is so important to fund Adult Education - what it does - and what it can do with adequate funding.

Here is a list of legislators important to contact.  Click on the link to find their contact information.  Send letters to their Sacramento office if you don't live or work in their district.

Senator Holly Mitchell, Senate Budget Committee Chair

Senator Jim Nielsen, Senate Budget Committee Vice Chair

Senate Budget Subcommittee #1 on Education –
Senator Richard Roth (Chair), Senator Connie Leyva and Senator Mike Morrell

Senate Education Committee – 
Senator Connie Leyva (Chair), Senator Scott Wilk, Senator Ling Ling Chang, Senator Maria Elena Durazo, Senator Steve Glazer, Senator Mike McGuire and Senator Richard Pan

 

Assembly member Phil Ting, Assembly Budget Committee Chair

Assembly member Jay Obernolte, Assembly Budget Committee Vice Chair

Assembly Budget Subcommittee #2 on Education – Assemblyman Kevin McCarty (Chair), Assemblyman Bill Brough, Assemblyman James Gallagher, Assembly member Monique Limon, Assembly member Jose Medina, Assembly member Al Muratsuchi, Assembly member Patrick O’Donnell

Assembly Education Committee – Assembly member Patrick O’Donnell (Chair), 
Assembly member Kevin Kiley, Assembly member Ash Kalra, Assembly member Kevin McCarty, Assembly member Christy Smith, Assembly member Shirley Weber

Assembly Higher Education Committee – Assembly member Jose Medina (Chair), 

Assembly member Steven Choi, Assembly member Richard Bloom, Assembly member Jesse Gabriel, Assembly member Jacqui Irwin, Assembly member Kevin Kiley, Assembly member Marc Levine, Assembly member Evan Low, Assembly member Jim Patterson, Assembly member Miguel Santiago, Assembly member Shirley Weber

Tell the Governor and Your Legislators: California Needs Adequate Funding for Adult Education

It's time.

California is the 4th biggest economy in the world.

And it is 17th most unequal "nation" on earth.

Adult Education has what California needs to serve the people who grind to give it power.

Adult Education holds keys  - civic, social, economic, educational - to address the challenges we face:  climate change, income inequality, social injustice, among others ---  if it is adequately funded.

Tell Governor Newsom and your legislators:  Adult Ed needs adequate funding.

Here's information to help you:

(Note:  If you use a screen reader and need this information in text, please DM via Facebook and I will provide for you.)

Adult Ed Staff and Supporters!

Good and urgent news:

Good news:  Allies and CCAE have made great progress in pushing forward a way for us to measure ---

because let's face it, right now at this point in US history, everything has to be measured ---

community "success" --- specifically immigrant integration metrics.

Why is this important?  Because in order for something to get funded, legislators need to see and measure it.   That's how things work. If we want something funded - we need to show a need, show how the need is met, measure results, etc.

If we can measure immigrant integration, it will be possible to get it funded.

Some schools promote college, career, and community --- but officially, statewide, the mission of Adult Ed is essentially college and career.

AB2098 COULD CHANGE THAT!

We Need to Support AB 2098

What’s AB 2098?

AB 2098 is legislation sponsored by

* Kevin McCarty - a former Adult School student out of Sacramento -

* and co-sponsored by Tony Thurmond - out of West Contra Costa, who has been a big supporter of Adult Ed and is running for Calif Superintendent of Education  ---

that requires the California Department of Education to use immigrant integration metrics.

From CCAE:  This bill would  require CDE to categorize the various EL Civics COAAPs into eight categories that paint a complete picture of effective integration into American society. 

Let’s break that down:  

• metrics are a way to measure something.
• Immigrant integration is when immigrants successfully merge into US culture.

Examples of immigrant integration:

• Disaster preparedness - earthquakes, fire, etc.
• Attending a PTO meeting at your child’s school
• Attending a parent-teacher or IEP meeting regarding your child
• Attending a City Council meeting
• Getting a library card, accessing educational resources
• Volunteering - at the Second Harvest Food Bank, SPCA, Neighborhood or Beach Clean-Up, etc.
• Learning how democracy works
• Participating in democratic systems, including Student Council
• Becoming a citizen
• Voting
• Getting involved in local community events and organizations
• Safe health practices - individual/public health
• Safe driving, safe disposal of motor oil

Info from CCAE and Allies

You can read all about AB2018 here. in this info sheet from CCAE - California Council of Adult Education.

 
Read about Immigrant Integration on the Allies website.

Urgent News

The Chancellor of Community Colleges is pushing back on AB2098.  This is a big problem. We need to act now to show our support.

What can you do?

• You can - and should - write a letter or email and share a copy of it with CCAE

What to do:

• Write a letter or email in support of AB2018 - explain why you think immigrant integration is important
• Give examples - disaster preparedness, civic engagement, understanding and participating in democracy, volunteering to help elders, people in need, children, animals, the environment, etc., support and engagement in children’s education, using the library,
• You can write one letter that you send to the same people
• Send the letter or email to Kevin McCarty, Tony Thurmond, and the state legislators who represent you and/or our local San Mateo reps (listed below)
• Send a copy of your letter or email to Dawn Koepke who is spearheading support for AB2098 for CCAE --- dkoepke@mchughgr.com

Sample Letter

Don’t worry about it being perfect.  It can be brief and to the point.

Legislators generally already have a lot of facts.   What they need is

• To know who you are - teacher, staff member, former student
• to know how much people want something - is there a big need for it?
• Stories that illustrate why something is needed and/or why it works
• Offers of help - it’s hard to get legislation pushed through into law
• Lists of organizations, schools, people who are behind something - that helps when they are talking about it, making a case for it

Sample Letter

Dear ------------------,

I’m a ESL teacher at San Mateo Adult School writing in support of AB 2098.  I know how important immigrant integration is - I see it every day. When our students learn how to volunteer in the community, participate in events at their child’s school, or become an officer in our Student Council - everything changes.  From even a single one of these events, they grow in confidence and then begin to seek out new opportunities to participate in and contribute in civic life, their child’s education, and day to day interactions with neighbors and co-workers. It changes how they view themselves and the community in which they live.  They become real participants and contributors - empowered and empowering. That benefits everyone.

Right now, we can’t measure that - and we need to - because it’s a vital part of what we do in Adult Education.  It needs to be recognized and funded - and measuring its success is part of how that happens.

Thank you for sponsoring this bill.  Please push as hard as you can for it.  If there is something specific staff at my school can do, please let us know.  We are very much in support of the bill.

Sincerely,

Cynthia Eagleton

ESL Teacher at San Mateo Adult School 20 years plus

Other possibilities

Provide a bullet point list of immigrant integration of your students

Note that this needs to be measured because Adult Ed is not just career and college readiness - that doesn’t capture everything we do.

Provide links to blog posts about student accomplishments.

Provide student quotes.

To see a fancier type letter which really goes into the facts and lays out a case for AB 2098, here’s the South Bay Consortium for Adult Education’s letter.

Don’t stress out about writing a perfect or fancy letter.

• Write your own letter.  
• Brief is okay.
• Writing an imperfect letter is more effective than stressing out about not being perfect and then not doing anything and then rationalizing that your letter wouldn’t have been good enough anyway.  
• Think about what you tell students, friends, and family when they are afraid of making mistakes.
• And then take your own advice.  

Contact Info for Legislators

Bill Sponsors McCarty and Thurmond:

Thank them and give them evidence to use pushing the bill forward

Assembly Member Kevin McCarty https://a07.asmdc.org/

Capitol Office

P.O. Box 942849,  Sacramento, CA 94249-0007

Tel: (916) 319-2007

District Office:

915 L Street, Suite 110,  Sacramento, CA 95814

Tel: (916) 324-4676

Assembly Member Tony Thurmond   https://a15.asmdc.org/

Capitol Office: State Capitol, P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento, CA 94249-0015, Tel: (916) 319-2015

District Office: Elihu Harris State Building, 1515 Clay Street, Suite 2201, Oakland, 94612

Tel: (510) 286-1400

Remember to email a copy of what you write and to whom to

Dawn Koepke:  dkoepke@mchughgr.com

Writing your own legislators

• Tell them who you are
• Tell them you support AB 2098
• Tell them why you support it
• Remind them you are a constituent or work in their area

Find your legislators:

http://www.legislature.ca.gov/your_legislator.html

Local legislators for San Mateo area:

1. Senator Jerry Hill:http://sd13.senate.ca.gov/

• Capitol Office State Capitol, Room 5035, Sacramento, CA 95814 Phone: (916) 651-4013
• District Office   1528 South El Camino Real, Suite 303, San Mateo, CA 94402      Phone: (650) 212-3313

2. Assembly Member Kevin Mullin:  https://a22.asmdc.org/

• Capitol Office: State Capitol, P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento, CA 94249-0022               Tel: (916) 319-2022
• District Office: 1528 South El Camino Real, Suite 302, San Mateo, CA 94402        Tel: (650) 349-2200

3. San Francisco area legislators

• Assembly Member David Chiu https://a17.asmdc.org/
• Assembly Member Phil Ting https://a19.asmdc.org
• State Senator Scott Weiner http://sd11.senate.ca.gov/

4. Hayward area legislators

• Assembly Member Bill Quirk:  https://a20.asmdc.org/

Capitol Office: State Capitol, P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento, CA 94249-0020

Tel: (916) 319-2020

District Office: 22320 Foothill Blvd, Suite 540, Hayward, CA 94541

Tel:  (510) 583-8818

Remember to email a copy of what you write and to whom to

Dawn Koepke:  dkoepke@mchughgr.com