This article by Bella English in the Boston Globe about Ismail Abdurrashid, lead instructor for the College Connections program at College Bound Dorchester, Mass., is good reminder of who and what really matters in our field. I’m guessing Abdurrashid has never read a single WIOA regulation…
Massachusetts
Found: A Sequester Cut to Adult Education
For a variety of reasons, which I won’t go into here, it’s been difficult to identify adult education program cuts that are clearly the direct result of sequestration. But they have been happening:
WALTHAM — The City Council on Monday night argued back and forth over funds for an adult literacy program that saw its federal funding cut last year, ultimately sending the request back to committee and asking the School Department to try to come up with the money.
The Power Program, a nonprofit adult literacy organization, has been in existence for 27 years, but had its funding cut last year after there were across-the-board educational cuts on the federal level. (my emphasis)
via Wicked Local Waltham.
Keeping Juveniles in Juvenile Courts
I wasn’t surprised to learn recently that there are still some states where the age of juvenile jurisdiction is less than 18, but I was surprised to learn that one of them is Massachusetts.
Putting aside the the serious health and safety risk to young offenders when you lock them up in an adult prison (which is reason enough to keep them out of them), ruining the employment and educational prospects of a 17-year-old who commits a nonviolent drug or property crime is pretty shortsighted public policy.
MA Secretary of Education: Return on Investment for Adult Literacy “Huge”
Massachusetts Secretary of Education Secretary Paul Reville, in a blog post from last week:
We know that parents and families are a student’s primary teacher and play an indispensible role in the development of children’s cognitive, social and emotional development. Programs like this one equip families with the skills they need to help children succeed in school and go beyond that to increase adults’ competitiveness in the job market so they can earn a living and support their family. The return on investment here is huge, yet there are over 450 families still on the waiting list for this program alone because of a lack of resources for Adult Basic Education.
I cannot emphasize enough the enormous difference that effective adult education programs can make in the lives of families. I felt it in the emotion of the parent testimonies that day and saw tangible results of this program in doors now opened to adults and families through it. There are currently an estimated 1.1 million adults in Massachusetts in need of Adult Basic Education Services and less than 5% of that population is having those needs met. We can and should do better. (my emphasis)
It’s encouraging that an education official at this level is arguing for adult education’s return on investment so forcefully. It’s also refreshing—and from a policy perspective, I think this is ultimately going to prove to be more effective—that he views adult education as an investment in families and communities, and not just “workers.” I think this puts job skills, as an outcome of adult education, in the proper context, as one of several outcomes of adult education that work together to strengthen families and the communities they live in.
One other really critical point: Reville’s post was inspired after a visit to a family literacy program in Chelsea, Mass. This is why it’s really important to invite public officials to visit programs so that they can see the impact for themselves. I’d like to believe that every cabinet-level state education official makes a visit to an adult or family literacy program at least once a year. If that’s not the case, it’s something we need to work on.
Read his entire post here. It’s really excellent.
h/t @WorldEdUS
Literacy & Policy 