[AAACE-NLA] Sacrificing Adult Ed on the alter of the recession

[Bonita Moore]

Debbie,Yes, from my vantage point, this is certainly true. In Fairfax County, Virginia, our very large program in adult and community education (approx. 50,000 adult enrollees per year), has suffered severe budget slashing plus a profound reorganization that has seriously compromised our adult ed leadership and broken apart our strong adult education infrastructure (that we had grown over the course of nearly 55 years).  
The clearly expressed philosophy of current school system leadership is that adult education is not the priority of the school division. And that the recession has provided a great "opportunity" for the school system to reorient its priorities.
Unfortunately, the niche that we fill and the needs that we address are not anyone's priority right now -- despite multiple compelling national studies over the past several years that have reinforced the need for making AE a high priority in the United States.
So yes, it does appear to be, at the least, "really bad".Bonnie Moore

Bonita M. Moore, Ph.D.Former Director, Adult & Community EducationFairfax County Public Schools, Fairfax County, Virginiabonitammoore at gmail.com
> Date: Fri, 9 Apr 2010 12:36:22 -0400 (EDT)
> From: Debbie Yoho <yohogclc at earthlink.net>
> To: aaace-nla <aaace-nla at lists.literacytent.org>
> Subject: [AAACE-NLA] Sacrificing Adult Ed on the alter of the
> 	recession
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> I receive news alerts about adult education daily and I am noticing a disturbing pattern:  headlines from all over the country about school districts slashing or "scrutinizing" adult education programs as they struggle with their budgets for next year. It seems AE is one of the first place they look?  I'd like to hear from the list's members about what is happening in your areas.  This seems to be getting really bad.  Thanks, Debbie Yoho
> 
> Executive Director
> Turning Pages
> Columbia, SC
> office:  803-240-2441
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