Welcome to our Spring and Summer Quarters. In this brochure you will find a variety of exciting new course offerings as well as a rich array of ongoing quality learning opportunities to pique your interest in developing professional skills, literacy skills, or perhaps your pursuit of cultural enrichment or recreational activities. One of our many success stories is the continued development of medical career pathways with four programs now offering community externships in addition to in-depth classroom instruction: Front Office Medical Assistant, Medical Billing, Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) and Home Health Aide (HHA). In the area of computer instruction, Castro Valley Adult School is now partnering with Certiport Inc. to provide Microsoft Certification preparation and assessment services including certification for Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access. See brochure descriptions for details on these and other exciting developments.

Education Funding: In California we are very fortunate to have over 300 Adult Schools that tailor make educational programs to address the needs of their local school communities. These Adult Schools receive a modest amount of funding from the Department of Education for particular types of classes including High School Diploma, Career and Technical Education, Adults with Disabilities, Health and Safety, Parenting Education, English as a Second Language, and Senior Adult classes. Other types of classes offered by adult schools receive no state funding and are supported solely by the registration fees charged to students. At Castro Valley Adult School these fee-based Community Interest classes include Italian, Dog Training, Driver Improvement, Financial Planning, and Table Tennis to name just a few.

California is now facing a severe financial crisis which will undoubtedly have a significant impact on all state-funded education services from kindergarten through public university. With California currently ranked near the bottom in per-pupil K-12 funding when compared to other states, it is time for citizens to initiate dialogues with their legislators requesting the development of a funding mechanism for education that is not so closely tied to the rise and fall of the state economy. Program development and continuity is extremely challenging given the funding roller coaster we have been riding for many years. Following are contact numbers for elected officials who represent Castro Valley and surrounding areas. Thank you for considering this timely matter and for your ongoing support of Adult Education.

Wishing you joy in your pursuit of life-long learning.

Jerry Green