adult history All Out For Berkeley Adult School - japraklupo

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Judul : adult history All Out For Berkeley Adult School - japraklupo
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Data

Destabilization leads to problems.

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

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

Help or harm - in domino effect.

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


All K12 Adult Schools have been destabilized since Governor Schwartzenegger flexed their funding in 2009.

This has led to over 70 Adult Schools closing and all of them shrinking.  There is now a Charter Adult School in the Sacramento Area.  And private enterprises consider Adult Education a prime market to enter and expand.  "While adult education has long been a “hidden” market, its programs often “shoved off in a corner,” all that seems to be changing, says to Pearson SVP Jason Jordan. “Suddenly it’s becoming a much more interesting marketplace.'"


Berkeley Adult School Faces A New Challenge and Potential Crisis

The uncertainty of funding for K12 Adult Schools may be one reason the Berkeley School District is considering moving the Berkeley Adult School out of its campus entirely or in part in order to find space for an increasing number of Elementary School students.

Do Elementary School students need and deserve space?  Of course, they do.

Does a community need and deserve an Adult School?  Absolutely.

Shrinking or dismantling an Adult School, as we can see through what has happened in Oakland and Los Angeles, does not help children, families, and communities thrive and achieve, academically or otherwise.

San Mateo Adult School Student Advocate Marina Kravtsova expressed that very well in her op-ed, "My Dilemma," in the San Mateo Daily Journal.  A similar but less serious situation exists in San Mateo where the D-Tech Charter School is seeking a new, temporary, or permanent home.  Marina is an Adult Learner, a mother, and the new CCAE Student Rep in the AB86 Workgroup.  She knows that "Parents’ education strongly affects children’s ability to adapt to their new country and succeed in their school life."

Immigrant parents know that in order for their kids succeed, they, themselves, the parents, need education and support. 

And half of all kids in California public schools have a foreign-born parent!  But does the Berkeley School District know this?


The Berkeley School District May Take Over the Berkeley Adult School Campus

Here's a blurb from the Berkeley Adult School Facebook page about what BAS is facing:

"Students - it's time to mobilize, advocate and save the integrity of Berkeley Adult School. Superintendent Dr. Donald Evans recommended to the School Board that a new elementary school be opened at the Adult School site and the dedicated Adult School site be eliminated. This was Option #7 among several options considered, which can be found on page 72 of the Agenda Packet (go to http://www.berkeleyschools.net/ and click on School Board to find documents). Option #7 calls for the Adult School program to be redistributed at sites throughout the District and the Adult School site being made ready for the elementary program for the 2016-17 school year. Message us here if you can come to meetings and help support our school."

Here is a powerpoint laying out the choices the Berkeley School District is considering to deal with increasing enrollment, including moving Berkeley Adult School off its campus.

Moving Berkeley Adult School off its campus does not mean it would move into a lovely new campus.  It means the program would be destabilized, would no longer serve as a community resource hub, and would have to shrink in size and services.

 

The Timeline

This information was presented to the public in November. In December, options are being narrowed down to two or three.  Rumour has it that taking over the Berkeley Adult School campus is one of the options being seriously considered.  A decision will be made in January.

All while the city of Berkeley is being rocked by responses to Ferguson, people celebrate the holidays, shop, eat, travel, discuss Cuba and North Korea and the CIA Torture Report.  And for some folks, throw in poverty, job loss, lack of English and civic skills, transportation problems, health problems, and depression - a big and unspoken problem for many people in the Holiday Season.

What does that mean for Berkeley Adult School?

It means it might be harder for students and staff to rally with a large and organized movement to retain their campus and their position as a stable and stabilizing community resource hub.

 

Berkeley Adult School Needs and Deserves Our Support

Because of the destabilization, cuts, and closures that hit all Adult Schools, Berkeley Adult School is the largest Adult School in its region.

Governor Brown, in his January 9th Budget Announcement, may finally provide secure funding for K12 Adult Schools and the new Regional Consortia system.  

Many across the state, individuals, organizations, and elected officials, understand the value of Adult Schools and Adult Education.  They have worked and continue to work for the stabilization and rebuilding of Adult Schools and Adult Education.  That's the whole purpose of AB86 and the new Regional Consortia system.

In these last days before Brown's announcement, as we move closer toward our goal and as Adult Schools and Community Colleges around the state engage to find a way to work together to provide the best Adult Education possible, what value is there is destabilizing Berkeley Adult School even further?  What value is there in shrinking it in size and scope?

Do we see results in Oakland that Berkeley wants to emulate?  Or do we see results in Oakland that Berkeley wants to shut out?  There's a long history in Berkeley that could be called "Fear of Oakland."  There are many reasons for that, some of them not very pretty.  In the long run, those reasons need to be addressed.  In the short run, Berkeley should consider that the devastation of Oakland Adult School, which once served over 25,000 people, did not help Oakland and does not help the communities that surround it.  Destabilizing and shrinking the Berkeley Adult School is not the answer.  Keeping Berkeley Adult School strong and working to strengthen Adult Schools and Adult Education across the state is.

 

Action Steps We Can Take To Keep Berkeley Adult School in Place as a Community Resource Hub

Call or email a Berkeley School Board Member, local elected official, community organizations, or the media.

If you have connections to UC Berkeley, contact them.

Scan the list below for ideas and contacts and use your gut to pick the action step right for you.

As we've seen over and over, our choices matter.  It's our culture, our community, our state.

We can pretend we're powerless but the truth is we're not.  And what feels like a small step may in fact be the start of a domino effect that changes things for the better.  (Reminder:  the small step of doing nothing has results, too.)

You never know until you try.

Go for it!

 

 

Helpful links and information:

 

Berkeley Adult School

1701 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94702 • Ph 510.644.6130 • Fx 510.644.6784

Berkeley Adult School Director Burr Guthrie

Powerpoint on Increasing Enrollment and Possible Solutions

Berkeley Adult School on Facebook

Northern Alameda Regional Consortium  Regional Consortia are the new delivery model for Adult Ed.  Berkeley Adult School, Oakland Adult School. Peralta Community Colleges, and others are all in the same new Regional Consortia.

"Governor's Proposed Budget Called "A Gift" to Adult Education" - January, 2015 Edsource article about new funding for Adult Education and K12 Adult Schools.

Note on Berkeley Adult School Facebook page

Students - it's time to mobilize, advocate and save the integrity of Berkeley Adult School. Superintendent Dr. Donald Evans recommended to the School Board that a new elementary school be opened at the Adult School site and the dedicated Adult School site be eliminated. This was Option #7 among several options considered, which can be found on page 72 of the Agenda Packet (go to http://www.berkeleyschools.net/ and click on School Board to find documents). Option #7 calls for the Adult School program to be redistributed at sites throughout the District and the Adult School site being made ready for the elementary program for the 2016-17 school year. Message us here if you can come to meetings and help support our school.

 

Letter re Berkeley Adult School   A letter sent to the BUSD Superintendent Donald Evans and the BUSD Board of Ed with 21 signatures.  The letter makes a case for the value of keeping BAS in place.  It also makes it clear that the situation has larger implications and explains why Adult Schools are so valuable  - and at the present time, so vulnerable.

Berkeley Public Schools 

Contact School Board 

Berkeley School Board Calendar

Upcoming Berkeley School Board Meetings

January 6  District English Language Advisory Committee (DELAC)

January 14^th  - School Board Meeting

January 28^th – School Board Meeting

Berkeley School Board Meetings are televised on local cable channel 33. You can view them live on Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. on meeting nights, or when the meeting is rebroadcast the following Thursday morning at 9:00 a.m. All televised board meetings are available on Vimeo.com by Board Item, and can be easily accessed in the Board Updates posted on the district's website. (http://www.berkeleyschools.net/s…/board-meeting-information/)

City of Berkeley Webpage (has Mayor, City Council, etc.)

State Senator Loni Hancock

Incoming AssemblyMember Tony Thurmond

UC Berkeley Graduate School of Education

Berkeley Parents Network   Thread about Berkeley K-12 schools

California Department of Education Office of Adult Education

Region 4 - Bay: Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco

Shadidi Sia-Maat    (Sia-Maat is also on the AB86 Workgroup)

ssiamaat@cde.ca.gov      916-323-7862

 

Media

KPFA

East Bay Express

Oakland North - UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism

Berkeley Times

Berkeleyside

Berkeley Voice

Oakland Tribune

SF Chronicle

 

 

Data

Kidsdata.org

Data about children and families in Berkeley

Alliance for California Adult Schools

AB86

 

Organizations

CFT

CCAE

MALDEF - Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund


Berkeley Adult School in the news

"School Boards Votes on Short-Term Overcrowding Conditions" - Berkeleyside, Jan 2015

"Berkeley School Board Primer: Decision Time for Board on Overcrowding" - Berkeleyside, Jan 2015

"Berkeley Teachers Implore Officials Not to Dismantle Adult Ed" - San Jose Mercury News, Jan 2015

"Berkeley Considers New San Pablo Avenue Elementary School" - Bay Area Newsgroup, Dec 2014

"The Bread Project - Cooking Up A Future For People In Need" - Berkeleyside, Sept 2011

"Berkeley School Growth Proposal Rankles Residents" - Contra Costa Times, Dec 2014

"Plans Dropped for Controversial Community School" - Berkeleyside, June 2011

"Adult Education Dismantled" - East Bay Express, June 2011 This article is about Oakland Adult School, which was once the anchor Adult School for the East Bay, serving over 25,000 students.  The fact that Berkeley Adult School was able to hang on during all the cuts and closures makes its decentralizing and diminishing now, just as Governor Brown finally recognizes Adult Schools and begins to plan for their renaissance, all the more tragic and crazy.

"Berkeley Adult School Threatened by Governor's New Budget" - Berkeley Planet, Feb 2010.
This series by the Berkeley Planet explains a lot about we got here - in Berkeley and everywhere else Quotes from the article:  
"Although the district has not announced any cuts to the adult program since slashing it by $1.5 million last year to cover part of an $8 million budget crunch, more reductions are anticipated.
Berkeley Unified School District Deputy Superintendent Javetta Cleveland told the board that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had proposed a negative cost-of-living adjustment, a reduction of .38 percent, along with 18 percent less revenue for 2010-11."   "“Many BAS students are people who were not well served by the K–12 system in California,” said adult school teacher Peggy Datz. “They are folks who need and deserve a second chance ... We are the safety net for adults in our community who want to move ahead but who did not succeed in the public school system and are not yet ready for community college.” School Board Member Shirley Issel assured the crowd that the district would do its best to help the school. “To walk in the doors of the school is to see the Berkeley dream be enacted daily,” she said."

"Berkeley Unified School District Facing State Cuts in New Budget" - Berkeley Planet, Feb 2009
This article is a window into how we got to where we are now where Adult Education and K12 Adult Schools are today.  Feb 2009 is when the cuts were set out - K12 Adult Schools were cut off the top by 20%  plus their categorical (i.e. protected) funding was made available to shore up K-12 Districts  which were horribly cut at that time.   All K12 Districts, over the past 6 years, used Adult Ed money to keep going.  This is why about 70 Adult Schools closed and all shrank in size and scope.  But 312 K12 districts - out of about 400 -  kept their Adult Schools open.  Berkeley Unified School District was one of those districts.  In fact, they did a great job of keeping BAS open and functioning to optimal capacity - which is why BAS is such a great school today and why it is the anchor K12 Adult School for the Northern Alameda County Regional Consortium.  Oakland Adult School, also in the Northern Alameda County Regional Consortium, did survive as well.  It shrank from serving approximately 25,000 to the about 1,200 students it serves today.  Hopefully, with new funding on its way and a new focus on areas of highest needs, Oakland Adult School will rise again.  For Berkeley Adult School to go down now, to be decentralized and to shrink in scope and size, just as all Adult Schools are nearing the finish line of this terrible ordeal, would be an unnecessary tragedy.

"Adult Education Faces Severe Budget Cuts" - Berkeley Planet, April 2009.  This article explains how BUSD had to dip into Adult Ed money to survive the Big Recession and Public Ed Devastation going on at that time.  "In a unanimous vote last week, the Berkeley Board of Education allowed the district to dip into the adult education program’s reserves to help offset the nearly $750,000 shortage it faces this year.  The district will take $718,827 from the reserve funds."

"More Cuts on the Way for School District, Adult Education" - Berkeley Planet, June 2009.  Probably the best of these articles.  Really explains what BUSD was faced with and how it chose to repond.  From the article:

"The $3.7 million shortfall in 2009–10 will be alleviated by $2.2 million in stimulus funds; reductions in post-retirement benefit rate and worker’s compensation rates; a proposed reduction in health benefit costs created by raising deductibles; $400,000 from the Berkeley Adult School (through reduced services and higher fees), and a few smaller changes. 
The adult education budget itself was cut by $1.3 million in the February state budget.  
The state budget gave districts the option to eliminate adult education entirely in 2009–10 and four successive fiscal years to thwart the effect of state reductions to general fund revenues.  
Instead of putting the entire program on the chopping block, Berkeley Unified reduced its adult education program, eliminating adult summer school programs, decreasing some English language learning, high school diploma and older adult classes and charging students and agencies more for senior programs. 
The district will be able to transfer $400,000 from the adult education revenue to its general fund by making additional reductions, such as trimming classes offered for disabled students and seniors, charging fees for English language, vocational and high school diploma classes and raising fees for agencies that offer classes for its disabled adults. 
“We did talk a lot about this with students, and some of them recommended a higher fee,” said Margaret Kirkpatrick, Berkeley Adult School’s outgoing principal. “We are looking at an amount achievable to students with lower incomes, something that would save the school and is in line with other adult schools. And, of course, any student can apply for a fee waiver or scholarship.” 
Kirkpatrick said that although eliminating some programs had been “painful,” the school would continue to benefit students in many ways. 
In an attempt to close the budget gap, the district will also hold back from paying the City of Berkeley $180,000 next year for sanitary sewage service, clean storm water, pool use and maintenance and the Berkeley High School Health Clinic 
Huyett said that although Berkeley Unified was in a better position than other districts, the list of layoffs included bus drivers, clerks, vice principals, counselors and other employees."


In a nutshell, here's what happened in Oakland in June of 2010.

 

Berkeley Adult School and San Mateo Adult School
and COSAS (Communities Organized to Save Adult Schools)
meeting to discuss and promote Student Leadership and Advocacy for Adult Education
Fall 2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

Destabilization leads to problems.

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

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

Help or harm - in domino effect.

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


All K12 Adult Schools have been destabilized since Governor Schwartzenegger flexed their funding in 2009.

This has led to over 70 Adult Schools closing and all of them shrinking.  There is now a Charter Adult School in the Sacramento Area.  And private enterprises consider Adult Education a prime market to enter and expand.  "While adult education has long been a “hidden” market, its programs often “shoved off in a corner,” all that seems to be changing, says to Pearson SVP Jason Jordan. “Suddenly it’s becoming a much more interesting marketplace.'"


Berkeley Adult School Faces A New Challenge and Potential Crisis

The uncertainty of funding for K12 Adult Schools may be one reason the Berkeley School District is considering moving the Berkeley Adult School out of its campus entirely or in part in order to find space for an increasing number of Elementary School students.

Do Elementary School students need and deserve space?  Of course, they do.

Does a community need and deserve an Adult School?  Absolutely.

Shrinking or dismantling an Adult School, as we can see through what has happened in Oakland and Los Angeles, does not help children, families, and communities thrive and achieve, academically or otherwise.

San Mateo Adult School Student Advocate Marina Kravtsova expressed that very well in her op-ed, "My Dilemma," in the San Mateo Daily Journal.  A similar but less serious situation exists in San Mateo where the D-Tech Charter School is seeking a new, temporary, or permanent home.  Marina is an Adult Learner, a mother, and the new CCAE Student Rep in the AB86 Workgroup.  She knows that "Parents’ education strongly affects children’s ability to adapt to their new country and succeed in their school life."

Immigrant parents know that in order for their kids succeed, they, themselves, the parents, need education and support. 

And half of all kids in California public schools have a foreign-born parent!  But does the Berkeley School District know this?


The Berkeley School District May Take Over the Berkeley Adult School Campus

Here's a blurb from the Berkeley Adult School Facebook page about what BAS is facing:

"Students - it's time to mobilize, advocate and save the integrity of Berkeley Adult School. Superintendent Dr. Donald Evans recommended to the School Board that a new elementary school be opened at the Adult School site and the dedicated Adult School site be eliminated. This was Option #7 among several options considered, which can be found on page 72 of the Agenda Packet (go to http://www.berkeleyschools.net/ and click on School Board to find documents). Option #7 calls for the Adult School program to be redistributed at sites throughout the District and the Adult School site being made ready for the elementary program for the 2016-17 school year. Message us here if you can come to meetings and help support our school."

Here is a powerpoint laying out the choices the Berkeley School District is considering to deal with increasing enrollment, including moving Berkeley Adult School off its campus.

Moving Berkeley Adult School off its campus does not mean it would move into a lovely new campus.  It means the program would be destabilized, would no longer serve as a community resource hub, and would have to shrink in size and services.

 

The Timeline

This information was presented to the public in November. In December, options are being narrowed down to two or three.  Rumour has it that taking over the Berkeley Adult School campus is one of the options being seriously considered.  A decision will be made in January.

All while the city of Berkeley is being rocked by responses to Ferguson, people celebrate the holidays, shop, eat, travel, discuss Cuba and North Korea and the CIA Torture Report.  And for some folks, throw in poverty, job loss, lack of English and civic skills, transportation problems, health problems, and depression - a big and unspoken problem for many people in the Holiday Season.

What does that mean for Berkeley Adult School?

It means it might be harder for students and staff to rally with a large and organized movement to retain their campus and their position as a stable and stabilizing community resource hub.

 

Berkeley Adult School Needs and Deserves Our Support

Because of the destabilization, cuts, and closures that hit all Adult Schools, Berkeley Adult School is the largest Adult School in its region.

Governor Brown, in his January 9th Budget Announcement, may finally provide secure funding for K12 Adult Schools and the new Regional Consortia system.  

Many across the state, individuals, organizations, and elected officials, understand the value of Adult Schools and Adult Education.  They have worked and continue to work for the stabilization and rebuilding of Adult Schools and Adult Education.  That's the whole purpose of AB86 and the new Regional Consortia system.

In these last days before Brown's announcement, as we move closer toward our goal and as Adult Schools and Community Colleges around the state engage to find a way to work together to provide the best Adult Education possible, what value is there is destabilizing Berkeley Adult School even further?  What value is there in shrinking it in size and scope?

Do we see results in Oakland that Berkeley wants to emulate?  Or do we see results in Oakland that Berkeley wants to shut out?  There's a long history in Berkeley that could be called "Fear of Oakland."  There are many reasons for that, some of them not very pretty.  In the long run, those reasons need to be addressed.  In the short run, Berkeley should consider that the devastation of Oakland Adult School, which once served over 25,000 people, did not help Oakland and does not help the communities that surround it.  Destabilizing and shrinking the Berkeley Adult School is not the answer.  Keeping Berkeley Adult School strong and working to strengthen Adult Schools and Adult Education across the state is.

 

Action Steps We Can Take To Keep Berkeley Adult School in Place as a Community Resource Hub

Call or email a Berkeley School Board Member, local elected official, community organizations, or the media.

If you have connections to UC Berkeley, contact them.

Scan the list below for ideas and contacts and use your gut to pick the action step right for you.

As we've seen over and over, our choices matter.  It's our culture, our community, our state.

We can pretend we're powerless but the truth is we're not.  And what feels like a small step may in fact be the start of a domino effect that changes things for the better.  (Reminder:  the small step of doing nothing has results, too.)

You never know until you try.

Go for it!

 

 

Helpful links and information:

 

Berkeley Adult School

1701 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94702 • Ph 510.644.6130 • Fx 510.644.6784

Berkeley Adult School Director Burr Guthrie

Powerpoint on Increasing Enrollment and Possible Solutions

Berkeley Adult School on Facebook

Northern Alameda Regional Consortium  Regional Consortia are the new delivery model for Adult Ed.  Berkeley Adult School, Oakland Adult School. Peralta Community Colleges, and others are all in the same new Regional Consortia.

"Governor's Proposed Budget Called "A Gift" to Adult Education" - January, 2015 Edsource article about new funding for Adult Education and K12 Adult Schools.

Note on Berkeley Adult School Facebook page

Students - it's time to mobilize, advocate and save the integrity of Berkeley Adult School. Superintendent Dr. Donald Evans recommended to the School Board that a new elementary school be opened at the Adult School site and the dedicated Adult School site be eliminated. This was Option #7 among several options considered, which can be found on page 72 of the Agenda Packet (go to http://www.berkeleyschools.net/ and click on School Board to find documents). Option #7 calls for the Adult School program to be redistributed at sites throughout the District and the Adult School site being made ready for the elementary program for the 2016-17 school year. Message us here if you can come to meetings and help support our school.

 

Letter re Berkeley Adult School   A letter sent to the BUSD Superintendent Donald Evans and the BUSD Board of Ed with 21 signatures.  The letter makes a case for the value of keeping BAS in place.  It also makes it clear that the situation has larger implications and explains why Adult Schools are so valuable  - and at the present time, so vulnerable.

Berkeley Public Schools 

Contact School Board 

Berkeley School Board Calendar

Upcoming Berkeley School Board Meetings

January 6  District English Language Advisory Committee (DELAC)

January 14^th  - School Board Meeting

January 28^th – School Board Meeting

Berkeley School Board Meetings are televised on local cable channel 33. You can view them live on Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. on meeting nights, or when the meeting is rebroadcast the following Thursday morning at 9:00 a.m. All televised board meetings are available on Vimeo.com by Board Item, and can be easily accessed in the Board Updates posted on the district's website. (http://www.berkeleyschools.net/s…/board-meeting-information/)

City of Berkeley Webpage (has Mayor, City Council, etc.)

State Senator Loni Hancock

Incoming AssemblyMember Tony Thurmond

UC Berkeley Graduate School of Education

Berkeley Parents Network   Thread about Berkeley K-12 schools

California Department of Education Office of Adult Education

Region 4 - Bay: Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco

Shadidi Sia-Maat    (Sia-Maat is also on the AB86 Workgroup)

ssiamaat@cde.ca.gov      916-323-7862

 

Media

KPFA

East Bay Express

Oakland North - UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism

Berkeley Times

Berkeleyside

Berkeley Voice

Oakland Tribune

SF Chronicle

 

 

Data

Kidsdata.org

Data about children and families in Berkeley

Alliance for California Adult Schools

AB86

 

Organizations

CFT

CCAE

MALDEF - Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund


Berkeley Adult School in the news

"School Boards Votes on Short-Term Overcrowding Conditions" - Berkeleyside, Jan 2015

"Berkeley School Board Primer: Decision Time for Board on Overcrowding" - Berkeleyside, Jan 2015

"Berkeley Teachers Implore Officials Not to Dismantle Adult Ed" - San Jose Mercury News, Jan 2015

"Berkeley Considers New San Pablo Avenue Elementary School" - Bay Area Newsgroup, Dec 2014

"The Bread Project - Cooking Up A Future For People In Need" - Berkeleyside, Sept 2011

"Berkeley School Growth Proposal Rankles Residents" - Contra Costa Times, Dec 2014

"Plans Dropped for Controversial Community School" - Berkeleyside, June 2011

"Adult Education Dismantled" - East Bay Express, June 2011 This article is about Oakland Adult School, which was once the anchor Adult School for the East Bay, serving over 25,000 students.  The fact that Berkeley Adult School was able to hang on during all the cuts and closures makes its decentralizing and diminishing now, just as Governor Brown finally recognizes Adult Schools and begins to plan for their renaissance, all the more tragic and crazy.

"Berkeley Adult School Threatened by Governor's New Budget" - Berkeley Planet, Feb 2010.
This series by the Berkeley Planet explains a lot about we got here - in Berkeley and everywhere else Quotes from the article:  
"Although the district has not announced any cuts to the adult program since slashing it by $1.5 million last year to cover part of an $8 million budget crunch, more reductions are anticipated.
Berkeley Unified School District Deputy Superintendent Javetta Cleveland told the board that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had proposed a negative cost-of-living adjustment, a reduction of .38 percent, along with 18 percent less revenue for 2010-11."   "“Many BAS students are people who were not well served by the K–12 system in California,” said adult school teacher Peggy Datz. “They are folks who need and deserve a second chance ... We are the safety net for adults in our community who want to move ahead but who did not succeed in the public school system and are not yet ready for community college.” School Board Member Shirley Issel assured the crowd that the district would do its best to help the school. “To walk in the doors of the school is to see the Berkeley dream be enacted daily,” she said."

"Berkeley Unified School District Facing State Cuts in New Budget" - Berkeley Planet, Feb 2009
This article is a window into how we got to where we are now where Adult Education and K12 Adult Schools are today.  Feb 2009 is when the cuts were set out - K12 Adult Schools were cut off the top by 20%  plus their categorical (i.e. protected) funding was made available to shore up K-12 Districts  which were horribly cut at that time.   All K12 Districts, over the past 6 years, used Adult Ed money to keep going.  This is why about 70 Adult Schools closed and all shrank in size and scope.  But 312 K12 districts - out of about 400 -  kept their Adult Schools open.  Berkeley Unified School District was one of those districts.  In fact, they did a great job of keeping BAS open and functioning to optimal capacity - which is why BAS is such a great school today and why it is the anchor K12 Adult School for the Northern Alameda County Regional Consortium.  Oakland Adult School, also in the Northern Alameda County Regional Consortium, did survive as well.  It shrank from serving approximately 25,000 to the about 1,200 students it serves today.  Hopefully, with new funding on its way and a new focus on areas of highest needs, Oakland Adult School will rise again.  For Berkeley Adult School to go down now, to be decentralized and to shrink in scope and size, just as all Adult Schools are nearing the finish line of this terrible ordeal, would be an unnecessary tragedy.

"Adult Education Faces Severe Budget Cuts" - Berkeley Planet, April 2009.  This article explains how BUSD had to dip into Adult Ed money to survive the Big Recession and Public Ed Devastation going on at that time.  "In a unanimous vote last week, the Berkeley Board of Education allowed the district to dip into the adult education program’s reserves to help offset the nearly $750,000 shortage it faces this year.  The district will take $718,827 from the reserve funds."

"More Cuts on the Way for School District, Adult Education" - Berkeley Planet, June 2009.  Probably the best of these articles.  Really explains what BUSD was faced with and how it chose to repond.  From the article:

"The $3.7 million shortfall in 2009–10 will be alleviated by $2.2 million in stimulus funds; reductions in post-retirement benefit rate and worker’s compensation rates; a proposed reduction in health benefit costs created by raising deductibles; $400,000 from the Berkeley Adult School (through reduced services and higher fees), and a few smaller changes. 
The adult education budget itself was cut by $1.3 million in the February state budget.  
The state budget gave districts the option to eliminate adult education entirely in 2009–10 and four successive fiscal years to thwart the effect of state reductions to general fund revenues.  
Instead of putting the entire program on the chopping block, Berkeley Unified reduced its adult education program, eliminating adult summer school programs, decreasing some English language learning, high school diploma and older adult classes and charging students and agencies more for senior programs. 
The district will be able to transfer $400,000 from the adult education revenue to its general fund by making additional reductions, such as trimming classes offered for disabled students and seniors, charging fees for English language, vocational and high school diploma classes and raising fees for agencies that offer classes for its disabled adults. 
“We did talk a lot about this with students, and some of them recommended a higher fee,” said Margaret Kirkpatrick, Berkeley Adult School’s outgoing principal. “We are looking at an amount achievable to students with lower incomes, something that would save the school and is in line with other adult schools. And, of course, any student can apply for a fee waiver or scholarship.” 
Kirkpatrick said that although eliminating some programs had been “painful,” the school would continue to benefit students in many ways. 
In an attempt to close the budget gap, the district will also hold back from paying the City of Berkeley $180,000 next year for sanitary sewage service, clean storm water, pool use and maintenance and the Berkeley High School Health Clinic 
Huyett said that although Berkeley Unified was in a better position than other districts, the list of layoffs included bus drivers, clerks, vice principals, counselors and other employees."


In a nutshell, here's what happened in Oakland in June of 2010.

 

Berkeley Adult School and San Mateo Adult School
and COSAS (Communities Organized to Save Adult Schools)
meeting to discuss and promote Student Leadership and Advocacy for Adult Education
Fall 2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

adult history Data and Decisions: 2011 Little Hoover Report - japraklupo

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

Judul : adult history Data and Decisions: 2011 Little Hoover Report - japraklupo
link : adult history Data and Decisions: 2011 Little Hoover Report - japraklupo

Data

The following testimony was given in 2011.  I am posting it here because I think it contains important data and important conclusions.  You can agree or argue with the conclusions.  You can use the data to better understand where we've come from and decide where we should best go next.

California Department of Education,

Adult Education Testimony Little Hoover Commission 

Respectfully submitted by Dr. Patrick Ainsworth,

Director of Secondary, Career, and Adult Learning Division

and Ms. Debra Jones, Administrator, Adult Education Office June 23, 2011 

Thank you for the opportunity to address the Little Hoover Commission and to share the vital issues surrounding adult education and the impacts of the current budget reductions. Adult Education has a long history in California serving adults since 1856. The first classes were taught in the basement of Old St. Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco to Chinese immigrants. Since that time, the program has grown, and in 2008 adult education served 1.2 million adults. 

The current fiscal crisis has impacted hundreds of thousands of adults in California. Flexibility has redirected the Adult Education budget of 634 million dollars to the kindergarten through grade twelve (K–12) system to be used for any educational purpose. School districts and school boards have had to make difficult decisions in this time of limited resources. It is estimated that half of the 2011 adult education budget was spent on adult education.  

Hit the "read more" link to get the full scoop.

I am here with Ms. Debra Jones to answer the questions you posed. We will be happy to provide more information as needed.  

What are the key functions and core mission of the state’s Adult Education programs? How do these differ from those programs offered through the community college system? How do the student populations and outcomes differ between the two systems? 

Over 5.3 million Californians lack a high school diploma. This number does not include the English as a Second Language (ESL) population that may have a diploma but does not speak English well; nor does it include the large population of adults who receive diplomas but require remedial instruction in order to be prepared for postsecondary education or careers. Half of those 5.3 million adults have educational attainment levels below the ninth grade, yet only 1.1 million adults, roughly 21 percent, are receiving these services through adult schools and community colleges each year. 

The key function and core mission of Adult Education is to provide educational services in four core areas: (1) ESL; (2) Adult Secondary Education (ASE) grade levels 9–12; (3) Adult Basic Education (ABE) grade levels 0–8; (4) and Career Technical Education (CTE). Eighty-seven percent of all Adult Education students are enrolled in these four program areas. 

Three hundred adult schools, 40 community-based organizations, 13 library literacy programs and 17 community colleges are awarded Workforce Investment Act (WIA), Title II grant awards through Adult Education. Classes are taught in over 700 sites, including schools, workplaces, public service agencies, and One-Stops. 

Although the program areas are consistent with those offered in the community college system, Adult Education serves a different student demographic. The Adult Education students tend to be older than community college students, and they have lower levels of educational attainment than community college students. Adult Education serves more female students and a higher percentage of the students are of Hispanic origin. Forty-five percent of Adult Education students lack a high school diploma and one-third are unemployed. The following table illustrates the primary and secondary goals reported by students in Adult Education for the 2009–10 year.   
                
The United States Department of Education National Reporting System sets the standards for literacy and core performance outcomes for Adult Education. Performance based outcomes include literacy gains at all levels of ESL and secondary education. The California Department of Education (CDE) is held accountable for core performance measures including job attainment, job retention, acquisition of a high school diploma, and transition to postsecondary education and training. These outcomes are annually reported to the federal government and to the governor. 

How has the recent funding flexibility affected the range of programs offered through Adult Education, particularly for those students who want to continue on to a community college? Has this policy changed the way Adult Education programs work with community colleges? 

Total Enrollment WIA, Title II 2009–10  696,831  

Primary or Secondary Goal      Primary Goal       Secondary Goal

High School Diploma                   91,192                 27,307

Get a Job                                       13,715                44,980

Retain Job                                        5,441                 23,229

Enter college or training                  3,831                27,436

Improve basic skills                      213,203               95,520

Improve English skills                 303,308                74,142

Personal Goal                                27,645               261,858

Family Goal                                     5,238                22,788

U.S. Citizenship                                6,573                 7,802

Military                                                303                 1,933

Work-based project                             462                  1,343

Other Attainable Goal                     4,390                 21,401



The following table illustrates the decrease in enrollments from 2008–09 to 2009–10. Although data is not yet available for 2010–11 it is anticipated that there will be further reductions in enrollment.

Program      2008–09      2009–10      Decrease

ESL             444,492         324,123      27%

ASE            226,053         194,156      14%

CTE            180,494          94,483       48%

ABE              76,516          68,175       11%

Citizenship      2,985            1,050       65%

Adults w/ Disabilities
                      26,839            12,146      55%

Health and Safety
                    26,911                9,466      65%

Home Economics
                  17,371                 7,475       57%

Parent Education
               67,688                  24,089       64%

Older Adults
             142,319                  41,690      71%

Total 1,212,068               776,853        36% 

Eighty-seven percent of Adult Education students are enrolled in the four core program areas of ESL, ASE, ABE, and CTE. The largest percent of students who transition from the Adult Education program to the community college come from the ASE and ESL programs.  

The impact of the budget reductions and redistribution of adult education funding resulted in cuts to most adult schools. Schools report teacher lay-offs and waiting lists for classes. The capacity to serve students is diminished for both systems by the current economic climate, and yet the need for adult education services has not diminished. The Adult Education program and the community college system recognize that coordination of services between systems is necessary to create a seamless transition for students from one program to another.  

How do the Department of Education and the Chancellor’s Office of the California Community Colleges coordinate at the state level to oversee these programs? How could the state improve coordination between these two offices to maximize the state’s investment in Adult Education? 

The CDE and California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office (CCCCO) continue to discuss the implications of coordinating at the state level to maximize the state’s investment in Adult Education. A strategic effort by CDE and CCCCO is required to address the issues of educating California’s adults in these times of limited resources. The administration and staff of both systems have met to share information. The CDE and CCCCO have identified key areas that support the goal of creating an aligned system that efficiently and effectively meets the goals of adult students in California: 

• Professional development
• Course articulation agreements
• Curriculum and instruction that includes pathways
• Aligned readiness assessments
 • Data collection and tracking of student outcomes
• Bridge programs 

The CDE recognizes that both systems together must take a strategic and coordinated approach to addressing and resolving the issues that surround the education of adults in California. We look forward to sharing in a more collaborative environment. 

Over the course of this study the Commission has heard from a number of witnesses who have suggested the need to strengthen the Chancellor’s Office of the California Community Colleges. Would changes to the authority and function of the Chancellor’s Office improve your office’s ability to partner with the community colleges? If so, how? 

We do not presume to know what changes are necessary to the authority and function of the Chancellor’s Office to improve the CDE’s ability to partner with the community colleges. However, we have agreed with the CCCCO to continue to work together to develop a more seamless delivery system that supports student successful transition to the community colleges.  

Coordination, collaborations and partnerships between adult schools and community colleges exist across the state in isolated efforts. Some of the best practices include formalized bridge programs, articulated course sequences, aligned career pathways, co-location and aligned assessments. However, these programs are independent of each other, and have not been taken to scale. Every adult school and every community college is autonomous. Each local effort is an independent partnership.  

Currently there is no mechanism to replicate best practices. For example, students leaving Adult Education could be better prepared for admission to the community college if there was a common assessment of college readiness. As it is, each college creates its own placement assessment and that differs from the assessment a student is given at the adult school. The lack of coordination at the state level makes it difficult to affect systemic change. 

What are the benefits of maintaining adult education programs in both the Adult Education and community college systems? Are there some categories of courses that are more appropriate for one system than the other? Is there a need to further clarify this delineation of service? 

Student demographics are different in each system. Forty percent of Adult Education students do not have a high school diploma, and 50 percent enter the system to improve their English skills. Approximately 186,000 students are enrolled in the high school diploma program in Adult Education. It is estimated that 15 percent of Adult Education students are annually prepared to enter the community college system. These students perform at the high levels of ASE and ESL basic skills in the CDE system.  

The CDE has used federal dollars through the years to build a strong infrastructure in terms of accountability, technology, and professional development through its core leadership projects. Historically the Adult Education infrastructure was built on serving students needing to improve their basic skills. Adult Education serves the lowest learners...those who speak little to no English. The accountability system, the Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment System (CASAS), technology, and professional development are keenly structured to serve those hardest to reach and to serve. 
The local adult schools have strong partnerships with K–12 districts. The ESL classes are held on school campuses and are filled with the parents of K–12 students who engage in their children’s learning while improving their own basic skills. Some programs provide literacy programs that focus on a child’s success in school. Learners whose primary goal was family-related cited increased involvement in their children’s education (21 percent) and children’s literacy (15 percent), and meeting a personal (55 percent) and family goal (48 percent). These learners also showed significant community-related outcomes. 

Another function of Adult Education is to provide remediation courses and credit recovery to high school students who are in jeopardy of graduating with their class. These programs are easily coordinated between adult schools and high schools. Annually, 75,000 high school students take a class from Adult Education. 

There is a need to align the courses and programs offered in Adult Education and at the community colleges and to create multiple access points to each system. Research shows that in states with a coordinated approach to educating adults, including clear articulated pathways and integrated course sequences, a student learns at an accelerated pace. For example, contextualized CTE and basic skill courses may be offered by two systems in the same classroom.  

Neither system has the capacity to meet the scale and diversity of need. Both systems are operating on reduced resources. The Adult Education system’s unique strengths include the physical location of hundreds of sites, the affordability of classes, the flexible enrollment strategies, the cultural competence of staff, and the recognized image of adult schools within a community as an “approachable” learning environment. 

How could the state better integrate the systems at the local level to ensure that students who take courses through Adult Education programs transition to a community college without repeating coursework? Are there some districts in California that are already doing this well? What are some of the challenges to improving articulation? 

Adult Education system has prioritized the transition of students into postsecondary education, training, and employment. The CDE collaborated with the National College Transition Network to offer a summit, training and ongoing professional development opportunities to local practitioners. The CDE recently received a technical assistance grant from the Office of Vocational and Adult Education to implement a Policy to Performance Initiative with ten local agencies. The focus of the program is to provide articulated services between the systems to promote successful transition to the community college.   

Jobs in the future will increasingly employ workers with education and training beyond the high school level. Postsecondary education can provide the skills needed for these jobs. There are examples throughout California where local programs have collaborated with the community colleges to ensure a seamless transition for students. The two examples illustrate articulated programs between adult schools and community colleges: 

• Successful transition programs were designed by local providers to support and mentor ESL students to allow them to transfer to credit community college courses or vocational certificate programs. Students enroll in a minimum of 12 units with at least three that are non-ESL courses. Each student is given a mentor who assists with enrollment and provides support. These mentors also expose the students to different opportunities for the future, such as scholarships and academic support resources 

• A local provider restructured its ABE program to focus on helping students set clear academic and professional goals, and to run a more effective and efficient transition program to accommodate budget reductions and decreased funding. The CASAS pretest scores are used as an entry requirement to take the ABE pathways class, and students are required to maintain at least a 90 percent attendance rate in the ABE pathways class. Most students are prepared to transition into a CTE program after 40–50 hours in the pathways class. 
Would there be value in consolidating some or all of the programs into a single adult education system? If so, what criteria should be considered? 

According to the indicators of need used in the CDE “Needs Assessment”, it is estimated that approximately 80 percent of the need for ABE, ASE and ESL is currently unmet. Adult Education and the community colleges need to be aligned and integrated, whether or not they are consolidated. Adult Education and the community colleges serve predominately different populations. The diversity and scale of this unmet need suggests that the systems leverage their respective strengths and core missions, particularly given budgetary constraints and related capacity issues. 
Locally, transitioning adult learners is key to keeping the commitment of adult basic education programs to the adult learners who have identified their long-term educational goal as entering postsecondary education. In 2009–10, 586,450 adult learners (75.5 percent) were in ABE, ASE, or ESL classes. Of these learners, 3.2 percent or 25,022, received either a high school diploma or general educational development certificate within the Adult Education WIA, Title II program. These learners are potential participants in postsecondary education and part of the pipeline of students ready to transition. 

There were also 5,893 adult learners with a goal of entering postsecondary education in 2009–10, with less than half achieving this goal (2,540). Zafft et al. reported in 2006, “While adults with GEDs or other nontraditional diplomas stand to benefit from postsecondary education, very few actually go on and those that do are rarely successful.”  

Finally, there is great value in coordinating and aligning services between the systems. An intended consequence of integration of the systems would be to reduce the amount and level of remediation taking place at the community college level and the California State University (CSU) system. The California State University's (CSU) assessment system found that, of first-time entering freshmen the CSUs in 2008, 47 percent still required some level of English remediation and 37.2 percent need math remediation; 27.1 percent of 2008–09 freshmen were not proficient in either English or mathematics. Estimates of the remedial need in the community colleges are higher, ranging from  70– 90 percent at some campuses. Students who are better prepared could complete degrees and certificates on a timelier and less costly basis. The Public Policy Institute of California projects that California will “under produce” college graduates and people with some level of postsecondary training to meet the growing workforce training demands. It is critical that both systems collaborate and coordinate to develop articulated pathways for all students at all literacy levels.  

The following testimony was given in 2011.  I am posting it here because I think it contains important data and important conclusions.  You can agree or argue with the conclusions.  You can use the data to better understand where we've come from and decide where we should best go next.

California Department of Education,

Adult Education Testimony Little Hoover Commission 

Respectfully submitted by Dr. Patrick Ainsworth,

Director of Secondary, Career, and Adult Learning Division

and Ms. Debra Jones, Administrator, Adult Education Office June 23, 2011 

Thank you for the opportunity to address the Little Hoover Commission and to share the vital issues surrounding adult education and the impacts of the current budget reductions. Adult Education has a long history in California serving adults since 1856. The first classes were taught in the basement of Old St. Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco to Chinese immigrants. Since that time, the program has grown, and in 2008 adult education served 1.2 million adults. 

The current fiscal crisis has impacted hundreds of thousands of adults in California. Flexibility has redirected the Adult Education budget of 634 million dollars to the kindergarten through grade twelve (K–12) system to be used for any educational purpose. School districts and school boards have had to make difficult decisions in this time of limited resources. It is estimated that half of the 2011 adult education budget was spent on adult education.  

Hit the "read more" link to get the full scoop.

I am here with Ms. Debra Jones to answer the questions you posed. We will be happy to provide more information as needed.  

What are the key functions and core mission of the state’s Adult Education programs? How do these differ from those programs offered through the community college system? How do the student populations and outcomes differ between the two systems? 

Over 5.3 million Californians lack a high school diploma. This number does not include the English as a Second Language (ESL) population that may have a diploma but does not speak English well; nor does it include the large population of adults who receive diplomas but require remedial instruction in order to be prepared for postsecondary education or careers. Half of those 5.3 million adults have educational attainment levels below the ninth grade, yet only 1.1 million adults, roughly 21 percent, are receiving these services through adult schools and community colleges each year. 

The key function and core mission of Adult Education is to provide educational services in four core areas: (1) ESL; (2) Adult Secondary Education (ASE) grade levels 9–12; (3) Adult Basic Education (ABE) grade levels 0–8; (4) and Career Technical Education (CTE). Eighty-seven percent of all Adult Education students are enrolled in these four program areas. 

Three hundred adult schools, 40 community-based organizations, 13 library literacy programs and 17 community colleges are awarded Workforce Investment Act (WIA), Title II grant awards through Adult Education. Classes are taught in over 700 sites, including schools, workplaces, public service agencies, and One-Stops. 

Although the program areas are consistent with those offered in the community college system, Adult Education serves a different student demographic. The Adult Education students tend to be older than community college students, and they have lower levels of educational attainment than community college students. Adult Education serves more female students and a higher percentage of the students are of Hispanic origin. Forty-five percent of Adult Education students lack a high school diploma and one-third are unemployed. The following table illustrates the primary and secondary goals reported by students in Adult Education for the 2009–10 year.   
                
The United States Department of Education National Reporting System sets the standards for literacy and core performance outcomes for Adult Education. Performance based outcomes include literacy gains at all levels of ESL and secondary education. The California Department of Education (CDE) is held accountable for core performance measures including job attainment, job retention, acquisition of a high school diploma, and transition to postsecondary education and training. These outcomes are annually reported to the federal government and to the governor. 

How has the recent funding flexibility affected the range of programs offered through Adult Education, particularly for those students who want to continue on to a community college? Has this policy changed the way Adult Education programs work with community colleges? 

Total Enrollment WIA, Title II 2009–10  696,831  

Primary or Secondary Goal      Primary Goal       Secondary Goal

High School Diploma                   91,192                 27,307

Get a Job                                       13,715                44,980

Retain Job                                        5,441                 23,229

Enter college or training                  3,831                27,436

Improve basic skills                      213,203               95,520

Improve English skills                 303,308                74,142

Personal Goal                                27,645               261,858

Family Goal                                     5,238                22,788

U.S. Citizenship                                6,573                 7,802

Military                                                303                 1,933

Work-based project                             462                  1,343

Other Attainable Goal                     4,390                 21,401



The following table illustrates the decrease in enrollments from 2008–09 to 2009–10. Although data is not yet available for 2010–11 it is anticipated that there will be further reductions in enrollment.

Program      2008–09      2009–10      Decrease

ESL             444,492         324,123      27%

ASE            226,053         194,156      14%

CTE            180,494          94,483       48%

ABE              76,516          68,175       11%

Citizenship      2,985            1,050       65%

Adults w/ Disabilities
                      26,839            12,146      55%

Health and Safety
                    26,911                9,466      65%

Home Economics
                  17,371                 7,475       57%

Parent Education
               67,688                  24,089       64%

Older Adults
             142,319                  41,690      71%

Total 1,212,068               776,853        36% 

Eighty-seven percent of Adult Education students are enrolled in the four core program areas of ESL, ASE, ABE, and CTE. The largest percent of students who transition from the Adult Education program to the community college come from the ASE and ESL programs.  

The impact of the budget reductions and redistribution of adult education funding resulted in cuts to most adult schools. Schools report teacher lay-offs and waiting lists for classes. The capacity to serve students is diminished for both systems by the current economic climate, and yet the need for adult education services has not diminished. The Adult Education program and the community college system recognize that coordination of services between systems is necessary to create a seamless transition for students from one program to another.  

How do the Department of Education and the Chancellor’s Office of the California Community Colleges coordinate at the state level to oversee these programs? How could the state improve coordination between these two offices to maximize the state’s investment in Adult Education? 

The CDE and California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office (CCCCO) continue to discuss the implications of coordinating at the state level to maximize the state’s investment in Adult Education. A strategic effort by CDE and CCCCO is required to address the issues of educating California’s adults in these times of limited resources. The administration and staff of both systems have met to share information. The CDE and CCCCO have identified key areas that support the goal of creating an aligned system that efficiently and effectively meets the goals of adult students in California: 

• Professional development
• Course articulation agreements
• Curriculum and instruction that includes pathways
• Aligned readiness assessments
 • Data collection and tracking of student outcomes
• Bridge programs 

The CDE recognizes that both systems together must take a strategic and coordinated approach to addressing and resolving the issues that surround the education of adults in California. We look forward to sharing in a more collaborative environment. 

Over the course of this study the Commission has heard from a number of witnesses who have suggested the need to strengthen the Chancellor’s Office of the California Community Colleges. Would changes to the authority and function of the Chancellor’s Office improve your office’s ability to partner with the community colleges? If so, how? 

We do not presume to know what changes are necessary to the authority and function of the Chancellor’s Office to improve the CDE’s ability to partner with the community colleges. However, we have agreed with the CCCCO to continue to work together to develop a more seamless delivery system that supports student successful transition to the community colleges.  

Coordination, collaborations and partnerships between adult schools and community colleges exist across the state in isolated efforts. Some of the best practices include formalized bridge programs, articulated course sequences, aligned career pathways, co-location and aligned assessments. However, these programs are independent of each other, and have not been taken to scale. Every adult school and every community college is autonomous. Each local effort is an independent partnership.  

Currently there is no mechanism to replicate best practices. For example, students leaving Adult Education could be better prepared for admission to the community college if there was a common assessment of college readiness. As it is, each college creates its own placement assessment and that differs from the assessment a student is given at the adult school. The lack of coordination at the state level makes it difficult to affect systemic change. 

What are the benefits of maintaining adult education programs in both the Adult Education and community college systems? Are there some categories of courses that are more appropriate for one system than the other? Is there a need to further clarify this delineation of service? 

Student demographics are different in each system. Forty percent of Adult Education students do not have a high school diploma, and 50 percent enter the system to improve their English skills. Approximately 186,000 students are enrolled in the high school diploma program in Adult Education. It is estimated that 15 percent of Adult Education students are annually prepared to enter the community college system. These students perform at the high levels of ASE and ESL basic skills in the CDE system.  

The CDE has used federal dollars through the years to build a strong infrastructure in terms of accountability, technology, and professional development through its core leadership projects. Historically the Adult Education infrastructure was built on serving students needing to improve their basic skills. Adult Education serves the lowest learners...those who speak little to no English. The accountability system, the Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment System (CASAS), technology, and professional development are keenly structured to serve those hardest to reach and to serve. 
The local adult schools have strong partnerships with K–12 districts. The ESL classes are held on school campuses and are filled with the parents of K–12 students who engage in their children’s learning while improving their own basic skills. Some programs provide literacy programs that focus on a child’s success in school. Learners whose primary goal was family-related cited increased involvement in their children’s education (21 percent) and children’s literacy (15 percent), and meeting a personal (55 percent) and family goal (48 percent). These learners also showed significant community-related outcomes. 

Another function of Adult Education is to provide remediation courses and credit recovery to high school students who are in jeopardy of graduating with their class. These programs are easily coordinated between adult schools and high schools. Annually, 75,000 high school students take a class from Adult Education. 

There is a need to align the courses and programs offered in Adult Education and at the community colleges and to create multiple access points to each system. Research shows that in states with a coordinated approach to educating adults, including clear articulated pathways and integrated course sequences, a student learns at an accelerated pace. For example, contextualized CTE and basic skill courses may be offered by two systems in the same classroom.  

Neither system has the capacity to meet the scale and diversity of need. Both systems are operating on reduced resources. The Adult Education system’s unique strengths include the physical location of hundreds of sites, the affordability of classes, the flexible enrollment strategies, the cultural competence of staff, and the recognized image of adult schools within a community as an “approachable” learning environment. 

How could the state better integrate the systems at the local level to ensure that students who take courses through Adult Education programs transition to a community college without repeating coursework? Are there some districts in California that are already doing this well? What are some of the challenges to improving articulation? 

Adult Education system has prioritized the transition of students into postsecondary education, training, and employment. The CDE collaborated with the National College Transition Network to offer a summit, training and ongoing professional development opportunities to local practitioners. The CDE recently received a technical assistance grant from the Office of Vocational and Adult Education to implement a Policy to Performance Initiative with ten local agencies. The focus of the program is to provide articulated services between the systems to promote successful transition to the community college.   

Jobs in the future will increasingly employ workers with education and training beyond the high school level. Postsecondary education can provide the skills needed for these jobs. There are examples throughout California where local programs have collaborated with the community colleges to ensure a seamless transition for students. The two examples illustrate articulated programs between adult schools and community colleges: 

• Successful transition programs were designed by local providers to support and mentor ESL students to allow them to transfer to credit community college courses or vocational certificate programs. Students enroll in a minimum of 12 units with at least three that are non-ESL courses. Each student is given a mentor who assists with enrollment and provides support. These mentors also expose the students to different opportunities for the future, such as scholarships and academic support resources 

• A local provider restructured its ABE program to focus on helping students set clear academic and professional goals, and to run a more effective and efficient transition program to accommodate budget reductions and decreased funding. The CASAS pretest scores are used as an entry requirement to take the ABE pathways class, and students are required to maintain at least a 90 percent attendance rate in the ABE pathways class. Most students are prepared to transition into a CTE program after 40–50 hours in the pathways class. 
Would there be value in consolidating some or all of the programs into a single adult education system? If so, what criteria should be considered? 

According to the indicators of need used in the CDE “Needs Assessment”, it is estimated that approximately 80 percent of the need for ABE, ASE and ESL is currently unmet. Adult Education and the community colleges need to be aligned and integrated, whether or not they are consolidated. Adult Education and the community colleges serve predominately different populations. The diversity and scale of this unmet need suggests that the systems leverage their respective strengths and core missions, particularly given budgetary constraints and related capacity issues. 
Locally, transitioning adult learners is key to keeping the commitment of adult basic education programs to the adult learners who have identified their long-term educational goal as entering postsecondary education. In 2009–10, 586,450 adult learners (75.5 percent) were in ABE, ASE, or ESL classes. Of these learners, 3.2 percent or 25,022, received either a high school diploma or general educational development certificate within the Adult Education WIA, Title II program. These learners are potential participants in postsecondary education and part of the pipeline of students ready to transition. 

There were also 5,893 adult learners with a goal of entering postsecondary education in 2009–10, with less than half achieving this goal (2,540). Zafft et al. reported in 2006, “While adults with GEDs or other nontraditional diplomas stand to benefit from postsecondary education, very few actually go on and those that do are rarely successful.”  

Finally, there is great value in coordinating and aligning services between the systems. An intended consequence of integration of the systems would be to reduce the amount and level of remediation taking place at the community college level and the California State University (CSU) system. The California State University's (CSU) assessment system found that, of first-time entering freshmen the CSUs in 2008, 47 percent still required some level of English remediation and 37.2 percent need math remediation; 27.1 percent of 2008–09 freshmen were not proficient in either English or mathematics. Estimates of the remedial need in the community colleges are higher, ranging from  70– 90 percent at some campuses. Students who are better prepared could complete degrees and certificates on a timelier and less costly basis. The Public Policy Institute of California projects that California will “under produce” college graduates and people with some level of postsecondary training to meet the growing workforce training demands. It is critical that both systems collaborate and coordinate to develop articulated pathways for all students at all literacy levels.