Friday, October 23, 2009

California's adult education system in jeopardy - ContraCostaTimes.com


California's adult education system in jeopardy - ContraCostaTimes.com:

"RICHMOND — Miguel Agil dropped out of Kennedy High School at 18, but he found his second chance in a welding class at Serra Adult School.
Maria Cabrera, an Oakland resident and mother of two, saw her job prospects rise from dishwasher to server after her English improved, thanks to literacy classes in Oakland's adult-education program.

'Now I have a big goal: to have a career,' Cabrera said. 'I want to be a nurse.'

In their brief remarks at a Friday-morning legislative forum, Agil and Cabrera put human faces on adult education in California, a 150-year-old system that helps immigrants, refugees, school dropouts, parents, disabled and older adults, ex-convicts and struggling high school students find their way — in many cases, by helping them build literacy and other critical job skills."