Public Education 2020

Posted below is a comment from Hardy Frye in response to this article in EdSource:

There appears to be a moral righteousness attached to those convinced that we can and should open schools safely within 4-6 weeks. This is based on the irreplaceable connections with teachers and the academic and social interactions they provide in those classrooms to support student learning and growth. It is very uplifting that the status of the classroom teacher is recognized for what it is – teachers are worth their weight in gold and invaluable to our society. Hopefully moving on, that status will be operationalized in ways that support the profession!  No one can challenge the urgent need for students to be in school with their teachers and staff wanting intact schools!

However, it is also a moral imperative to be honest about the conditions we are confronting and the need to keep students and adults safe.  In classrooms, 5 minutes can feel like a lifetime- there is so much going on all the time.  Unlike visiting a doctor and getting a haircut, which are static environments, classrooms and schools are highly interactive environments and yet, folks who should know better, talk about them as if they are not.  What seems to have risen to the surface are very vocal advocates of starting the year with in-person instruction with groups of individuals even though it has not been determined safe to visit a salon or meet 1:1 with a physician.  

I am not even going to get into the lack of supplies, lack of national guarantees that any and all staff who contract the virus will not lose salary, the lack of personnel, poor air quality, on and on, because, we can all add to that list of concerns.  Also, consider the trauma caused by having to close a school because of staff or students getting sick; that includes personal and organizational trauma. I very rarely hear that even mentioned.

The bottom line must be safety. Politics, rhetoric and wishful thinking have no place in any decisions about how and when we safely open our schools. Admittedly, our country, unlike many others,  has no collective experience or context for experiencing this type of duress and that may account for our inability to halt the spread and generate unsound conclusions. This virus presents a challenge to our resilience, integrity and commitment to each other. This is a test of how honest do we dare to be.

Until safety thresholds are met, when doctors can see patients, for example, we need to focus on improving internet access, strengthening online learning strategies and family supports while we keep our students, our school staff and our communities safe. Yes, safe from strokes, from neurological, respiratory, other physical and emotional disabilities and even death.  

This is written with deep acknowledgement to those who have lost loved ones, those who are sick and for the safety of our school communities.

CCAE ~ Legislative Update (August 2017)

What's Next? Renewed Advocacy More Critical than Ever!   Heading into year three of the Adult Education Block Grant (AEBG), adult schools and community colleges continue to make strides in collaborating and serving adult students in need for basic skills, ESL, citizenship, short term career training, and more.  Unfortunately, however, that great work and the vital role adult schools play in the dual delivery system that is AEBG is not being sufficiently conveyed to the Legislature at the local level.  As such, it would seem that adult education is again slowly sinking back in to the background to be the best kept secret again in education.  This is problematic on many levels - particularly at a time when funding for adult schools is almost exclusively coming via AEBG and the resources aren't matching the needs in regions across the state.  The policy-makers need to know about K-12 adult education and the unique population we serve.   Further, as a result of the disconnected data and accountability systems between adult schools and our community college partners, three years in to AEBG we are having difficulty proving our successes.  The inability to document our success and account for the over $1.5 billion over the last few years is resulting in mounting tension in the Capitol at a time when the Legislature should be scrambling to further invest in the adult education system under AEBG.  Despite statewide adult education advocacy efforts this budget cycle, adult education was the only system that did not receive some semblance of a funding increase or COLA.  This is highly concerning, particularly as we see the needs increasing statewide, immigrant communities desperately in search of safe environments to access training, homelessness skyrocketing, and sectors like healthcare in desperate search of adults who have skill sets provided for as part of adult education's short-term career programming.  Support for adult education and AEBG should be a slam dunk and seen as a cost-effective, successful avenue by which to take advantage of pathways and opportunities to move adults in to postsecondary education and the workforce.  Instead, tensions are mounting and we're feeling like we are back on the brink of tough times.     The good news - it's early and we're ramping up our advocacy efforts for the next year and budget cycle!  However, we cannot do it alone - we need you!   As we've discussed many times, success can be viewed in the context of a three legged stool - where grassroots advocacy, political engagement and lobbying come together is where success is found.  Over the past couple of months, the leadership of CCAE and CAEAA have put together an advocacy plan for FY 17-18 that will help promote adult education and specifically adult schools, paving the pathway for further investment in AEBG and better solidifying the critical dual delivery system that provides numerous on-ramps for adult students looking for pathways to postsecondary education and the workforce.  The plan (here) is comprehensive - utilizing strategies that touch each leg of the stool to help ensure success.  It will be a multi-faceted effort that will consist of state-based activities and those you will undertake at the local level.  While I can appreciate how much you all have on your plate already, but the lack of visibility is a problem which could mean disaster for adult education if left to fester unaddressed.  In this regard, your efforts at the local level will be a critical component of the success we all hope to achieve in the FY 18-19 budget cycle that will hopefully entail increased resources and a stronger AEBG dual delivery system.   So, what should you be doing now?    First, all adult schools should revise/create a fact sheet (one-page, back and front is okay) that provides an overview of your adult school, programs offered, students served, career pathway information, partnerships, regional consortium identification, etc.  This needs to be completed by mid-September in preparation for state and local advocacy this fall.  Upon completion, each adult school should send a copy to CCAE and CAEAA and prepare to include it in future packets for local grassroots advocacy efforts.  See attached sample fact sheet, but feel free to develop something different that better suits your adult school.   Second, as we begin a new school year all adult schools should maintain some semblance of a list and/or headcount (can be informal) of students seeking services, but who were turned away due to capacity challenges as well as any information you may have about where/if they go somewhere else.  Certainly the Annual Plans to be turned in this month will contain these data about unmet need and it is critical this information be highlighted in our advocacy as well.  We've spoken at length the last couple of years about the fact that the current AEBG funding isn't sufficient to serve the needs; however, to date this has been merely anecdote.  Sure, we have population data and demographics that help speak to the needs not being served, but we need better information regarding who actually comes to the door but is turned away due to a lack of capacity.  If you are in an adult school that has spent your AEBG allocation and is turning away students because you cannot expand your capacity, your rough data on students turned away is critically important to receive.    Additionally as you know, this year we attempted to obtain a COLA to provide some meager funding cushion for adult schools whose costs have increased but AEBG allocation has not.  We fully understand the rising costs will ultimately impact access and capacity at adult schools who may have - and some who already have - to ultimately cut classes in order to remain within budget.  Unfortunately, we've been chastised for asking for more resources when not all consortia have spent the allocation they've received.  In this regard, we ask that you provide insight to CCAE and CAEAA about whether you've spent all of your AEBG allocation to date and why you've not if that is the case.  Additionally, we need to know if you and those in your consortia have not spent the allocated AEBG resources, do you have a plan to spend it down in this budget year?  Although each consortium reports what they have not spent, we need to know more specifically about what K-12 adult schools are doing and what they might need.  Without being able to better understand what is really happening in the field and why some consortia and/or members are not spending their allocation, we cannot adequately respond to the criticism so as to help those who are spending their allocations to maximize access and programming for as many students as possible.    Finally, in the next two months, we ask that you do the following simple things:   -       All students, classified staff, teachers and administrators sign up for their local elected Senator's and Assemblymember's electronic newsletter.  You merely go to the following site http://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov/, enter your home address, click on the members' links and sign up for their newsletters on their websites.  These newsletters will provide information about what is going on in the district, including office and sidewalk hours when anyone from their district is welcome to drop in to say hello and get to know the member. -       Identify and collect logos and names of your key partners (i.e. Board of Supervisors, school board members, community based organizations, workforce development boards, etc.).  Include the list in an attachment to your adult school fact sheet and have them handy to use in upcoming letters, grassroots advocacy, etc. -       If you meet with your elected officials, please let CCAE and CAEAA know by including the meeting and conversation information in the CCAE app under that legislator's tab.    If all adult schools tackled these few items in the next two months, we would be well on our way to the next steps in our advocacy plan.  Your engagement and support is critical to paving the path forward for adult education to be a key component in the FY 18-19 budget next budget cycle.    We hope you are up to the task of being a critical partner in this effort.  Ultimately, this is all focused on placing additional pressure to further support adult education in the Governor's January 2018 roll-out of the FY 18-19 budget package.  Later this fall, we'll be coming back to you with talking points, specific member meet-and-greet details, PR activities, letter writing campaigns, and much more.  Thank you in advance for your engagement - strength in numbers!!!

Call to Action for Public Education Advocates: Oppose House Bill 610

Betsy Devos has begun her catastrophic destruction of public schools.

Please call your US House Representative now and ask them to vote NO on House Bill 610 the Choices in Education Act. This bill will effectively start the defunding process of public schools, in hand with eliminating student rights and programs that address poverty, etc. It also takes away nutritional standards for school lunches.

The bill will eliminate the Elementary and Education Act of 1965, which is the nation's educational law and provides equal opportunity in education. ESSA is a big comprehensive program that covers programs for struggling learners, AP classes, ESL programs, programs for students of color including Native Americans; as well as Rural Education, Education for Students who are Homeless, School Safety (Gun-Free schools), Monitoring and Compliance and Federal Accountability for these and other Programs. The bill also abolishes the Nutritional Act of 2012 (No Hungry Kids Act) which provides nutritional standards and funding to states for in-school breakfast and lunch.
Some things ESSA does for Children with Disabilities:
-Ensures access to the general education curriculum
-Ensures access to needed accommodations ( e.g. larger print, additional time) on assessments
-Ensures use of principles of "Universal Design for Learning" in materials and instruction so that all have curriculum access and ability to learn
-Includes provisions that require school districts to use research-based instruction and curriculum in schools, especially with students who represent groups that have been consistently “underperforming" or underachieving.
-ESSA also requires that states write Title I (ESSA granted federal funds to assist students and schools in poverty) plans to address how they will improve conditions for learning including: reducing incidents of bullying and harassment in schools, reducing overuse of punitive discipline practices and reducing the use of aversive behavioral interventions (such as restraints and seclusion).
All of this goes away if ESSA does.

The bill also repeals the nutritional standards for school breakfast and lunches that include providing fruit, low fat milk, less fats, more whole grains, etc.

If you want to make calls but are nervous or unsure about what to say on the phone (for this or for any other issue,) you can always keep it simple and just state your name, your zip code, and then say "I am calling to oppose/support _________." In this case: "I'm calling to oppose House Bill 610, The Choices in Education Act, introduced in the house."

Click HERE for your U.S. REPRESENTATIVE's phone number.

CALL TO ACTION! Request more funding for Adult Ed!

The governor is now in the process of constructing the budget for 2017-2018, and he needs to hear from Californians that adult schools must be more adequately funded.  Please write to Governor Brown and ask him to increase consortia funding  to at least  the 2008 level of $750 million.  It won’t be enough, but it will be a start.  Please contact your state legislators too, and let them know this is important to you.  They will need to approve the governor’s budget by June.

The governor’s budget comes out in mid-January.  It will be revised in May, and the legislature has to approve it in June.

Here is Governor Brown’s address:

Mailing address:

Governor Jerry Brown

c/o State Capitol, Suite 1173

Sacramento, CA 95814

Phone: (916) 445-2841

Fax: (916) 558-3160

You can also email him from here:

https://govnews.gov.ca.gov/gov39mail/mail.php

     

Thank you for all that you’ve done and continue to do to support adult education in California.  Your effort to secure adequate funding, in combination with the effort of others, has tremendous weight.  This is how positive change happens --

when we speak up together for something of value to all.             

Links providing more information:

• How California's Adult Schools Could Still Wither Away
• We Need to Serve 5 Million
• Adult Education Matters Blog
• A4CAS.org (Like us on Facebook)

A Message from Senate President pro Tempore Kevin de León and California Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon

FROM CALIFORNIA LEGISLATIVE LEADERS

SACRAMENTO – California Senate President pro Tempore Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) and California Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) released the following statement on the results of the President election:

Today, we woke up feeling like strangers in a foreign land, because yesterday Americans expressed their views on a pluralistic and democratic society that are clearly inconsistent with the values of the people of California.

We have never been more proud to be Californians.

By a margin in the millions, Californians overwhelmingly rejected politics fueled by resentment, bigotry, and misogyny.

The largest state of the union and the strongest driver of our nation’s economy has shown it has its surest conscience as well.

California is – and must always be – a refuge of justice and opportunity for people of all walks, talks, ages and aspirations – regardless of how you look, where you live, what language you speak, or who you love.

California has long set an example for other states to follow. And California will defend its people and our progress. We are not going to allow one election to reverse generations of progress at the height of our historic diversity, scientific advancement, economic output, and sense of global responsibility.

We will be reaching out to federal, state and local officials to evaluate how a Trump Presidency will potentially impact federal funding of ongoing state programs, job-creating investments reliant on foreign trade, and federal enforcement of laws affecting the rights of people living in our state. We will maximize the time during the presidential transition to defend our accomplishments using every tool at our disposal.

While Donald Trump may have won the presidency, he hasn’t changed our values. America is greater than any one man or party. We will not be dragged back into the past. We will lead the resistance to any effort that would shred our social fabric or our Constitution.

California was not a part of this nation when its history began, but we are clearly now the keeper of its future.

Statement from California Legislative Leaders Pro Tem Senator De Leon and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon:

Hoy despertamos sintiéndonos extranjeros en tierra extraña, porque ayer los estadounidenses expresaron sus opiniones sobre una sociedad pluralista y democrática que es claramente inconsistente con los valores de la gente de California.

Nunca nos hemos sentido más orgullosos de ser Californianos.

Por un margen de millones de votos, los californianos rechazaron abrumadoramente la política alimentada por el resentimiento, la intolerancia y la misoginia.

El estado más grande de la unión y la locomotora de la economía de nuestra nación ha demostrado que también tiene su conciencia más tranquila.

California es - y debe ser siempre - un refugio de justicia y oportunidades para las personas de todos los orígenes, lenguas, edades, y aspiraciones - independientemente de su apariencia, dónde vivan, qué idioma hablen, o a quiénes amen.

California, por mucho tiempo, ha sido un ejemplo a seguir para otros estados. Y California defenderá a su gente y nuestro progreso. No vamos a permitir que una elección sea un revés para el progreso de generaciones en la cima de nuestra histórica diversidad, el avance científico, la generación económica y un sentido de responsabilidad global.

Estaremos comunicándonos con los funcionarios federales, estatales y locales para evaluar cómo una Presidencia Trump podría afectar potencialmente los fondos de programas estatales en curso, las inversiones creadoras de empleos que dependen del comercio exterior y la aplicación de las leyes federales que afectan los derechos de las personas que viven en nuestro estado.

Estaremos utilizando al máximo el tiempo durante la transición presidencial para defender nuestros logros, usando cada herramienta a nuestra disposición.

Aunque Donald Trump haya ganado la presidencia, no ha cambiado nuestros valores. Estados Unidos es más grande que cualquier hombre o partido. No seremos arrastrados de vuelta al pasado. Lideraremos la resistencia a cualquier esfuerzo que destruya nuestro tejido social o nuestra Constitución.

California no era una parte de esta nación cuando comenzó su historia, pero ahora somos claramente los encargados de mantener su futuro.

State Assembly Education Committee

The email contact links for Assembly Members won't work if you live outside the district they represent.  You can use the following format to contact a legislator outside your district: firstname.lastname@asm.ca.gov

Here is the contact information for the Education Committee:

Patrick O'Donnell (Chair)Dem - 70 Contact Assembly Member Patrick O'Donnell

Capitol Office

P.O. Box 942849, Room 4166, Sacramento, CA 94249-0070; (916) 319-2070

Kristin Olsen (Vice Chair)Rep - 12

Contact Assembly Member Kristin Olsen

Capitol Office

P.O. Box 942849, Room 4144, Sacramento, CA 94249-0012; (916) 319-2012

Young O. KimRep - 65 Contact Assembly Member Young O. Kim

Capitol Office

P.O. Box 942849, Room 4177, Sacramento, CA 94249-0065; (916) 319-2065

Kevin McCartyDem - 7 Contact Assembly Member Kevin McCarty

Capitol Office

P.O. Box 942849, Room 2160, Sacramento, CA 94249-0007; (916) 319-2007

Miguel SantiagoDem - 53 Contact Assembly Member Miguel Santiago

Capitol Office

P.O. Box 942849, Room 5119, Sacramento, CA 94249-0053; (916) 319-2053

Tony ThurmondDem - 15 Contact Assembly Member Tony Thurmond

Capitol Office

P.O. Box 942849, Room 5150, Sacramento, CA 94249-0015; (916) 319-2015

Shirley N. WeberDem - 79 Contact Assembly Member Shirley N. Weber

Capitol Office

P.O. Box 942849, Room 3123, Sacramento, CA 94249-0079; (916) 319-2079

AEBG Regional Consortia 15-16 Allocations

AB104 Adult Education Block Grant Regional Consortia 15-16 Allocations
Regional Consortia	Total Allocation
ALLAN HANCOCK	$                                   1,061,700
ANTELOPE VALLEY	$                                   1,506,388
BARSTOW	$                                       750,000
BUTTE-GLENN	$                                       906,520
CABRILLO	$                                   1,011,251
CERRITOS	$                                   1,707,599
CHABOT-LAS POSITAS	$                                   2,148,821
CHAFFEY	$                                   3,265,921
CITRUS	$                                       750,000
COAST	$                                   2,283,398
COMPTON	$                                   1,539,365
CONTRA COSTA	$                                   3,180,894
COPPER MOUNTAIN	$                                       750,000
DESERT	$                                   2,065,982
EL CAMINO	$                                   2,215,272
FEATHER RIVER	$                                       750,000
FOOTHILL-DEANZA	$                                       996,060
GAVILAN	$                                       750,000
GLENDALE	$                                       985,475
GROSSMONT-CUYAMACA	$                                   1,528,975
HARTNELL	$                                   1,703,899
IMPERIAL	$                                   1,028,678
KERN	$                                   4,492,132
LAKE TAHOE	$                                       750,000
LASSEN	$                                       750,000
LONG BEACH	$                                   2,152,527
LOS ANGELES	$                                 28,377,759
LOS RIOS	$                                   5,496,881
MARIN	$                                       750,000
MENDOCINO-LAKE	$                                       750,000
MERCED	$                                   1,432,326
MIRA COSTA	$                                   1,001,300
MONTEREY	$                                       750,000
MT. SAN ANTONIO	$                                   3,303,542
MT. SAN JACINTO	$                                   2,796,294
NAPA VALLEY	$                                       750,000
NORTH ORANGE	$                                   3,545,110
OHLONE	$                                       750,000
PALO VERDE	$                                       750,000
PALOMAR	$                                   2,502,639
PASADENA	$                                   1,530,994
PERALTA	$                                   2,612,493
RANCHO SANTIAGO	$                                   3,079,153
REDWOODS	$                                       750,000
RIO HONDO	$                                   2,029,191
RIVERSIDE	$                                   3,845,793
SAN BERNARDINO	$                                   2,996,771
SAN DIEGO	$                                   3,652,360
SAN FRANCISCO	$                                   3,555,935
SAN JOAQUIN DELTA	$                                   3,171,131
SAN JOSE-EVERGREEN	$                                   3,432,027
SAN LUIS OBISPO	$                                       790,322
SAN MATEO	$                                   2,243,980
SANTA BARBARA	$                                       750,000
SANTA CLARITA	$                                       750,000
SANTA MONICA	$                                       750,000
SEQUOIAS	$                                   1,880,340
SHASTA-TEHAMA-TRINITY	$                                       826,330
SIERRA	$                                   1,142,567
SISKIYOUS	$                                       750,000
SOLANO	$                                   1,269,623
SONOMA	$                                   1,589,949
SOUTH ORANGE	$                                   2,147,410
SOUTHWESTERN	$                                   1,910,648
STATE CENTER	$                                   4,839,117
VENTURA	$                                   2,941,356
VICTOR VALLEY	$                                   1,420,428
WEST HILLS	$                                       750,000
WEST KERN	$                                       750,000
WEST VALLEY-MISSION	$                                   1,143,815
YOSEMITE	$                                   2,677,536
YUBA	$                                   1,284,024
Counties Outside Consortia	$                                       750,000 _____________________________
Totals	$                              158,000,000 Source: http://aebg.cccco.edu/For-AEBG-Grantees