Rocky brought joy and a sense of humor to the workplace, and it was obvious to all of us how much he enjoyed being a part of education. He was not always easy; Rocky was known to speak his mind and known to be an independent thinker who was deeply opinionated.  That said, it was always clear that his heart was in the right place and that he simply had to speak up to be an ardent supporter of and champion for our adult education students.  It was not a choice for him; Rocky was just never a by-stander.

It was not only adult education and career technical education that benefitted from Rocky’s drive and commitment.  Rocky was also a 48-year high school football and basketball official who served two three-year terms as president of the California Basketball Officials Association and two three-year terms as their Southern California representative. It is not surprising that Rocky was an avid sports fan, and he particularly loved the LA Dodgers.  He loved the Dodgers so much in fact, that their logo was what Rocky used as his profile picture on several platforms.  

Our hearts go out to Rocky’s family, our Rowland Adult School family, and to each of our adult education colleagues. May we find peace and comfort in reflecting on Rocky’s legacy, carrying his work forward, and knowing deep in our hearts how much he loved each of us and how much he valued adult education.  

Funeral Service for Rocky Bettar:
Wednesday, January 19, 2022 @ 1:30 pm
Forest Lawn Memorial Park
4471 Lincoln Avenue
Cypress, CA 90630
 
There will be a livestream available for those who will not be able to join the in-person service. The password is Bettar; no spaces and it is case sensitive. Click the hyperlink to bring you to the broadcast on StreamSpot, where you can add the event to your calendar. The webcast will be available to view for up to a year.
https://venue.streamspot.com/event/MzAwMzYzMw==
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Condolences and cards may be sent to the following address, and we will ensure that Rocky’s family receives them:
 
Rocky Bettar
c/o CCAE
PO Box 4646
Whittier, CA 90607

You may also leave your condolences in the comments below. 

​The Economics class from Clovis Adult Education (CAE) created an imaginary company to enhance lessons regarding supply/demand, marketing, and business principles.   This project incorporates school pride while supporting CCAE. The students designed, marketed, and produced long sleeve t-shirts to sell to CAE students and staff. All profits will be donated to scholarship opportunities for students in the name of CCAE. The Economics class also included the Adult Transition Program from the Special Education department to interview and gain work experience as employees during the production of the shirts.  The students exceeded their goal and expect to donate more than $300 to scholarships from CCAE. The students’ initiative and drive for this project provide a practical example of how Adult Education can make a difference in our community. 

The California Council for Adult Education (CCAE) is always at the vanguard of supporting adult education, providing professional development, and effecting change.  Every year the CCAE Board establishes organizational goals dedicated to supporting leadership development and strategic alliances.
 
In 2020-2021, due to the impact of COVID-19 on the legislative process, there were some limitations placed on legislators that required them to prioritize bills allowing to move forward 12 bills per legislators.  Despite the challenges, CCAE was able to successfully promote a few legislative and budget challenges:

• Maintain Current CAEP Funding
• Improved CAEP funding distribution
• Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) at 4.05%
• Update K–12 Adult-Ed Statutes in Ed. Code to align with CAEP

 
In 2021-2022, CCAE pushes forward through legislative and budget priorities. 

• Increase of CAEP funding
• Ensure/Increase of COLA
• Push to cap CAEP carryover funding (AB-1491 McCarthy)

 
Overall, we are proud of the accomplishments and setting the stage for our current year. It is clear that K12 Adult Education voices are being heard and our concerns understood. CCAE prides itself on being an “everybody” organization -- students, classified staff, teachers, counselors, administrators, and affiliate partners.

Ann also makes a great impact on adult education by being the coordinator for Poway Adult School’s Student Advisory Council. This group of adult students, from all AE programs (ESL, Diploma, Basic Skills, CTE,) has organized to make multiple improvements to our campus, including picnic areas for students, a student lending library, monthly bake sales, and a paper recycling campaign. We volunteered to collect food to distribute to local families in need during the Thanksgiving break in partnership with Poway’s Friends & Family Community Connection and collected women's clothing in conjunction with the Boots to Heels program for returning military-women vets entering the workforce. As a teacher-trainer, she is also the PAS facilitator for our monthly Professional Learning Community (PLC) at our school site. These PLCs provide teachers from multiple disciplines the opportunity to learn from each other and to ultimately improve our curriculum and teaching. She has worked to design curriculum for Integrated Education Training (IET) courses for English language learners who are seeking future employment in the fields of Information Communication Technologies (ICT) and the Southwest Airlines Customer Service certification. As a teacher for students who are learning English as a Second Language (ESL,) she has developed and implemented strategies to engage busy adults. Ann has collaborated to design, and implement, a blended classroom model so that our students have access to course materials both in the classroom and online at home through CANVAS. Additionally, she has integrated technology into student projects and applications to use on their smartphones so that they are able to continue their learning from anywhere.

Finally, Ann is a member of the California Council for Adult Education (CCAE,) and has both attended and presented at State, Section, and local conferences as well as multiple OTAN/CALPRO training programs to grow as a teacher of adult students. Her last presentation was well received at the CCAE 2019 Southern Section conference and was titled “Working Smarter: Using 21st Century Skill to Facilitate EL Civics Curriculum.”  This was a timely presentation as going into the soon to follow COVID Pandemic, these skills and the curriculum built upon them helped PAS to continue ESL with full EL Civic participation in a virtual format.

Zugey is a true example of persistence. She migrated from Mexico many years ago, not knowing any English. Once she got established in this country, she began her adult education journey.
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She started in ESL classes as a beginner and although it took her several years to become confident, she became proficient enough to complete a High School Diploma Program. Throughout her time at school, Zugey’s personal life was full of struggles: she was a single mom and worked at jobs that paid the lowest possible wages.

At that point, she decided that she needed additional vocational training and came to El Monte-Rosemead Adult School for the Medical Assistant Program. She got married, was going to school, and was raising her child----she was also keeping a secret: she was experiencing domestic violence. Her last 90 days of class, Zugey lived in a temporary women’s shelter. She was plagued with the uncertainty that at any given moment she and her child would be living in the street.
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Throughout all of this, she has always been positive and always willing to help others. At times she has volunteered off-site at Health Fairs supporting others in need. When she completed her internship at the local medical facility, she started her career at a much better paying job. She said that it was all because of El Monte-Rosemead Adult School where she continues to study!

​First employed at EGACE
Therese began her tenure at EGACE in 2002.
 
General experience
In her role as a project implementer, Therese coordinates EGACE’s fee-based Always Learning community interest program, which serves 700-800 students annually.  She is responsible for coordinating and producing the EGACE school course catalogue, which is distributed to households, businesses, medical centers, libraries, and school sites throughout the district. She also serves on the Capital Adult Education Regional Consortium’s (CAERC) Marketing and Outreach workgroup. Prior to pandemic shutdown, Therese spent many weekends at community outreach events to promote EGACE programs and services. She keeps the EGACE website and Facebook account up-to-date, emphasizing the importance of the work we do in adult education by sharing student success stories and resources that are of interest and relevant to the communities EGACE serves.
 
On top of it all, Therese coordinates EGACE’s testing services department, which includes Pearson VUE, HiSET, paraeducator testing for the school district, and employment typing exams. She possesses an abundance of energy, and there is no job too big or too small for Therese. She embraces every project sent her way and is always willing to go above and beyond to pitch in whenever and wherever she is needed.
 
Personal highlights
Therese has always been active citizen in the community of Elk Grove. For six years, she was the Executive Director to the non-profit Elk Grove Senior Center, advisory board member for the Elk Grove Community Foundation, and served as president for the local chapter of Soroptimist International. She spearheaded a project to create a library for incarcerated women at the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center, located in Elk Grove.
 
Therese and her husband Bob have three adult sons, Stephen, Mike, and Joe, along with two rescue dogs, Willy and Sophia.  Anybody who knows Therese, knows that she is the San Francisco Giants’ most ardent fan, and her unique laugh lets us all know when she is in the building.