Montebello Community Adult School has a long and proud history of serving the literacy and citizenship needs of the community since 1936 when the first ESU Americanization class was offered. The school has always been quick to respond to the changing times affecting those needs. After World War II, MCAS became an official GED testing center to offer high school equivalency opportunities to returning veterans. In the l 970's, when the community received an influx of Southeast Asian refugees, MCAS established classes to assist these individuals with educational, job-training and assimilation needs. During this same period MCAS instituted competency-based education with a focus on life skills curriculum. In response to the Adult Performance Level (APL) Project, which found that large percentages of the U.S. population were functionally illiterate, MCAS became one of seven schools selected to field-test a process model for a competency-based adult high school diploma as part of the California Competency (CALCOMP) Project.

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In the l 980's, with the advent of the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA). MCAS provided classes for thousands of immigrants eligible for amnesty. Additionally, in the 1980's, staff participated in Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment System (CASAS) consortium activities, attended CASAS in-service training, integrated CASAS competencies into the curriculum, field-tested exams, and served as a sampling agency. Also at this time, staff recognized that adult students graduating with high school diplomas needed assistance in transitioning to further education. As a result, representatives from local colleges were invited to give presentations and register students, a practice that continues today.

 

Since 1991, MCAS has been a yearly recipient of a Carl D. Perkins grant for its Career Technical Education program. This grant is awarded to schools to provide equal access for special populations including economically disadvantaged individuals, English language learners, adults with disabilities and single parents. Funding from the grant has allowed the school to supplement the CTE program with updated technology as well as additional materials, supplies and support.

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MCAS was one of the pioneers in establishing a Distance Learning program for adult literacy students through the Innovation and Alternative Instructional Delivery program, also referred to as the 5% Project. MCAS gave adults who had obstacles attending in regularly scheduled classes the opportunity to gain necessary literacy skills by studying at home using videotapes, DVDs and printed materials. Additionally, the program has given adult students, who would like to accelerate their studies, the opportunity to augment their classroom education by participating while also attending their regular classes. This popular program was still offered free-of-charge.

 

With the implementation of WlA Title II in 1998, MCAS began participating in the grant. Each year since then, MCAS students have made significant gains on CASAS assessments, earning thousands of benchmarks/payment points yearly. ESL/ABE/ASE students are pre-tested upon entry for program placement and post-tested at established intervals throughout the school year to document progress. This performance-based accountability grant has been highly successful and provided the school with needed funding to supplement the program.

 

Since 2003, when EL Civics grants were instituted, MCAS has collected benchmark data for student mastery of citizenship and civics curricula. After studying units of study on American History and Government, students in EL Civics/Citizenship preparation classes test using CASAS "Government and History for Citizenship" tests. The success of this program is a testament to the strength of classroom instruction and student dedication and interest.

 

In 2011, MCAS was one of ten Adult Schools in California selected to participate in the ''Policy to Performance" (P2P) project to transition adult students to postsecondary education. The success of this project led MCAS to incorporate the major components of the grant into the ASE program. MCAS graduating students are given additional career counseling and guidance, taken on tours of local college campuses, guided in completing FAFSA applications, assisted in applying for scholarships awarded by MCAS and helped in registering for college online.

 

In 2009, Adult Education in California entered categorical flexibility or "Tier ID" status. Districts were given permission to raid funds from Tier ID programs or shut them down completely. Many districts decimated their Adult Education programs or dismantled them altogether to fund K-12 education. Fortunately, with the strong support of the Montebello Unified School District Board of Education and the fiscal acumen and foresight of the Adult Education Director (now also the Superintendent of Schools), MCAS sustained minimal cuts to the existing program during the first years of categorical flexibility.

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In 2012, when Governor Brown proposed shifting all Adult Education programs to community colleges within two years, there was a huge public outcry. The Governor relented, and in a compromise move, he endorsed AB 86. AB 86 mandated K-12 districts to fund Adult Education programs at the same levels as 2012-13 for the next two years, while at the same time having these K-12 districts work with local community colleges to develop regional consortia in order to expand and improve services to adults.