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OSSTF District 11- Thames Valley
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District 11 Office |
Education Matters Online
Feature
Volume 2, Issue 4: May 10, 2004
Why We Need Adult Day Schools(Reprinted from a D/BU from the OSSTF Provincial Executive) |
Since adult secondary daytime enrolment has fallen from 76,000 to less than 6000 due to severe Conservative funding cuts, OSSTF is calling on the new government to reinvest in these valuable programs. Once again we offer the results of research done by OSSTF and others in the late 1990's- research that shows why adult daytime high schools are a social and economic necessity and a moral imperative.
They work:
 | 83% of graduates go on to jobs or further education. (1995 O.C.A.E. survey). |
| Welfare rates for these individuals are cut in half (1996 OSSTF survey). |
| Daytime co-operative education programs provide crucial on-the-job local experience. |
| Adult students earn their high school diplomas faster in full daytime secondary programs than through night school. |
| The more we help adults re-enter public schools, the more Ontario's economy benefits. Restoring funding to these programs saves taxpayers money in the long run. |
The need is great:
| A 1996 OSSTF survey of almost 8000 adult students found that 63% are female; .16% have disabilities (twice the provincial average); 53% need ESL, and 48% are on social assistance. These adults deserve a second chance. |
| One in five Ontario children live in poverty. Helping their parents helps them too. |
Daytime high schools are the preferred form of adult education:
| Under section 49 of the Education Act, all Ontario residents have the right to seven years of secondary education without paying fees. Our adult students cannot afford and should not have to pay fees to private trainers or colleges, when what they really need to get a good job is a high school diploma. |
| High schools are located in every community. Other options may not be. |
| The 1996 OSSTF survey found that an overwhelming 96% of adults without secondary school diplomas preferred daytime adult-only high schools over other options. |
| An OSSTF survey in 1997 found that enrolments fell least in boards that kept fully salaried and qualified secondary teachers specializing in adult education. Where adult students were sent to night or summer schools, enrolments fell by over 94% in two years. |
| The best model allows integration of credit and non-credit (Adult Basic Literacy and English as a Second Language) programs in the same building, so that the students can progress seamlessly and within their own community from essential skills upgrading to credit courses. |
| The GED (test of General Educational Development), touted by the Harris government as "equivalent" to a high school diploma, has not been well received by employers in Ontario. Ontarians need and deserve genuine high school diplomas, with credits gained in classes taught by certified teachers and diplomas issued by publicly-funded secondary schools. |
We call on the Ontario Liberal government to make the necessary financial commitment for adult learners NOW rather than paying a much higher price later.
