ADULT SCHOOL RECEIVES STATE RECOGNITION.

Byline: Sylvia L. Oliande Daily News Staff Writer

The Adult School and Career Institute has been honored by the state for its innovative and effective teaching methods - those that apply real-world applications to learning.

The program was among 19 throughout California to be named an Adult Education Program of Excellence in the vocational education category by the state superintendent of schools, officials announced Tuesday.

``We've always believed we have a good program here,'' said Sondra Jones, director of the adult education program for the Simi Valley Unified School District. ``It's from the input we get from students and from people who hire our students from the business workplace. We have a good working relationship (with employers).''

The Simi Valley program was one of 45 agencies to submit nomination papers last year for the honor. It was then one of 38 to receive a site visit from the Staff Development Institute, working under the state's Adult Education Office.

This is the second time the state Department of Education has honored adult education programs and identified those to be models for the 400 other programs throughout the state.

``This may mean that other schools come here to visit to see what we do, so they can replicate what we do on their own campuses,'' Jones said.

Those programs chosen for the honor earned high marks in the areas of curriculum and instruction, leadership and planning, community involvement and collaboration. And they demonstrated exemplary student support services and student accomplishment.

The Simi Valley school was chosen for its ``effective collaborations with community agencies, a strong counseling component . . . and emphasis on appropriate technology,''Jones said.

The vocational program serves 11,000 students with more than 200 classes each year, from recent high school graduates to adults returning from the work force to gain new skills.

Its 100 teachers offer courses in a wide variety of areas such as vocational nursing, all types of welding and early childhood development.

District officials said the adult school fulfills a significant need in the community.

While it provides high school equivalency diplomas and English language classes, it also is an alternative to college for some.

``It is a choice that some people are going to make,'' said school board member Janice DiFatta. ``We don't have every student graduating going on to a four-year college or university. . . . Our focus here is to educate kids.

``The ideal situation is to have a variety of opportunities available for adults and our kids when they graduate,'' she said.