Advancing Adult Literacy: Minnesota ABE in Focus

1. 2009 ABE SUMMER INSTITUTEThursday: Opening Address Dr. Barry Shaffer MN State Director of Adult Education

2. Welcome and Thank You • Literacy Minnesota and MCEA • Planning Committee • MDE Coordination – Astrid Liden • Presenters • Tech Assistants • Participants and Awardees

3. ABE Overview – FY 09 • 53 ABE consortia, 500 delivery sites statewide • 1200 licensed teachers and 3,000 volunteers served over 73,000 students • 1 out of every 11 diplomas issued in MN during 2009 was a GED (6,274) or Adult H.S. Diploma (1,265) • Of the total students served, 45% were ESL, 68% were parents and 19% were unemployed

4. Students Hours FY 2008 FY 2009 74,656 73,387 (-1.7%)  5,054,208 5,371,902 (+6.5%)  Number of Students and Contact Hours

5. Students by Program FY 09 ESL 32,025 (45%)  ABE 25,587 (36%)  GED/Diploma 10,548 (14%)  WBPL + Transition to 3,333 (5%)  employment

6. Eligible Content Policy Contact hours may be counted for students without a basic skills goal IF: • They are referred by a WorkForce Center or MFIP program AND • They receive employment focused content: • Basic Computer Literacy • Job Seeking Skills (e.g.- Résumé Writing, Interviewing, and Job Searching) • Soft Skills Necessary for Work (e.g.- SCANS skills) • Work Readiness Certificate Content • Programming must be modular – not a lab experience • Classify as transition to employment student

7. State Federal FY 2009FY 2010 $42.3 M $43.2 M $ 6.7 M $ 6.1 M $49.0 M $49.3 M (+0.6%) Cost/Student = $668 Cost/Hour = $9.18 State and Federal Allocations

8. How did Minnesota do on the Core Performance Indicators? • Level Change • GED/Diploma • Entered Employment • Retained Employment  Post-Secondary Education

9. Short Answer…

10. Student Level Completion FY 2006 FY 2007 FY 2008 FY 2009 ABE 31% 36% 41% 39%  ESL 35% 40% 44% 46% 

11. Why is level completion success so important? • Student Level – Provides students with progress feedback. • Teacher Level – Provides teachers with student and class progress information. • Administrator Level – Provides program evaluation information and advocacy information. • State and National Level – Provides system accountability information and funding advocacy information.

12. Other Core IndicatorsFY 2008 FY 2009 • GED Attainment 65% 70%  • Work Attainment 55% 54%  • Retain Work 73% 74%  • Trans. to Post-sec. 70% 61% 

13. FY 2010 Supplemental Services • Minnesota Literacy Council • ATLAS (ABE Teaching and Learning Advancement System) Hamline University • Learning Disabilities Association • PANDA – Physical and Neurological Disabilities Assistance • Minnesota Workforce Council Assoc. • Minneapolis ABE • St. Paul ABE • SW ABE

14. ABE Solutions Lead the Way

15. Problem - Solution • INDIVIDUAL: • lack of basic academic skills (reading, writing, speaking, math) • lack of basic technology skills • lack of high school diploma or GED • lack of English ability • can’t help my child in school • don’t have the skills to obtain a job • lack self esteem due to low literacy • can’t pass college or certificate exam • want to become a US citizen • SOCIETY: • needs an educated citizenry • needs a skilled workforce • needs greater participation in preserving democratic ideals • needs less violence • needs less dependence on public assistance • needs more access to good bass lakes

16. MN Education and Economic Climate • 388,074 Minnesotans over 18 do not have HS equivalency • Only 16% of 18-20 year olds are in post-secondary education • One-third of Minnesotans 25-54 have no post-secondary credential • 61,300 Minnesotans speak little or no English • Most ABE students are below economic self-sufficiency standards • One million (35%) Minnesota workers earn $10/hr. or less; 1.7 million (62%) earn less than $15/ hr. • By 2014, 54% of all jobs will require post-secondary ed

17. Minnesota Climate - continued • Current workers will make up 65% of the labor force of 2025 • The high school pipeline for workers is shrinking. The # of HS graduates peaked in 2009 with steady decline for next two decades • There is a shortage of replacement workers for those retiring, and a shortage of workers for economic growth or expansion • THE PERFECT STORM: Globalization + Shifting Demographics + Non-responsive Ed System

18. ABE Solutions Lead the Way What ABE programs are doing: • Understanding that every student is a “student in transition” • Developing partnerships with WorkForce Center staff and local college faculty (and others) • Becoming informed about labor market issues/needs • Contextualizing curricula around student transitions goals • Accessing multiple resource avenues • Seeking quality, targeted professional development opportunities • Evaluating their transitions outcomes

19. State ABE Office “Front Burner” Activities • Co-directing the Minnesota FastTRACinitiative • Developing sustainable, effective career pathway programming that blends ABE services with post-secondary training for in-demand occupations • Targeting low-wage, low skilled Minnesotans • Advocating for ABE Recognition with DEED, MnSCU, GWDC, DHS, the Legislature, and others • Promoting Distance Learning – GED-i, Lifetime Learning Library, Skills Tutor (Steve Sborov, Paulette Black + Jayne Schultz)

20. State Office Actions - continued • Developing quality professional development opportunities (ATLAS) • Exploring “content standards” (Mpls) • Strengthening our disabilities website and services (PANDA) • Supporting “Learner Web” continuing development (St. Paul) • Supporting Literacy Minnesota • Fiscal and contact hour audits

21. State ABE News…continued • STAR – Student Achievement in Reading • Thank you Year 1 participants! • Welcome Year 2 participants! • PD Survey: Thank You (680 times)! • PD Coordinators: Thank you! (1/2 new) • Regional Transitions Coordination Transitions Conference – Oct. 22-23 • ABE Inventory (of Collaborations) 100%

22. The Onion – Headlines about the Economy 10 - Actual Parachute Made of Gold Fails to Open 9 – Casinos Announce Plans to Erase National Debt in 3 Months 8 - New York’s financial district to be rezoned as industrial wasteland 7 - U.S. Banks to Stop Storing Money in Traditional Dollar-Sign Bags 6 - Junk Bonds Now Worth Less than Actual Junk 5 - Legislature Wondering: Are Child Labor Laws to Blame for High Child Unemployment? 4 - NASA Comes to Realization that We Don’t Need a Space Program when the Beauty of Earth Was Right Here All Along 3 - Digital-to-Analogue Converter Actually A Way for Government to Watch You Through Your Television 2 - Analyst Reveals that the Entirety of Capitalism is a Bernie Madoff Ponzi Scheme 1 - Economy Looks Great if You Turn the Graphs Upside-Down

23. So, in conclusion…(if I have time)

24. MAINTAIN FOCUS

25. MAKE FRIENDS IN ALL THE RIGHT PLACES

26. APPRECIATE THE LITTLE THINGS

27. BE SKEPTICAL OF SCAM ARTISTS

28. BE FEARLESS

29. BUT SWEET AND ADORABLE

30. ENJOY – IN MODERATION

31. DON’T WORRY

32. BE HAPPY