Adult Basic Education Strategic Plan Task Force Report
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A collaborations issue: Partnerships and collaborations at the local and state level were suggested as ways to connect students to needed counseling services provided by others outside of the program as a way of circumventing the finance problem. While collaborations could certainly be effective in obtaining services and containing costs, what happens if other agencies have more prospective clients than they can already serve or are facing similar or worse financial situations and are unable to broaden their client base to include referrals from ABE programs? What happens to programs in areas where there are insufficient social service resources and consequently no potential or appropriate collaborators? The lack of available partners is particularly daunting for the recommendation, which would require programs to develop transition strategies and pathways specifically through collaborations. While all of these issues are significant, under the service plan model, the impact of the expanded roles for the counselors could possibly be mitigated. Rather than be concerned that counselors are being asked to undertake too many responsibilities, counseling issues would be prioritized at the program level, based on the students’ needs, and all staff would share the responsibility. Additional counseling strategy: The Task Force recommends the provision of mentoring, both for students transitioning to jobs and for students who transition to post-secondary education. The proposal for mentoring had significantly less support than the other counseling recommendations. Members abstained because they either needed more information about what mentoring could be in an ABE program or felt the topic needed more discussion. Among those who voted “yes,” one member suggested that volunteers and program alumnae could be the backbone of a mentoring program; another echoed the use of volunteers especially because public dollars were limited. However, the resource issue is still a factor. ABE programs don’t have the funding for staff to supervise more than a few mentoring volunteers at a program. Recruiting, training, supervising, and managing volunteers does not happen without an investment of staff time and resources. Volunteers are not free. Among those who voted “no,” the issues were similar to those expressed above: a lack of resources and the suggestion to provide mentoring through collaborations with local agencies and colleges rather than directly by the program itself.
Several of the strategies focus on transition, a priority area for ACLS, which includes ABE Transition to Community College programs currently sited at twelve community colleges. The spotlight on transition is also in alignment with the recommendations made by the Adult Basic Education/English to Speakers of Other Languages Committee of the Massachusetts Workforce Investment Board to improve linkages to post-secondary education, training and employment and to support educational counseling, job coaching and transition counseling.43 Task Force members believed that beginning transition counseling when a student first enrolls in the program will: allow staff to pinpoint weak academic areas that need remediation much earlier in the process; improve retention and lead to positive outcomes by providing continuous support rather than support at transition points when students usually drop out; give students a boost by helping the growing number of students who need to plan for next steps after leaving the ABE program; and, promote a process of lifelong learning. Only one strategy establishes an additional and specific requirement for programs: to develop transition strategies and pathways through collaborations that will help students successfully move ahead to college, job training or job placement. Two members stated that the strategy was important for purposes beyond providing services to the students: one member said this recommendation was critical to meeting current economic needs, while the other stated that implementing transition strategies and pathways through collaborations is crucial for “building relationships and support among other stakeholders.” There was concern among those who voted “yes” and among those who voted “no” about making this recommendation a new requirement. Of the seven members who voted “no,” two would have supported the recommendation if it were “recommended” or “encouraged,” and not required. One member who voted “no” stated that programs should decide if and how to implement transition strategies depending on the goals of the students; one member who voted “yes” stated that the program should determine the best way to implement transition strategies and pathways for its students. Another member who voted “yes” wanted to temper the language by replacing the definitive “through collaborations” with “including through collaborations” to provide more options and flexibility for programs. Again, this strategy would take on a different character under the service plan model. Rather than require programs to develop transition strategies and pathways through collaborations, the program would decide how best to create successful transitions for their students, possibly through collaborations, but possibly through other means. As one Task Force member repeatedly commented in support of recommendations: “Yes, but allow the program to determine the best way to do this.” Section 7: Next Steps ACLS will be seeking comment from the ABE community and other stakeholders through existing venues such as, for example, the Massachusetts ABE Directors’ Council, the annual ABE Directors’ meeting sponsored by ACLS, and Network, the annual conference sponsored by the Massachusetts Coalition for Adult Education. The Task Force encourages active participation during this comment period so that the recommendations accepted by ACLS for implementation continue to truly incorporate the voice of the ABE community. For those recommendations not accepted for implementation, ACLS has committed to providing the ABE community with the rationale for their decision. Appendix A Reference Documents Provided to the Task Force The Importance of the Adult Basic Education System to Workforce Development, December, 2006. Prepared by the Massachusetts Coalition for Adult Education at the request of the Patrick/Murray Transition Team Workforce Development Work Group, this white paper provides a concise and comprehensive overview of Massachusetts’ ABE system: http://www.mcae.net/WhitePaperABEWrkfrcDev.pdf FY 2008 Adult Basic Education Fact Sheet: What’s at Stake. In 2008, MCAE updated the white paper described above with current statistics, including data from the 2005 National Center for Educational Statistics’ State Assessment of Adult Literacy (SAAL) and updated wait list data: http://www.mcae.net/FY2008ABEFACTSHEET040309.pdf Massachusetts’ Strategic Framework for Adult Basic Education, September, 2008. Representing the input of over 5,000 stakeholders, this document is designed to create a unified vision for the future of the ABE system that enables all stakeholders to speak with one voice, to assist state policymakers in strategically directing ABE resources where they will have the greatest impact and create new policy options for delivering more effective ABE services throughout the Commonwealth. It points a direction for a future implementation plan that will be informed by the Task Force’s work: http://www.doe.mass.edu/acls/sp/framework.pdf Massachusetts Workforce Investment Board Report of the Adult Basic Education / English for Speakers of Other Languages Committee, August 2008. In 2007, the Massachusetts Workforce Investment Board commissioned the Adult Basic Education /English for Speakers of Other Languages Committee to address two major priorities of the Patrick Administration: raise the overall capacity of the Massachusetts workforce system to respond to the labor market needs of our economy, and close the skills gap that exists between available workers and employers through a strategic use of resources and full engagement of the business sector. This final report makes six recommendations for how the Commonwealth could more effectively use its resources to provide services to help low-literate and low-English proficient adults achieve greater labor market and economic success. The ABE/ESOL Committee considers the findings and recommendations in this report to be an important complement to the report of the Readiness Task Force, also included, below: http://www.mass.gov/Elwd/docs/mwib/mwib_abe_2008_report.pdf Ready for 21st Century Success: The New Promise of Public Education. (The final report of the Commonwealth Readiness Project), June, 2008. The Governor’s Readiness Project is a statewide initiative involving over 200 educators, business leaders, and community leaders who will lead the development of a 10-year strategic plan for the future of education in the Commonwealth, including consideration of some fundamental and systemic challenges that face public education in Massachusetts. The goal of this project is to create a comprehensive, student-centered public education system that begins before kindergarten, continues through grade 12 and higher education, and extends through work force development and lifelong learning to ensure that each individual has the opportunity to achieve her/his full potential. This report outlines the Patrick Administration’s Education Action Agenda: http://www.mass.gov/Agov3/docs/Readiness%20Final%20Report.pdf Massachusetts’ Guidelines for Effective Adult Basic Education, updated for FY 2009. Based on research and performance data, and developed by ACLS in partnership with the field through task forces, public hearings and other venues, these Guidelines outline the essential program components and processes that constitute effective ABE services. The Guidelines are divided into five sections: the ABE Rate System (how the Department funds ABE programs), Student Services (requirements for classes, outreach and recruitment, intake, orientation, placement, curriculum, instruction and assessment, instructional materials, educational counseling, ADA compliance, retention, performance standards including standards for setting and meeting student articulated goals, and follow-up requirements), Program and Staff Development requirements, Administration, and Program Service Options: http://www.doe.mass.edu/acls/abeguide.pdf Massachusetts Performance Standards for Community Adult Learning Centers, updated for FY 2009. ABE programs report their effectiveness in six areas: attendance, average attended hours, percentage of students who are pre- and post-tested, learner gains, student-identified goals set and met, and the completion of federal National Reporting System Educational Functioning Levels. Each of the six standards contains benchmarks, which allow the state to measure program achievements and assign performance points, and which inform programs’ continuous improvement plans. The Strategic Framework for ABE commits us to use the performance standards to identify where the system is doing well and where it needs improvement: http://www.doe.mass.edu/acls/pawg/fy08fc340_345_359.html Massachusetts Subject Matter Knowledge Requirements and Professional Standards for Adult Basic Education Teachers. Massachusetts offers a voluntary license for teachers of adult basic education. By statute, the Department does not require this license; however, employers have the option of using this license as part of their hiring criteria. Even though it is voluntary, however, the licensing regulations define a foundation of subject matter knowledge requirements and professional standards for teachers of adult basic education – what an ABE teacher needs to know and be able to do to help all learners achieve their goals. The Strategic Framework for ABE challenges us to utilize these standards to improve the quality of teaching throughout the Commonwealth in the following ways: aligning the subject matter knowledge requirements with the content standards in the ABE Curriculum Frameworks; aligning professional development with the ABE professional standards and subject matter knowledge requirements; and encouraging the use of the ABE professional standards and subject matter knowledge requirements to strengthen teaching and learning. Subject Matter Knowledge Requirements: http://www.doe.mass.edu/lawsregs/603cmr47.html?section=07&flag=abe Professional Standards:
Massachusetts Coalition for85 Adult Education Standards for Quality Working Conditions in ABE/ESOL Programs, January, 2007. The Massachusetts Coalition for Adult Education (MCAE) is a statewide membership organization of educators, adult students, and others who support equal educational opportunities for adults. Developed by a joint MCAE / MATSOL (Massachusetts Association of Teachers of Speakers of Other Languages) Working Conditions Committee, these Standards for Quality Working Conditions in ABE/ESOL Programs represent a field-generated vision of quality that define the characteristics of programs with healthy, respectful working environments and fairly compensated, benefited jobs. The Strategic Framework for ABE reiterates the state’s commitment to ensuring that funding supports high quality services. The Working Conditions Committee views these standards as a guide for policymakers, funders and programs that seek to support and retain a skilled and experienced workforce: http://www.mcae.net/QualityWCStandardsandIndicators0207fin.pdf Appendix B Acknowledgements Task Force members: Fred Abisi, Director Lowell Adult Education Center Jim Ayres, Executive Director Center for New Americans, Inc Northampton MA
Adult Education & Transitions Programs Bunker Hill Community College Chelsea MA Linda Braun Braun Associates North Easton MA (former director, Brockton Public Schools Adult Learning Center) Donna Chambers Charlestown RI (External Diploma Program Coordinator, EDP Consultant)
Charlestown Community Center Christine Cordio, Director of Adult Basic Education Clinton Adult Learning Center Clinton Public Schools
TPS/BCC Adult Ed Partnership Taunton Public Schools
Boston Centers for Youth and Families Boston MA
Jackson Mann Community Center Allston MA (Member, Massachusetts Family Literacy Consortium)
Brockton Area Workforce Investment Board Lisa Jochim, Director Workers’ Education Program UMass Dartmouth
JFY Networks Boston MA
Adult & Community Learning Center Quinsigamond Community College Worcester MA Rebekah Lashman, Vice President Commonwealth Corporation Charlestown MA
SCALE
Somerville Public Schools Toby Maguire, Education Coordinator, ACCCESS Cape Cod Community College Pamela McDonough, Teacher Jackson Mann Community Center Allston MA
MA Office of Community Colleges Boston MA
Mayor’s Office of Jobs & Community Services Boston MA
Mayor’s Office of Jobs & Community Services Boston MA
Literacy Volunteers of Massachusetts Boston MA (Chair, Massachusetts Coalition for Adult Education Public Policy Committee) Wyvonne Stevens-Carter, Director of Education St Mary’s Women & Children’s Center Dorchester MA
Massachusetts Coalition for Adult Education Boston MA
SABES Central Resource Center World Education Boston MA Neil Trotta, Campus Director Fisher College Division of Continuing Education Boston MA Valerie Vigoda Watertown, MA (Gardner Pilot Academy School, Adult Education Program)
World Education Boston MA Member, MCAE/MAATSOL Working conditions Committee, Member, Massachusetts ABE Advisory Council, Board Member, National Coalition for Literacy) Lynne Weintraub Amherst MA (ESL/Citizenship Coordinator, Jones Library ESL Center; Consultant)
Anne Serino, State Director for Adult Basic Education and, Jolanta Conway Helen Jones Joan LeMarbre Cheryl Pyburn Beverly Rosario Suzanne Speciale Olivia Steele Appendix C Criteria for Evaluation of Recommendations The Task Force generated the following criteria, and agreed to use them in evaluating individual proposals and ideas put forth, and in determining which individual proposals would be endorsed as Task Force recommendations: Is it aligned with the goals and objectives of the strategic framework? Does it promote quality? Does it promote responsiveness to local need? Does it promote simplification vs. more complexity? Is it in keeping with federal requirements? Does it promote collaboration across sectors? Is it equitable for all (types of) programs? Is it likely to help us be more successful in achieving the ACLS mission*? (*To provide each and every adult with opportunities to develop literacy skills needed to qualify for further education, job training, and better employment, and to reach his/her full potential as a family member, productive worker, and citizen.) Is it sustainable? Appendix D Service Plan Presentation (See attachment) 1 The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is referred to as ESE. Adult and Community Learning Services is referred to as ACLS. 2 Facing the Future: the Massachusetts Strategic Framework for Adult Basic Education, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, 2009. 3 Section 3 of this report was excerpted with permission from A White Paper: The Importance of the Adult Basic Education System to Workforce Development, MA Coalition for Adult Education, Public Policy Committee, 2006. Additional statistics can be found in Facing the Future: The Massachusetts Strategic Framework for Adult Basic Education, Massachusetts Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Education, 2009. 4 MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education website: http://doe.mass.edu/acls. 5 The State of the American Dream in Massachusetts, MassINC, 2002. 6 Mass Economy: The Labor Supply and Our Economic Future, MassINC, 2006. 7 New Skills for a New Economy: Adult Education’s Key Role in Sustaining Economic Growth and Expanding Opportunity, MassINC, 2000 8 Teach the Mother and Reach the Child: Literacy Across Generations. Literacy Lessons, Sticht, T. G., & McDonald, B.A. (1990). 9 The National Adult Literacy Survey, Educational Testing Service, 1993. 10 Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Literacy and Health Outcomes, 2004. 11 The National Adult Literacy Survey, Educational Testing Service, 1993; and The Policy Information Center of Educational Testing Service. 12 More detail about the components of the infrastructure and the performance standards can be found at the ACLS website: http://doe.mass.edu/acls. 13 The Economic Recession of 2007-2009: A Comparative perspective on Its Duration and the Severity of Its Labor Market Impacts, Andrew Sum, Ishwar Khatiwada, Joseph McLaughlin and Sheila Palma, Center for Labor Market Studies, Northeastern University, April 2009 (http://www.clms.neu.edu/publication/documents/Economic_Recession_of_20072009.pdf) 14 For more information about the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act funding and projects, refer to the federal website www.recovery.gov and the state’s web site www.mass.gov/recovery. 15 For the full text of Secretary Reville’s statement, refer to http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=eoeterminal&L=3&L0=Home&L1=Federal+Stimulus+Funds&L2=Recovery+and+Reinvestment+-+Education&sid=Eeoe&b=terminalcontent&f=arramessagefrompaul&csid=Eeoe. 16 Adapted with permission from A White Paper: The Importance of the Adult Basic Education System to Workforce Development, MA Coalition for Adult Education, Public Policy Committee, 2006, p. 2. 17 For text of the Workforce Investment Act and a comparison to the Adult Education Act as amended by the National Literacy Act of 1991, refer to http://www.ed.gov/policy/adulted/leg/legis.html. 18 For the Readiness Project Report and more details about its specific recommendations, refer to http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=eoeterminal&L=3&L0=Home&L1=Commonwealth+Readiness+Project&L2=Readiness+Reports&sid=Eeoe&b=terminalcontent&f=readiness_project_readiness_final_report&csid=Eeoe 19 The Changing Face of Massachusetts, MassINC, 2005 (www.massinc.org) 20 Metro Future: Our Changing Population (Trend Line #1), Metropolitan Area Planning Council (www.metrofuture.org). 21 Task Force members were referring to the need for less stringent policy requirements that would lead to more flexibility in program design, reporting and accountability. 22 See appendix for lists of Task Force members and materials referenced by the Task Force. 23 See appendix for copies of the Zoomerang surveys (Parts I and II). Please note that the survey questions were drafted by ACLS staff to propose ideas and capture other ideas that percolated during Task Force deliberations but for which there was no formal vote. 24 See appendix for Criteria for Evaluating Policy Recommendations, Massachusetts ABE Strategic Task Force, 2009. 25 See appendix for list of recommendations and vote tallies. 26 ACLS defines intensive instruction as a class that meets a minimum of 9 hours per week. Refer to www.doe.mass.edu/news/news.asp?id=4756 for more detail. 27 A White Paper: The Importance of the Adult Basic Education System to Workforce Development, MA Coalition for Adult Education, Public Policy Committee, 2006. 28 For information on the Community Planning Initiative of Adult and Community Learning Services at the MA Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Education, refer to www.doe.mass.edu/acls/cp. 29 Throughout this report, there will be quotes such as this one from comments made by Task Force members either during meetings or from the Zoomerang survey responses. 30 For more information on the Performance Standards for the Adult and Community Learning Services of the MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, refer to www.doe.mass.edu/acls/pawg. 31 As opposed to the term “drop out” used to describe when a student leaves a program and does not return, “stop out” is used to describe when a student leaves the program for an undefined period of time and then returns. 32 Student Performance Level (SPL) is the listening and oral comprehension functioning levels for an ESOL student. SPL levels range from 0 (beginning ESL literacy) to 10 (native English speaker). For more information, refer to www.cal.org/caela/tools/program_development/elltoolkit/oldpdfs/Part4-5.pdf. 33See www.doe.mass.edu/acls for more information on these documents and other components of the ABE system, including accountability, assessment and the SMARTT data management system. 34 See appendix for the Service Plan Model as presented to the Task Force. 35 For more information, refer to www.sabes.org. 36 For information on ABE teacher licensure and professional standards for teachers, go to www.doe.mass.edu/acls/pd. 37 MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Adult and Community Learning Services, 2008. 38 Individuals would be specialists in content areas such as reading, math, ESOL, learning disabilities and other needed subjects. One Task Force member suggested specialists in other areas as well such as citizenship, volunteer services and the homeless. 39 Current statewide efforts in math reflect a content specialist model: a math specialist based at the SABES Central Resource Center coordinates math training statewide by working with math specialists/leaders in each of the regions who, while based in a particular program, provide trainings for the region as a whole. 40 For more information, refer to www.doe.mass.edu/acls/pd. 41 The areas for the new trainings that were discussed were: to develop staff capacity to align curriculum and instruction with the content standards of the ABE Curriculum Frameworks and contextualize curriculum in relationship to student goals, and either a counselor track in the New Staff Orientation or a separate orientation for counselors. 42 Although the terms “counseling” and “counselor” are used to describe the functions and staff at an ABE program, they can connote a clinical mental health specialty with specific degree and licensing qualifications. While the Task Force recommends the terms “advising” and “advisor”, this report will use “counseling/counselor” and “advising/advisor” interchangeably, recognizing that the former are currently most commonly used and recognized. 43 Massachusetts Workforce Investment Board. Report of the Adult Basic Education/English for Speakers of Other Languages Committee. August 2008. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education – Adult and Community Learning Services ABE Strategic Plan Task Force Report - Summer, 2009 Page of Directory: acls acls -> Performance Standards Q&a as of November 23, 2016 acls -> Massachusetts Guidelines for Effective Adult Career Pathways Programs Download 283.37 Kb. Share with your friends:
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