Forging the Path Forward for DC's Adult Learners & Re-engaging Youth

 In today’s blog, we’d like to share the work of our colleagues at the DC Adult and Family Literacy Coalition that was highlighted as part of last week’s national Adult Education and Family Literacy Awareness Week. DCAYA’s connection to this work stems from our interest in stable, thriving families as foundations of youth success, and as a function of the disparate definitions of accessibility across the educational and workforce opportunities available to re-engaging youth. As councilmember David Grosso, Chairperson of the Committee on Education, aptly noted last week, “If children are not learning the skills they need to complete high school, and their parents do not have their high school education, then we are nowhere near breaking cycles of poverty and/or inequality.” DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson also underscored, “A 2002 estimate indicates that 37% of adults age 16 and over in the District of Columbia operate at the lowest defined level of literacy, or below basic. This compares to national averages of 21-23% of adults scoring at the below basic level.”

Clearly, the need to address the pervasive barriers to success for DC’s disconnected youth and adult learners is profound. We echo the sentiments of our DC AFLC partners in thanking the DC Council for championing the needs and potential of these populations of District residents.

On September 24, the Committee of the Whole and the Committee on Education hosted a joint hearing on “The State of Adult Education and Literacy Initiatives in the District.” The hearing—the first in recent memory to be dedicated solely to adult education—was an important opportunity to raise the issue of adult low literacy in the District. Councilmember Grosso acknowledged this fact by saying, “A conversation about adult literacy and adult education in the District of Columbia is long overdue.” The timing of the hearing was also significant given that the DC Adult and Family Literacy Coalition (DC AFLC) and allies across the city were celebrating Adult Education and Family Literacy Awareness Week (AEFL Week) from Sept. 21-26.

As over thirty adult learners, providers, partners and government witnesses testified, a clear picture of the adult education landscape emerged: the need is great, the services are essential, and additional support is needed. Despite the diversity in student populations and programs, providers and learners spoke to the common barriers presented by the high cost of transportation, lack of available childcare, under-resourced programing and limited provider capacity.

Providers also offered up a number of solution ideas, including expanding subsidized transportation to students enrolled in adult education programs, incentivizing evening childcare programs, and investing further in adult education. There was also near-unanimous support for the creation of a State Diploma for DC residents who pass the GED or complete the National External Diploma Program.

Finally, providers spoke to the need for a city-wide strategy for our adult education and workforce development programs. Lecester Johnson, CEO of Academy of Hope Adult Public Charter School, summed up the problem by saying, “Providers who work with adult learners have been producing strong outcomes for years, but the disconnections between providers at the various levels have left too many gaps through which our residents continue to fall. Rather than a set of coordinated career pathways, DC residents make their best guess about which door to enter next in their pursuit of higher skills and self- and family-sustaining employment.” The recently enacted Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act gives the District a chance to address this issue head-on through the federally mandated creation of a state plan. A number of providers stressed the importance of capitalizing on this opportunity, and Councilmembers Grosso, Mendelson, and Silverman pressed the government witnesses on their plans moving forward.

The impact of low literacy can be felt across sectors. It can be seen in the emergency room after an adult wrongly administers medication because they can’t read the prescription bottle, and it can be seen in the rising homicide rate, as some turn to crime where no other opportunities exist. From an advocate’s perspective, it was encouraging that five councilmembers were consistently present throughout the five hour long hearing. Our hope is that attention to this important issue won’t wane as another AEFL Week comes and goes. Instead, as we enter a new Council session, we should make a commitment to long-term, systemic solutions that will create adult education and workforce development systems that work—and work well--for all District residents.

Jamie Kamlet is the Director of Advocacy and Communications for Academy of Hope Adult Public Charter School (AoH), where she develops and implements strategies to engage policymakers, business and community leaders, members of the AoH community and the general public in promoting adult basic education in the District. AoH's mission is to provide high quality adult basic education in a manner that changes lives and improves our community. AoH is also a member of the DC Adult and Family Literacy Coalition.

Shana's Pathway to Excellence

This week we wanted to bring you an update on our advocacy to create a State Diploma for GED and NEDP recipients. You might remember our effort late last year to support an OSSE proposal that would establish a state-issued diploma for those students who had pursued these alternative pathways to a high school credential. While OSSE’s initial proposal was shelved by the State Board of Education (SBOE) until they could dig deeper into the new policy’s implications, discussions resumed last week at a SBOE public meeting. 

Eight adult learners from Academy of Hope Adult Public Charter School testified on the rigor of the new GED, the persistence and dedication they must demonstrate to pass the test, and the injustice in the fact that GED certificates hold less value than a high school diploma in the eyes of many employers and postsecondary institutions.

While we could use our blog this week to harken back to the hard facts that support the creation of a State Diploma in the District, we know the story of Shana Moses, a disconnected youth who struggled for nearly a decade to attain a high school credential, speaks to the heart of the issue much better than we could:

Shana Moses, far right, testifies before the State Board of Education.

My name is Shana Moses, and I’m a 30 year old Academy of Hope Adult Public Charter School student and a Ward 8 resident.  I’m ecstatic to express my feeling towards DC offering a State Diploma.

I have personal experience of attending a GED program and being able to overcome certain barriers in my life such as becoming a parent at the age of 16, having to receive public assistance, and working ends-meets jobs that would hire me without having a high school diploma.  I tried to go back to school and finish, but got discouraged when Anacostia High School tried to make me do a grade all over again that I had already completed.  It made me lose hope.  I felt like I was never going to become anything other than another statistic, another young black girl with no education, just having kids.  That’s how the world looks at situations like mine.

Even though I had no high school diploma, I was able to receive many certifications and learned that I have many talents.  This pushed me not to give up, and I hoped my story could help someone else. 

One of my biggest discouragements was when I was told that the GED test would be changing. All of the old test scores would be of no use because the test would be upgraded as well as computerized.  I had passed all the subjects but math, and procrastinated to finish this last section of the test.  I was extremely disappointed in myself.  I couldn’t be mad at anybody but Shana.

Academy of Hope has given me so much positive energy, great support, and mentorship.  As my fellow classmates and I aim for our GED certificate or NEDP diploma, we work just as hard, if not harder than the average high school student.  It’s harder for GED and NEDP students because most of us haven’t been to school in decades and have to be taught from beginning to end in order to pass.  I am learning subjects that I haven’t seen for several years, so you could say for most of my class it’s like a baby just learning to crawl. 

Moreover, earning a passing grade on the new GED is equivalent to earning a high school diploma.  GED 2014 has been revised to be more difficult and in line with requirements of colleges and employers, and it has become an online test that is based on the common core state standards. GED students work extremely hard for this credential and are acquiring skills that meet or exceed 60% of graduating high school students.  We work hard on a day to day basis preparing ourselves to pass the exam.  

Offering the State Diploma would motivate the students even more by allowing them to have more confidence in passing the exam and to reach a goal that many have tried to achieve many times before.  The State Diploma is one of the best ideas that could be thought of for adult learners. It opens more doors to achieving the excellence we’ve earned.

To learn more about how you can support Shana and other #DiplomaBound youth through the creation of a State Diploma, please contact DCAYA Policy Analyst, Amy Dudas (amy@dc-aya.org).

For more on youth issues in DC you can FOLLOW us on Twitter, LIKE us on Facebook,SUBSCRIBE to this blog and VISIT us at www.dc-aya.org.

The High Cost of Transportation: When Showing Up is Half the Battle

Whitney is an unassuming, quiet but friendly young woman who, like her peers, has earplugs in her ears more often than not.  But don’t be fooled by her appearances.  She is a very determined young woman. She is not yet 19 years old, but she is already a mother, working hard to move from transitional housing and dependence on TANF assistance to employment that will allow her to provide for herself and her child.  She earned her GED last September, but she knows to get a job that pays enough to sustain her and her child, she needs college and/or a postsecondary credential.  That’s why she’s enrolled in bridge-to-college classes at Academy of Hope.

When Whitney first enrolled at Academy of Hope, she was part of a DOES-funded GED program for youth that included a transportation stipend.  For Whitney, this meant that she could take the Metro from her transitional housing in South East DC to Edgewood Terrace near the Rhode Island Avenue Metro, where Academy of Hope’s Strive for Success classes were held.  It took about 45 minutes and cost between $2.05 and $4.10 each way. The cost, of course, depended on the time of day she traveled (peak times to get to school, non-peak to get back home) and whether she took a bus to school from the Rhode Island Metro or chose to take the 10-minute walk.  When funding for transportation stipends ended, Whitney’s commute to school became both a financial burden and a larger time commitment.  In order to save money, Whitney no longer rides the Metro. She takes a couple of buses and spends more than an hour traveling each way.  The trip costs $1.60 each way, which amounts to $3.20 a day, $12.80 for the four days of class a week and $16.00 a week if she comes in for tutoring on Friday.  The extra 15-20 minutes commuting each way adds more than a couple of hours a week.

 

To those of us with salaried jobs, whether middle wages or high end, $16 a week doesn’t sound like all that much money, but put it in context.  $16 a week is $48 a month. Whitney’s total income for the month is $336, which she receives through TANF.  A third of that goes to rent at the transitional house where she is living.  That leaves $216 for everything else, including food, diapers for the baby, clothing, personal hygiene, transportation, etc. for the month.  Whitney feels lucky because she’s healthy and her baby’s healthy, so she doesn’t have to decide between medicine and transportation. She is determined to get the education she needs for a better life for herself and her daughter.

There are other students who don’t have even the minimal income of TANF or supportive housing who struggle to meet their basic needs, who live even farther away from school or have more family members dependent on them. These students end up dropping out of school because they simply cannot win the battle of showing up to class. Providing assistance, such  as a transportation stipend or extending Kids Ride Free, will break down a major barrier that prevents non-traditional students, such as Whitney, from breaking the cycle of poverty. Whitney is making the commitment to show up to class and better her situation. Now it's the city's turn to ease Whitney's ride to school so she may continue changing her life not only for herself, but for child.

Patricia DeFerrari is the Senior Director of Policy and Advocacy at the Academy of Hope. Patricia works to ensure DC is a more equitable and prosperous city by speaking up for adults with low literacy. To learn more about the work done by Academy of Hope visit their website at www.aohdc.org.

 For more on youth issues in DC you can FOLLOW us on Twitter, LIKE us on Facebook, SUBSCRIBE to this blog and VISIT us at www.dc-aya.org.