Category Archives: Adult education

CBO presents Measure A bond sale costs to district leaders – The Reporter

Posted on by

By Richard Bammer

Updates about district staffing and enrollment numbers, an update about the district’s Adult Education program and the likely approval of the costs to sell $78 million in Measure A bonds are on the agenda when Vacaville Unified trustees meet Thursday in Vacaville.

Presentations about 2017 staffing and enrollment numbers will fall to Janet Dietrich, assistant superintendent for human resources, and Manolo Garcia, director of human resources.

Offering a numerical glimpse of the district’s population, they will tell the seven-member governing board that the total number of staff — teachers, classified (school-support employees), certificated managers and administrators — is 1,270. And the total number of students in elementary, middle and high schools is 12,626, a slight increase from prior years.

Source: CBO presents Measure A bond sale costs to district leaders

More than 30 diplomas handed out at Adult Education commencement – The Reporter

Posted on by

By Richard Bammer

High school graduations often have their poignant moments, say, an adult or student speaker’s comments, words of wisdom and encouragement from school officials, perhaps a musical interlude.

It was the latter that especially livened the 2017 Vacaville Unified Adult Education graduation Tuesday evening in the Catwalk Theatre at Will C. Wood High.

During the faculty presentation segment, Morris Curry Jr., a Baptist minister and campus supervisor of the district’s Adult Education program at Country High, sang a robust version of “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” the signature song from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein hit musical “Carousel,” with the refrain “Walk on, walk on/With hope in your heart/And you’ll never walk alone.”

Source: More than 30 diplomas handed out at Adult Education commencement

End-of-year events honor Solano successes – Daily Republic

Posted on by

By Mayrene Bates

There are so many sad and terrible things happening at home and around the world that it brings tears to one’s eyes from time to time, but it’s also the time of the year that I get the opportunity to attend wonderful events that honor the successes of our schools, parents and business community partners.

Throughout history there have been few events of significance that have occurred purely by accident, someone once said. And, this time of the year, educators, parents, students, volunteers and business partners come together at many sites around Solano County to honor and celebrate educator and student accomplishments.

I try to attend as many events as I can and even for the ones that I do attend, this space would not come anywhere near covering all of them. This is, indeed, a great thing that there are so many accomplishments to celebrate.

Source: End-of-year events honor Solano successes

SCC, area high schools set graduation dates – The Reporter

Posted on by

Warmer spring days mean area high school and community college graduations are being noted on calendars in central and eastern Solano County.

By chronological date, here is a list of local high school and the Solano Community College graduation times, dates and locations:

  • Solano Community College — 6 p.m. May 25 in the football stadium, 4000 Suisun Valley Road, Fairfield.
  • Vacaville Christian High School — 7 p.m. May 25, Falcon Field, 821 Marshall Road, Vacaville.
  • Vacaville Unified Adult Education — 7 p.m. May 30, Catwalk Theatre, Will C. Wood High, 998 Marshall Road, Vacaville.
  • Maine Prairie High School — 6 p.m. May 31, Dixon High School Theater, 555 College Way, Dixon

Source: SCC, area high schools set graduation dates

Dance classes offered at Adult School – Daily Republic

Posted on by

By Susan Hiland

Jasmine Hamilton, a math teacher at Crystal Middle School, will teach two new dance classes at the Fairfield-Suisun Adult School.

The recreational dance class includes international, folk, square, contra and ballroom dance. Students will learn specific dances from each of these styles and gain an understanding and appreciation of the role of dance in societies and cultures.

The dance fitness course includes an introduction to various dance styles such as ballet, jazz, contemporary and hip hop.

Source: Dance classes offered at Adult School

Fairfield-Suisun’s ‘best-kept secret’: Adult School – The Reporter

Posted on by

By Richard Bammer

If you drive too quickly between the 800 and 1000 block of busy Travis Boulevard in Fairfield, you will miss what James Woods calls “the best-kept secret in Fairfield-Suisun Unified.”

As principal of the district’s Adult School program, he is naturally a booster of all that his campus, at 900 Travis Blvd., has to offer adults 18 and older.

“A wide array of classes,” Woods, 56, said during a brief interview Monday in his office just a few steps from the school’s main entrance.

Source: Fairfield-Suisun’s ‘best-kept secret’: Adult School – The Reporter

Vallejo man still in the education trenches at age 88 – Times Herald

Posted on by

By Rachel Raskin-Zrihen

Adolph “Al” Berenguer of Vallejo said he plans to die with his boots on, though, since he doesn’t wear boots, loafers would probably be more accurate. That also might be entirely believable, considering the 88-year-old teacher is still in the classroom at least a couple days a week.

Besides teaching English as a second language, Spanish and Latin at the Vallejo Adult School and the Florence Douglass Senior Center, Berenguer is presently working on his third book. And this is only since retiring after more than 50 years teaching in the Vallejo City Unified School District.

Source: Vallejo man still in the education trenches at age 88

$40,000 to get good news out about Fairfield-Susiun Adult School – Daily Republic

Posted on by

By Ryan McCarthy

A progress report that’s part of accreditation for the Fairfield-Suisun Adult School on Travis Boulevard – and states $40,000 has been set aside to get out the good news to the public about the school – was accepted Thursday by Fairfield-Suisun School District trustees.

The report notes a new electronic marquee was installed during the summer to advertise classes, events and recognize students.

The school also embraced an online presence and nearly 8,000 class schedules were sent to homes and placed throughout the city, the report adds.

During the 2013-14 school year the adult school earned a six-year accreditation with a required one-day midcycle visit, a school district staff report said.

Source: $40,000 to get good news out about Fairfield-Susiun Adult School

New Law Opens Juvenile Hall To 18- To 21-Year-Olds In Pilot Program – Benicia Patch

Posted on by

By Norcal Patch

Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law Friday authorizing a three-year pilot program that will give young adult offenders the chance to access educational and support services in the juvenile justice system, a spokeswoman said.

SB 1004 allows five counties, including Alameda, Napa and Santa Clara, to provide this assistance to low-level, nonviolent felons aged 18 to 21, instead of serving time in county jails with adults.

Those offenders who meet these requirements and don’t have a history of crime would serve no more than a year in a juvenile justice facility and have their offense expunged from their record if they complete the program, according to Leslie Guevarra, a spokeswoman from the office of the bill’s author, State Sen. Jerry Hill.

Source: New Law Opens Juvenile Hall To 18- To 21-Year-Olds In Pilot Program

Adult school graduates share stories of triumph – Daily Republic

Posted on by

By Amy Maginnis-Honey

Velinda Buckley got the call about noon. Within three hours she was seated in Willow Hall at the Fairfield Community Center watching her nephew Henry Glover graduate from the Fairfield-Suisun Adult School.

She had two hopes for him – that he would continue to stay focused on what’s ahead and accept Jesus as his savior.

“This has been a long time coming,” Buckley said, adding that Glover only got two tickets to the ceremony and she was honored to receive one of them.

Source: Adult school graduates share stories of triumph

Bill would increase funding for adult education by $250 million | EdSource

Posted on by

By Susan Frey

State legislators are considering a bill that would boost funding for adult education by $250 million – reinstating funds that were diverted to K-12 schools during the recession, causing many adult programs to close or cut back the number of classes they offered.

“Every time I go back to my district, families ask when are the adult schools coming back, especially the English as a Second Language programs in local schools,” said Assemblywoman Patty Lopez, D-San Fernando, who has introduced Assembly Bill 1846 to increase funding. “There are 16,000 people on waiting lists for adult classes just in Los Angeles.”

Adult schools provide free or low-cost classes to Californians who are too old for K-12 schools but not academically prepared for community college, or who don’t qualify for skilled jobs. They serve immigrants, the unemployed, disabled adults, high-school dropouts and ex-offenders re-entering society.

Source: Bill would increase funding for adult education by $250 million | EdSource

Solano Adult Education Consortium meets April 4 – The Reporter

Posted on by

The Solano Adult Education Consortium will hold its monthly meeting from 2 to 5 p.m. April 4 at Solano Community College, 4000 Suisun Valley Road, Bldg. 400, Room 414, in Fairfield.

The agenda for the meeting will include: 1) action item on direct funding 2) diploma program requirements 3) formalize changes to 2015-2016 plan 4) review of recommended changes for 2016-17 plan.

Solano County Adult Education consortium meetings are open to the public and interested community members are invited to attend.

Consortium members are: Fairfield-Suisun Adult School, Vacaville Education Extension Program, Vallejo Regional Career Center, Solano Community College, Benicia Unified School District, and Solano County Office of Education.

Source: Solano Adult Education Consortium meets April 4

Website tracks state’s progress in providing adult education | EdSource

Posted on by

By Susan Frey

California’s experiment in rethinking adult education can now be monitored through a website created by the Legislative Analyst’s Office.

The LAO recently released the Adult Education Consortium Tracker, which provides demographic, funding and student enrollment data for 71 consortia made up of school districts, community colleges and other community agencies that serve adults. The website also gives background information and shows how each consortium’s demographics compare to the state.

The site includes an interactive map locating the 71 consortia, lists of training programs, their budgets and career technical information that used to be scattered across many sites, said Debra Jones, dean of the Workforce and Economic Development division of the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office.

via Website tracks state’s progress in providing adult education | EdSource.

Adult ed consortium to meet Friday – The Reporter

Posted on by

The Solano Adult Education Consortium will meet Friday afternoon in Fairfield, it has been announced.

Members will gather at 2:30 p.m. in the Fairfield-Suisun Adult School Library, 900 Travis Blvd.

Agenda topics include 1) establishing position of transition specialist; 2) a review of progress on consortium objectives; and 3) a report on observations at the consortium plan reading conference.

Consortium members include Vacaville Education Extension Program, Benicia Unified School District, Fairfield-Suisun Adult School, Solano Community College, and Vallejo Regional Career Center.

via Adult ed consortium to meet Friday.

Solano adult ed leaders to meet today – The Reporter

Posted on by

By Richard Bammer

The Solano Adult Education Consortium will hold its monthly meeting at 1 p.m. today at Golden Hills School, 2460 Clay Bank Road school in Fairfield.

The meeting will focus primarily on a review of the county’s adult education one- and three-year plan and the consortium’s 2015-16 budget, Kay Hartley, project manager for the consortium, said in a press release.

After some discussion, consortium members will vote to approve the plans and the current year’s budget.

County adult education consortium meetings are open to the public, and interested community members are invited to attend.

via Solano adult ed leaders to meet today.

Adult school graduation includes does of technology – Daily Republic

Posted on by

By Amy Maginnis-Honey

Technology got a decent amount of attention Wednesday as the Fairfield-Suisun Adult School feted its 2015 graduating class.

Kris Corey, superintendent of the Fairfield-Suisun School District, snapped a picture of the graduates with a promise to post it to her Twitter feed.

Student speaker Latonia McGruder talked about society’s dependence on cellphones.

via Adult school graduation includes dose of technology.

Governor’s proposed budget called “a gift” to adult education | EdSource

Posted on by

By Susan Frey

The governor’s proposed budget, unveiled last week, allocates $500 million for an Adult Education Block Grant, with a provision that existing K-12 adult ed programs be funded for another year.

The new funding allows more time for recently formed local consortia of adult schools, community colleges and other organizations that serve adults to determine what programs their communities need, how they will be funded and who is going to provide them.

K-12 adult schools have been fighting for survival since the recession, when school districts were allowed to use funding formerly dedicated for adult schools for any educational purpose. Many districts, trying to minimize cuts to their K-12 programs, took advantage of this new flexibility and eliminated or severely cut funding to their adult schools.

via Governor’s proposed budget called “a gift” to adult education | EdSource#.VMF6jWctHGg#.VMF6jWctHGg.

Adult schools need dedicated funding | EdSource

Posted on by

By Kristen Pursley

In his 2013 budget, Gov. Jerry Brown included a provision to safeguard existing adult schools from further cuts and closures. The “maintenance of effort” clause mandated that school districts maintain their current level of funding for adult education for two years, during the formation of regional consortia, as outlined by Assembly Bill 86.

The maintenance of effort expires at the end of the current school year. Adult schools and community colleges are currently engaged in a regional planning process to create consortia between adult schools and community colleges, with the regions defined by community college districts. Brown has indicated that he intends to provide money for adult education through the regional consortia, although he has not yet spelled out how to do so.

via Adult schools need dedicated funding | EdSource.

Adult school receives award for student readiness program – Daily Republic

Posted on by

By Susan Winlow

The Fairfield-Suisun Adult School for the second time in four years has received a Golden Bell award from the California School Boards Association.

The award “seeks to reward best practices in education by seeking out sustainable, innovative and exemplary programs that address the changing needs of students,” according to a press release issued by the Fairfield-Suisun School District.

It received the award specifically for its Kindergarten Readiness Roundup, which has taken place for the past two years. Pre-kindergarten children and parents take part in a round of activities that provide information to parents about the readiness of their children for kindergarten. The event also allows district staff to identify children who might need extra help when they begin school.

via Adult school receives award for student readiness program Daily Republic.

Adult school helps to get ahead – Daily Republic

Posted on by

Letter to the Editor

I am attending the Fairfield-Suisun Adult School because after having a baby at a young age, it was extremely hard to care for my baby and not fall behind in school.

When I did not graduate because I was 42 credits behind, I went looking for alternative ways to get a high school diploma. When I found the adult school, it was a great way to get a diploma quickly at no cost. They have a graduation ceremony just like a high school. Although I missed out on a lot of the normal high school experiences, I won’t miss out on getting a diploma like everyone else.

via Adult school helps to get ahead Daily Republic.