[MUSIC PLAYING] SPEAKER: OTAN-- Outreach and Technical Assistance Network. CAROLYN ZACHRY: Welcome back to the 2021, '22 school year. I am Dr. Carolyn Zachry, an education administrator at the California Department of Education and the state director for adult education. It's time to celebrate. If you are at an in-person staff meeting in your classroom or at home, get up and move. Imagine the song "Celebration" playing in the background. Let's celebrate a continued commitment to adult education. Let's celebrate your perseverance and resiliency. Let's celebrate our students and their persistence to reach their goals. Let's celebrate all the ways you are delivering instruction to your students-- in person, online, and hybrid. It's time to celebrate adult education and the important role you each play in making a difference in the lives of your students and their families. In the last year, we have seen increased funding at both the state and federal level. We, at the CDE, are getting this money out to your agencies sooner than ever before. In the last year, we have witnessed the resiliency and perseverance as educators. As the new year starts, many of you are returning to in-person learning. But you have not forgotten all of the technology learned during online instruction. Across the state, we are seeing an expansion of programs through virtual and hybrid classes. We are seeing this because we learned and you learned that many of our students, in order to reach their goals, need to learn at 10:00 PM at night or at 4:00 in the morning. You have seen their persistence and resilience, and you have been there to support them at every step of the way. The Adult Education Office at the CDE has a new initiative, Racial Equity-- Aspiration to Actualisation-- that we started in late 2020. In this initiative, we will re-imagine adult education by cultivating diversity, equity, access, and inclusion. We will inspire and develop courageous leadership through conscience building wherein the universe of adult education is viewed through an equity lens. We will lead the way for the California Adult Education system and nationally. This initiative started with a letter to the field in December 2020 and was followed by a survey in early 2021. And then we saw the implementation of table 7A reporting from CASAS TE. This initiative will continue this year both internally, as an office, with ongoing training of all staff, and externally, with suggestions of training and strong encouragement to make this an initiative at each of your agencies. Adult education is the fourth leg of the educational chair. Adult education makes for a sturdy chair. We are the support for our students who might not have had success in the K-12 system. We're the support for our students wanting to transition to community college or a four-year degree. Studies have shown, that adult education is the economic catalyst which offers a high return on taxpayer investment with a bottom-line efficiency unmatched anywhere else. And if you are a baseball fan, like retiring consultant from the Adult Education Office, Cliff Moss, he shares, that adult education is the middle-inning relievers for the starters that can't quite make it to the closers. So what's the future? You are the future. You are the future by preparing students for the current and future job market. You are the future by being the avenue for citizenship by providing safe environments and clear pathways for students. You are the future by meeting the needs of our returning students with flexible program options including in-person, hybrid, synchronous, and asynchronous. I wish you all the best for a great school year.