Community :: DON"T LET THEM CLOSE ADULT SCHOOLS!
Adults schools are crucial for parents who want to step it up and get a GED or a higher education. Please follow as preceded, PLEASE AND THANK YOU!! My dad attends adult school!!!
FEBRUARY 10, 2009, 6:30pm: WCCUSD Board Meeting at DeJean Middle, 3400 MacDonald Avenue, Richmond. Join COSAS (Communities Organized to Save Adult School). Send a letter of support for Adult Education (see sample letter below) and come to the School Board meeting. For more information or to join COSAS, visit their website: http://saveouradultschool.wordpress.com. To view WCCUSD agenda and board packet go to: www.wccusd.net/board
CONTACT INFORMATION FOR WEST COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD TRUSTEES
Name/
Phone
Madeline Kronenberg, President
(H) 510-524-1469;510-334-9646
Antonio Medrano, Clerk
(H) 510-223-0237
(W) 510-222-9465
Audrey Miles
(H) 510-222-4166
Charles T. Ramsey
(W) 510-682-5600
Tony Thurmond
(H) 510-223-4394
SAMPLE LETTER OF SUPPORT FOR West Contra Costa Adult Education (WCCAE)
PLEASE NOTE: Due to time constraints please send via email:
VIA EMAIL TO SUPERINTENDENT BRUCE HARTER: BHarter@wccusd.net
(Date)
West Contra Costa Unified School District
President and Board Trustees
1108 Bissell Avenue
Richmond, CA 94801-3135
Dear President Madeline Kronenberg and Board Trustees:
(Name of Organization) is writing in support of the West Contra Costa Adult Education (WCCAE), West Contra Costa Unified School District's (WCCUSD) adult education program. We ask that the district preserve this vital program. Disproportionate cuts to adult education would severely and negatively impact West County’s low income communities, exacerbating the effects of the nationwide economic downturn in the area. Elimination of the program would be disastrous. Disproportionate cuts to or elimination of adult education, particularly English as a Second Language and Parent Education classes, would also result in unfairly disadvantaging some West County communities more than others, particularly immigrants and their children.
Elimination of WCCAE would impede economic recovery in West County. West County residents rely on a number of WCCAE programs, including the High School Diploma, GED, Vocational Education and English as a Second Language (ESL) programs, to help them qualify for jobs and improve their job skills. These programs are needed now more than ever. People are losing their jobs. They need to retrain or improve their job skills in order to find new jobs. The loss of the adult school programs would seriously hinder West County’s capacity to recover from the economic downturn, especially in Central Richmond and San Pablo, which are already reeling from the foreclosure crisis. Economic recovery depends on the residents of West County having jobs and money to spend locally. Without access to the free and low cost programs WCCAE provides, West County residents will not be able to learn the skills they need to find new jobs or to advance in their current employment. The loss of these programs will leave West County mired in economic depression even as the rest of the country begins to recover.
Elimination of WCCAE would unfairly disadvantage the children of immigrant families attending West County schools. Children succeed in school when their parents are involved in their learning and know how to advocate for their education. Immigrant parents know this and want to do everything they can to support their children’s success, but they need to acquire the language skills and cultural knowledge that will enable them to do it. In English as a Second Language classes and Parent Education classes offered by West Contra Costa Adult Education, immigrant parents learn the skills they need to help their children. Adult ESL students mention an increased ability to help their children with school work more frequently than any other positive outcome when asked how their English classes have helped them, and principals in West County frequently request adult ESL classes at their sites because having a class at the site increases parent involvement in the school. Elimination of the ESL and Parent Education classes provided by WCCAE would unfairly disadvantage the children of immigrants by removing this vital resource for their parents. According to West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD), 45% of K-12 students in the WCCUSD system are Latino and 9.8% are Asian. The elimination of adult ESL classes and Parent Education classes would adversely impact the majority of students in the district.
Demand for WCCAE’s services is growing. The English as a Second Language program alone grew from 3,100 students last year to over 3,500 this year. It does not make sense to eliminate a program that is more needed and in demand than ever.
(Name of organization) supports West Contra Costa Adult Education and asks that its funding not be disproportionately cut. This program should certainly not be eliminated. We need to keep these vital educational services available and accessible to the residents of West County in order for West County to successfully compete economically and academically, and to move forward into prosperity.
Sincerely,
Name
Title/Organization