Minggu, 30 Agustus 2015

adult history Modesto Bee Portrait of Adult Ed in Central Valley Community Ceres - japraklupo

Agustus 2015 - Hallo sahabat fashion, Pada Artikel yang anda baca kali ini dengan judul Agustus 2015, kami telah mempersiapkan artikel ini dengan baik untuk anda baca dan ambil informasi didalamnya. mudah-mudahan isi postingan Artikel Regional Consortia, Artikel Rural, yang kami tulis ini dapat anda pahami. baiklah, selamat membaca.

Judul : adult history Modesto Bee Portrait of Adult Ed in Central Valley Community Ceres - japraklupo
link : adult history Modesto Bee Portrait of Adult Ed in Central Valley Community Ceres - japraklupo

Baca juga


Agustus 2015


Read more here: http://www.modbee.com/news/local/education/article32762943.html#storylink=cpy

Highlights:

Ceres Unified and Modesto Junior College spearhead consortium
Dropouts, immigrants, low-income adults served by classes
Recession-slashed programs rebuilding with collaboration, oversight

Read more here: http://www.modbee.com/news/local/education/article32762943.html#storylink=cpy
Of all the cuts to education during the Great Recession, classes for grown-ups likely took the hardest hit. The patchwork of offerings given at neighborhood schools fell apart in most places, chopping off the bootstraps long used by low-income parents who wanted to get ahead.

Click on the "read more" link to learn more.


This year, however, California has brought back adult ed, targeting modest funding to groups that consolidate the hodgepodge of agencies offering such classes. For this area, that consolidation has its hub in Ceres.

As late as 2010, California spent $750 million a year on GED test prep, English classes, business skills and other basics for parents. By 2013, less than half that – an estimated $300 million – went to adult ed. Some 1.2 million adults took classes at neighborhood schools in 2008-09, but that number plummeted by more than half, to 559,000 by 2012-13.

The drop came partly from reduced funding for all education, and partly from the state giving districts a choice in whether to keep spending those dollars on parent needs or prop up grade school budgets. Most chose the children.
Ceres Unified was one of the districts that stuck by the breadwinners, providing adult education classes through the recession. That steadfast focus on families paid off this year, when state funding returned for adult ed based on what was spent two years ago, said Roberto Serrato, district coordinator of educational options.

“I think that was like a thank you for maintaining adult ed, and not reducing it like so many did,” he said.

7 Estimated percent met of need for adult education in the Central Valley
Ceres got $260,585 for adult education this school year, based on its allocation for 2012-13, according to the California Department of Education. That is significantly more than what was sent to Modesto City Schools, over twice the size of Ceres Unified. Modesto slashed its adult education program during the recession and this year got $193,044 – what it spent in 2012-13.

The money pays for English classes and high school equivalency test preparation for students like Liana Marron, a U.S. citizen who grew up being home-schooled in Mexico. She came back to California at 14, but struggled with the language and basic skills. She dropped out after three months in 10th grade to help care for younger siblings and support the family.
“I like school,” Marron said. “I really do want to have my GED to do very well. I know it’s going to be really hard because I barely learned how to do an essay.”
Now 36, the single mother of four and grandmother of three dreams of going to cosmetology school. Last year she took Ceres’ free classes in speaking and writing English. This year she is continuing those courses and branching out into what she would have learned had she attended high school, also free.
“This is what I’ve wanted all my life. I’m going to school,” Marron said.
Marron lives just down the street from her classes at Walt L. Hanline Elementary School, the new campus adjacent to Central Valley High School on Central Avenue. The elementary school was built as Ceres enrollment continued to grow, in anticipation of development planned in the area.

Of adult classes at neighborhood schools, 41% are basic courses, 37% are English instruction and citizenship

With painted hopscotch grids in the yard and child-height sinks in the bathrooms, the elementary campus stands ready for a younger clientele as soon as they move in.

For now, however, grown-ups crisscross the school, heading to classes, training and administrative offices for a variety of school programs. Besides housing adult school classes, Hanline serves as the administrative and training center for a number of Ceres Unified programs.

The Stanislaus-Mother Lode consortium is one of 70 such groups statewide, and roughly includes the area within the Yosemite Community College District.

“Our region was one of the first groups to begin the work and have met about 20 times over the past two and a half years,” Serrato said. “Ceres Unified School District took the initiative and began the work by inviting several school districts and Modesto Junior College.”
 Turlock Unified, the largest provider of adult education classes thanks to a federal grant, will host regional training on English-as-a-second-language classes. ModestoCity Schools and Ceres will put on regional training on diploma-track classes, Serrato said. Assembly Bill 86 brought the California Community Colleges system and the California Department of Education together, tasking them with providing more very basic classes at neighborhood schools, as well as a path from those starter classes to college job skills courses and degree programs.
The plan lumps together services for new immigrants, including English acquisition, basic education and citizenship courses, as well as high school coursework and job skills training for dropouts and help for adults with disabilities.

967 Number of dropouts in Stanislaus County from the Class of 2014

The many different needs of low-income adults and the many different systems providing the classes created an ineffective and disjointed system with little incentive to improve, indicates a a joint agency report written for the Legislature.

“The many years of operating separately has produced different cultures and practices, and different administrative and legal requirements,” notes the 2015 Adult Education Regional Planning report by the CDE and California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office.

The report identifies a need for innovation in adult education, and accountability in monitoring student progress, two areas not generally associated with adult school.

The report hails ideas like creating clear career pathways, so students know which classes they need to take or certificates they need to complete to get jobs, and lining up what is taught in basic courses to move smoothly into the next course taught at a junior college.  “We’re trying hard to break these barriers down,” Serrato said. “Now it’s not just everybody doing their own thing that we were doing before. We want everyone to be on the same page.”

Nan Austin: 209-578-2339, @NanAustin

Read more here: http://www.modbee.com/news/local/education/article32762943.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.modbee.com/news/local/education/article32762943.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.modbee.com/news/local/education/article32762943.html#storylink=cpy


Read more here: http://www.modbee.com/news/local/education/article32762943.html#storylink=cpy

Highlights:

Ceres Unified and Modesto Junior College spearhead consortium
Dropouts, immigrants, low-income adults served by classes
Recession-slashed programs rebuilding with collaboration, oversight

Read more here: http://www.modbee.com/news/local/education/article32762943.html#storylink=cpy
Of all the cuts to education during the Great Recession, classes for grown-ups likely took the hardest hit. The patchwork of offerings given at neighborhood schools fell apart in most places, chopping off the bootstraps long used by low-income parents who wanted to get ahead.

Click on the "read more" link to learn more.


This year, however, California has brought back adult ed, targeting modest funding to groups that consolidate the hodgepodge of agencies offering such classes. For this area, that consolidation has its hub in Ceres.

As late as 2010, California spent $750 million a year on GED test prep, English classes, business skills and other basics for parents. By 2013, less than half that – an estimated $300 million – went to adult ed. Some 1.2 million adults took classes at neighborhood schools in 2008-09, but that number plummeted by more than half, to 559,000 by 2012-13.

The drop came partly from reduced funding for all education, and partly from the state giving districts a choice in whether to keep spending those dollars on parent needs or prop up grade school budgets. Most chose the children.
Ceres Unified was one of the districts that stuck by the breadwinners, providing adult education classes through the recession. That steadfast focus on families paid off this year, when state funding returned for adult ed based on what was spent two years ago, said Roberto Serrato, district coordinator of educational options.

“I think that was like a thank you for maintaining adult ed, and not reducing it like so many did,” he said.

7 Estimated percent met of need for adult education in the Central Valley
Ceres got $260,585 for adult education this school year, based on its allocation for 2012-13, according to the California Department of Education. That is significantly more than what was sent to Modesto City Schools, over twice the size of Ceres Unified. Modesto slashed its adult education program during the recession and this year got $193,044 – what it spent in 2012-13.

The money pays for English classes and high school equivalency test preparation for students like Liana Marron, a U.S. citizen who grew up being home-schooled in Mexico. She came back to California at 14, but struggled with the language and basic skills. She dropped out after three months in 10th grade to help care for younger siblings and support the family.
“I like school,” Marron said. “I really do want to have my GED to do very well. I know it’s going to be really hard because I barely learned how to do an essay.”
Now 36, the single mother of four and grandmother of three dreams of going to cosmetology school. Last year she took Ceres’ free classes in speaking and writing English. This year she is continuing those courses and branching out into what she would have learned had she attended high school, also free.
“This is what I’ve wanted all my life. I’m going to school,” Marron said.
Marron lives just down the street from her classes at Walt L. Hanline Elementary School, the new campus adjacent to Central Valley High School on Central Avenue. The elementary school was built as Ceres enrollment continued to grow, in anticipation of development planned in the area.

Of adult classes at neighborhood schools, 41% are basic courses, 37% are English instruction and citizenship

With painted hopscotch grids in the yard and child-height sinks in the bathrooms, the elementary campus stands ready for a younger clientele as soon as they move in.

For now, however, grown-ups crisscross the school, heading to classes, training and administrative offices for a variety of school programs. Besides housing adult school classes, Hanline serves as the administrative and training center for a number of Ceres Unified programs.

The Stanislaus-Mother Lode consortium is one of 70 such groups statewide, and roughly includes the area within the Yosemite Community College District.

“Our region was one of the first groups to begin the work and have met about 20 times over the past two and a half years,” Serrato said. “Ceres Unified School District took the initiative and began the work by inviting several school districts and Modesto Junior College.”
 Turlock Unified, the largest provider of adult education classes thanks to a federal grant, will host regional training on English-as-a-second-language classes. ModestoCity Schools and Ceres will put on regional training on diploma-track classes, Serrato said. Assembly Bill 86 brought the California Community Colleges system and the California Department of Education together, tasking them with providing more very basic classes at neighborhood schools, as well as a path from those starter classes to college job skills courses and degree programs.
The plan lumps together services for new immigrants, including English acquisition, basic education and citizenship courses, as well as high school coursework and job skills training for dropouts and help for adults with disabilities.

967 Number of dropouts in Stanislaus County from the Class of 2014

The many different needs of low-income adults and the many different systems providing the classes created an ineffective and disjointed system with little incentive to improve, indicates a a joint agency report written for the Legislature.

“The many years of operating separately has produced different cultures and practices, and different administrative and legal requirements,” notes the 2015 Adult Education Regional Planning report by the CDE and California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office.

The report identifies a need for innovation in adult education, and accountability in monitoring student progress, two areas not generally associated with adult school.

The report hails ideas like creating clear career pathways, so students know which classes they need to take or certificates they need to complete to get jobs, and lining up what is taught in basic courses to move smoothly into the next course taught at a junior college.  “We’re trying hard to break these barriers down,” Serrato said. “Now it’s not just everybody doing their own thing that we were doing before. We want everyone to be on the same page.”

Nan Austin: 209-578-2339, @NanAustin

Read more here: http://www.modbee.com/news/local/education/article32762943.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.modbee.com/news/local/education/article32762943.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.modbee.com/news/local/education/article32762943.html#storylink=cpy

Senin, 24 Agustus 2015

adult history CATESOL Adult Level Student Essay Writing Contest - japraklupo

Agustus 2015 - Hallo sahabat fashion, Pada Artikel yang anda baca kali ini dengan judul Agustus 2015, kami telah mempersiapkan artikel ini dengan baik untuk anda baca dan ambil informasi didalamnya. mudah-mudahan isi postingan Artikel CATESOL, Artikel Essay Contest, Artikel Student Voices, yang kami tulis ini dapat anda pahami. baiklah, selamat membaca.

Judul : adult history CATESOL Adult Level Student Essay Writing Contest - japraklupo
link : adult history CATESOL Adult Level Student Essay Writing Contest - japraklupo

Baca juga


Agustus 2015

Here's an opportunity for an Adult Education student to receive recognition and reward for their writing.  Please share widely.

Adult Level Student Essay Writing Contest

Sponsored by Cambridge University Press

Please Share with Your Colleagues  

Click on the "read more" link to learn more.


Sponsored by CambridgeUniversity Press
California Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages proudly presents the 2015 Adult-Level Student Essay Contest for ESOL students in adult education and non-creditcommunity college programs throughout the stateof California.
Technology through the Ages
is the theme of the 2015 Annual CATESOL conference to be held at the Anaheim Hilton in Anaheim, California, November 12-15, 2015.
In keeping with the conference theme, the writing prompt for the annual student essay contest is:
"Technology in My Old and New Country"
Technology is important in every country.  Compare and contrast how you used technology in your home country and how you use it now in the U.S. 
You may describe how technology helps you communicate and how it connects you with family and friends.  You can describe how it helps you with goals, such as learning a new language or doing new things at home, school, work, and in the community.
Essays must be typed, double-spaced, no morethan 500 words and no fewer than 300 words. The following information must be included at the top of the essay:
·         teacher’s name
·         school/agency & address
·         teacher’s phone number
·         teacher’s email address
·         student’s name and ESL level
·         student’s addressand phone number
·         student’s email address


Email essays (saved as Microsoft Word or PDF files) as attachments to:  kpursley at  pacbell.net


DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS SEPTEMBER 4, 2015


The winning essay will be chosen based on its adherence to the conference theme and

essay prompt, clarity of ideas, and appropriateness for publicreading at the Adult Level Rap Session at the stateCATESOL Conference on Saturday, October 25, 2014. The author of the winning essay will receivea prize of educational texts worth $100 contributedby CambridgeUniversity Press Publishers. The winner and a guest,along with the teacher of thewinning student, will be invited to the Adult Level Rap session. At the Rap the winning student will be recognized, be awarded the prizeand will publiclyread the winning essay. Please note that the winner and his/her guest and teachermust be able to travel at their ownexpense to the annual conference in Anaheim.


Questions? Email Kristen Pursley at kpursley  at   pacbell.net or Kristen Pursley   at   wccusd.net

Here's an opportunity for an Adult Education student to receive recognition and reward for their writing.  Please share widely.

Adult Level Student Essay Writing Contest

Sponsored by Cambridge University Press

Please Share with Your Colleagues  

Click on the "read more" link to learn more.


Sponsored by CambridgeUniversity Press
California Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages proudly presents the 2015 Adult-Level Student Essay Contest for ESOL students in adult education and non-creditcommunity college programs throughout the stateof California.
Technology through the Ages
is the theme of the 2015 Annual CATESOL conference to be held at the Anaheim Hilton in Anaheim, California, November 12-15, 2015.
In keeping with the conference theme, the writing prompt for the annual student essay contest is:
"Technology in My Old and New Country"
Technology is important in every country.  Compare and contrast how you used technology in your home country and how you use it now in the U.S. 
You may describe how technology helps you communicate and how it connects you with family and friends.  You can describe how it helps you with goals, such as learning a new language or doing new things at home, school, work, and in the community.
Essays must be typed, double-spaced, no morethan 500 words and no fewer than 300 words. The following information must be included at the top of the essay:
·         teacher’s name
·         school/agency & address
·         teacher’s phone number
·         teacher’s email address
·         student’s name and ESL level
·         student’s addressand phone number
·         student’s email address


Email essays (saved as Microsoft Word or PDF files) as attachments to:  kpursley at  pacbell.net


DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS SEPTEMBER 4, 2015


The winning essay will be chosen based on its adherence to the conference theme and

essay prompt, clarity of ideas, and appropriateness for publicreading at the Adult Level Rap Session at the stateCATESOL Conference on Saturday, October 25, 2014. The author of the winning essay will receivea prize of educational texts worth $100 contributedby CambridgeUniversity Press Publishers. The winner and a guest,along with the teacher of thewinning student, will be invited to the Adult Level Rap session. At the Rap the winning student will be recognized, be awarded the prizeand will publiclyread the winning essay. Please note that the winner and his/her guest and teachermust be able to travel at their ownexpense to the annual conference in Anaheim.


Questions? Email Kristen Pursley at kpursley  at   pacbell.net or Kristen Pursley   at   wccusd.net

Sabtu, 22 Agustus 2015

adult history Perspective: George Porter on Acalanes Adult School's "Older Adults Program" - japraklupo

Agustus 2015 - Hallo sahabat fashion, Pada Artikel yang anda baca kali ini dengan judul Agustus 2015, kami telah mempersiapkan artikel ini dengan baik untuk anda baca dan ambil informasi didalamnya. mudah-mudahan isi postingan Artikel CCAE, Artikel CFT, Artikel Concerns, Artikel Cuts and closures, Artikel Older Adults, Artikel Perspective, Artikel Think About It, yang kami tulis ini dapat anda pahami. baiklah, selamat membaca.

Judul : adult history Perspective: George Porter on Acalanes Adult School's "Older Adults Program" - japraklupo
link : adult history Perspective: George Porter on Acalanes Adult School's "Older Adults Program" - japraklupo

Baca juga


Agustus 2015

George Porter, a fourteen year veteran teacher of Older Adults classes at Berkeley Adult School, two term chair of the City of Berkeley's Aging Commission, and member of CCAE (California Council of Adult Education) and CFT (California Federation of Teachers), wrote this perspective piece in response to the news about Acalanes Adult School's survival and their Older Adult program.  (You can read the news report here.)
A PERSPECTIVE ON ACALANES ADULT SCHOOL'S "OLDER ADULT PROGRAM":

Congrats to Acalanes Older Adult Ed. for surviving, but at what cost and should they be viewed as a model?

Click on the "read more" link to learn more.

First off, please bear in mind that Acalanes Adult Ed. is immediately adjacent to Rossmoor, a close to 10,000 strong, gated, 55+, "active senior" community. This is a highly regarded, award winning development that in years past provided an affordable option for middle-class retirees to relocate. That, though (to my understanding), has been changing rapidly. The City of Walnut Creek - where Rossmoor is located - has gentrified considerably since the development was first built and more recently well heeled baby-boomers looking for a "pied a terre" through the wanderings of early retirement have opted to settle in Rossmoor. This is raising prices to the point where the middle-class is now hard pressed to buy in. Add to this the fact that successful, upper-middle class children are looking for a "safe and comfortable place" to move their aging parents into and that the development fits that bill, it's clear the demographic of such places around California will steadily shift up the economic ladder.

That's not to say that everyone who attends Acalanes Adult Ed. is from Rossmoor but it makes little difference in this case. Close to 27% of Walnut Creek's population is over 65 and, though not all are well off by a long shot, many are and can afford to take classes with fees at the "self-supporting" level. Though estimates vary, it's reasonable to assume the municipalities average home price is pushing $800k and the median household income around $120k - quite high for a community with over 1/4 of the population 65+ and the majority of that group presumably aged out of the workforce. Walnut Creek is also very "white" with only roughly 10% of the population identifying themselves as Hispanic of African-American.

Put simply, if a self-supporting Older Adult program can make it anywhere in California, Acalanes Adult School is the place and I wish them well, just NOT as a model and even in that community I worry about those elders who have and will continue to fall through the cracks. Ms. Sownowski states in the Contra Costa Times article:

"(when) We began the very difficult task of transitioning our lifelong education classes from being state-supported to fee-based... we had a lot of resistance from students because they were used to paying very low fees. We lost students and teachers, but we're happy that now we have a sustainable program."

Her implication is that Acalanes Adult School lost students because they had the nasty expectation of paying low fees and couldn't break this. Doesn't it cross her mind that some might actually have decided they couldn't afford the higher cost? Does she have no understanding about what it means to be elderly and living on a fixed income? Does she have no idea how many seniors, though they put on a good show otherwise, are really only a major expenses or two away from having the modest, comfortable life they are trying to sustain crumble sending them spiraling downward? No idea that they aren't being cheap and stubborn, but cautious and frugal? Apparently not.

As far as the teaching staff goes, I'm sure it wasn't just those who couldn't "make the cut" into the brave new self-supporting world that were lost, but those who saw that their teaching credentials and experience were in danger of becoming meaningless, that their position in the educational system was being "de-professionalized" and that their status as public school teacher would be reduced to that of an independent contractor taking his or her cut of what the market would bear. Older Adult programs lost some of their best teachers, teachers who understandably just couldn't economically or emotionally stay the course - if the Adult Education system as a whole has suffered through a terrible cold these last few years, the Older Adult programs have had pneumonia and this was not relieved but instead exacerbated by those further up the Administrative food-chain constantly sneaking into their sick room with the suffocating pillow in hand. A disheartening time for those involved which had the secondary effect of scaring off the younger instructors needed to take their place in the field.

Again, despite all this, I wish Acalanes Adult Ed. well, but as a model...? If you want to ensure that the relatively healthy (the "active-senior") and wealthy remain that way as they age, it's very fine indeed and few of the wiser, better educated middle class and lower will benefit as well. But for the aging middle class in general that is struggling to get by now, whose numbers and tenuousness of position will increase dramatically over the years ahead and for those less well off it provides nothing. We need to do better if only for the fact that medical costs will rise proportionately to this neglect.

Again, we must do better. The question is how. Subsidization? A sliding scale? Free classes but located at sites or in communities where those not so well off tend the congregate? The list goes on, but problem is too many in the Legislature as well as the Governor simply don't want to engage the issue, have put on blinders and are walking in lock-step towards the self-supporting model. Others in the Legislature aren't even aware there is an issue. Some have been duped into believing that these classes continue to be funded as they always have - there are many statements and articles in the press that fail to mention that this support now needs to come through the school districts' general fund. An unlikely event, especially in the poorer communities where the need is often the greatest!

What to do? First off, make darned sure your representatives in the Legislature are aware of the issue and the FACTS surrounding it. From there, I'd like to know if any of you have ideas about how to solve the problem of making sure the needed educational resources provided by Older Adults programs is fairly distributed and don't eat up a disproportionate amount of the budget. Anybody got a plan?

Let's work together for the common good,

George Porter, 14 year faculty, Berkeley Adult School

- Member of:

   COSAS (Communities Organized to Support Adult School)
   CCAE (California Council of Adult Education)
   Berkeley Federation of Teachers (affiliated with CFT, California Federation of Teachers)

- 2-term chair, City of Berkeley's Commission on Aging  

George Porter, a fourteen year veteran teacher of Older Adults classes at Berkeley Adult School, two term chair of the City of Berkeley's Aging Commission, and member of CCAE (California Council of Adult Education) and CFT (California Federation of Teachers), wrote this perspective piece in response to the news about Acalanes Adult School's survival and their Older Adult program.  (You can read the news report here.)
A PERSPECTIVE ON ACALANES ADULT SCHOOL'S "OLDER ADULT PROGRAM":

Congrats to Acalanes Older Adult Ed. for surviving, but at what cost and should they be viewed as a model?

Click on the "read more" link to learn more.

First off, please bear in mind that Acalanes Adult Ed. is immediately adjacent to Rossmoor, a close to 10,000 strong, gated, 55+, "active senior" community. This is a highly regarded, award winning development that in years past provided an affordable option for middle-class retirees to relocate. That, though (to my understanding), has been changing rapidly. The City of Walnut Creek - where Rossmoor is located - has gentrified considerably since the development was first built and more recently well heeled baby-boomers looking for a "pied a terre" through the wanderings of early retirement have opted to settle in Rossmoor. This is raising prices to the point where the middle-class is now hard pressed to buy in. Add to this the fact that successful, upper-middle class children are looking for a "safe and comfortable place" to move their aging parents into and that the development fits that bill, it's clear the demographic of such places around California will steadily shift up the economic ladder.

That's not to say that everyone who attends Acalanes Adult Ed. is from Rossmoor but it makes little difference in this case. Close to 27% of Walnut Creek's population is over 65 and, though not all are well off by a long shot, many are and can afford to take classes with fees at the "self-supporting" level. Though estimates vary, it's reasonable to assume the municipalities average home price is pushing $800k and the median household income around $120k - quite high for a community with over 1/4 of the population 65+ and the majority of that group presumably aged out of the workforce. Walnut Creek is also very "white" with only roughly 10% of the population identifying themselves as Hispanic of African-American.

Put simply, if a self-supporting Older Adult program can make it anywhere in California, Acalanes Adult School is the place and I wish them well, just NOT as a model and even in that community I worry about those elders who have and will continue to fall through the cracks. Ms. Sownowski states in the Contra Costa Times article:

"(when) We began the very difficult task of transitioning our lifelong education classes from being state-supported to fee-based... we had a lot of resistance from students because they were used to paying very low fees. We lost students and teachers, but we're happy that now we have a sustainable program."

Her implication is that Acalanes Adult School lost students because they had the nasty expectation of paying low fees and couldn't break this. Doesn't it cross her mind that some might actually have decided they couldn't afford the higher cost? Does she have no understanding about what it means to be elderly and living on a fixed income? Does she have no idea how many seniors, though they put on a good show otherwise, are really only a major expenses or two away from having the modest, comfortable life they are trying to sustain crumble sending them spiraling downward? No idea that they aren't being cheap and stubborn, but cautious and frugal? Apparently not.

As far as the teaching staff goes, I'm sure it wasn't just those who couldn't "make the cut" into the brave new self-supporting world that were lost, but those who saw that their teaching credentials and experience were in danger of becoming meaningless, that their position in the educational system was being "de-professionalized" and that their status as public school teacher would be reduced to that of an independent contractor taking his or her cut of what the market would bear. Older Adult programs lost some of their best teachers, teachers who understandably just couldn't economically or emotionally stay the course - if the Adult Education system as a whole has suffered through a terrible cold these last few years, the Older Adult programs have had pneumonia and this was not relieved but instead exacerbated by those further up the Administrative food-chain constantly sneaking into their sick room with the suffocating pillow in hand. A disheartening time for those involved which had the secondary effect of scaring off the younger instructors needed to take their place in the field.

Again, despite all this, I wish Acalanes Adult Ed. well, but as a model...? If you want to ensure that the relatively healthy (the "active-senior") and wealthy remain that way as they age, it's very fine indeed and few of the wiser, better educated middle class and lower will benefit as well. But for the aging middle class in general that is struggling to get by now, whose numbers and tenuousness of position will increase dramatically over the years ahead and for those less well off it provides nothing. We need to do better if only for the fact that medical costs will rise proportionately to this neglect.

Again, we must do better. The question is how. Subsidization? A sliding scale? Free classes but located at sites or in communities where those not so well off tend the congregate? The list goes on, but problem is too many in the Legislature as well as the Governor simply don't want to engage the issue, have put on blinders and are walking in lock-step towards the self-supporting model. Others in the Legislature aren't even aware there is an issue. Some have been duped into believing that these classes continue to be funded as they always have - there are many statements and articles in the press that fail to mention that this support now needs to come through the school districts' general fund. An unlikely event, especially in the poorer communities where the need is often the greatest!

What to do? First off, make darned sure your representatives in the Legislature are aware of the issue and the FACTS surrounding it. From there, I'd like to know if any of you have ideas about how to solve the problem of making sure the needed educational resources provided by Older Adults programs is fairly distributed and don't eat up a disproportionate amount of the budget. Anybody got a plan?

Let's work together for the common good,

George Porter, 14 year faculty, Berkeley Adult School

- Member of:

   COSAS (Communities Organized to Support Adult School)
   CCAE (California Council of Adult Education)
   Berkeley Federation of Teachers (affiliated with CFT, California Federation of Teachers)

- 2-term chair, City of Berkeley's Commission on Aging  

Minggu, 16 Agustus 2015

adult history Update on Acalanes Adult School: Belt Tightening Survival - japraklupo

Agustus 2015 - Hallo sahabat fashion, Pada Artikel yang anda baca kali ini dengan judul Agustus 2015, kami telah mempersiapkan artikel ini dengan baik untuk anda baca dan ambil informasi didalamnya. mudah-mudahan isi postingan Artikel Cuts and closures, Artikel K-12 Adult Ed, yang kami tulis ini dapat anda pahami. baiklah, selamat membaca.

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Agustus 2015

From The Contra Costa Times:

Acalanes Adult Ed tightens belt, drops some classes, survives to see another year


By Lou Fancher Correspondent
Posted:   08/14/2015 05:52:21 PM PDT0 Comments | Updated:   a day ago


The first thing that Steven France, director of Del Valle Education Center, wants people to learn this fall is that the Acalanes Adult Education program is open for business. Then he wants them to sign up for their favorite classes.

Last year things were not looking good for the district's popular adult ed program. But a combination of belt tightening, increased course fees, fundraising initiatives and other measures have afforded the 70-year-old program a one-year reprieve.

Click on the "read more" link to learn more.


"We will be fee-based primarily," says France, who succeeded longtime director Frank Acojido. "We've had to increase our fees an average of 25 percent and no longer can a class continue if enrollment means we're only breaking even."

After Gov. Jerry Brown's 2015-16 budget passed in June, it looked like the lifelong learning programs operating at the Tice Valley Boulevard campus and two off-site locations in Walnut Creek and Danville might be on the chopping block. A $500 million adult education grant to be divided among the state's community colleges and school districts funds only citizenship, basic skills and ESL courses, and technical education, apprenticeship and adults with disabilities programs. Popular lifelong learning classes such as "Landscape Painting" or "Stretch, Strength, Balance" and courses in computers, languages, cooking, communication, humanities and other areas are not supported.
Classes must now have a minimum of 15 students. France says office staff support was reduced, and the program's evening hours were cut by one-third. "We're open Wednesdays and Thursdays instead of three evenings per week to maximize and make sure we're using all the available space. We've not had to cut very many classes," he said.

The budget for Acalanes Adult Education programs for fiscal year 2015-16 is $627,151, $288,000 of which is for lifelong learning.

France says he's heartened by the fact that when media reports and word-of-mouth spread the news that the program would end, the reaction was immediate and strong.

"The former director galvanized the community to write letters to legislators. They expressed how closing the program would impact them," France, a former Acalanes School District administrator, said. "I find adult education remarkable. People want to continue learning, teachers want to help ESL students improve their language skills, adults want secondary education diplomas ... I've always been interested in teaching adults."

The program coordinator for adult education at Mount Diablo Unified School District said administrators in the Pleasant Hill-based program were proactive and began structural funding changes approximately three years ago.

"We began the very difficult task of transitioning our lifelong education classes from being state-supported to fee-based," said Judith Sosnowski. "We had a lot of resistance from students because they were used to paying very low fees. We lost students and teachers, but we're happy that now, we have a sustainable program."

MDUSD adult education also operates a Loma Vista campus in Concord that receives state funds, but district Secretary Denise Landry says those courses run separately because of the different funding streams.

Other adult education options in Contra Costa County are already entirely fee-based.
The Bernard Osher Foundation's "OLLI@Berkeley" offers six-week courses, weekly lectures and special community events, in Berkeley and Lafayette. Three membership tiers (Single Term, Annual and Premium) are priced at $50, $100 and $850, respectively.

Diablo Valley College's Emeritus College offers courses to adults that include Italian and French languages, music history, vineyard tours, psychology classes and special fundraiser concerts, among others. Fees range from approximately $18 to $70.

"Our expenses, instructor salaries, brochure printing, staff hours, mailing and supplies need to be covered by student fees and fundraisers. We receive no outside funding," says Director Debby Muskar.

Acalanes' program fees vary depending on the course. With this year's increase, one-day classes are $25, 10-day courses average about $120, and art classes for which materials are required are $150 to $170. World languages are among the most popular courses. With one year to prove viable, France says his "number one emphasis" is to tell people "We're ready to enroll, expand and support the community's further learning."

Acalanes adult education registration begins Aug. 17 at 8 a.m. for all classes.
Fall classes begin Sept. 4.

 For information, go to www.acalanes.k12.ca.us/adulted.

From The Contra Costa Times:

Acalanes Adult Ed tightens belt, drops some classes, survives to see another year


By Lou Fancher Correspondent
Posted:   08/14/2015 05:52:21 PM PDT0 Comments | Updated:   a day ago


The first thing that Steven France, director of Del Valle Education Center, wants people to learn this fall is that the Acalanes Adult Education program is open for business. Then he wants them to sign up for their favorite classes.

Last year things were not looking good for the district's popular adult ed program. But a combination of belt tightening, increased course fees, fundraising initiatives and other measures have afforded the 70-year-old program a one-year reprieve.

Click on the "read more" link to learn more.


"We will be fee-based primarily," says France, who succeeded longtime director Frank Acojido. "We've had to increase our fees an average of 25 percent and no longer can a class continue if enrollment means we're only breaking even."

After Gov. Jerry Brown's 2015-16 budget passed in June, it looked like the lifelong learning programs operating at the Tice Valley Boulevard campus and two off-site locations in Walnut Creek and Danville might be on the chopping block. A $500 million adult education grant to be divided among the state's community colleges and school districts funds only citizenship, basic skills and ESL courses, and technical education, apprenticeship and adults with disabilities programs. Popular lifelong learning classes such as "Landscape Painting" or "Stretch, Strength, Balance" and courses in computers, languages, cooking, communication, humanities and other areas are not supported.
Classes must now have a minimum of 15 students. France says office staff support was reduced, and the program's evening hours were cut by one-third. "We're open Wednesdays and Thursdays instead of three evenings per week to maximize and make sure we're using all the available space. We've not had to cut very many classes," he said.

The budget for Acalanes Adult Education programs for fiscal year 2015-16 is $627,151, $288,000 of which is for lifelong learning.

France says he's heartened by the fact that when media reports and word-of-mouth spread the news that the program would end, the reaction was immediate and strong.

"The former director galvanized the community to write letters to legislators. They expressed how closing the program would impact them," France, a former Acalanes School District administrator, said. "I find adult education remarkable. People want to continue learning, teachers want to help ESL students improve their language skills, adults want secondary education diplomas ... I've always been interested in teaching adults."

The program coordinator for adult education at Mount Diablo Unified School District said administrators in the Pleasant Hill-based program were proactive and began structural funding changes approximately three years ago.

"We began the very difficult task of transitioning our lifelong education classes from being state-supported to fee-based," said Judith Sosnowski. "We had a lot of resistance from students because they were used to paying very low fees. We lost students and teachers, but we're happy that now, we have a sustainable program."

MDUSD adult education also operates a Loma Vista campus in Concord that receives state funds, but district Secretary Denise Landry says those courses run separately because of the different funding streams.

Other adult education options in Contra Costa County are already entirely fee-based.
The Bernard Osher Foundation's "OLLI@Berkeley" offers six-week courses, weekly lectures and special community events, in Berkeley and Lafayette. Three membership tiers (Single Term, Annual and Premium) are priced at $50, $100 and $850, respectively.

Diablo Valley College's Emeritus College offers courses to adults that include Italian and French languages, music history, vineyard tours, psychology classes and special fundraiser concerts, among others. Fees range from approximately $18 to $70.

"Our expenses, instructor salaries, brochure printing, staff hours, mailing and supplies need to be covered by student fees and fundraisers. We receive no outside funding," says Director Debby Muskar.

Acalanes' program fees vary depending on the course. With this year's increase, one-day classes are $25, 10-day courses average about $120, and art classes for which materials are required are $150 to $170. World languages are among the most popular courses. With one year to prove viable, France says his "number one emphasis" is to tell people "We're ready to enroll, expand and support the community's further learning."

Acalanes adult education registration begins Aug. 17 at 8 a.m. for all classes.
Fall classes begin Sept. 4.

 For information, go to www.acalanes.k12.ca.us/adulted.

adult history Change Agent Call for Writing about Race by Adult Learners - japraklupo

Agustus 2015 - Hallo sahabat fashion, Pada Artikel yang anda baca kali ini dengan judul Agustus 2015, kami telah mempersiapkan artikel ini dengan baik untuk anda baca dan ambil informasi didalamnya. mudah-mudahan isi postingan Artikel Action Step, Artikel Change Agent, Artikel Democracy, Artikel Student Voices, yang kami tulis ini dapat anda pahami. baiklah, selamat membaca.

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Agustus 2015

The Change Agent is a magazine for Adult Learners and Adult Educators.  It addresses issues that are important to Adult Learners.  Many of the articles are written by Adult Learners.

Here is information about their latest call for writing:

Write for Us!

The Change Agent features writing by adult learners. All submissions must be received by the deadline to be considered for publication. Suggested length is 200-1000 words. We pay $50 stipends to adult education students whose work is accepted for publication. All submissions are reviewed by our Editorial Board. Final decisions are made by The Change Agent Editor. Please see the current call for articles for more details about our current theme.

Click on the "read more" link to learn more.


Here is a PDF of the Call for articles Issue 42.

The deadline for submission is November 6, 2015.

Here are the details:

The Change Agent CALL FOR ARTICLES Race (Issue #42) YOU MUST include in all articles and emails the contact information for the student and/or the teacher. THEME: Race. We particularly invite adult learners to share their experiences in writing or with illustrations. Use one or two (not all!) of the following writing prompts to guide your writing:

SAMPLE QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:

• What is race? Research this question. Use several sources to back up your claims. Draw from science as well as sociology. Cite your sources.

• Does race have special meaning in the U.S.? If so, what is it? Cite your sources.

• Explore the history of race in the U.S. Where does the idea of "race" come from? Cite your sources.

• If you are not from the U.S., does race have a different meaning in your country of origin? If so, describe it. • Do you think race has been used to divide people? If so, how? Who benefits from racial divisions? • Describe when you first became aware of race. Tell the story. Include details.

• Describe a way that you have experienced racism in an interpersonal situation -- for example, a racist comment made by a friend or co-worker.

• Describe a way that you have experienced institutional racism -- for example, being treated differently by police or the court system because of the color of your skin.

• The issue of black people being killed by police or dying in police custody has been in the news a lot lately. What are your reflections on this issue? • What is the #blacklivesmatter movement about? What do you think about it? • Explore what it means to be white in the U.S. If you are white, can you identify any privileges that you got as a result of being white? Can you tell any stories about how being white affected you? • What are the advantages and disadvantages of categorizing people by race? • What do you celebrate about your race? All articles must be received by November 6, 2015. Include in all articles and emails the contact information for the student and/or the teacher. Final decisions are made by The Change Agent editorial board. A $50 stipend will be paid to each adult education student whose work is accepted
for publication.

Please send material (preferably by email) to:

Cynthia Peters, World Education, 44 Farnsworth St., Boston, MA 02210
Phone: 617-482-9485 fax: 617-482-0617;
email: cpeters@worlded.org.

The mission of The Change Agent is to provide news, ideas, and other teaching resources that inspire and enable adult educators and learners to make civic participation and social justice concerns part of their teaching and learning.

http://changeagent.nelrc.org/


Here is more information about the Change Agent:

The Change Agent is a biannual magazine for adult educators and learners published by the New England Literacy Resource Center (NELRC) at World Education.

The Change Agent was conceived in 1994 as a tool to help teachers and learners apply advocacy skills in response to impending federal funding cutbacks for adult education. The first issue was so well received that we continued to produce more issues. Now well established as a unique publication within the adult education community, The Change Agent continues to promote social action as an important part of the adult learning experience.

Our mission is to provide a low-cost teaching resource that features writings by adult learners and inspires adult educators and learners to make civic participation and social justice part of their teaching and learning. Each issue explores a different topic through student writing, news articles, opinion pieces, classroom activities, poems, graphics, and cartoons. Our website includes many additional resources, including audio versions of articles, leveled texts, links between specific Change Agent articles and the College and Career Readiness Standards, and extra resources for each issue.

The Change Agent has a circulation of 16,000 and is available in paper and online, at individual or bulk subscription levels. It is distributed at a reduced rate to NELRC member states. To find out more, contact your state literacy resource center.

The Change Agent is a magazine for Adult Learners and Adult Educators.  It addresses issues that are important to Adult Learners.  Many of the articles are written by Adult Learners.

Here is information about their latest call for writing:

Write for Us!

The Change Agent features writing by adult learners. All submissions must be received by the deadline to be considered for publication. Suggested length is 200-1000 words. We pay $50 stipends to adult education students whose work is accepted for publication. All submissions are reviewed by our Editorial Board. Final decisions are made by The Change Agent Editor. Please see the current call for articles for more details about our current theme.

Click on the "read more" link to learn more.


Here is a PDF of the Call for articles Issue 42.

The deadline for submission is November 6, 2015.

Here are the details:

The Change Agent CALL FOR ARTICLES Race (Issue #42) YOU MUST include in all articles and emails the contact information for the student and/or the teacher. THEME: Race. We particularly invite adult learners to share their experiences in writing or with illustrations. Use one or two (not all!) of the following writing prompts to guide your writing:

SAMPLE QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:

• What is race? Research this question. Use several sources to back up your claims. Draw from science as well as sociology. Cite your sources.

• Does race have special meaning in the U.S.? If so, what is it? Cite your sources.

• Explore the history of race in the U.S. Where does the idea of "race" come from? Cite your sources.

• If you are not from the U.S., does race have a different meaning in your country of origin? If so, describe it. • Do you think race has been used to divide people? If so, how? Who benefits from racial divisions? • Describe when you first became aware of race. Tell the story. Include details.

• Describe a way that you have experienced racism in an interpersonal situation -- for example, a racist comment made by a friend or co-worker.

• Describe a way that you have experienced institutional racism -- for example, being treated differently by police or the court system because of the color of your skin.

• The issue of black people being killed by police or dying in police custody has been in the news a lot lately. What are your reflections on this issue? • What is the #blacklivesmatter movement about? What do you think about it? • Explore what it means to be white in the U.S. If you are white, can you identify any privileges that you got as a result of being white? Can you tell any stories about how being white affected you? • What are the advantages and disadvantages of categorizing people by race? • What do you celebrate about your race? All articles must be received by November 6, 2015. Include in all articles and emails the contact information for the student and/or the teacher. Final decisions are made by The Change Agent editorial board. A $50 stipend will be paid to each adult education student whose work is accepted
for publication.

Please send material (preferably by email) to:

Cynthia Peters, World Education, 44 Farnsworth St., Boston, MA 02210
Phone: 617-482-9485 fax: 617-482-0617;
email: cpeters@worlded.org.

The mission of The Change Agent is to provide news, ideas, and other teaching resources that inspire and enable adult educators and learners to make civic participation and social justice concerns part of their teaching and learning.

http://changeagent.nelrc.org/


Here is more information about the Change Agent:

The Change Agent is a biannual magazine for adult educators and learners published by the New England Literacy Resource Center (NELRC) at World Education.

The Change Agent was conceived in 1994 as a tool to help teachers and learners apply advocacy skills in response to impending federal funding cutbacks for adult education. The first issue was so well received that we continued to produce more issues. Now well established as a unique publication within the adult education community, The Change Agent continues to promote social action as an important part of the adult learning experience.

Our mission is to provide a low-cost teaching resource that features writings by adult learners and inspires adult educators and learners to make civic participation and social justice part of their teaching and learning. Each issue explores a different topic through student writing, news articles, opinion pieces, classroom activities, poems, graphics, and cartoons. Our website includes many additional resources, including audio versions of articles, leveled texts, links between specific Change Agent articles and the College and Career Readiness Standards, and extra resources for each issue.

The Change Agent has a circulation of 16,000 and is available in paper and online, at individual or bulk subscription levels. It is distributed at a reduced rate to NELRC member states. To find out more, contact your state literacy resource center.

Selasa, 11 Agustus 2015

adult history Some Advice from CCAE - japraklupo

Agustus 2015 - Hallo sahabat fashion, Pada Artikel yang anda baca kali ini dengan judul Agustus 2015, kami telah mempersiapkan artikel ini dengan baik untuk anda baca dan ambil informasi didalamnya. mudah-mudahan isi postingan Artikel AB86, Artikel CCAE, Artikel K-12 Adult Ed, Artikel MOC, Artikel MOE, yang kami tulis ini dapat anda pahami. baiklah, selamat membaca.

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Agustus 2015

This was sent out August 8, 2015 to CCAE members:
Some Advice from CCAE
As some of you might have noticed the previous message was sent out last year.

(Note from Cynthia:  I deleted the post from this blog.) 

Seems like the important issues then are still the important issues now. Below is updated advice on MOE vs MOC which should be relevant to your current consortia conversations.As Adult Schools move into challenging conversations with our consortia partners we in CCAE realize that if we are to be successful providers of adult education services in this new world we must be successful within our consortia. As such CCAE will be providing advisories that are intended to give the best advice from state leaders of Adult Education within our organization. These advisories are not intended to represent state policy or Ed Code but rather guidance based on the most current information (laws and policies) available and best Adult Ed practices within the state. Our goal is to inform our members of options and recommendations that will ultimately provide the best services for our students and the best return on investment for our state.
MOE is NOT MOC (Maintenance of Effort is NOT Maintenance of Capacity)

Hit the "read more" link to learn more.

Although we worked successfully with and were appreciative of the Governor, Department of Finance and Legislature agreeing to help maintain the capacity of a fragile Adult Education system and providing K12 specific funding for such maintenance, it is important for all of us to keep in mind that the way Maintenance of Effort was determined based on expenditures in 2012-13 resulted in an actual DECREASE in true dollars for Adult Schools and could ultimately result in the erosion of capacity within our Adult Ed system. Specifically, the MOE calculation did not take into account increased costs over the last two years related to STRS, COLAs, salaries, and health care.  With this loss of revenue and the inability to charge fees for ESL, each Adult School will inevitably have to consider reducing programs and services if the costs are not addressed in some way.
So what should an Adult School do?
Since the MOE funding amounts per school district have already been determined, the remaining funds of the $500 million Adult Education Block Grant (AEBG) will be distributed to consortia and funding amounts for each member or partner will be determined within the consortia. Let us be clear - your MOE funds are not up for redistribution to other members but your agency is entitled to more funding from the additional consortia dollars. You should consider your MOE as a base funding amount which can then be added to through consortia dollars. In essence, there are two funding sources within the AEBG - MOE funds and consortia funds.
Considering the potential for an Adult School to lose a significant amount of capacity if the above mentioned costs are not addressed, it is recommended that each Adult School request funds be provided out of consortia dollars to supplement their MOE in order to maintain 2014-15 capacity levels. Once you have addressed this issue and are comfortable that your capacity is preserved the conversation can be shifted to increasing, improving, and streamlining services through your Adult School and what dollar amounts it will take out of consortia funds to accomplish this.
These might be delicate and uncomfortable conversations but keep in mind that non-Adult School members have had these costs addressed through separate, additional funding for their programs. Community Colleges for example continue to receive COLA and growth funding. Also keep in mind that Adult Schools are typically the less expensive provider of services and the most flexible and quickest to respond to address gaps in Adult Education services. You come to the table with a lot to offer so don't cut your school short when it comes to requesting an appropriate share of the consortia dollars.

This was sent out August 8, 2015 to CCAE members:
Some Advice from CCAE
As some of you might have noticed the previous message was sent out last year.

(Note from Cynthia:  I deleted the post from this blog.) 

Seems like the important issues then are still the important issues now. Below is updated advice on MOE vs MOC which should be relevant to your current consortia conversations.As Adult Schools move into challenging conversations with our consortia partners we in CCAE realize that if we are to be successful providers of adult education services in this new world we must be successful within our consortia. As such CCAE will be providing advisories that are intended to give the best advice from state leaders of Adult Education within our organization. These advisories are not intended to represent state policy or Ed Code but rather guidance based on the most current information (laws and policies) available and best Adult Ed practices within the state. Our goal is to inform our members of options and recommendations that will ultimately provide the best services for our students and the best return on investment for our state.
MOE is NOT MOC (Maintenance of Effort is NOT Maintenance of Capacity)

Hit the "read more" link to learn more.

Although we worked successfully with and were appreciative of the Governor, Department of Finance and Legislature agreeing to help maintain the capacity of a fragile Adult Education system and providing K12 specific funding for such maintenance, it is important for all of us to keep in mind that the way Maintenance of Effort was determined based on expenditures in 2012-13 resulted in an actual DECREASE in true dollars for Adult Schools and could ultimately result in the erosion of capacity within our Adult Ed system. Specifically, the MOE calculation did not take into account increased costs over the last two years related to STRS, COLAs, salaries, and health care.  With this loss of revenue and the inability to charge fees for ESL, each Adult School will inevitably have to consider reducing programs and services if the costs are not addressed in some way.
So what should an Adult School do?
Since the MOE funding amounts per school district have already been determined, the remaining funds of the $500 million Adult Education Block Grant (AEBG) will be distributed to consortia and funding amounts for each member or partner will be determined within the consortia. Let us be clear - your MOE funds are not up for redistribution to other members but your agency is entitled to more funding from the additional consortia dollars. You should consider your MOE as a base funding amount which can then be added to through consortia dollars. In essence, there are two funding sources within the AEBG - MOE funds and consortia funds.
Considering the potential for an Adult School to lose a significant amount of capacity if the above mentioned costs are not addressed, it is recommended that each Adult School request funds be provided out of consortia dollars to supplement their MOE in order to maintain 2014-15 capacity levels. Once you have addressed this issue and are comfortable that your capacity is preserved the conversation can be shifted to increasing, improving, and streamlining services through your Adult School and what dollar amounts it will take out of consortia funds to accomplish this.
These might be delicate and uncomfortable conversations but keep in mind that non-Adult School members have had these costs addressed through separate, additional funding for their programs. Community Colleges for example continue to receive COLA and growth funding. Also keep in mind that Adult Schools are typically the less expensive provider of services and the most flexible and quickest to respond to address gaps in Adult Education services. You come to the table with a lot to offer so don't cut your school short when it comes to requesting an appropriate share of the consortia dollars.

Kamis, 06 Agustus 2015

adult history Perspective: Kristen Pursley on the Issue of Fees for Adult Education - japraklupo

Agustus 2015 - Hallo sahabat fashion, Pada Artikel yang anda baca kali ini dengan judul Agustus 2015, kami telah mempersiapkan artikel ini dengan baik untuk anda baca dan ambil informasi didalamnya. mudah-mudahan isi postingan Artikel CCAE, Artikel cosas, Artikel fees, Artikel K12 and CC Coordination, Artikel Perspective, yang kami tulis ini dapat anda pahami. baiklah, selamat membaca.

Judul : adult history Perspective: Kristen Pursley on the Issue of Fees for Adult Education - japraklupo
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Agustus 2015

Kristen Pursley
COSAS
 Communities Organized
to Support Adult Schools
The following is a perspective piece from Kristen Pursley, founding member of COSAS (Communities Organized to Support Adult Schools) and author of the Save Your Adult School Blog.   She is against charging fees for Adult Education.  She lays out her reasons for this and gives background on the topic in this letter to CCAE (California Council for Adult Education).
 
 
 
To: California Council for Adult Education (CCAE)
Dear CCAE,
As I renew my membership in CCAE, I wish to register my opposition to legislation that will lock in fees for adult school ESL and Citizenship classes.  As an ESL instructor in an adult school that has managed to survive without charging fees for these classes, I am very concerned that legislation allowing districts to  permanently charge for ESL and Citizenship  classes would greatly damage our program and shut many of our students out of an education.

Hit the "read more" link to learn more.

As recently as 2010, California law required that ESL and Citizenship classes be offered free. In 2011, as an emergency response to the budget crisis of 2008 and the  resulting severe defunding of adult schools, the state passed legislation, which CCAE supported, that temporarily allowed adult schools to charge for ESL and Citizenship classes. While the legislation as originally written would have allowed districts to charge permanently, it was amended to sunset on July 1st of this year.  As I recall, CCAE even supported the version of the bill that would have allowed charging permanently, though the bill did not pass in that form.
Ever since that legislation passed in 2011, I have been anxiously watching to see what would happen when it expired.  Here is a link to what I wrote about the legislation when it passed:  https://saveouradultschool.wordpress.com/2011/10/15/ab-189-has-become-law/
I stand by what I said at the time. Charging fees for adult school ESL and Citizenship classes is a blow to the principle of public education in California and shuts many of the most vulnerable immigrants out of access to basic literacy services.  Under the new legislation governing California adult schools, AB104/SB77, we have a mandate to eliminate barriers to adult education for our students. Charging fees for ESL and Citizenship classes erects a barrier rather than taking one down.  We need to find ways to eliminate fees, not make them permanent.
Our adult school actually tried to charge fees briefly, but it was simply unworkable with our model.  We are located in a financially distressed urban area, where many of our ESL students are low income and have limited access to transportation.  We accommodate them by offering classes at sites throughout the community, so that our students can walk to school and attend classes in their own neighborhoods.  We offer classes at 15 off-campus sites; many of our classes take place at elementary schools in the district. Most of the schools where we offer classes are Title I schools, which means more than 50% of the families are eligible for a free or reduced price lunch.  At many of the schools where we have classes, the percentage of families eligible for free or reduce price lunch is more like 80 or 90 per cent.
In addition to effectively providing access to English classes for our students, our model increases parent involvement in the schools and helps to implement the Full Service Community Schools model to which the two largest cities within our district, as well as the district itself, are committed.  But our experiment with charging fees was a disaster.  Having the teacher collect fees at the site would have been unsafe, so students were required to go to the main campus to register.  Many had no way to get to the main campus, and so were unable to enroll.  Desperate teachers piled students into their cars and drove them to the main campus, even though this is against school rules and incurred possible liability for the school.   Worse yet, our students were stigmatized because they had not been paying before.  Those who managed to make it to the main office were often treated badly by the office staff, who considered them freeloaders.  The chaos and poisonous atmosphere of that time are painful to recall.
Things got so bad that we stopped charging after six months.  And we survived.  We didn’t have to close our doors or even eliminate classes.  In six months, we collected about $20,000 in fees – probably not even enough to cover the cost of the extra clerical help needed to process them.
This is why I say that legislation that would permanently allow charges for ESL and Citizenship classes would damage our program.  Charging fees may work at adult schools where all classes take place at the same site.  Adult schools that have accommodated their students by providing classes at diversified sites are punished when they are expected to institute fees.  Adult schools in more well-to-do areas have an advantage when it comes to charging fees; they have more access to students who have the ability to pay.  Adult schools in low income areas lose students when they charge fees, even modest ones. Their students are shut out of educational opportunities, and the adult school loses federal WIOA funding due to lower enrollment, resulting in fewer payment points for the school.
The ability to charge fees quickly becomes a mandate to charge fees.  At our mid-term WASC review this year, the WASC representative asked us pointedly whether we charge fees for ESL classes and how we afford to offer classes without charging.  The subtext of this interchange was that it might go hard with us at our next WASC review if we still were not charging, even though we have been successfully offering ESL and Citizenship classes without charging for years.
The expectation that we charge fees for ESL and Citizenship classes could change the face of our program dramatically.  We would probably end up closing all classes that take place off campus, reducing the number of ESL classes we offer from 35 to 4.
I know there is an argument that charging for ESL classes causes students to value their classes more highly and take them more seriously.  My experience simply does not bear this out.  When we were charging for classes, we had two grant-funded classes for which we still did not charge.  Attendance and persistence for those two classes were excellent.  I also find that our immigrant students are highly responsible and hard working.  They hold down two or three jobs, raise families, often support families in the home country as well, and somehow find time to go to school.  The argument that we have to make them more responsible by charging them money, while undoubtedly well-meaning, strikes me as condescending.
Worse yet, if we adopt the idea that our adult school students, who tend to be in their late 20s to 40s, need to be taught responsibility like a bunch of 15-year-olds, this construction may blind us to the realities of their lives.  We may be prevented from creating solutions that would really allow struggling students to stay in school if we rely on charging money to solve everything.  Effective interventions like connecting students in difficult family situations to services, or making it easy for students to transfer to classes that fit their schedule when their work schedules suddenly change, may elude us if we think our students are feckless and assume that when they stop coming to school it is because they just don’t care because we didn’t charge them enough.
I hope adult schools that believe their student outcomes are better since they started charging fees will take a hard look at whether the improvement comes from excluding students who are harder to serve because they are struggling more.  The student with a highly erratic work schedule who gets in an education when she can, the student with a health issue that is draining his finances and sometimes prevents him from coming to school, the student with overwhelming family responsibilities who makes it to class whenever she can—these students are discouraged from trying to get an education by fees. Their absence may make the school’s data look good, but it does not improve the literacy rate in California.
I understand that the state government has basically made a hash of adult schools over the last eight years, and that we are all surviving the best we can.  We are struggling with a haphazard overhaul of adult education that has many grey areas, some contradictory mandates, and some badly thought out procedures such as a funding schedule that makes it very difficult to plan for the future.  For those adult schools that really need to charge fees a bit longer in order to survive, I would support a gradual phase-out of fees accompanied by vigorous advocacy to the state for adequate funding for adult school ESL and Citizenship programs.  But I cannot support legislation that would lock in fees permanently.
Under the Regional Consortia and the new laws governing adult education, we have a mandate to remove barriers to education for adults.  One barrier came down on July 1st of this year.  How can we, in good conscience, put it up again?
Sincerely,
Kristen Pursley
CC:
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson
Senator Kevin de León, Senate President Pro Tempore
Assembly Member Toni G. Atkins, Speaker of the Assembly
Senator Carol Liu, Chair, Senate Education Committee
Assembly Member Patrick O’Donell, Chair, State Assembly Committee on Education
Assembly Member José Medina, Chair, Assembly Higher Education Committee
Assembly Member Luis Alejo, Chair, Latino Legislative Caucus
Assembly Member Das Williams, Chair, Asian and Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus
Senator Loni Hancock
Assembly Member Tony Thurmond

Kristen Pursley
COSAS
 Communities Organized
to Support Adult Schools
The following is a perspective piece from Kristen Pursley, founding member of COSAS (Communities Organized to Support Adult Schools) and author of the Save Your Adult School Blog.   She is against charging fees for Adult Education.  She lays out her reasons for this and gives background on the topic in this letter to CCAE (California Council for Adult Education).
 
 
 
To: California Council for Adult Education (CCAE)
Dear CCAE,
As I renew my membership in CCAE, I wish to register my opposition to legislation that will lock in fees for adult school ESL and Citizenship classes.  As an ESL instructor in an adult school that has managed to survive without charging fees for these classes, I am very concerned that legislation allowing districts to  permanently charge for ESL and Citizenship  classes would greatly damage our program and shut many of our students out of an education.

Hit the "read more" link to learn more.

As recently as 2010, California law required that ESL and Citizenship classes be offered free. In 2011, as an emergency response to the budget crisis of 2008 and the  resulting severe defunding of adult schools, the state passed legislation, which CCAE supported, that temporarily allowed adult schools to charge for ESL and Citizenship classes. While the legislation as originally written would have allowed districts to charge permanently, it was amended to sunset on July 1st of this year.  As I recall, CCAE even supported the version of the bill that would have allowed charging permanently, though the bill did not pass in that form.
Ever since that legislation passed in 2011, I have been anxiously watching to see what would happen when it expired.  Here is a link to what I wrote about the legislation when it passed:  https://saveouradultschool.wordpress.com/2011/10/15/ab-189-has-become-law/
I stand by what I said at the time. Charging fees for adult school ESL and Citizenship classes is a blow to the principle of public education in California and shuts many of the most vulnerable immigrants out of access to basic literacy services.  Under the new legislation governing California adult schools, AB104/SB77, we have a mandate to eliminate barriers to adult education for our students. Charging fees for ESL and Citizenship classes erects a barrier rather than taking one down.  We need to find ways to eliminate fees, not make them permanent.
Our adult school actually tried to charge fees briefly, but it was simply unworkable with our model.  We are located in a financially distressed urban area, where many of our ESL students are low income and have limited access to transportation.  We accommodate them by offering classes at sites throughout the community, so that our students can walk to school and attend classes in their own neighborhoods.  We offer classes at 15 off-campus sites; many of our classes take place at elementary schools in the district. Most of the schools where we offer classes are Title I schools, which means more than 50% of the families are eligible for a free or reduced price lunch.  At many of the schools where we have classes, the percentage of families eligible for free or reduce price lunch is more like 80 or 90 per cent.
In addition to effectively providing access to English classes for our students, our model increases parent involvement in the schools and helps to implement the Full Service Community Schools model to which the two largest cities within our district, as well as the district itself, are committed.  But our experiment with charging fees was a disaster.  Having the teacher collect fees at the site would have been unsafe, so students were required to go to the main campus to register.  Many had no way to get to the main campus, and so were unable to enroll.  Desperate teachers piled students into their cars and drove them to the main campus, even though this is against school rules and incurred possible liability for the school.   Worse yet, our students were stigmatized because they had not been paying before.  Those who managed to make it to the main office were often treated badly by the office staff, who considered them freeloaders.  The chaos and poisonous atmosphere of that time are painful to recall.
Things got so bad that we stopped charging after six months.  And we survived.  We didn’t have to close our doors or even eliminate classes.  In six months, we collected about $20,000 in fees – probably not even enough to cover the cost of the extra clerical help needed to process them.
This is why I say that legislation that would permanently allow charges for ESL and Citizenship classes would damage our program.  Charging fees may work at adult schools where all classes take place at the same site.  Adult schools that have accommodated their students by providing classes at diversified sites are punished when they are expected to institute fees.  Adult schools in more well-to-do areas have an advantage when it comes to charging fees; they have more access to students who have the ability to pay.  Adult schools in low income areas lose students when they charge fees, even modest ones. Their students are shut out of educational opportunities, and the adult school loses federal WIOA funding due to lower enrollment, resulting in fewer payment points for the school.
The ability to charge fees quickly becomes a mandate to charge fees.  At our mid-term WASC review this year, the WASC representative asked us pointedly whether we charge fees for ESL classes and how we afford to offer classes without charging.  The subtext of this interchange was that it might go hard with us at our next WASC review if we still were not charging, even though we have been successfully offering ESL and Citizenship classes without charging for years.
The expectation that we charge fees for ESL and Citizenship classes could change the face of our program dramatically.  We would probably end up closing all classes that take place off campus, reducing the number of ESL classes we offer from 35 to 4.
I know there is an argument that charging for ESL classes causes students to value their classes more highly and take them more seriously.  My experience simply does not bear this out.  When we were charging for classes, we had two grant-funded classes for which we still did not charge.  Attendance and persistence for those two classes were excellent.  I also find that our immigrant students are highly responsible and hard working.  They hold down two or three jobs, raise families, often support families in the home country as well, and somehow find time to go to school.  The argument that we have to make them more responsible by charging them money, while undoubtedly well-meaning, strikes me as condescending.
Worse yet, if we adopt the idea that our adult school students, who tend to be in their late 20s to 40s, need to be taught responsibility like a bunch of 15-year-olds, this construction may blind us to the realities of their lives.  We may be prevented from creating solutions that would really allow struggling students to stay in school if we rely on charging money to solve everything.  Effective interventions like connecting students in difficult family situations to services, or making it easy for students to transfer to classes that fit their schedule when their work schedules suddenly change, may elude us if we think our students are feckless and assume that when they stop coming to school it is because they just don’t care because we didn’t charge them enough.
I hope adult schools that believe their student outcomes are better since they started charging fees will take a hard look at whether the improvement comes from excluding students who are harder to serve because they are struggling more.  The student with a highly erratic work schedule who gets in an education when she can, the student with a health issue that is draining his finances and sometimes prevents him from coming to school, the student with overwhelming family responsibilities who makes it to class whenever she can—these students are discouraged from trying to get an education by fees. Their absence may make the school’s data look good, but it does not improve the literacy rate in California.
I understand that the state government has basically made a hash of adult schools over the last eight years, and that we are all surviving the best we can.  We are struggling with a haphazard overhaul of adult education that has many grey areas, some contradictory mandates, and some badly thought out procedures such as a funding schedule that makes it very difficult to plan for the future.  For those adult schools that really need to charge fees a bit longer in order to survive, I would support a gradual phase-out of fees accompanied by vigorous advocacy to the state for adequate funding for adult school ESL and Citizenship programs.  But I cannot support legislation that would lock in fees permanently.
Under the Regional Consortia and the new laws governing adult education, we have a mandate to remove barriers to education for adults.  One barrier came down on July 1st of this year.  How can we, in good conscience, put it up again?
Sincerely,
Kristen Pursley
CC:
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson
Senator Kevin de León, Senate President Pro Tempore
Assembly Member Toni G. Atkins, Speaker of the Assembly
Senator Carol Liu, Chair, Senate Education Committee
Assembly Member Patrick O’Donell, Chair, State Assembly Committee on Education
Assembly Member José Medina, Chair, Assembly Higher Education Committee
Assembly Member Luis Alejo, Chair, Latino Legislative Caucus
Assembly Member Das Williams, Chair, Asian and Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus
Senator Loni Hancock
Assembly Member Tony Thurmond