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Students attending The Learning Source's Pueblo store share a common goal of learning English and pursuing a high school education.
But they have different ideas about what they want to do with that education. Yadira Granados, 28, wants to expand her business. Yessica Gallegos, 37, said she hopes to one day earn a degree in business administration from Colorado State University-Pueblo. And she wants to help both children.
“When I travel, I want to understand the people who talk to me,” Granados said. “And I want to talk to the kids.”
Adult education providers in Colorado say they value these diverse outcomes. But the requirements for the federal grants that fund their work are more narrowly focused on preparing adult students for the workforce and demonstrating the success of their efforts. In keeping with that philosophy, Colorado officials are now requiring local providers to provide more workforce-related data about their programs as a condition of receiving federal adult education funding.
Some education providers say they don't have such data, meaning they have to forego federal grants and rely solely on the meager state funding available for adult education unrelated to job readiness. This means that there is a possibility that you will not be able to obtain They fear that classes like the one Granados and Gallegos are taking at The Learning Source Pueblo could quickly disappear.
Josh Evans, CEO of Learning Source, said thousands of Colorado adults could suffer losses.
About 300,000 Colorado adults lack a high school diploma, according to state numbers.
“We're talking about people who have significant barriers to employment and self-sufficiency,” Evans said. “And this only increases the index of difficulty for them.”
Few basic adult education resources
Paula Schriefer, president and CEO of Spring Institute, which helps refugees and immigrants learn English and access basic education, says many students seek adult education programs that go beyond just job skills. He said that
“They want to be able to talk to their neighbors. They want to help their kids at school. They want to be able to communicate with their doctors. They want to be able to go to the pharmacy and get a prescription. I want them to write,” she says. “And the reality is there's not a lot of funding to support people who have goals like that.”
Colorado provides funding to students like Grandaos and Gallegos who strive for more than just a job, but the amount is far less than other states. From 2020 to 2021, Colorado spent $7 per eligible adult, a ProPublica analysis showed. Last year, lawmakers doubled funding to about $2 million statewide.
That's why federal Adult Education and Family Literacy Act grants are an invaluable source of funding for educators.
The focus of this grant is to help adults acquire basic skills that will lead them to college and employment. And the federal government has already made it difficult for many adults to receive this funding.
But adult education providers who take advantage of the grant say the bigger problem is that the state's Office of Adult Education Initiatives has instituted new documentation requirements.
They said the agency in February changed application requirements without notice to require providers to demonstrate they are eligible to receive funding within the next grant cycle.
The state says organizations must present data about their students, including median income and employment rates for program graduates, before the state allocates federal funds.
The Colorado Department of Education said in a statement that this requirement has always been in place.
But health care providers say they will no longer be able to access federal funding because that information is not readily available.
In a March 12 letter to the Colorado Department of Education and Gov. Jared Polis, adult education providers said the state is not relying too heavily on this information to qualify for the grant. He says he is concerned about this.
The letter was signed by representatives from Jefferson County Public Schools, Denver Metropolitan State University, Emily Griffith Institute of Technology, Spring Institute, and others.
Evans' nonprofit organization is using the grant money, but he said the information is only loosely tracked and unreliable. He said it would be unfair to make organizations see a history of data that his organization or others didn't have to report.
“There are multiple programs that have been running this program in good faith for four years and are now no longer eligible,” he said.
Organizations across the state said they are preparing for cuts. Learning Source estimates it will likely have to close as many as five locations, reduce service offerings and lay off 20 to 40 instructors due to reduced funding. Additionally, Jefferson County Public Schools expects to close two schools and evacuate 13 teachers and approximately 1,000 adult learners.
Adult education providers raise other issues
These organizations say there are other problems with the Office of Adult Education Initiatives and that it is difficult to obtain information from the office.
In a second letter sent April 1, eight adult education providers listed concerns, including slower state aid payments than expected and a short window for spending money on adults. did. The letter also says the office failed to meet self-imposed deadlines.
They added that communication from the Office of Adult Education Initiatives was “very lacking.”
“Immediate action is needed to streamline the funding process, improve communication and collaboration, and provide essential technical assistance and training to support program success,” the organizations said in the letter. It is stated in
“We welcome feedback from the community,” a Colorado Department of Education spokesperson said in a statement. The Ministry held a meeting with adult education providers on April 11th.
Schriefer said few providers across the state say their offices are functioning effectively. She said the ministry acknowledged communication problems during the meeting and hoped to improve relations as the conflict made it difficult to access limited funding.
Jason Gonzalez I'm a reporter covering higher education and the Colorado Legislature.Chalkbeat Colorado is affiliated with: open campus About the scope of higher education. Contact Jason: jgonzales@chalkbeat.org.
