GILROY
– Gilroy Unified School District officials are pursuing
expansion of the programs it offers to community members in need of
a high school education, despite being faced with cuts in state
funding that could run upwards of 10 percent of its adult education
budget.
GILROY – Gilroy Unified School District officials are pursuing expansion of the programs it offers to community members in need of a high school education, despite being faced with cuts in state funding that could run upwards of 10 percent of its adult education budget.
At a December school board meeting, Superintendent Edwin Diaz told trustees that the GUSD adult education program is an underutilized tool that can meet several demands within the community.
“There is more potential there,” Diaz said in a recent interview. “There is more demand than what we’re providing for.”
More than $200,000 is spent each year by the GUSD to deliver its adult education program, which graduates roughly 50 adults a year and provides high school diploma prep courses, remedial instruction for failing high schoolers and vocational instruction.
“I’d like to see the program do a lot more with adult literacy and I’d like to see what role adult education can play in helping kids who don’t pass the high school exit exam,” Diaz said.
By June of 2004, all graduating seniors must pass a state high school exit exam in order to receive a diploma.
Judith Dunham shares the goal of expanding adult education services. In her first year as the district’s administrator of adult education and family literacy she has worked with adult literacy agencies around Gilroy to form a cooperative.
“One of my visions is that we’re not duplicating services, but providing a coordinated comprehensive program that meets various needs,” Dunham said of the collaboration.
By January Dunham wants to offer basic skills courses to people who are ready to leave English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction but do not have the academic skills to start working on a high school diploma.
“There are people who dropped out before they entered high school, people with reading problems, and people with other factors they are not ready for secondary education,” Dunham explained. “We believe there is a big need there in the community.”
A recently garnered grant worth more than half a million dollars will help, at least indirectly, the GUSD’s adult education program. The money will fund programs that help families with pre-natal to 5-year-old children better prepare for kindergarten.
“I see it as a logical marriage,” Dunham said of the grant and the adult education program. “We’re not just trying to help parents learn. We’re also trying to help parents prepare their children for learning.”
Diaz said he is prepared to have the district do a needs analysis in the community that would justify any increased spending or expanded services. However, Diaz acknowledged that he does not know the impact the state budget crunch will have on adult education.
