Apologies for the later than usual update. There is so much going on with an unknown budget, community updates, service to BUSD, accreditation, graduation, and statewide advocacy efforts.
BUSD Budget Advisory Committee meets this Tuesday, May 17, 6-8 pm at Oregon Street. We’ll know more as this week unfolds, and we’re planning on the scenario B reductions of $1,035,000 from our $3.1M budget. There are a variety of ways to get to where we’re going, and in the best case most of us agree on the route. We’ll continue to work collaboratively on the best way to serve our learning community with our District’s support. Our focus will center on core programming, defined by the California Department of Education and BUSD as Career Technical Education, Adult Basic & Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language. Berkeley Adult School will provide services beyond core programming as fee-based Community Education and work to develop partnerships and find grant opportunities to serve community members in non-core programs.
In our community, the issue of a proposal by the Alameda County Office of Education to operate a Community School classroom on our campus came before the BUSD Board of Education, last Wednesday, May 11. While there seemed to be some momentum for the Board to move the item forward for vote, there has been clear concern from the neighborhood, and our Board noted that, and requested more time and information, stressing the desire to offer a quality program that works well for the District and our school community. There is a neighborhood blog and a Google group, both springing from this discussion, and I encourage our readers to tune in:
For residential and business neighbors of the Berkeley Adult School to discuss events, concerns and other matters concerning the Berkeley Adult School overall and in particular how the addition of the Community School affects the neighbors and neighborhood.
This blog is directly inspired by (and dedicated to) Heather Wood and Vanessa Kaskiris who are working tirelessly to spread good, solid data and important information about the potential community impacts of the proposed Community Day School (CDS) at our beloved Berkeley Adult School (BAS).
How do we serve the Berkeley Unified School District?
- Professional Development and Employment Training - high quality Career Technical Education programs for our community and district employees.
- Credit recovery for BUSD High School students.
- Adult Basic and Secondary Education (GED/HS Diploma).
- English as a Second Language for parents and community members.
- We also serve thousands of students with personal enrichment and community education. Our reach into the community has been deep and has a long tradition, and it is with difficulty that we reduce funding to programs that benefit our citizens. Nonetheless, we’ll continue to offer enrichment classes which are funded by student fees.
Next year, BAS will seek renewed accreditation with the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), which “values accreditation as a process designed to strengthen schools in the delivery of quality educational programs. Accreditation is important to schools as it impacts students' access to colleges and universities and career opportunities in a variety of ways. An effective WASC self-study review is a powerful tool for schools to improve the quality of education and more effectively serve staff and students.” To that end, we are integrating WASC activities into our regular meeting time and on-going activities in preparation of the Visiting Committee review in the spring of 2012.
Graduation for Berkeley Adult School students who have been awarded a GED or a High School Diploma is Wednesday, June 15, at 7:00pm in our Multipurpose Room.
Stave Advocacy updates: The recent CCAE/COABE national conference in San Francisco was a huge success, with over 1300 participants from San Diego to Portland, Maine, Seattle to Miami and points between. Thanks to conference organizers from both CCAE and COABE. The focus of Adult Learning in this country, as viewed by these two professional organizations is skills for the 21st century. While there continues to be plenty of discussion about core vs. enrichment programs, the money is going to core programs (academic, vocational and language acquisition).
Since I last reported on the California Department of Education, the website page related to Adult Education has been updated; you can view it here: http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/ae/po/cefadulted.asp
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