South Gate Community Adult School Worries About Funding

Adult schools within the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) are at a crossroads. This Tuesday, the school board will vote on a budget that could do away with funding for all adult schools.

“We understand the financial difficulties, and are not asking that proportional cuts not be made,” said Elsa Madrid, principal of . “Just don’t eliminate us.”

Adult education schools offer a wide array of affordable courses, including preparation for General Educational Development tests, English as a second language courses and career-oriented classes. 

But the LAUSD is facing a deficit of $543 million with a budget close to $7 billion for the 2012-2013 school year. Adult education services are usually allocated close to 2 percent of the budget, but could receive zero dollars if the board approves the proposed cuts.

LAUSD administrators say the budget reductions are difficult but necessary as the district tries to maintain acceptable class sizes for children enrolled from kindergarten to 12^th grade.

“We must do all that we can to preserve K-12 class size at acceptable levels for next year,” John Deasy, superintendent for LAUSD, said in a statement last January. “I, and the Los Angeles Board of Education, are left with no choice but to seriously consider massive reductions in critical areas.”

Administrators and faculty at South Gate Community Adult School believe that cutting adult education will affect students at the K-12 campuses, and especially in areas with a high immigrant population. In those communities, parents are learning skills at the adult schools that allow them to help their children academically.

“This morning, we had role play, where a parent was at a conference with their child’s math teacher,” said John Liddle, teacher of English as a second language at South Gate Community Adult School. Using such situations to learn English interest immigrant parents, who want to understand their children's school experience in the United States. “We use topics that are of high interest to [adult] students, such as health, jobs and parenting,” he said.

Dario Aleman, 41, was a medical doctor in Cuba before arriving in the United States in May 2010. Learning English is very important to him since he hopes to become fluent and renew his medical license. However, the adult classes also help him as a parent, since he can better prepare and help his 6-year-old son.

“If you prepare adults, the adults will then prepare their children,” said Aleman, who is also taking computer skills classes. “We want our children to be excellent [students] in the future.”

Last year, the adult schools helped about 100,000 K-12 students, since many had to take catchup classes in order to graduate on time from high school. The South Gate Community Adult School gave 4,000 credit slips to students at both and .

South Gate Community Adult School believes that, without its support, many children would not be able to graduate high school as scheduled. Not having a high school diploma is a handicap for adults seeking employment and, without a job, some may turn to crime and government assistance.

“Education level is very much linked to the rate of incarceration,” said Audrey Coleman, an assistant principal at South Gate Community Adult School. “People who do not have functional literacy are more likely to apply for government assistance, so there is a whole domino effect.”

Administrators fear that the closing of adult schools will cause students to lose hope and not finish school.

“They are going to be on the way to the welfare officer,” said Sylvia Parsely, an assistant principal at South Gate Community Adult School. “Instead of giving them money and welfare, we should send adults here so that they can get an education and become productive citizens.”

Helping students make up classes for a high school degree is not the only way the adult schools act as a "second chance" school. Many students in their 20s and 30s are able to get their high school diplomas at adult schools.

“Some human beings are just not mature enough, for whatever reason, and they don’t get their high school diploma when they are teenagers,” said Liddle. “Do we want to have a society that puts those people in a permanent ghetto?”

Older students who are given a chance at a diploma are grateful, and more mature than when they were teenagers.

“This was my second chance at redeeming myself,” said Claudia Estrada, 25, who will be receiving her GED in June, the month funding is set to run out. Estrada says the cost for the GED courses at South Gate Community Adult School are a fraction of what community colleges offer. “Thanks to adult school, I can continue going to college.”

The school board's regular meeting is scheduled on Tuesday at 1 p.m. at 333 South Beaudry Ave. in the Board Room. Those who wish to speak on the budget cuts may sign up at the meeting. For more information on the budget cuts, go to www.lausd.net or call 213-241-7002.