On October 6 and 7, 2014, Language Arts Dean Mary Gutiérrez and ESOL faculty Leigh Anne Shaw attended the statewide AB 86 Regional Planning Summit. They were joined by representative members of their local AB 86 consortium, ACCEL: Tim Doyle, Assistant Director of San Mateo Adult Education and Adult Ed ESL faculty Patricia Brown. The two-day event took place in Sacramento and was a historic opportunity for representatives from all seventy consortia to meet and work on the development of a framework aligning the curriculum and programs in Adult Basic Education and Community Colleges.
The first day featured representatives from the state legislature responding to panel questions regarding the expectations and hopes of AB 86’s charge. Then, participants broke into work groups and discussed vision, structure, and funding mechanisms for the two systems. The second day featured a discussion of organizational change and further work on alignment ideas. Elements highlighted at the summit included the need for equalized funding and workload between credit and noncredit, dedicated funding for adult education, and the concept of “no wrong door” for students seeking skills improvement.
More information on the work being done on AB 86 in San Mateo County can be found at http://www.accelsmc.org/.
