Concert programs rustle and the Performing Arts Center lights dim. People take their seats before the Peninsula Symphonic Band Fall Concert begins. With a bright spotlight highlighting the metallic features of brass instruments, Palo Alto Adult School music teacher Ted Henderson directs the band to begin.
Henderson and his students are among many in the community who benefit from PAAS.
Established by the Palo Alto Unified School District in 1921, PAAS serves approximately 4000-5000 students each year and, according to their website, is “committed to providing a broad range of accessible, flexible, and effective educational programs that enable our diverse community of adult learners to achieve their academic, career, and personal goals.”
According to PAAS Principal Jim Sherman, the adult school serves the community of those 18 or older with both morning and night classes to accommodate those who work. It includes three programs: community education, a preschool Family Program and English as a Second Language.
Within these programs, Sherman said adult school is different from a traditional high school.
“With kids, you’re working on foundational skills that they need — you just see it build,” Sherman said. “Over time, with adults, they come with so much experience and knowledge already, and so you just take them where they are.”
Henderson said one of the biggest differences between adult school and K-12 school is the teaching styles.
“You don’t have grades to hover over them, so you have to motivate them in a completely different way,” Henderson said. “If you go in the wrong direction too often with adults, they can just choose and not sign up anymore, and you don’t have your band. It is really a lot more collaborative.”
As a teacher who has worked with both middle school and adult students, Katherine Barg, an intermediate-and high-level ESL teacher, said his adult students are highly motivated.
“Nobody’s mom is making them be there,” Barg said. “The biggest difference for me, is when you’re teaching adults, they have other obligations outside of your classroom, whereas when I was teaching school, the kids came to school to learn them at home, and it is a very different thing.”
Sherman said adult school students are often looking for skills to improve their career prospects, especially within the ESL program, the school’s most popular.
“With our ESL classes, (people) think they’re going to be expensive,” Sherman said. “All of our ESL classes are state funded, so it’s all free to them when they come in.”
Archana Ravoori, a student taking PAAS Spanish classes, said the schedule of the school requires little extra work, which makes it easier on her as a working mother.
“The program is actually not fairly demanding,” Ravoori said. “As a working mom with two kids who are in elementary-aged school programs and activities, it’s just a little bit of a juggle. But I like it because the class is once a week, so it’s not too taxing on your schedule.”
Alla Uyan, another parent taking classes through PAAS, said balancing her life as a parent of a Paly freshman and going to class is difficult but provides opportunity.
“It’s definitely hard to balance everything, but it’s nice to be able to learn something new as an adult,” Uyan said. “We have so many things to go through, and sometimes we just don’t have time to learn new skills.”
Uyan also said the PAAS community provides ways to connect with other people.
“Sometimes, I walk my dog and see a lady who appears to be a very close neighbor,” Uyan said. “We didn’t know each other before, but now we know each other and (are) saying hi, so it’s good to be connected with people from Palo Alto through these classes.”
According to Sherman, about 35% of PAAS ESL students are parents or grandparents of students from all over the Bay Area.
“They’re here just to better themselves in a multitude of ways, but it’s really to connect with their grandkids or their kids and have something more in common with them,” Sherman said. “A lot of our students will say one of the big problems they have at home is not being able to understand their kids.”
To place students in the correct class, students in the ESL pathway go through Sripriya Kannan, the PAAS Testing and Transitions Specialist.
“I make sure all the students know I am available to them for information on services in the community, but my main focus is on the students in our higher level classes,” Kannan said. “I meet with them as they enter into our Advanced Low level classes to find out what their specific goals are and help them achieve their goals.”
Kannan said she meets with many students over the course of the quarter, allowing her to see their progression.
“We have an amazing set of teachers who are kind, smart and passionate about ESL and adult learners,” Kannan said. “They are the real support for our adult students who are returning to school after so many years.”
Anjani Sarma, another ESL teacher, said the community can support PAAS ESL students by showing patience, empathy and kindness toward immigrants.
“It’s also helpful when community members take a language class themselves,” Sarma said. “They gain insight into the challenges adults face when learning English.”
Having nearly finished her first quarter of Spanish class, Ravoori encourages those looking to add to their skill set to enroll if the school fits their schedule.
“If there is something that you’ve been mulling over, or you find something that you think is of interest, then sign up,” Ravoori said. “The quality of education and the instructors is a plus and it’s affordable.”
