The Adult School Needs Your Help!!!

Has the Adult School helped you?

For most of you, the answer will be a big “Yes!”

That is what we try to do: We try to help our students learn English, improve their job skills, be better parents, become active citizens or US residents, participate in their community, and succeed in both their work and personal lives.

But now we have a problem: The State of California has a budget crisis.
What is a budget crisis? It’s when you don’t have enough money to pay all your bills.
This is a serious budget crisis.

As you know, there are economic problems here in the Bay Area, in California, in the United States, and in other countries. People are losing jobs. People are losing their houses. Some banks have had problems. People worry about the future. What will happen? Everyone, of course, wants a good job. Everyone wants a healthy economy. Everyone wants a good life.

The State of California is running out of money. If the Legislature doesn’t make a decision by February 1st, the State must give some people and some programs “IOUs.” This means “I owe you money and I will pay when I get some.”

(What is the Legislature? It is like Congress for California. We elect State Senators and State Representatives. They make the laws for California.)

The State Legislature must decide what to do.
Should they make cuts? What do they cut? How much?
Should they make new taxes? Maybe temporary taxes? For example, they could add one penny to the sales tax for one year. Or they could add a tax to gasoline. They must cut programs or they must raise taxes or they must do both.

They must make choices.

Everyone knows: There will be cuts. The question is: Will be the cuts be big or little? And where will the cuts be? This is a serious time for California, for the US, and for many other countries. We are in a recession. The situation is difficult.

The elected members of the State Legislature could not agree on what to do. We have a special law in California that says two thirds of the legislature must agree. Right now they cannot agree on what to do.

But they are thinking… they are thinking and arguing… and at some point, they will come to a decision and then they will tell everyone their decision and all of us must live with it.

Here are two very, very important things for you to know, think about, and do something about:

1. They are deciding how much money to give schools, including Adult Schools.
2. They listen to people. Especially, they listen to letters. Not emails. Emails are okay. But letters are better. They read the letters people write them and they listen to their opinions.

So… back to my first question: Has the Adult School helped you?

If your answer is, “Yes!” then now is your chance to help the Adult School in return.

It would be a big, Big, BIG help if you write a letter and tell the Legislature about how the Adult School has helped you.

Maybe you are thinking, “Oh no, Teacher. They don’t care about me.”

Oh yes, they do. You are a worker. You are a taxpayer. You are a parent. They care.

Maybe you are thinking, “But Teacher, I am not a citizen!”

That is okay. Even if you are not a citizen, you can write a letter and they will read it and they will listen to your opinion.

Here are some important things to tell them in your letter:

1. How classes at the Adult School helped you get a job, keep a job, or do better: Did you get a promotion? Can you help customers better? Did you learn new skills that you use at your job?

2. How classes at the Adult School helped you be a better parent: Can you read to your children in English? Do you take them to the Public Library? Did a teacher at the Adult School help you understand American schools better, and learn how to help your child succeed? Do you volunteer at your child’s school?


3. How classes at the Adult School helped you become active in your community or become a citizen: Have you volunteered with anything? Did you join the Student Council? Did you help at Samaritan House, Coyote Point, or donate coats to the One Warm Coat Drive? Can you understand US culture better now? Can you read the newspaper or read the news on the Internet now? Are you a better neighbor now?

Here is where to send your letters:

Senator Leland Yee
400 South El Camino Real, Suite 630
San Mateo, CA 94402
Phone: 650 – 340 – 8840

Assemblymember Jerry Hill
1528 South El Camino Real, Suite 302
San Mateo, CA 94402
Phone: 650 – 341 – 4676

Maybe you have friends or family who study at Adult Schools in others parts of California. It is important for them to write their State Senator and Assembly Member, also.

They can go to http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html and put in their zip code to find out who their senator or assembly member is.

All Adult Schools in the state of California need your help now.

Here are a few more things:

1. Adults Schools have been in California for 150 years.
2. We serve 1.5 million students each year.
3. 15,000 people work for Adult Schools.

(Some of the employees at the Adult School used to be students there. Gloria Gonzalez, for example, who works at the front desk, was a student at San Mateo Adult School.)

4. During recessions or economic hard times, many people go to Adult Schools for more job skills and better English
5. Adult Schools are very cost-effective. That means they don’t cost a lot of money.
We are good schools but we are not fancy. California can help many, many
people in a low-cost way through Adult School programs.
6. We teach ESL, Citizenship, and Job Skills. We help students who are 18 years old or over get their GED, ABE or High School Diploma. We teach Older Adults many, many things to keep them healthy and active. We provide Parent Education to all parents. We teach immigrant parents how to help their children in school. We work very hard to serve our community and to teach our students how to serve their community, also.

If you need any help writing a letter, ask one of the teachers at school for help.

This is a serious time for our country and a serious time for the Adult School.

If the Adult School has helped you, please: Write Senator Yee and Assembly Member Hill or call them.

Tell your friends and family about this.

This is your chance to speak up and use your voice. If you value the Adult School and want to use it in the future, speak up now.

It is important.

Thank you,

Cynthia