AB86 North Coast Adult Education Consortium Partners Meeting Minutes
Eureka Campus, Room AT103/104
December 5, 2014 11 A.M.
Lunch and Brief Review: Julia Peterson
AB86 Summit Report: Julia Peterson
There may be $200 – 500 million available for implementation funding in July 2015, which will
appear in the Governor’s January budget. No further details are available at this time. The
Governor and the Legislature remain committed to redefining Adult Education in California.
There is a need to align instructor qualifications across all providers of adult education in
order to address the shortage of qualified adult education faculty statewide.
There is a need to fund transportation, childcare, and other basic needs in order to support
adult learners
There is a consensus that low population density and long commutes in rural areas can best
be addressed through funding rural subsidies for smaller classes on remote campuses.
Generally, in the Far North and other rural regions, most providers of adult education face the
same challenges, barriers, and unmet needs: small class size, poverty, and undereducated
people with multiple barriers, such as difficulty with English as a second language, a lack of
essential basic skills, and various other disabilities.
Discussion
Eureka Adult School is not listed as a Partner on the planning grant, but has been
represented by Eureka City Schools. We will change the forms to reflect a strong partnership
with Eureka Adult School.
As a consortium, we need to focus on developing specific adult learner pathways to
sustainable employment and further postsecondary education.
Pathways curricula for jail transitions could include Noncredit classes in Anger Management,
Fathering Skills, and Family Communication Environment, which have already been
approved.
There is a need to weave solutions together, especially contextualized soft skills.
Making a comprehensive transition from incarceration to sustainable employment is a
complex process operating on many levels, between a variety of partners, and across
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substantial barriers to success. Moral Reconation Therapy and cognitive-behavioral
interventions have proven valuable in helping former offenders identify their barriers to
success, and to begin to develop personal motivation and imagine a sustainable future
outside of the system.
One possibility for supporting change is the creation of learning communities, or cohorts, in
shared transitional housing, such as the dorms at CR or other shared housing. Qualified
offenders could be released, under supervision, directly to the campus in order begin or
continue their educational and career development with others making the same types of
transition. Additionally, living on campus would solve access issues such as transportation
and available technology.
Probation stipulations and enforcement can be applied to these transitions, creating the need
for qualified case managers to “walk” offenders through their transition back into the
community.
Creative application of the Response to Intervention model used widely in K-12 programs
may offer some benefit in identifying and tracking offender strengths and outcomes.
Response to Intervention integrates assessment and intervention within a multi‐level
prevention system to maximize achievement and reduce problems.
Approximately one-third of the Humboldt County Jail population is permanently or temporarily
disabled, so CR Noncredit DSPS classes, in partnership with county mental health services,
can play a substantial role in supporting former offender transitions.
Another area to explore is contextualized ESL instruction for industry, such as farm and
ranch work. So far, it has been difficult to interest employers in on-site instruction, and
currently many workers take their ESL in the evenings.
Integrating soft skills into every aspect of employment training is deemed to be essential, and
there is an identified need to teach stand-alone classes around common soft skills, such as
interpersonal communication and working productively with others in groups.
Next Steps
December 18th Executive Advisory Committee Meeting
December 31st Draft Regional Comprehensive Plan and Expenditure Report Due
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