Accompanied by Local District East Superintendent José Huerta, left, Acting Assistant Education Secretary Johan Uvin shoots video of powerline-training students, above.
Arriving from the nation’s capital to check out Los Angeles Unified’s Adult Education program, it took Acting Assistant Education Secretary Johan Uvin only a couple of minutes at the sprawling East Los Angeles Skills Center to see all the District has to offer.
The Department of Education official stopped at a classroom where aspiring cosmetologists wielded combs and curling irons. Down the hall, the chatted with instructor Larry Calderon about the job opportunities available for students trained as photovoltaic installers.
Outside, Uvin trained his cell-phone camera on burly students learning to scale towering utility poles as part of the powerline-training program – a popular option that has a waiting list of 800 applicants. Later, he traveled to the Evan Community Adult School, where he talked to students and teachers in ESL classes and met with new Superintendent Michelle King.
“I am very interesting in highlighting the programs that will result in well-paying jobs,” Uvin said during his visit Thursday. “It’s very clear that the Skills Center is responding to the needs of the local economy and giving individuals – especially those facing challenges or barriers –the tools to transform their lives. It’s giving them a pathway to the middle class.”
Student Alejandra Uangartea, right, is a cosmetology student at East L.A. Skills Center.
From its main facility and three satellites, the East LA Skills Center offers classes in more than two dozen career pathways – from accounting to video production. Students can also study English-as-a-second-language, or take classes to earn their high-school diploma.
Principal Andrea Rodriguez told Uvin how the campus is continually revamping programs to ensure that graduates meeting the evolving needs of employers. It has added a certification component to its medical assistant’s program, for example, and a math requirement for photovoltaic students who need a high school diploma to qualify for a job.
“We’re working with local industries to make our programs relevant,” she said.
Uvin also heard about the center’s partnership with Homeboy Industries, which helps former gang members and inmates turn their lives around. The nonprofit covers the cost of tuition and supplies – a total of approximately $1,200 – for 30 clients to start each session of the four-month-long photovoltaic program.
Students train as photovoltaic installers.
“This gets our guys working,” Homeboy program coordinator David Andrade told Uvin. “It helps these guys out and trains them for a better future.”
Uvin also stopped to watch the nerve-wracking powerline training, which prepares students for entry-level jobs working with electrical power or distribution system. Although the class had started less than two weeks earlier, students were already becoming adept at climbing up and down the poles, bolstered by calls of encouragement from their classmates on the ground.
After spending 18 months on the waiting list, Ismael Meza was thrilled to start the program. Despite the inherent dangers of the job and the hard work involved, the skills he learns will give him a chance at a better life.
Johan Uvin visited Evans Community Adult School with, from left, DACE Director Donna Brashear; Superintendent Michelle King; his chief of staff, Carmen Drummond; teacher-adviser Juan Noguera; and school board President Steve Zimmer.
“It will all be worth it,” he said.
The skills center is one of 10 campuses operated by the Division of Adult and Career Education, which serves about 90,000 students annually with a budget of roughly $100 million. Nearly three-quarters of the DACE funding comes from a federal grant designed to promote the training of entry-level and transitioning workers.
Uvin has spent most of his career in education and workforce development, in both the public and private sectors. He said L.A. Unified’s program can serve as a model for the rest of the country.
“I’ve often been told, ‘If you want to see how adult education can and should be done, you have to go to California,’” he said, “‘And you have to go to Los Angeles.’”
Donna Brashear, the executive director of DACE, said she efforts of her teachers and students were validated by Uvin’s comments.
“He was highly impressed by the quality and variety of programs in our division,” she said.
Powerline-training students show off their new skills during their graduation ceremony. Click here to watch the video.
