Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/994766
needs and has requ est ed during bar - gainin g sessions that th e di strict f i l l more full-tim e positions to solve th e teaching shortage at the Pittsburg AE site. The bargaining team is also seek- ing to get w hat it considers the site's fair sh are of LC AP fun din g from th e district and the Contra Costa County Adult Education Consortium. Unli ke m o st t ea ch ers, AE in str u c- tors in Pittsburg are not given any paid prep time. ey work on their own time, unpaid, to prepare lessons, counsel stu- dents and evaluate student work. The union is pushing for them to be paid the full rate for mandatory professional development hours instead of the lower rate for substitute teachers. Seeking respect for important work With AE instructors facing such challeng- ing work conditions, misunderstandings about their role and lack of clear career opportunities, Hess and MacDonald are often asked why they stay in their jobs instead of seeking K-12 positions where they are likely to be treated better. " We stay because we do important work," says MacDonald. One of her students, for example, came from Mexico, and because he was dys- lexic, he never learned to read. Now he is literate in English and holds two jobs. "He's a butcher, and after he filled out the application and passed the test, he came to thank me, and we had a good cry together," she recalls. "It was a success story not just for him, but for his family." Hess has a student from Nigeria who had never attended any school grow- i n g u p a t a l l . No w s h e c a n re a d a n d write in English. "I'm not illiterate any more, Mrs. Hess, am I?" she asked recently. "We love our students and love our job," says Hess. "is is why we've stayed." 54 cta.org CTA & You Adult Education Programs at a Crossroads S H O U L D T H E A D U L T E D U C A T I O N (AE) credential be eliminated so that anyone with a bachelor 's degree can teach AE? This is among recommendations from the state Legislative Ana- lyst's Office (LAO), and it is generating opposition from AE teachers within CTA. "Although the credentialing system for adult education in California is in need of reform, getting rid of the credential risks compromising the quality of education our adult education students currently receive," says Ruth Luevand, who chairs CTA State Coun- cil's Adult, Alternative, and Career Technical Education Committee, which does not support this proposal. Adult schools offer high school diploma programs, in which adults can take high school subjects to complete their secondary degrees. Since credentialed teachers teach regular K-12 high school classes, she points out, those who teach AE high school subjects should be credentialed AE instructors. "Also, Adult Basic Education (ABE), another adult school subject, is the equivalent of an elementary school education for adults," says Luevand, a chemistry teacher at San Dimas High School and Bonita Unified Teachers Association president. "Adults in ABE classes gen- erally need more skillful instruction, which is the intent of the adult education credential." Abolishing the AE credential would make it difficult for instructors at adult schools to also teach at community colleges. Community college teachers with master 's degrees would not have to do additional coursework to teach at adult schools. But adult school teachers would not be able to teach for-credit AE classes at community colleges unless they hold a master 's degree. (Anyone with a bachelor 's degree can teach noncredit community