Berkeley Adult School blog

The Fall 2012 catalog is now available on our website: http://bas.berkeley.net/

I'll continue to posts relevant information here, and remember to check other student-friendly posts on the Berkeley Adult School Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Berkeley.Adult.School

The Council for the Advancement of Adult Literacy (CAAL) has posted several reports relating to Adult Education, and here is a summary: 

On July 25th, CAAL released In A Time of Scarce Resources: Near Term Priorities in Adult Education, a 34-page publication by Forrest Chisman and Gail Spangenberg.

CAAL does not advocate any particular measures in Scarce Resources, but presents a summary, analysis, and discussion of responses submitted by more than two dozen invited adult education leaders in relation to 11 questions posed late last year.  A main purpose of the paper is to motivate adult education planners, service providers, and policymakers to recognize the need to focus on highest priority next steps to take in this period of extreme funding constraints.  A second goal is to provide a context and point of departure for further discussions at all levels. 

Survey respondents were in close agreement in four major areas, each treated in the main part of the report:  the need to adopt more high intensity-managed enrollment instructional models, the need for much more professional development (despite cost considerations), the high importance of extending outreach and achieving economies of scale through more extensive use of technology (especially computers, blended models of distance learning, and the social media), and possibilities for creative funding.  A second section of the paper discusses a menu of ideas offered by the respondents in many other content areas.  While these do not necessarily indicate clear directional preferences, most deserve deeper consideration.  A major topic discussed in this latter section is whether core curriculum standards should be aligned to the GED. 

The authors note that "state and local circumstances will necessarily influence whether, when, and to what extent adult educators can adopt the specific suggestions offered."   But they stress that we can achieve a great deal, despite stagnant funding, if we set priorities and are all traveling in the same direction toward a comprehensive shared vision for the future.

Click HERE to obtain a copy of the report. 

OTHER NEWS & REPORTS   News from CLASP --  (1) Sinking or Swimming: Findings from a Survey of State Adult Education Tuition and Financing Policies is a 28-page paper, full of tables and figures, prepared in cooperation with the National Council of State Directors of Adult Education, June 2012, by Marcie Foster with Lennox McLendon.  Among the findings are that nonfederal support amounts to about $1.30 for every $1.00 of federal funds, that states distribute federal and state funding in significantly different ways, and that without state funding support students' costs for taking the new GED are likely to increase.  (2) CLASP is partnering with 10 states in new alliances to define "quality career pathways."   The effort, called the Alliance for Quality Career Pathways, aims to create a framework of benchmarks and measures of success for national use.  States making up the Alliance are Arkansas, California, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oregon, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. Let's Get Serious About Our Nation's Human Capital: A Plan to Reform the U.S. Workforce Training System, June 2012, by Stephen Steigleder and Louis Soares has been released by the Center for American Progress (CAP).  This visionary 70-page paper, citing the work of the National Commission on Adult Literacy and other recent evidence, gives a candid assessment of our current workforce development system and offers a comprehensive plan to reform the system to better meet national needs.  CAP would combine/streamline more than 20 federal workforce programs, including the Adult Education program, into two agencies.  It also proposes a Workforce Investment Bank funded at about $10 billion annually. In June, EdSource put out a short 13-page report titled At Risk: Adult Schools in California.  It documents the damage done to adult education in the state since the draconian cuts made in the past year or so, and explores ways to keep the adult schools open.  The Conclusion section notes that grassroots support to keep adult education programs going has been growing throughout the state.  The California Council for Adult Education has launched a related campaign to encourage former adult education students to speak out in the fight to preserve a strong adult education system in the state.  California Reports did a radio feature in early July on the crisis facing adult education there.    Competency-Based Degree Programs in the U.S. is a new report by the Council for Advancement of Experiential Learning (CAEL). It examines the state of competency-based degree programs in postsecondary institutions and provides illustrative examples of some programs for those that want to move in this direction. The report aims to encourage colleges that make student learning and performance measures more relevant in the interest of increasing readiness for work.  The GED Testing Service has made available the "2014 GED Test Item Samplers" to introduce adult educators to examples of content and test items that will appear on the new test.  To access the "samplers" and a recorded tour of them, and to get periodic accurate updates on 2014 GED testing developments, go to www.GEDtestingservice.com/assessment. Two Joyce Foundation partners have received U.S. Department of Labor grants totaling $15 million to support their work in developing innovative services to help those in Chicago and Illlinois return to work.  In both cases -- the Chicago-Cook Workforce Partnership  and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity -- partnerships with specific employers or sectors are key elements.   ACT has launched its "Tomorrow's Workforce Now" program in which test and set-up fees will be waived while colleges, employers, and others are introduced to its National Certified Work Ready Community program.  Eligible employers are those that "can bring up to 20 employers with up to 20 employees each to the table for a 'taste' of what the program offers--with the possibility of maximum fee waivers of $15,805.  Applications to participate in the program can be submitted until December 31, 2012.  For more information or to enroll, contact John Nelson, State Program  Manager, ACT Work Readiness System, 319-321-9705 or email john.nelson@act.org. On September 12, four adult literacy leaders will be recognized with awards from the National Coalition for Literacy at a ceremony sponsored by the Dollar General Corporation.  They are author David Baldacci for his work in family literacy, Ruth Colvin who founded Literacy Volunteers of America (now with Proliteracy), Save Adult Education Campaign (advocates working to preserve adult education in California), and Senator Jim Webb who was the lead sponsor of the Senate's 2010 and 2011 Adult Education and Economic Growth Act (see S 2117 and related H 4226).  To register for the event go to http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RSVP2012LLA-NCLMeetings .

HUMAN INTEREST The Mary and H.L. Musick Lifelong Learning Award has been established at the Regional Adult Education Program of the Lee, Scott, Wise and Norton Public Schools in Gate City, Virgina.  This annual award for two adult learners has been funded by the Musick family in honor of their parents, both born in Virginia and long-term residents of the Hiltons Community area.  The couple met and married as co-workers at the Mead Corporation (a paper manufacturer) on the Tennessee-Virginia border, then settled in Virginia.  Mary spent many years as a secretary in the public school system, while H.L. earned his income from the local family gasoline service station, Musick's Esso.  As the years passed, the couple raised a family of three sons and one daughter. H.L. was born and raised in Appalachia during the Depression, and he did not graduate from high school, but these remarkable parents both valued education and pledged that their children would have a college education. They saved their money and pooled their resources to make sure this would happen.  At one point they together decided that H.L. should join the local adult education program so that he could acquire the math skills needed for a better-paying job at Mead, which he obtained.  "Between them, and in their own way, they breathed into us children the value of education," says son Mark Musick, the estimable educator who chaired the National Assessment of Educational Progress under three presidents, was a member of the National Commission on Adult Literacy. chairs the Georgia Workforce Investment Board system, and was instrumental in establishing the Georgia WorkReady program.   "We want to honor their quiet inspiration to us by helping some others."  The first Musick Lifelong Learning awards will be given in August 2012. For more information, click the above link or contact Rebecca Scott at rscott@race2ged.org.