| Adult Schools Benefit Society |
5/23/03 1:02 PM |
| Author:
Mary Powers
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The proposed plan to consolidate all vocational, ROP and adult ed programs under the community college umbrella "to streamline what some perceive to be a duplicative system" will not serve students in adult education well. Although much of the public identifies three components of education (K-12, Community Colleges and University), Adult Education is the invisible partner, serving the needs of 1.5 million of the neediest Californians. It is important to understand that our students are too old to participate in the K-12 system, yet often do not have the skills to function effectively in the college and university systems and attain employment beyond the sustenance level.
Since first begun in 1856, California's Adult Schools have ministered to the needs of the target populations listed below that have often fallen between the cracks in the services provided by other systems:
§ Illiterates
§ Non-English speakers
§ High school dropouts
§ Learning disabled
§ Teenage mothers
§ Imprisoned
§ Elderly
§ Immigrants
§ Unemployed
§ Welfare recipients
§ Physically disabled . . . and more
By responding to the needs of these populations, society as a whole benefits. Our Parent Education Program and English as a Second Language Program provide two examples of Adult Education's direct benefit of and support for the work done by K-12 educators. The more the parents' level of education and involvement is enhanced, the greater the level of achievement of our K-12 children.
CC's should not be in the business of remediation or duplicating K-12 services. CC's serve college level; Adult Schools serve students functioning at 12th grade or lower in its ESL, literacy, high school diploma & GED classes. Significant numbers of students would not have received their high school diploma without K-12 Adult School support.
Please do not shut the door to access the services needed by these populations that already struggle disproportionately. Keep Adult Education as a priority player in the Master Plan!
Mary Powers
Santa Cruz Adult School
Assistant Principal and former 25-year teacher of Adult Ed
Posted as a reply to:
SB 823 - Adult Education by Charles Ratliff 
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