 Stephanie Gomez was addicted to drugs by the age of fourteen. She became a prostitute at the age of twenty-seven. She has been a victim of childhood sexual abuse, domestic abuse, a child victim of a broken home, and a victim of adult homelessness, but today she has broken the cycle. Stephanie has been sober and free of prostitution for seven and a half years. She is no longer a victim of her past. She is a SURVIVOR!
Stephanie has learned that the past doesn’t define who you are or your future. She has grown from battered and abused, strung out and ashamed; to a woman who values her worth and believes in a God who loves and redeems. When she was young, she had many dreams, but along the way those dreams faded away. Once she got sober, she began to dream again. She went to recovery meetings, outreach events, and church. She did everything to build a new life. She got a job working with a cleaning company where she started at the bottom and worked her way up to supervisor and training manager. She is forever grateful for the six years there and to the company for taking a chance on her. With big goals in mind, Stephanie went back to school to obtain her high school diploma at Clovis Adult Education. By doing this, she started to fulfill a dream in her heart of becoming a social worker, and she put together an education plan that would allow her to accomplish her dream. She graduated on January 7, 2022 and started attending Clovis Community College on January 10, 2022. Her goal is to transfer to Fresno State University to obtain a bachelor’s degree, then a master’s degree, and finally a PhD in Social Work. Ms. Gomez's life has been one long journey and there are still many adventures left in her story that haven’t started yet, and she is excited for each and every one of them! Her dream of becoming a social worker stems from the hard life she has lived, as she personally knows just how deep the need is for more people in this line of work. She wants to be a light in a dark situation and be a beacon of hope to people in need. If she can help just one person, man or woman, child or family who is suffering from drug addiction, alcoholism, sexual abuse, domestic violence, or human trafficking, go from feeling trapped and victimized to feeling empowered and free as a survivor, then she will have accomplished something beautiful. Finally, Stephanie considers herself to be a role model for her family because no matter how tough life got for her or how far down in her addiction she was, she didn’t stay there. She didn’t give up. She got up and fought her way back to life, back to her family, back to sobriety. By doing this, she hopes she has shown her family that it is never too late to start over. It's never too late to dream again, and not just follow your dreams, but chase after them. By getting sober and staying this way, she has shown her family that miracles do exist if you continue to believe in them. By going back to school and pursuing her dreams, she is showing her family that anything is possible if you just focus on something bigger than yourself. By choosing to become a social worker, she is showing her family that it is okay to let your past struggles lead you if they are taking you to a positive destination. As a role model, Stephanie leads by example and guides those who need help down a righteous path, lifting them up along the way. She prays that she is not only a role model for her own family but for any person she meets who is struggling with something in their life. She feels by becoming a social worker, she will be in the perfect position to help somebody change their life the way she has done with hers.
1 Comment
 Marina Kravtov Marina Kravtov joined San Mateo Adult School in 2011 as a Beginning ESL student from Russia. After completing our ESL program, she was hired as our English Language Specialist, here, starting in 2016. As the Adult School attempted to implement its very first ever hybrid model program, a combination of online and in person programs, Marina persevered and transcended these extremely challenging times to demonstrate innovative practices and an outstanding commitment to the Adult School. Going above and beyond, despite being understaffed and experiencing various deficits due to COVID, she implemented and carried out exemplary registration and orientation processes to serve students since the start of the COVID pandemic. To support school enrollments, Marina, coordinating with other staff, held numerous, multiple, small orientation sessions, as opposed to holding the typical pre-pandemic large sessions, to accommodate students, while working within mandated social distancing guidelines to protect their safety. This approach created more work for staff and significantly increased hours over many days, serving students, including managing multiple communications with hundreds of lower level non-English speakers by email. Being an immigrant herself, an English language learner and former San Mateo Adult School student, has contributed to Marina's ability to empathize with our immigrant students and has added to her unique perspective, and in-depth knowledge of how to acquire a second language. She incorporates that knowledge into planning and improving our systems, measurements, rubrics, and placement of students. Her experience and involvement in helping to improve our measurements has helped us improve our students' placements, increased enrollment numbers and improved our data overall. She feels a high level of responsibility and goes beyond her duties to make sure students as well as staff, don't get lost in this complex multi-level process.  Marina has made tremendous contributions, being the main driver in developing the roles of our student volunteers, including mentoring and fostering their leadership skills. She contacts them, trains them, and supports their development as leaders in our program. She is a professional psychologist in her native country of Russia and brings compassion and understanding to student volunteer
development, which is also based on her professional experiences. Marina’s colleagues have a tremendous amount of appreciation and respect for her and value working with her. She is collaborative. She takes initiative and consults to assure she is carrying out guidelines. She is irreplaceable. She has led parent groups, as well as various presentations on mental health. She always tries to find ways to improve our systems, and to look at our program overall with the intention of how to best serve, support and help direct our student population, while always showing concern for staff. Come to the State Conference to see the award program in person!This year, we are so excited that we get to honor our CCAE awardees IN-PERSON and via live streaming at the 2022 CCAE Conference taking place on May 6th and 7th. 
 CCAE members are a giving group. This year the State Membership Committee wanted to give a little something back to selected Renewing, New, and Payroll Deduction CCAE members. At each Quarterly State Board Meeting, the name of one member from each group is selected. The winners each have received a $75 Target gift card. Here are the names of those whose names have been selected thus far (drawings will continue throughout the fiscal year):
Our CCAE Membership Committee consists of State President Elect, Tom Reid, and the Membership representative from each section: Bay – Kira Mann Central – Crystal Rodriguez LA Metro – Martha Martinez Northern – Patricia Oliva South Coast – Judy McFadden Southern – Anel Martinez  At the end of February, retired Adult Educator and CCAE member, Alice Yoshioka, emailed the following: After retirement, I decided to work with HLPAE students in competing in SkillsUSA, which is a huge organization that works with students to develop skills and leadership qualities. There are several levels of competition when students compete with other students in their field of study throughout the State and even the Nation. They start with local competition and advance forward to Region, State and National depending on how they perform. All 12 of our students have advanced to the State level. At Region our students competed in 5 categories (we are in Region 3 LA and Ventura County), and we took 4 gold medals, 3 silver and 2 bronze. We are so proud of our students.  Alice emailed to let us know that HLPAE will be adding these students to their Platinum Institutional Membership. Congratulations and best wishes to these students and to their support team:
 This year, due to the renovations occurring in the Capitol Building as well as the feedback received from those of you who made virtual Leg. visits last year, CCAE is encouraging virtual visits with legislators again this year. To support your visits, CCAE has put together the following webinar series:
Leg. Week Training Webinar Thursday, March 17th 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm Leg. Week Kick-Off Monday, March 28th 4:00 pm Leg. Week Virtual Visit and Close Out of Adult Ed Week Thursday, March 31st 4:00 pm Materials will be reviewed during the webinars and will be available on the CCAE website soon. Sign-up for the series HERE.  Martin has regularly studied remotely each week since he enrolled at Visalia Adult School in August. Between then and right before Christmas, he had passed three of his GED Subject Area Tests. He is currently working on math in order to pass his final test and earn his GED certificate. Prior to Christmas, he was also studying for his Citizenship test and passed all of his requirements to become a U.S. Citizen. Martin has done all of this while still working a full-time job, and the Central Section is pleased to shine a spotlight on him for his persistence and hard work.
It is with heavy hearts that we share that our California Adult Education system has lost an icon. Rocky Bettar passed away peacefully on the evening of Tuesday, December 21, 2021; he had been battling with cancer and recently elected hospice care. Rocky leaves behind an incredible legacy of advocacy, of commitment and of love. Rocky served as the Director of Adult Education and Career Preparation in Rowland Unified School District since 1995. Rocky graduated from Cal State Long Beach with a degree in industrial arts and went on to earn his master’s degree in education from Azusa Pacific University. He began his career in Rowland in 1980, where he taught automotive technology, wood and metal shop, and machine shop. Rocky has been a decades-long active member of the California Council for Adult Education (CCAE), the California Adult Education Administrators Association (CAEAA), and the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA). In each of these, Rocky aspired to leadership roles - and, in some cases, he held leadership roles multiple times. He served as a member of both the ACSA Career Technical Education Council and the Adult Education Council - and was the president of the ACSA Adult Education Council. Rocky’s good thinking and advice were often sought out to inform policy and advocacy - for both our professional organizations and for the California Department of Education. Through the years, Rocky served on a variety of advisory councils and field teams and most recently served as one of the three CAEAA representatives to the joint CAEAA-CCAE legislative advocacy team. Rocky was widely acknowledged for his expertise and commitment. He was recognized as the ACSA State Career Technical Education Administrator of the Year in 2018, received CCAE’s prestigious “Robert W. Rupert Award'' in 2020 and received recognition as the Rowland Unified School District Administrator of the Year that same year. Under Rocky’s leadership, the Rowland Adult and Career Education (RACE) program was awarded a California Golden Bell for its Community-Based English Tutoring program. Rocky took seriously the importance of communication to the field. If anyone wanted to get information to the field out quickly, we would call on Rocky to send it out to his exhaustive distribution list. Rocky took pride in his responsiveness. Usually within minutes of receiving, he would send out just-in-time information to adult education colleagues up and down the state. This information included anything from urgent calls to action for legislative advocacy to the more mundane job announcements. We will remember Rocky as an inspiring and positive leader. He is someone who led with his heart and who loved and encouraged his students, staff and colleagues. An “attaboy” or “attagirl” from Rocky always felt good -- not because they were scarce, but because you knew they were authentic. He took the time to really see you and to acknowledge your accomplishment.  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== 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:
In 2021-2022, CCAE pushes forward through legislative and budget priorities.
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. |
AuthorJames Hayes Archives
January 2023
Categories |
PO Box 4646
Whittier, CA 90607 (888) 542-2231 © Copyright 2023 California Council for Adult Education,
|
Questions? |
Please use our conference hashtag: #AdultEdtheKeyin23
|
RSS Feed