edsource - at risk: adult schools in california

7/31/2019 EdSource - At Risk: Adult Schools in California

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http://www.utla.net/system/files/agmt_june82012.pdfhttp://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/ae/po/cefadulted.asphttp://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/ae/po/cefadulted.asp


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E d S O u R c E R E P O R T

2 Passing When It CountsFebruary 2012 Copyright 2012 by EdSource, Inc.


2 At R isk: Adu lt Schools i n Ca lif orn iaJun e 2012

adult education centers to aract more unding and avoid overlapping pro-

grams. Te Lile Hoover Commission, an independent state oversight agency,

has proposed having community colleges take over all adult schools. Other sup-

porters o adult education are arguing that the state should reinstate categorical

unding or adult schools.

Survey Results

O the 30 largest districts surveyed by EdSource, only oneMontebello Uni-

edreported that its adult program has remained the same, and only one

Anaheim Union Highhas closed its school. wo districtsSan Francisco

Unied and Santa A na Uniedrely on their local community colleges to pro-

vide adult education programs. Another our districtsCorona-Norco Unied,

Kern Union High, San Diego Unied, and Stockton Uniedhave made only

minor cuts.

But the vast majority o districts surveyed report that their programs havedrastically shrunk.

One o the most dramatic cutbacks occurred in Oakland Unied, where

spending has declined rom $11.7 million at the beginning o the 200809 school

year to a projected $1 million or 201213.

Oaklands adult school rst opened in 1871. In 200809beore the district

diverted adult education unds to its K12 schoolsit was set to serve the most

students it had ever educated in its history, said Chris Nelson, Oaklands adult

and career education administrator.

Instead, Nelson has had to severely reduce programs and lay o sta. Teonce-robust adult school with a sta o about 300 has been reduced to about 15

ull-time and 15 part-time sta.

Tis year, Fontana Unied in San Bernardino County is spending only

$300,000 on adult education instead o the $1.6 million it used to allocate, which

among other changes has resulted in the consolidation o some classes.

Weve made a big, big change with ESL (English as a Second Language)

classes, said racie Zerpoli, director o career-technical and adult education

or Fontana Unied. In the past, the district oered dierent levels o classes,

specic to the students needs. Now Fontana is puing students at all dierentlevels o English prociency in the same class.

Its not as good or the students, Zerpoli said, but we thought it was beer

than nothing.

In 201011, San Juan Unied near Sacramento closed its Winterstein Adult

Center, one o the districts two centers open to all adult students. Te district

now oers only a ew classes at Sunrise ech Center. A third center, Orange

Grove Adult School, is still open to serve adults with disabilities.

METHODOLOGY

EdSource sent e-mail surveys in October

and November 2011 to the states 30

districts with largest enrollments. Follow-

up phone calls were made to verify infor-

mation and, in some cases, to interviewadult school principals or directors.

In the survey, EdSource asked districts

whether they had discontinued their

adult school, changed the program in

major ways, changed the program in

minor ways, or not changed the program

since 200708. Complete survey results

can be found in the Appendix on page

13 (the last page) of this report.

Adult schools have providedfree or low-cost classesin these 10 major categoriesas specied in state law

1 Adult Basic and Secondary Education

2 English as a Second Language (ESL)

3 Citizenship Preparation

4 Career-Technical Training

5 Apprenticeship

6 Adults with Disabilities

7 Parent Education

8 Older Adults

9 Health and Safety

10 Home Economics

Source: California Department of Education(CDE)Adult Educat ion Ha ndbook f orCalifornia, 5 Edition
http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/ae/ir/documents/aehandbook2005.pdfhttp://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/ae/ir/documents/aehandbook2005.pdfhttp://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/ae/ir/documents/aehandbook2005.pdfhttp://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/ae/ir/documents/aehandbook2005.pdfhttp://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/ae/ir/documents/aehandbook2005.pdfhttp://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/ae/ir/documents/aehandbook2005.pdf


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Every year its a struggle, said Paula arpenning, director o adult educa-

tion and school to career or San Juan. We have a strong, strong belie in adult

education in our district, but when you run out o money, you look at adult ed

as a place to cut.

Since 200708, Garden Grove Unied in Orange County has reduced its

program by about 70%, and Poway Unied near San Diego has cut its programby 60%. Capistrano Unied in Orange County has reduced its adult school bud

get by more than hal. San Bernardino City has shortened the adult school year

by eight weeks and eliminated enrichment classes such as recreation and arts

courses. Te district closed 10 sites where it oered classes, cut the work year o

classied employees, such as administrative assistants, by one month, and laid

o teaching sta or reduced their hours.

In San Jose, the Metropolitan Education Districts adult school had to close

two major campuses and 43 sites at local high schools and community centers

during the past ew years. Te adult school, established in 1870, has consolidatedits programs on only one campus, which it shares with a Regional Occupationa

Center (ROC), also part o MetroED. Te Central County Occupational Cen

ter, which is unded by several nearby school districts, provides career-technica

courses primarily or high school students, though it does serve some adults

MetroED adult school, originally unded by our districts, is now supported by

only one district, San Jose Unied, which has also reduced unding or adult

education. Tis year the adult school served about 2,500 students, but had to

turn away more than 5,000.

eachers worked in groups to decide how to prioritize which students toadmit, director Sylvia Karp said. For example, i students had been working on

their high school diploma and were close to graduating, those students would

be at the top o the priority list .

Carolina Romo, 28, was one o the chosen ew. She was considering enroll-

ing in a medical assistant program at a private school beore hearing about San

Joses MetroED. Te private schools were charging $25,000 to $30,000 or the

course compared with $1,500 at MetroED, she said.

I would have stayed at home and done nothing because there was no way

I could aord $30,000, Romo said, reecting on her decision to enroll inMetroED. Tis is a big, lie-changing opportunity or me.

When districts decide to cut back on adult education, the hardest hit pro

grams are ofen so-called enrichment classes or older adults, such as arts

recreation, or personal nance courses. Fontana and Oakland both eliminated

their older adult program, and Clovis Unied near Fresno reduced sta in that

program rom 30 teachers to six. Since 200708, Capistrano has reduced oer-

ings or older adults by 70%, and Fremont Unied in the San Francisco Bay

Area cut its program by 85%.

Carolina Romo, who is taking an adult school medical

assistants class, offers her arm so a fellow student can

practice drawing blood.


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Since 200708, classes that teach parents how to help their children succeed

in school have also been cut back in some districts, such as Oakland.

Sweetwater Union High School District near San Diego is cuing back on

health and saety classes.

Current legislation allows districts to use categorical unds or any educa-

tional purpose through 201415. Tereore, most districts have at least main-tained a skeleton adult education program so they will have an organization in

place or 201516 when categorical unds are restored.

But Gov. Jerry Brown is proposing that the exible unding approved by

the Legislature in February 2009 become permanent. I his proposal is imple-

mented, districts with skeleton programs, such as Oakland, might decide to

completely eliminate adult schools.

Te act that exibility might be permanent means we will start having di-

erent conversations, predicted Oaklands Nelson. Al l unding or adults would

likely be diverted to educating K12 students, he said.Yet more than 20% o Caliornias adults5.3 million peoplelack a high

school diploma or a GED. Hal o these adults have less than a 9th grade educa

tionmore than twice the national average.

According to the National Center or Education Statistics (NCES), nearly a

quarter o Caliornia adults areunctionally illiteratein English.

It is ar rom clear where adults like these, who typically rely on adult educa

tion, will go in its absence.

Adult education programs have ourished in California,but they are not found in every community

Caliornias rst adult evening school was opened in 1856 or Chinese immi

grants living in San Francisco. Classes were taught in the basement o Old St

Marys Cathedral.

Since then, adult education in Caliornia grew, serving 1.2 million students

per year in all o 2008. Tat year, the state allocated $773 million or adult

schools, more than the ederal government spent on adult education or the

entire country.

Te ederal government also supports adult education programs, primarilythrough itle II o the 1998 Workorce Investment Act (WIA), which is more gen

erally reerred to as the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act. Te act tar

gets adults who are low-income, disabled, single parents, displaced homemakers,

or have limited English prociency. It provides unding or English as a Second

Language (ESL) classes, adult basic and secondary education, and parenting and

citizenship classes. In 200809, Caliornia received about$81 million.

Districts that accept these ederal unds must show that students have made

progress by pre-testing them beore they start a program and then testing them

ma Contreras is taking classes to earn her high school diploma.
http://acceonline.org/resource/file111.pdfhttp://acceonline.org/resource/file111.pdfhttp://nces.ed.gov/naal/estimates/StateEstimates.aspxhttp://nces.ed.gov/naal/estimates/StateEstimates.aspxhttp://nces.ed.gov/naal/estimates/StateEstimates.aspxhttp://www.lhc.ca.gov/studies/activestudies/communitycollege/JUNE11Jones.pdfhttp://www.lhc.ca.gov/studies/activestudies/communitycollege/JUNE11Jones.pdfhttp://www.oldsaintmarys.org/http://www.oldsaintmarys.org/http://www.nationalskillscoalition.org/resources/reports/tpib/nsc_tpib_wia_titleii.pdfhttp://www.nationalskillscoalition.org/resources/reports/tpib/nsc_tpib_wia_titleii.pdfhttp://acceonline.org/resource/file111.pdfhttp://acceonline.org/resource/file111.pdfhttp://acceonline.org/resource/file111.pdfhttp://www.nationalskillscoalition.org/resources/reports/tpib/nsc_tpib_wia_titleii.pdfhttp://www.oldsaintmarys.org/http://www.oldsaintmarys.org/http://www.lhc.ca.gov/studies/activestudies/communitycollege/JUNE11Jones.pdfhttp://nces.ed.gov/naal/estimates/StateEstimates.aspxhttp://acceonline.org/resource/file111.pdf


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Loice Koster, an immigrant from Kenya, is studying reading,

writing, and math in an adult school class.

again at its conclusion. Funding or the next year is based on how well students

have progressed toward their goals. In the current school year, the ederal allo-

cation is expected to be about $88 million, according to the201112 Final Bud

get Summaryor Caliornia.

How much unding adult schools have received rom the state in 201112

is less clear. Because districts no longer have to report on how they used stateunds previously designated or adult schools, there is no way to know how much

o the $634 million in state unds that would have been earmarked or adult

education this school year are actually being spent on adult programs. Patrick

Ainsworth, assistant state superintendent o public instruction, has estimated

that only about hal o those unds are being spent on adults. Chris Nelson

who is also president o the Cali ornia Counsel or Adult Education, has esti-

mated that as a result o the decrease in unding, the number o adults served

has dropped by more than a third to about 700,000 students in 201112.

One o the vir tues o many adult education programs is that they are locatedin a school or community center. Adults with poor academic skills, who might

also speak lile English, are more likely to seek assistance rom a program that

is close to home and less intimidating than a college campus might be, adult

school educators say. Ofen these adults have two jobs or dont have access to

reliable transportation. For them to be able to aend, the classes need to be

within walk ing or biking distance or along a bus route.

Rural adult education programs are underfunded

Many communities in Caliornia, particularly those in rural areas, are withoutadult school programs, according to a January 2004 study by the Center or Cal-

iornia Studies, CSU Sacramento, Funding Adult Education: Does California Pu

the Money Where the Needs Are?

Te researchers ound that rural areas were shortchanged when it came to

state unding or adult education. Tose areas had higher unemployment rates

and a higher percentage o adults without a high school education, yet they

received ewer unds than urban areas with higher employment rates and a

more educated population.

Caliornia does not allocate unds geographically based on indicators ocurrent need, the report stated. Large urban counties are beer under the

states current allocation method.

Funding levels actuallydecrease as the unemployment rate and the share o

the population with less than a high school education rise.

Part o the reason or this disparity is that many o the urban programs

began when local communities made adult education a priority and imposed

local taxes to support an adult school. Afer Proposition 13 passed in 1978, the
http://www.documents.dgs.ca.gov/osp/GovernorsBudget/pdf/Governors_Budget_2011-2012.pdfhttp://www.documents.dgs.ca.gov/osp/GovernorsBudget/pdf/Governors_Budget_2011-2012.pdfhttp://www.documents.dgs.ca.gov/osp/GovernorsBudget/pdf/Governors_Budget_2011-2012.pdfhttp://www.documents.dgs.ca.gov/osp/GovernorsBudget/pdf/Governors_Budget_2011-2012.pdfhttp://www.lhc.ca.gov/studies/activestudies/communitycollege/JUNE11Jones.pdfhttp://www.csus.edu/ihelp/PDFs/R_Adult_Education_01-04.pdfhttp://www.csus.edu/ihelp/PDFs/R_Adult_Education_01-04.pdfhttp://www.csus.edu/ihelp/PDFs/R_Adult_Education_01-04.pdfhttp://www.csus.edu/ihelp/PDFs/R_Adult_Education_01-04.pdfhttp://www.csus.edu/ihelp/PDFs/R_Adult_Education_01-04.pdfhttp://www.lhc.ca.gov/studies/activestudies/communitycollege/JUNE11Jones.pdfhttp://www.documents.dgs.ca.gov/osp/GovernorsBudget/pdf/Governors_Budget_2011-2012.pdfhttp://www.documents.dgs.ca.gov/osp/GovernorsBudget/pdf/Governors_Budget_2011-2012.pdf


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E d S o u r c E r E P o r T


E d S o u r c E r E P o r T


state took over the school nance system and allocated adult education funds to

districts and community colleges that had previously supported local programs

Te California Department of Educations strategic plan for adult educa-

tion released in November 2011Linking Aduls o Opporuniycalls for

developing a new formula for distributing funds based on need that would

ensure greater access to adult education throughout the state. However, theplan does not explain how to fund new programs at the same time that existing

programs are being cut back.

Can adult education be saved?

Currently, adult schools are as much at-risk as many of the people they serve

Te wide array of programs they have traditionally oered, combined with

recent funding cutbacks, has contributed to an identity crisis in adult education

in the state.

In its May 2011 report, Gaeway o a Beter Fuure: Creaing a Basic SkillsSysem for California, the California Budget Project, a nonpartisan nonprot

recommended that adult education should focus primarily on teaching basic

skills in reading, writing, and math, along with English as a Second Language

instruction.

Te California Department of Educations strategic plan also proposes nar-

rowing adult educations focus, but not as dramatically as recommended by the

California Budget Projects report. In its strategic plan, the department pro

posed that adult education programs prepare students for college, career, and

civic responsibility. Tis would mean that adult schools would only have to oerclasses related to academic or career advancement or citizenship acquisition.

New strategies

Te rapid erosion of adult education programs has sparked some new strate-

gies to try to ensure their survival. Tree principal strategies are currently being

considered:

Creating regional adult education centers;

Having community colleges take over adult schools;

Reinstating categorical funding for adult schools.EdSource considers each of these proposed strategies in the following

section.

1. Regional centers

In its November 2011 report, the California Department of Education recom-

mended creating regional Academic and Career Education ransition (ACE)

centers to coordinate adult programs and resources at a regional level to aract

more funding and avoid duplication of services.

Jamie Hill practices taking blood in a medical assistants class.
http://acceonline.org/resource/file111.pdfhttp://www.cbp.org/pdfs/2011/110506_Basic_Skills_Gateway.pdfhttp://www.cbp.org/pdfs/2011/110506_Basic_Skills_Gateway.pdfhttp://www.cbp.org/pdfs/2011/110506_Basic_Skills_Gateway.pdfhttp://acceonline.org/resource/file111.pdfhttp://acceonline.org/resource/file111.pdfhttp://acceonline.org/resource/file111.pdfhttp://www.cbp.org/pdfs/2011/110506_Basic_Skills_Gateway.pdfhttp://www.cbp.org/pdfs/2011/110506_Basic_Skills_Gateway.pdfhttp://acceonline.org/resource/file111.pdf


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Tese centers would be expected to develop collaborative relationships with

community organizations, including colleges, high schools, andRegional Occu

pational Centers,which oer career-tech courses. Te ACE centers would pro-

vide support services, such as childcare, transportation help, and counseling or

adult school students. Te strategic plan leaves open the possibility that many

existing adult schools themselves could become ACE centers.Another goal o the plan is or these centers to promote best practices, such

as dual enrollment, whereby students earn community college credit while

aending an adult school, allowing them to transer to college more easily.

Te Caliornia Department o Educations strategic plan is being met with

skepticism by some adult education providers.

Kathy Brendzal, principal o Bell Gardens Adult School in Montebello Uni-

ed, said the plan has some positive aspects, but that she is skeptical that agen

cies will actually collaborate.

She is also concerned that services will end up too ar away rom the communities they are supposed to serve, and that the plan will create more bureaucracy

Another layer o administration? Brendzal said. Tat may not be eec

tive. But she does support the Caliornia Department o Educations proposal

to open ve pilot centers to see how the model works.

Debra Jones, dean o Career Education Practices in the Division o Work-

orce and Economic Development at the Caliornia Community Colleges Chan-

cellors Oce, helped draf the regional center proposal when she was working

at the Cali ornia Department o Education.

Te plans intention, Jones said, was to use some existing adult schools asregional centers and rely on current adult school educators to implement the

programs. But, she said, all the details werent eshed out.

Some adult education providers complain that the plan is too vague about

how unding levels would be established and how the unds would be distrib-

uted. Because many districts have already spent their adult education unds on

K12 needs, and many areas o the state have never had adult education pro-

grams, they wonder how the state could nd enough unds to support both old

and new programs.

Im still leery o the plan because there are so many unknowns in how it isgoing to be implemented, said Ramon Leyba, director o adult education at

Sweetwater Union High School District. But with [Gov.] Jerry Browns new

budget proposalthat districts can do whatever they want with adult educa-

tion undingthis plan might be the only way to survive.

Even i the details o unding have not been worked out, Jones said that

thinking regionally makes sense.

Anita Bejarano (left ) practice s giving a shot to Rebecca Del

Biaggio in an adult school medical assistants class.
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Funding or individual adult schools has less o a chance o surviving,

she said. Teres strength in collaboration. I we do nothing, adult schools will

cease to exist.

Santiago Jackson, ormer assistant superintendent or adult and career educa

tion at Los Angeles Unied School District (and an EdSource board member),

suggested other ways that a regional approach could be implemented. Adultschools could be run jointly by adjacent school districts, possibly in collabora-

tion with the local county oce o education, similar to how Regional Occupa

tional Centers are organized, he said.

Te Caliornia Department o Education is currently reviewing public com

ments submied on the strategic plan. By early summer, the department hopes

to rame steps to move orward with the plan, according to Patricia erry,

administrator o the states Adult Education Oce.

2. Community college takeoverCommunity colleges currently operate about 25% o adult school programs in

the state. Tese are typically courses that do not earn college credit.

Afer conducting a series o hearings, theLile Hoover Commission recom

mended that community colleges take charge o all adult education in Caliornia

Te commission noted that community college adult school programs, which do

not rely on categorical unding, are relatively intact compared with many adult

programs run by school districts.

More specically, the commission recommended that adult basic sk ills edu

cationincluding helping adults learn English and math and obtain a highschool diploma or GEDshould be one o the primary missions o the com-

munity colleges.

Leslie Smith, associate vice chancellor o Governmental Relations at City

College o San Francisco, agreed with the commissions ndings.

Te K12 system cant ocus on adults, she argued. Te community col-

leges have the capacity and the wil l to take over adult schools, she said, but need

more unding to implement such programs statewide.

Tose in avor o keeping adult schools in community colleges say it is easier

or students to transition to or-credit courses and earn a skills certicate or anassociate degree i they are already connected to a college.

City College o San Francisco is considered by many to be a model program

because o its community outreach eorts, oering classes to adults in a variety

o locations throughout the community, not just on the college campus.

Currently 50,000 students at City College are participating in noncredit adult

school programs. Tese classes are oered at 150 dierent locations, including

eight major campuses throughout the city.

Edmund Kitchenmaster works on a framing project in a

carpentry class at a Regional Occupational Center.
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But unlike City College, many community colleges oer adult school classes

primarily on their campuses, making them less accessible to many adults who

may need help with basic skills. Ofen the classes also have higher ees than

school districtrun adult schools.

Santiago Jackson said that the beauty o adult ed is that it is community-

based. A good community college program can do the same thing, he said, butor most community colleges, running multiple o-campus adult school pro-

grams would be an extra responsibility that would be dicult to implement

particularly in the current climate o budget cutbacks.

3. Reinstate categorical funding for adult schools

Assembly Bill 18introduced by Assemblymember Julia Brownley, D-Santa

Monica, and currently being considered in the Senate Education Commiee

would extend the elimination o separate categorical unds or numerous schoo

programs. But it notably recommends keeping categorical unds or adultschools.

Tis contrasts withGov. Jerry Browns budget reorm proposal, which calls

or the permanent elimination o categorical unding or adult schools.

Paul Hay, superintendent o San Joses MetroED, said i the governors plan

is approved, adult education is dead, gone, over, and will never come back in

the state.

Ramon Leyba rom Sweetwater is also pessimist ic. When it comes to educa

tion unding, he said, adult education gets less political support than unding

or K12 schools, community colleges, and universities.Our clientele are the neediest in the community, but they have the least

clout, he said.

But Dawn Koepke, a legislative advocate or theCaliornia Council or Adult

Education and the Caliornia Adult Education Administrators Association, is

hopeul that categorical unding will be reinstated. Adult education is starting

to gain support among legislators who understand that the situation is really

dire, she said.

Adult education should be dierentiated rom the rest o K12 programs,

she said. Its a dierent population entirely and should be treated dierently.Te organizations she represents support Brownleys eorts to retain separate

categorical unding or adult schools.

Te December 2011 Caliornia Community Colleges Student Success ask

Force report also expressed concern about giving districts exibility in how

they spend adult school unds. Te report stated:

Failure to address the basic skills needs o the state will have lasting impacts

on hundreds o thousands o Caliornians as well as the states economy and social

climate. Te Governor and Legislature should re-examine the implementation

Paul Hay is the superintendent of the Metropolitan Education

District in San Jose.
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/postquery?bill_number=ab_18&sess=CUR&house=A&author=brownleyhttp://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/postquery?bill_number=ab_18&sess=CUR&house=A&author=brownleyhttp://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/postquery?bill_number=ab_18&sess=CUR&house=A&author=brownleyhttp://www.jerrybrown.org/sites/default/files/Education%20Plan_0.pdfhttp://www.jerrybrown.org/sites/default/files/Education%20Plan_0.pdfhttp://www.ccaestate.org/http://www.ccaestate.org/http://www.ccaestate.org/http://www.ccaestate.org/http://www.caeaa.org/http://www.caeaa.org/http://californiacommunitycolleges.cccco.edu/Portals/0/StudentSuccessTaskForce/SSTF_FinalReport_Web_010312.pdfhttp://californiacommunitycolleges.cccco.edu/Portals/0/StudentSuccessTaskForce/SSTF_FinalReport_Web_010312.pdfhttp://californiacommunitycolleges.cccco.edu/Portals/0/StudentSuccessTaskForce/SSTF_FinalReport_Web_010312.pdfhttp://californiacommunitycolleges.cccco.edu/Portals/0/StudentSuccessTaskForce/SSTF_FinalReport_Web_010312.pdfhttp://californiacommunitycolleges.cccco.edu/Portals/0/StudentSuccessTaskForce/SSTF_FinalReport_Web_010312.pdfhttp://www.caeaa.org/http://www.ccaestate.org/http://www.ccaestate.org/http://www.jerrybrown.org/sites/default/files/Education%20Plan_0.pdfhttp://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/postquery?bill_number=ab_18&sess=CUR&house=A&author=brownley


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o K12 budgetary exibility or adult education unds, and the resulting redirec-

tion o unds intended to support those programs, to determine i this practice is

consistent with Caliornias social and economic needs.

Te Caliornia Budget Project report also supported restoring dedicated

unding to adult education, but only i those dollars were tied to outcomes such

as students actually earning a GED or high school diploma, passing an Englishliteracy test, or obtaining a job. Te report noted that many students in basic

skills classes make minimal or no progress.

Te Caliornia Budget Project supports the ederal approach to allocating

adult education unds. As noted earlier, the ederal government determines how

much unding it will give to an adult school based on the success o the previous

years students in reaching their goals.

Conclusion

Grassroots support to keep adult education programs has been growing. Dur-ing a two-week period at the beginning o February, more than 220,000 people

signed petitions in support o keeping adult school programs and sta when Los

Angeles Unied Superintendent John Deasy proposed severely cuing or elimi-

nating the program under a worst-case budget scenario. On theSave Adult Ed

website created to support this eort, ormer adult education students wrote

about why the program was important to them.

I support adult education and West Valley Occupational Center because I

was able to get training in air conditioning and heating and get my own busi-

ness, said Victor Rosales in a commentposted on Jan. 26, 2012. Now I have aproession, and I am an entrepreneur. Tis was a lie-changing experience or

me and my amily, and I would like all adults in our community who want to

study to be able to have the same opportunity I had.

In a smaller but eective eort, Janel Escobar, who earned her high school

diploma at Fontana Unieds adult program, led a petition drive to keep Fon-

tana Adult School open afer the school board voted to close it. She and other

students got 1,473 people in one week to sign a petition in support o the school.

Escobar created a Facebook page to spread the word and a phone tree to get

people to come to meetings. About 30 students came with signs to the schoolboard meeting when board members reversed their decision and agreed to keep

the adult program, though not without some cuts.

What spurred Escobar to go back to school was the birth o her daughter. She

wanted to be a role model, she said, and teach her daughter to value education.

I chose adult ed because I knew there were a lot o people there like me, she

said. I elt like I could relate more to those students than people in community

college. Now that she has gained condence through the program, she is con-

tinuing her education by taking online college courses in marketing.

Carolina Romo (left) gets a demonstration on drawing blood

from classmate Vanessa De Lucca in an adult school class.
http://www.cbp.org/pdfs/2011/110506_Basic_Skills_Gateway.pdfhttp://www.cbp.org/pdfs/2011/110506_Basic_Skills_Gateway.pdfhttp://saveadulted.wordpress.com/http://saveadulted.wordpress.com/http://saveadulted.wordpress.com/http://saveadulted.wordpress.com/http://saveadulted.wordpress.com/petition/http://saveadulted.wordpress.com/petition/http://saveadulted.wordpress.com/petition/http://saveadulted.wordpress.com/http://saveadulted.wordpress.com/http://www.cbp.org/pdfs/2011/110506_Basic_Skills_Gateway.pdf


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I districts eliminate adult education, they are prey much giving up on

their own citizens, Escobar said.

Amid the turmoil, some adult school directors are retooling their programs

to make them more sustainable.

Clovis Unied is aempting to make its program more sel-sucient by rais

ing ees a small amount or career-tech courses, which cost substantially moreat nearby private colleges. Te district is ocusing on the programs where people

have a good chance o nding a job when they graduate.

For example, Clovis Adult School raised its ees or the licensed vocational

nurses program rom $4,500 to $6,000. Tis compares with about $33,000 or a

similar program at nearby private colleges, said Kevin Cookingham, the adult

schools principal.

Cookingham said he thought it was air to raise ees to sustain the program.

Are we going to sit here and beg or money rom the state, or are we going to

be entrepreneurial?At Corona-Norco Unied in Riverside County, adult school director JoDee

Guerard hopes to bring in more revenue by improving the academic outcomes

in programs that are supported with ederal unds. Te more students who suc

cessully complete those programs, such as the GED or citizenship classes, the

more money the school receives rom the ederal government under the ederal

Workorce Investment Act. Te school is also eliminating some career-tech pro

grams, such as medical assistant training and accounting classes, reerring inter

ested students to nearby adult schools that oer the same or similar programs.

In addition, Guerard is combining skills instruction in dierent subject areasinto a single class. For example, some English as a Second Language classes now

also ocus on job preparationhow to write a rsum, look or jobs, and pre-

pare or a job interviewrather than having students take separate ESL and

job-preparation classes.

Guerard is also meeting with representatives rom the nearby community

college, Norco College, to discuss how best to serve students who lack basic

skills, including ways to streamline courses oered by both institutions and

eliminate overlap between the institutions.

Other adult school directors who are still running viable programs are alsotrying to nd ways to do more with less, such as partnering with community

colleges, raising ees, or combining courses, Guerard said.

My perspective is that adult education is already reinventing itsel in Cali-

ornia, she said.

Te next ew months will shape the uture o adult education in Caliornia in

proound ways. Te Legislative Analysts Oceis expected to issue its recom-

mendations regarding adult education. Te Caliornia Department o Educa-

tion will provide more details on how to implement the regional approach it is

Jesus Lupian works on a framing project in his carpentry class

at a Regional Occupational Center.
http://www.lao.ca.gov/http://www.lao.ca.gov/http://www.lao.ca.gov/


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520 San Antonio Rd, Suite 200, Mountain View, CA 94040-1217 650/917-9481 Fax: 65 0/917-9482 [email protected]

www.edsource.org www.ed-data.org

Copyright 2012 by EdSource, Inc. Reprints permied with credit to EdSource. To download this document, go t o: www.edsource.or


EdSource thanksthe S.D. Bechtel,

Jr. Foundation, Reed Hastings, The

James Irvine Foundation, The Dirk

and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation,

and the Stuart Foundation for sup-

porting our work, including this report.

This report was researched

and written by:

Susan Frey

Edited by:

Louis Freedberg

EdSource is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3)

organization established in California

in 1977.

Independent and impartial, EdSource

strives to advance the common good

by developing and widely distribut-ing trustworthy, useful information

that engages Californians on key

education challenges and promotes

thoughtful decisions about Califor-

nias public education system.

proposing. As part o ongoing budget negotiations, the Legislature and Gov

Brown will be called on to decide whether to restore dedicated categorical

unds or adult programs or leave it up to each school district whether to keep

them going.

From an economic development point o view as a state, we have to con-

ront this issue, said Patrick Ainsworth, assistant state superintendent o publicinstruction, in testimony beore the Lile Hoover Commission. Were aced

with this gigantic problem o a huge underclass in our state who previously had

the commitment rom our state to provide them a second chance. Are we or are

we not going to give people a leg up and give them a productive uture?

To Learn More

California Department of Education

Linking Adults to Opportunity: Transformation of the California Department of Education AdultEducation Program,the California Department of Educations strategic plan, November 2011.

Adult Education website.

Little Hoover Commission

Serving Students, Serving California: Updating the California Community Colleges to Meet

Evolving Demands, Little Hoover Commissions overall report on community colleges

February 2012.

Little Hoover CommissionsExecutive Summary regarding adult education. 2011.

Written testimony of Patrick Ainsworth, assistant state superintendent of public instruction

and director of Secondary, Career, and Adult Learning Division, and Debra Jones, then-

administrator, Adult Education Office, California Department of Education, at the Little

Hoover Commission hearing on June 23, 2011.

Other Reports

Advancing Student Success in California Community Colleges,California Community Colleges

Student Success Task Force, January 2012.

Educational Opportunities for Adults in California,California Research Bureau, February 2004.

Funding Adult Education: Does California Put the Money Where the Needs Are? Center for

California Studies, CSU Sacramento, January 2004.

Gateway to a Better Future: Creating a Basic Skills System for California,California Budget

Project, May 2011.

Somethings Got to Give: California cant improve college completions without rethinking

developmental education at its community colleges,EdSource, October 2010.

Training Policy in Brief: Workforce Investment Act, Title II,National Skills Coalition, February 2011.

Adult Education Organizations

California Adult Education Administrators Association.

California Council for Adult Education.

Front cover photos(left to right): 1. Jamie Hill practices taking

blood in a medical assistants class. 2. Carlos Herrera, an

immigrant from Colombia, is in an adult school English as a

Second Language class. 3. Edmund Kitchenmaster is

taking carpentry classes at a Regional Occupational Center.

4.Veronica Silva is a s tudent in an adult school medical

assistant s class.

All photos are by Neil Hanshaw. They were taken at the

Metropolitan Education District in San Jose.
http://acceonline.org/resource/file111.pdfhttp://acceonline.org/resource/file111.pdfhttp://acceonline.org/resource/file111.pdfhttp://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/ae/http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/ae/http://www.lhc.ca.gov/studies/210/report210.htmlhttp://www.lhc.ca.gov/studies/210/report210.htmlhttp://www.lhc.ca.gov/studies/210/report210.htmlhttp://www.lhc.ca.gov/studies/210/Executive%20Summary.pdfhttp://www.lhc.ca.gov/studies/210/Executive%20Summary.pdfhttp://www.lhc.ca.gov/studies/210/Executive%20Summary.pdfhttp://www.lhc.ca.gov/studies/activestudies/communitycollege/JUNE11Jones.pdfhttp://www.lhc.ca.gov/studies/activestudies/communitycollege/JUNE11Jones.pdfhttp://californiacommunitycolleges.cccco.edu/Portals/0/StudentSuccessTaskForce/SSTF_FinalReport_Web_010312.pdfhttp://californiacommunitycolleges.cccco.edu/Portals/0/StudentSuccessTaskForce/SSTF_FinalReport_Web_010312.pdfhttp://www.library.ca.gov/crb/04/04/04-004.pdfhttp://www.library.ca.gov/crb/04/04/04-004.pdfhttp://www.csus.edu/ihelp/PDFs/R_Adult_Education_01-04.pdfhttp://www.csus.edu/ihelp/PDFs/R_Adult_Education_01-04.pdfhttp://www.cbp.org/pdfs/2011/110506_Basic_Skills_Gateway.pdfhttp://www.cbp.org/pdfs/2011/110506_Basic_Skills_Gateway.pdfhttp://www.edsource.org/pub10-somethings-got-to-give.htmlhttp://www.edsource.org/pub10-somethings-got-to-give.htmlhttp://www.edsource.org/pub10-somethings-got-to-give.htmlhttp://www.nationalskillscoalition.org/resources/reports/tpib/nsc_tpib_wia_titleii.pdfhttp://www.nationalskillscoalition.org/resources/reports/tpib/nsc_tpib_wia_titleii.pdfhttp://www.caeaa.org/http://www.caeaa.org/http://www.ccaestate.org/http://www.lhc.ca.gov/studies/activestudies/communitycollege/JUNE11Jones.pdfhttp://www.ccaestate.org/http://www.caeaa.org/http://www.nationalskillscoalition.org/resources/reports/tpib/nsc_tpib_wia_titleii.pdfhttp://www.edsource.org/pub10-somethings-got-to-give.htmlhttp://www.edsource.org/pub10-somethings-got-to-give.htmlhttp://www.cbp.org/pdfs/2011/110506_Basic_Skills_Gateway.pdfhttp://www.csus.edu/ihelp/PDFs/R_Adult_Education_01-04.pdfhttp://www.library.ca.gov/crb/04/04/04-004.pdfhttp://californiacommunitycolleges.cccco.edu/Portals/0/StudentSuccessTaskForce/SSTF_FinalReport_Web_010312.pdfhttp://www.lhc.ca.gov/studies/210/Executive%20Summary.pdfhttp://www.lhc.ca.gov/studies/210/report210.htmlhttp://www.lhc.ca.gov/studies/210/report210.htmlhttp://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/ae/http://acceonline.org/resource/file111.pdfhttp://acceonline.org/resource/file111.pdf


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E d S O u R c E R E P O R TE d S O u R c E R E P O R T

* San Diego Unied has a small adult school for its students who have not earned thei

high school diploma. But most adult education programs are handled by the San Diego

Community College District.

** Community colleges run adult schools in these districts.

Major Cuts

Ended Program in 2010-11

Minor Cuts

No Change

No Program

Adult Education Program Cutbacks 201112

APPENDIX

Cuts in ProgramDistrict

Anaheim Union High

Capistrano

Chino Valley

Clovis

Corona-Norco

San Bernardino City

San Diego*

San Francisco**

San Jose

San Juan

Santa Ana**

Stockton

Sweetwater Union HighTwin Rivers

Elk Grove

Fontana

Fremont

Fresno

Garden Grove

Kern Union High

Long Beach

Los Angeles

Montebello

Moreno Valley

Mt. Diablo

Oakland

Poway

Riverside

Sacramento City

Saddleback Valley

Data: District officials responses to EdSource survey, EdSource 4/October-November ; district adult educationdirectors, NovemberFebruary

EdSources October-November 2011

survey of Californias 30 largest

districts asked whether they had dis-

continued their adult school, changed

the program in major ways, changed

the program in minor ways, or not

changed the program since 200708.

edsource - at risk: adult schools in california

Documents