2007 Bill to allow Adult Schools to become charter schools:
http://mobile.totalcapitol.com/?bill_id=6416
AB 807 -- Assemblyman DeLaTorre and Assemblywoman Hancock -- DOA.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Charter School Option
Question: Can Adult Schools Become Charter Schools?
Answer (from Connie Pekides):
Adult schools cannot get charters.
Here is the long answer.
What can happen is that a school can open as a K-12 high school and serve students over 18 if they, the students, go directly from their regular school to a charter school that serves students 18 and over.
The catch is that the students must be continuously enrolled in “high school.” Or the charter school must be one of the “exempted group” which is allowed to serve the "over 18" population and receive high school funding. In those schools, where I taught, my Adult Ed credential was considered the appropriate credential because of the age of the students. I was NCLB qualified.
So charter schools have some upper age limitations.
However, regular high schools do not have the same upper age limitations.
In the Ed Code, there is a mandatory minimum age for kindergarten and first grade. There is not an upper age limit to receive a high school education. It only says that a student must be "qualified" and it does not define "qualified." The Ed Code further states that school districts can have high schools, nights schools and alternative schools. The night school may be called Adult Education.
What that says to me is that adult schools should all convert to high schools, receive 9-12 funding instead of adult ed funding, and serve the same students. You could check with CTC on using adult school credentials for those students.
Then,
Business classes for those students (who do not have a high school diploma) become electives
ABE classes become CAHSEE prep (if we still have CAHSEE)
And adult schools become Alternative and Night High School programs, collecting 9-12 funding. Then the school districts can take our ADA and we can get even more money. Or they can get the new ADA that is generated at the higher rate and let us keep our ADA.
Hope this helps.
Answer (from Connie Pekides):
Adult schools cannot get charters.
Here is the long answer.
What can happen is that a school can open as a K-12 high school and serve students over 18 if they, the students, go directly from their regular school to a charter school that serves students 18 and over.
The catch is that the students must be continuously enrolled in “high school.” Or the charter school must be one of the “exempted group” which is allowed to serve the "over 18" population and receive high school funding. In those schools, where I taught, my Adult Ed credential was considered the appropriate credential because of the age of the students. I was NCLB qualified.
So charter schools have some upper age limitations.
However, regular high schools do not have the same upper age limitations.
In the Ed Code, there is a mandatory minimum age for kindergarten and first grade. There is not an upper age limit to receive a high school education. It only says that a student must be "qualified" and it does not define "qualified." The Ed Code further states that school districts can have high schools, nights schools and alternative schools. The night school may be called Adult Education.
What that says to me is that adult schools should all convert to high schools, receive 9-12 funding instead of adult ed funding, and serve the same students. You could check with CTC on using adult school credentials for those students.
Then,
Business classes for those students (who do not have a high school diploma) become electives
ABE classes become CAHSEE prep (if we still have CAHSEE)
And adult schools become Alternative and Night High School programs, collecting 9-12 funding. Then the school districts can take our ADA and we can get even more money. Or they can get the new ADA that is generated at the higher rate and let us keep our ADA.
Hope this helps.
Friday, May 22, 2009
WELCOME
MILLIONS of students in California are served by the Adult Education system - a program that has served us for over 150 years. This system is at great risk right now of being dismantled (in whole or in part) throughout the state.
The purpose of this blog is to begin a dialogue regarding how we can re-invent Adult Education in California.
As an Adult Education teacher since 1980 in (Hayward) and an elected school board member (in West Contra Costa Unified School District), I see clearly how important Adult Education is to the families of our state. We teach our parents to care for their children, we provide classes for our seniors and the disabled, we offer a second-chance to those who need it for their high school diploma and GED, we provide effective and efficient career training, and we provide the important opportunity to learn English and become a citizen. Each of these needs is important.
California has always been the land of dreams -- and the incubator of the ideas that make those dreams come true.
This blog is about sharing your ideas about Adult Education in California. We need to brainstorm and share our IDEAS and our SOLUTIONS.
We need to ponder some questions and share the solutions some of us have come up with.
The questions are many.
Some are broad and go to the larger political issue: How did the state get into this mess? What is the root cause? What does Adult Education look like in other states? What does the stimulus package offer for Adult Education?
Some are regional: What are the other local Adult School programs doing? Can we collaborate on programs and create a regional network? What should we charge for classes?
Some are specific to teachers: What will happen to my job? Is Adult Ed still a viable career path?
Some are specific to students: What will happen to my program? How will I complete my certificate?
The big question is: WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
This blog is about finding/creating the answers to all our questions.
The phrase we keep hearing is that we must create a new "paradigm" -- and we must. Here's an example:
PROBLEM: We are closing preschool centers and no longer offering classes in our senior centers.
SOLUTION: We could follow the lead of On Lok, Inc. and create "intergenerational" centers (See
http://www.onlok.org/Sharesite/content.asp?catid=240000417&scatid=240000418) siting preschools in senior centers.
The purpose of this blog is to help us identify problems and brainstorm solutions -- and, ultimately, to reinvent Adult Education in California.
I've listed links to background information and to a variety of organizations working on education issues in California. Please inform yourselves.
Overall, in California, education funding needs to be:
stabililzed (so that it is predictable and budgets can be fairly created)
increased (so that we are no longer at the bottom of the pack in funding per student -- always expected to do more with less); and
fairly and effectively used (less bureaucracy/redundancy).
Please join in.
Madeline Kronenberg
Hayward Adult School Instructor
West Contra Costa Unified School District
School Board Member
mkronen@aol.com
510-334-9646
The purpose of this blog is to begin a dialogue regarding how we can re-invent Adult Education in California.
As an Adult Education teacher since 1980 in (Hayward) and an elected school board member (in West Contra Costa Unified School District), I see clearly how important Adult Education is to the families of our state. We teach our parents to care for their children, we provide classes for our seniors and the disabled, we offer a second-chance to those who need it for their high school diploma and GED, we provide effective and efficient career training, and we provide the important opportunity to learn English and become a citizen. Each of these needs is important.
California has always been the land of dreams -- and the incubator of the ideas that make those dreams come true.
This blog is about sharing your ideas about Adult Education in California. We need to brainstorm and share our IDEAS and our SOLUTIONS.
We need to ponder some questions and share the solutions some of us have come up with.
The questions are many.
Some are broad and go to the larger political issue: How did the state get into this mess? What is the root cause? What does Adult Education look like in other states? What does the stimulus package offer for Adult Education?
Some are regional: What are the other local Adult School programs doing? Can we collaborate on programs and create a regional network? What should we charge for classes?
Some are specific to teachers: What will happen to my job? Is Adult Ed still a viable career path?
Some are specific to students: What will happen to my program? How will I complete my certificate?
The big question is: WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
This blog is about finding/creating the answers to all our questions.
The phrase we keep hearing is that we must create a new "paradigm" -- and we must. Here's an example:
PROBLEM: We are closing preschool centers and no longer offering classes in our senior centers.
SOLUTION: We could follow the lead of On Lok, Inc. and create "intergenerational" centers (See
http://www.onlok.org/Sharesite/content.asp?catid=240000417&scatid=240000418) siting preschools in senior centers.
The purpose of this blog is to help us identify problems and brainstorm solutions -- and, ultimately, to reinvent Adult Education in California.
I've listed links to background information and to a variety of organizations working on education issues in California. Please inform yourselves.
Overall, in California, education funding needs to be:
stabililzed (so that it is predictable and budgets can be fairly created)
increased (so that we are no longer at the bottom of the pack in funding per student -- always expected to do more with less); and
fairly and effectively used (less bureaucracy/redundancy).
Please join in.
Madeline Kronenberg
Hayward Adult School Instructor
West Contra Costa Unified School District
School Board Member
mkronen@aol.com
510-334-9646
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