Testimony of Marc Korashan before the City Council Youth Services Committee Oversight Hearing on Adult Literacy: May 29, 2007

May 29, 2007 10:14 AM

Good morning, Chairman Fidler and members of the Youth Services Committee.

 The exact numbers for adults needing educational services is hard to quantify, but the most conservative estimate shows more than 1 million New Yorkers  desperately needing  publicly funded adult-education services. Adult literacy consists of the interrelated programs that adult learners—the majority of whom are newcomers—need in order for them to establish themselves in the community. These include basic reading skills, English as a Second language, Basic Literacy, GED preparation and Career and Technical Education programs. Yet as administered by the DOE’s Office of Adult and Continuing Education, these programs share the same failings.

•  The city’s programs are poorly publicized and ineffective in recruiting;
• They are underfunded;
• They serve far too few students;
• They fail to retain students.

 These failings exacerbate the dangerous trend toward privatizing necessary public services by opening the door to for-fee providers. While the cost burden may be shifted away from the city purse, it’s the city’s poor who are ill-served through costly and frequently inferior private services.

 DOE does a poor job of publicizing its adult education classes. While its Office of Adult and Continuing Education remains the single largest supplier of adult education to city residents, we estimate that just 28,000 adults are now being served.  CUNY, the library system and community-based organizations also provide adult education services.

 Private, for-profit businesses do the rest, and with little public oversight or accountability. Such services come with a hefty fee and their teachers are not certified, but these private, for-profits surely know how to market. They advertise their services in subways, in print, and in radio and television advertisements to a city demographic desperate to acquire adult education skills. Relying on these providers is a classic example of de facto privatization. Private firms grow, while the DOE’s adult programs stagnate and credentialed teachers’ skills go unappreciated.

 The DOE adult programs suffer from what more than one teacher tells us are unbearable work schedules that force them to spend hours commuting between different school sites. Program resources are wasted and the union contract frequently violated. Supervision is top heavy and—following a 2004 lay-off —too few counselors work with these adult students to help them access other needed services and arrange schedules so they can continue their classes. Remember, these students take classes in the face of work pressures, child and family obligations, and all the other stresses that affect working and low-income New Yorkers. What counselors there are frequently have time for little else but intake testing and placement. Classroom supplies are few and classroom settings frequently inappropriate. Some learning centers may be state-of the art, yet other classes are commonly held in leaky church and community-center basements and makeshift quarters. And when students drop out, it’s the teachers who get blamed.

The Office of Adult Education’s Web site refers to UFT members as “licensed by the State and the NYC Department of Education” and who are “caring and supportive professionals” who are “committed to student centered classes, individualized and small group instruction, (and) student achievement in education and employment.” The truth is, too often our members are treated without regard for the caliber of their professionalism.

The DOE should take immediate steps to see that the same kind of care that goes into building new, small boutique schools goes into better adult education provision. Some of this requires revision of present state and federal reimbursement procedures, which are both cumbersome and too low. The chancellor should seek improved reimbursement-procedures in Washington, D.C. and in Albany.  

The city should also ensure that welfare recipients actively enrolled in classes not be forced to stop attending to fulfill a work requirement. School is work for these students, and when they earn their GED or CTE certification, they’ll be able to secure better paying, meaningful employment and leave public assistance.  

 In addition, the DOE needs to build a seamless transition from day school to adult education for those failing to earn a diploma by age 21 but who are willing to come to class and try. Alternative Schools Supt. Cami Anderson said about the reorganization of GED programs for students under 21, "We all find it extraordinary that these kids keep showing up." We need to make an extraordinary effort to provide services for the adults who "keep showing up," too.

 The UFT also urges the City Council and the mayor to endorse the New York Bill of Rights for Adult Education, which calls for a sound, basic, quality education for all New Yorkers, regardless of age. The bill is the product of work between our UFT Adult Education chapter and numerous community groups, including The Grassroots Literacy Coalition, The New York Immigration Coalition, VALUE-Voice for Adult Literacy United for Education, and the Literacy Assistance Center. Among the bill’s 14 points are:  delivering instruction customized to the needs and interests of the adults served; offering safe and healthy learning sites; providing quality translation and interpretation services; guaranteeing  participant access to child care, transportation and social services; and providing appropriate public funding. (A copy of the New York Bill of Rights for Adult Education is attached to the written testimony.)   

Finally, while the DOE teachers and the library teachers are unionized, those employed by the CBOs and CUNY are not. That’s a deplorable labor condition, and anything the Council can do to redress this unfair labor practice will be appreciated. 

In summation: We need to maximize free education, not curtail it. An educated workforce  is a productive workforce. Its taxes help to maintain city services, its income helps grow the economy and its education expands an informed electorate. Adult education is a worthy investment.  

New York Bill of Rights for Adult Education

We believe that a sound basic education is necessary for all people, to enable them to participate to their potential as workers, family members, and citizens.  We therefore believe that all people, regardless of their age, have the right to a quality basic education.

To ensure that right,

• An effective delivery system of adult basic education shall be instituted and maintained in the State. This system shall meet professional standards for high quality.

• This system shall deliver instruction customized to the needs and interests of the adults it serves.  Services will include basic literacy, English as a second language, adult secondary education, computer training, and vocational education.

• Adult learners shall be included in decisions related to their education.  This shall include goal setting and program evaluation.

• These educational services shall be free and accessible in terms of scheduling and location.

• Adult learners shall have access to testing, evaluation and accommodation for learning and/or other disabilities.

• Adult learners shall be informed about the education choices available to them.

• Adult learning sites shall be safe and healthy locations

• Adult learners who do not speak English shall be provided with quality translation/interpretation services.

• Adult learners shall have access to high quality child care, transportation, and social services, so that they may take full advantage of these learning opportunities.

• The Department of Education, employers, unions, libraries, universities, community organizations, social service agencies, and other institutions shall be encouraged to implement adult education services.

• The First Amendment rights of adult students shall not be abridged, but instead encouraged and developed.

• The leadership development and organization of adult students shall be promoted in the interest of greater participation in civic society.

• Public funds shall be appropriated to support that delivery system and thereby fulfill the constitutional mandate.

• The New York Bill of Rights for Adult Education shall be read to and given to all new and enrolled students in literacy and adult education programs.

The New York Bill of Rights for Adult Education is endorsed by The Grassroots Literacy Coalition, The New York Immigration Coalition, the United Federation of Teachers-Adult Education Chapter, VALUE - Voice for Adult Literacy United for Education, and The Literacy Assistance Center.