(DESCRIPTION) Text, Welcome. 2022-2023. Dr. Carolyn Zachry. State Director/Education Administrator. Adult Education Office. California Department of Education. Tony Thurmond, State Superintendent of Public Instruction. Logo, Department of Education, State of California. (SPEECH) CAROLYN ZACHRY: Welcome to the 2022-23 school year. I am Dr. Carolyn Zachry, an Education Administrator and State Director for Adult Education at the California Department of Education. (DESCRIPTION) Text, Adult Education Office Focus. Racial Equity Initiative: Aspiration to Actualization. (SPEECH) The Adult Education Office at the CDE is continuing our initiative-- racial equity, aspiration to actualization. We have set three goals for our initiative. We will reimagine adult education by cultivating diversity, equity, access, and inclusion. We will inspire and develop courageous leadership through consciousness building where in the universe of adult education is viewed through an equity lens. And we will lead the way for the adult education system and nationally. This initiative started with a letter to the field in December of 2020, followed by a questionnaire in 2021, and then the implementation of table 7a reporting. This initiative will continue this year both internally as an office with ongoing training for all staff, and externally with suggestions of training and strong encouragement to make this an initiative at each of our agencies. It is time to begin planning for the next application cycle. This will be a four-year cycle starting July 1, 2023, and ending June 30, 2027. Agency administrators should be watching for information about the release. (DESCRIPTION) Increased funding. Funding received sooner. Increased enrollment. Addition of hybrid learning. (SPEECH) This year, we have seen adult education funding increased to record amounts at both the state and federal level. The adult education office continues to ensure this money is received by your agencies sooner than ever before. In the last year, you were unceasing in resiliency and perseverance as educators. What we learned from the COVID-19 pandemic was that students can be successful in multiple class formats, including in-person, virtual, and hybrid. You all learned that for many of your students to reach their goals, they need to learn at 10:00 PM or 4:00 AM. You have seen their persistence and resilience. You have been their support every step of the way. The Adult Education Office staff participated in an annual training sponsored by the national reporting system. The focus of this year's training was student recruitment. And as a team, we focused on low literacy students. This is the population where we have seen the largest decline and the smallest rebound in enrollment. As a team, we were challenged to think about the journey of adult education students and the pain points they may encounter. Pain points are those that students or agency staff encounter on the journey. For example, a pain point for a low literacy student might be signage not in their primary language. And a pain point for an agency might be lack of staff. (DESCRIPTION) Adult Education Student Journey. An illustration of the trajectory of student literacy skills. Text, Potential Student needing to increase literary skills. Highlights of the steps and actions taken to see the ultimate results. Text, Share story at community, school, or church events. (SPEECH) To help us think about this journey, we developed the adult education student journey map. The map looks at a potential low literacy student's journey from the need to increase literacy skills through graduation and promotion of the adult school. This will be made available soon for all agencies so that they can develop a journey map for their students and consider the pain points for students and staff. Now, just a few reminders, mostly for administrators. (DESCRIPTION) Text, Reminders. Deliverables. New Administration Orientation. Adult Education Handbook. (SPEECH) Remember that deliverables need to be completed by due dates, specifically those that are attached to funding. This includes and is not limited to-- returning the signed grant award notification, data submission, and quarterly claims. The dates for the new administrator orientation have been set. New administrators within the last three years should plan to join the virtual orientation on the following dates September 7th through the 9th, and 13th through the 15th. The orientation will take about two hours on each of these days. A detailed schedule and registration will be available in early August. Coming in the next year will be a new adult education handbook. How many of you remember the bluebook? This new electronic handbook includes updated education codes, information related to the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, WIOA, and the California Adult Education Program, CAPE. Additionally, because it is electronic, we can update the handbook more quickly. Speaking of electronic, also available later this summer or early fall, will be the California Adult Education Digital Learning Guidance. What is 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 recruiting students and helping them on their journey so that they may meet the goals for their future. I wish you all a fantastic new year. (DESCRIPTION) Text, Have a fantastic year! Logo, Department of Education, State of California.