At Mt. Diablo USD Adult Education (Mt. Diablo Adult Education), Jennifer Dougherty is an outstanding member of our all-school support staff. Jennifer has been with Adult Education since 2014, first as a Secretary and then in 2019, taking on the important singular role of Fiscal Analyst I, Adult Education. ![]() The Adult Education Fiscal Analyst is responsible for supervising, coordinating, planning, and directing complex accounting and budgeting for the Adult Education programs of Mt. Diablo USD. The responsibility and duties of this all-school position require independent judgment and analysis related to Adult Education financial records and reports. In addition, the Fiscal Analyst trains employees in all related Adult Education policies and procedures; and ensures the coordination, collaboration, and cross training with other Adult Education fiscal and secretarial staff. The Fiscal Analyst also has the responsibility of overseeing, managing, and coordinating with MDUSD district Financial Services staff, all Adult Education budgeting and fiscal tasks, including analysis, planning, monitoring, and implementation of the Adult Education budget, various program budgets, and major grant awards as well. The role of the Adult Education Fiscal Analyst, being site-based at the main campus of Mt. Diablo Adult Education is unique and the only such site-based position within Mt. Diablo USD. As such, it also requires the ability and skills to work with the administrators, clerical staff an instructors, and the many community agencies and partners of Mt. Diablo Adult Education. After graduating from college with a Major in Accounting and immediately prior to joining Mt. Diablo Adult Education, Jennifer worked for eight (8) years in a major corporate environment in San Francisco, gaining invaluable business experience while honing her accounting skills and building her expertise and depth of knowledge. The skill and ability Jennifer has brought to the overall management of Mt. Diablo Adult Education these past seven (7) years have unwaveringly supported the vision and mission of Adult Education, despite any outside operational and/or financial challenges to the organization and the field of California Adult Education. Jennifer’s expertise and work have supported the Director of Mt. Diablo Adult Education to ensure the financial stability of the organization, and therefore, the continuity of services and programming to the Mt. Diablo USD school community and residents of Contra Costa County. Our Mt. Diablo Adult Education and District staff salute and thank Jennifer Dougherty for her many contributions to MDUSD and Adult Education, to our students, and to our community at large.
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![]() Juan Carlos Ramero realized from early on that his lack of English fluency would keep him from achieving his goals. As a student at Fresno City College, he found he was unable to communicate ideas or express himself clearly. He scored low on placement tests and none of the classes from his first year of college were eligible for transfer to CSU Fresno. While attending Fresno City College and working full-time, Juan Carlos decided to enroll at Clovis Adult Education to improve his English skills. He credits CAE instructors and counselors for the encouragement and support that allowed him to complete his studies and advance his language skills. Juan Carlos states, “If you do not put effort into what you want, you will never overcome the challenges. All the roads until this point were difficult but new challenges are just beginning, and I have to be ready for them. One thing I am sure of is that I am not alone on this new journey.” Juan Carlos is currently attending CSU Fresno as a Plant Health major. CCAE takes pride in honoring and recognizing our extraordinary members with awards at the Chapter, Section, and State levels. During the 2024 CCAE State Conference, which will be held in Anaheim on May 9th-11th, we will celebrate the achievements of Classified, Certificated, and Partners of Adult Education at the State level. Please submit your nomination forms today! Eligibility requirements for all awards can be found on this link as well. https://www.ccaestate.org/awards.html Award submission deadlines:
Due date for any CCAE Member to submit nominees for State Council Award is: December 22, 2023 Due date for Section Presidents to submit nominees for State Council and their Section's Excellence in Teaching & Support Services Awards is: January 12, 2024 Michelle Farage is an outstanding culinary instructor at Hacienda La Puente Adult Education. Her curriculum includes baking and pastry, international cuisine, and an externship module. In addition, she recently developed a very effective hybrid curriculum model through synchronous and asynchronous learning opportunities. She has also had great success teaching disabled adults and high school students. Michelle Farage is a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Career Tech Education (CTE). In addition, Michelle is a life-long learner and is currently working on a Master's Degree in Administrative Education at Cal Poly Pomona.
Michelle is a very dedicated instructor and she has been a member of CCAE for the past 10 years. She is a single mother and she is very proud of how she has been able to raise her child on her own, all while pursuing and accomplishing her higher educational goals.
Congratulations, Michelle! Congratulations to last quarter's opportunity drawing winners, each will be awarded a $50 gift card of their choice for their active support of adult education and CCAE.
Referral: David Saavedra - South Coast Section - ABC Adult School New Member: Jesus Martinez - Central Section - Tulare Adult School Renewal: Martha Reyes - Southern Section - National City Adult School Payroll Deduction: Joshua Eick - LA Metro - DACE/Adult Education Virtual Academy Adult Education 2023 End of Session California Legislative Wrap UpThe 2023 Legislative Session has officially come to an end. On Thursday, September 14th, after working for several hours, the California State Assembly gaveled down first just before midnight, with the State Senate doing the same shortly after.
The end of session is always a busy time around the Capitol as policymakers work to determine the fate of hundreds of bills. On Monday, September 11th, it was reported that about 720 bills were still pending consideration by Legislators. As of Thursday morning, many of the most contested items for the year had already been taken up for a vote. However, a couple of bills still lingered. A handful of those measures were subject to Proposition 54, which prohibits the Legislature from passing any bill unless published 72 hours before the vote. Thus, these bills were not eligible to be taken up until the afternoon/early evening. In terms of CCAE and CAEAA legislative priorities this year, we offer the following update: SB 447 (Atkins): GO-Biz: Building & Reinforcing Inclusive, Diverse, Gender Supportive Equity Project Would lift California’s travel ban to states with anti-LGBTQ+ laws and establishes at the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) the Building and Reinforcing Inclusive, Diverse, Gender-Supportive Equity Project (BRIDGE Project) to promote social equity, civil rights, and antidiscrimination through education, marketing, and advertising campaigns. The bill allows media campaigns to be on a national scale and allows campaigns to target states with anti-LGBTQ+ laws. This bill specifies GO-Biz is to create a BRIDGE Project fund where money is to be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to support the BRIDGE Project. GO-Biz is to establish a process to receive donations to the fund. In addition, the bill specifies GO-Biz may contract with a nonprofit agency that is the “leading producer of public service advertisements and is able to use the services of volunteer advertising agencies and donated media to conduct the marketing activities.” The bill also requires GO-Biz to convene an advisory committee of no more than ten members to advise GO-Biz on BRIDGE Project media campaigns. Lastly, the bill establishes certain requirements for media campaigns funded by the project.
AB 377 (Muratsuchi): California CTE Incentive Grant Program: Strong Workforce Program Would have required the consolidation of specified K-12 career technical education (CTE) programs; increased ongoing funding for the Career Technical Education Incentive Grant program (CTEIG) administered by the California Department of Education (CDE); required specified CTE staffing at the state and regional level to support local CTE programs and pathways; and deleted authorization for the K-12 Strong Workforce Program (SWP) administered by the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges (CCCCO). Would also require the CDE to establish a stakeholder workgroup to consider improvements to the CTEIG program.
AB 897 (McCarty): Certificated school employees: probationary employees: service credit Requires an employer of an adult education teacher to grant the teacher permanent employee status after a two-year probationary period. Additionally, it requires an employer of a certificated school employee working at least 60% of a full time position, and who has served for at least 75% of the number of days of their assignment, to consider the employee as having served a complete school year for purposes of granting permanent status, as well as requires an LEA to notify an employee hired using categorical state funding of the following information at the time of hire: the expected end date of employment, the source of funding, and the nature of the categorically funded program or project.
ACR 31 (Pacheco): Adult Education Week Proclaims the week of March 19, 2023 to March 25, 2023, inclusive, as Adult Education Week, and would honor the teachers, administrators, classified staff, and students of adult education programs statewide for their efforts, persistence, and accomplishments.
The following bills also passed the Legislature and may be of interest to the adult education field:
Other noteworthy end of session activity that may be of interest included some last-minute deals as follows:
With the Legislature now adjourned, the focus shifts to the Governor’s office. Governor Gavin Newsom has until October 14th to act on the bills passed by the Legislature. If signed, most bills go into effect at the start of the new year, unless they have an urgency clause or specify otherwise. The Legislature will reconvene on January 3rd for the 2024 legislative session. As a reminder, this year was the first year of a two-year legislative session, some of the bills that stalled may be brought back in 2024 for reconsideration. These measures are commonly referred to as “two-year bills” and must clear their house of origin by January 31st. Stay tuned… In terms of next steps, CCAE and CAEAA have already begun the planning process to determine our legislative and budget priorities for the next few years. Among the topics being discussed in detail include ongoing discussions regarding possible reforms to the Adult Education Program, funding, teacher credentialing, and more. We look forward to further discussion with the field on these items in the coming months. A summer of heat, hurricane, and drifting smoke from fires up north is a good reminder that climate literacy, green jobs, and emergency preparedness are crucial skills for the future. If you are interested in discussing how to include these skills in your adult education classes and programming, come to one of the bimonthly Zoom gatherings where this is discussed. Everyone is welcome at the meetings. Most attendees are from California but some are Adult Ed folks from other parts of the US.
Contact Cynthia Eagleton at gcteachercynthia@gmail to get on her email list for links to the next Zoom as well as access to notes from previous meetings and updates as they roll out. The Adult Ed Sustainability website has more information. Congratulations to the following winners of last quarters Membership opportunity drawing, and thank you for supporting adult education! #K12AdultEdMatters
![]() Christine Spencer has been involved in adult education for several years and in a variety of roles. Christine has taught ESL and Citizenship in Pixley and in Tulare, giving hope and guidance to countless students wanting to learn and become US citizens. In addition, Christine is always willing to help in any way possible. She has recently taken on High School Diploma and ABE students as well. Her warm and caring personality in addition to her general approachability make her a teacher that students seek for guidance and support. Christine supports students by consistently going above and beyond to meet students where they are and help them find success on their journeys. She currently serves as our Tulare Chapter Vice-President/President-Elect. Christine Spencer has taught all levels of ESL and Citizenship for many years, but more recently she has also taught ABE English, Independent Study High School Diploma, and a Health Care Basics course as an IELCE course alongside a CTE teacher. Christine shows enthusiasm in any undertaking and always works hard to establish relationships with students that will lead to their success. Christine is ideal for this acknowledgement due to her exuberance in working with teachers. She is extremely engaging in the classroom and is always trying new instructional strategies that will further learning and outcomes for students. She has a heart for every student and loves to learn their stories and build trust as a first step. Christine has assisted a number of her high school diploma students cross the finish line and has been their biggest cheerleader. She is a true advocate for students and is always putting their interests first. In addition to her talent in the classroom, Christine has also coordinated other teachers and staff this year in pulling together student activities that build a strong campus community. Christine creates an engaging and relevant learning environment for all her students. On student surveys many have expressed just how supportive she has been and what a positive impact she has made on their lives. One example of her significant impact was earlier this school year when a student shared with her the experience she had in her official citizenship interview. Because this student trusted Mrs. Spencer, she shared how the male interviewer made her feel uncomfortable. Not only did Christine listen and show empathy for her student, but she also reported the event and made sure there was no negative impact on the students' citizenship eligibility. This advocacy and integrity shown by Christine made a difference for this student because she felt like someone stood up for her and she was not alone in this situation. There is no doubt Christine goes above and beyond for her students, in and out of the classroom, to make them feel like valued and important members of our school and community. We value and appreciate all Christine does for Tulare Adult School. Thank you Christine! |
AuthorJames Hayes Archives
July 2024
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