ABE ADMINISTRATOR 101 INAUGURAL ABE MANAGER WEBINAR BRAD HASSKAMP, MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION KARLA VIEN, LITERACY ACTION NETWORK

AGENDA Adult Basic Education is not basic; it is a complex, comprehensive system. Today’s orientation topics include: ABE delivery system Funding Policy & accountability

MINNESOTA ABE The mission of Adult Basic Education in Minnesota is to provide adults with educational opportunities to acquire and improve their literacy skills necessary to become self-sufficient and to participate effectively as productive workers, family members, and citizens.

MINNESOTA’S ADULT BASIC EDUCATION SYSTEM

STATE ABE DELIVERY SYSTEM

ABE CONSORTIUM GRANTS Due: June 1 each year Every Year: ABE Performance Report Table A and NRS Tables 1-13 Every Five Years: ABE Program Narrative Explained at Spring Grant Application Meetings

FY 2010FY 2011FY 2012FY 2013FY 2014 State ABE Aid$43,125,585$44,864,723$45,628,787$46,495,881$47,658,278 Federal ABE Aid $5,299,077$4,918,864$5,022,396$5,085,523$4,804,353 Grant programs $866,787$982,196$1,018,670$1,012,407$913,794 TOTAL $$ 49,291,449$ 50,765,783$51,669,853$52,593,811$53,376,425 Enrollment78,48074,84773,32374,736 Student Contact Hours 5,827,8605,775,9625,986,6525,931,207 Average Annual Cost Per Student $628$678$705$704 MINNESOTA’S ABE FUNDING TRENDS

All approved ABE programs in Minnesota receive funding from 2 sources: State ABE AidFederal ABE Aid FUNDING SOURCES

State ABE appropriation segmented into 4 components: 1. Base population aid = $1.73 per resident, $3,844 minimum 2. Contact hour rate = $5.31 per prior year contact hour 3. K-12 Limited English Proficient (LEP) rate = $45.98 per K-12 LEP Unit 4. Over age 20 no diploma rate = $5.72 per district resident without a high school diploma To view your consortium’s state aid spreadsheet, go to the MDE website FY 2014 ABE STATE AID

2.5% annual increase in State ABE Aid Subject to a corresponding statewide ten year average growth in contact hours ABE base aid will increase every year by 2.5% if ABE contact hours grow by 2.5% or more annually on average over the prior ten year period INCREASE IN STATE ABE AID

Federal Distribution Formula: States receive their federal allocation based on census counts of adults without high school diplomas. Minnesota’s Federal Money to Consortia: Local consortia receive federal funding based on the number of prior year contact hours for ABE enrollees who are below the Adult Secondary levels. FY 2014 federal contact hour rate = $0.56 FEDERAL ABE AID

You coordinate an ABE site. Last year, you normally had 11 students come per day for a 2-hour ESL class, 9 students come for 3 hours per day for GED instruction, and 6 students typically come for about 90 minutes per day for drop in tutoring. Looking at this year’s contact hour rates: How many contact hours did your site generate on an average day? How much state funding (contact hours portion) did your site generate last program year per class day? (Remember that the FY2014 contact hour rate is $5.31.) How much federal funding did your class generate last program year per class day? How much state and federal contact hour funding would your site lose if all students typically came 30 minutes late to class? WHAT DOES ALL THIS MEAN?

The amount a consortium receives in contact hour revenue may not increase over the previous year by more than the greater of 11% or $10,000. CONTACT HOUR GROWTH CAP

A consortium may not receive more than $22 per prior year contact hour in total state aid revenue GROSS REVENUE PER CONTACT HOUR

Other state & federal grants EL/Civics FastTRAC Foundation grants United Way Contracts for service Private donations OTHER SOURCES OF ABE FUNDING

ABE ADMINISTRATOR QUESTION 1

ABE STUDENT ELIGIBILITY Adult Basic Education means services or instruction below the postsecondary level for individuals: At least 16 years old; AND Not enrolled or required to be enrolled in high school; AND Meet at least one or more of the following: Unable to speak, read, or write in English; Do not have a high school diploma; OR Need basic literacy skills development.

A potential learner comes in asking for GED classes. He is 15 years old. Is he ABE eligible? Student: JB

STUDENT: SELENA A potential learner is 17 years old. Is she ABE eligible?

A potential learner is a high school graduate. Is he ABE eligible? Student: Taylor

ABE ADMINISTRATOR QUESTION 2

Persons are classified as unemployed if they: Do not have a job, Have actively looked for work in the prior 4 weeks, AND Are currently available for work. From the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Actively looking for work: Contacting: An employer directly or having a job interview A public or private employment agency Friends or relatives A school or university employment center Sending out resumes or filling out applications Placing or answering advertisements Checking union or professional registers Some other means of active job search From the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Passive methods do not qualify: Attending a job training program or course, Reading about job openings in newspapers or on the Internet.

Now, let’s check your understanding with…

Student: Faduma

Student: David

Student: Omar

Student: Mai

QUESTION What is the NRS?

QUESTION: NRS

QUESTION The NRS defines how many official adult student levels?

QUESTION: STUDENT LEVELS

QUESTION Name the adult student levels defined by the NRS.

QUESTION: STUDENT LEVELS 1.Beginning ESL Literacy 2.Low Beginning ESL 3.High Beginning ESL 4.Low Intermediate ESL 5.High Intermediate ESL 6.Advanced ESL 7.Beginning ABE Literacy 8.Beginning Basic Education 9.Low Intermediate ABE 10.High Intermediate ABE 11.Low Adult Secondary 12.High Adult Secondary These are also called EFL s, or E ducational F unctioning L evels

ABE ADMINISTRATOR QUESTION 3

Core Content Areas: Reading Writing Mathematics Speaking Listening ESL/ELL GED/High School Diploma

You have a new potential learner come to your ABE class at the correctional facility. She just wants to study budgeting skills. Should she be an ABE student? Student: LL

Conditional content is supplemental to core content instruction Conditional content areas: Citizenship/civics Basic technology skills Employability skills Study skills Health or financial literacy

You have a potential learner who only wants to learn computer skills so she can get a job. Should you enroll her in ABE? Student: Snooki

Essential, but conditional content: 1) Must be an eligible ABE student; AND 2) The student must be participating (enrolled) in core literacy instruction

What do you need from this learner if she wants to only take a computer skills course? Student: Snooki

The following conditional content can be allowed without student participation in core content areas (and under specific referral conditions): Basic Technology Skills (e.g.- Basic Computer Literacy) Job Seeking Skills (e.g.- Résumé Writing, Interviewing, and Job Searching) Soft Skills Necessary for Work (e.g.- SCANS skills)

Eligibility and Referral Requirements –the adult must be: At least 16 years old; and Referred in writing by a state or local governmental agency (Workforce Center, workforce investment board, or MFIP providing agency) specifically for one or more content areas. Note: Referral by a college or other post-secondary educational/training institution does not count.

Exemption from NRS: Conditional Work Referral Adults are not required to pre- and post-test. (However, programs encouraged to pre-test these adults to assess their literacy skills.) The adult will not be counted in any of the NRS tables but will be counted on Table A for revenue generating (contact hour) purposes.

ABE ADMINISTRATOR QUESTION 4

All ABE consortia must be able to verify the accuracy of daily student contact hours reported to the MN Department of Education Program staff are responsible for recording accurate student attendance

Can you count ABE contact hours for: Registering a new student? Testing a new student? A student’s homework? Counseling a student?

BROAD DEFINITION: ABE Contact Hours are: In-person interaction time ABE student with ABE-funded staff Working on educational skills and goals

Proxy hours: Time allocated for successful lesson completion for student work outside of class with approved distance learning curricula

Contact Hours VS. Proxy Hours Do NOT double count hours! Do not count contact hours for time when the student is working in the classroom on a distance learning curriculum if you are also counting proxy hours for that completed work!

QUESTION What are the two names of the state ABE database?

QUESTION: ABE DATABASES

ABE ADMINISTRATOR QUESTION 5

How do you determine “educational gain” in ABE? Educational Gain in ABE = Completing a NRS Level on an approved standardized assessment

QUESTION Table A displays enrollees while Tables display participants. What is the difference between an enrollee and a participant?

QUESTION: ENROLLEE/PARTICIPANT

QUESTION The ABE databases produce tables A & that programs submit annually. Programs should check them regularly. What are the most important tables for programs to check?

QUESTION: MOST IMPORTANT The most important tables to check are: Table A:A:Shows enrollees & contact hours Table 4:4:Shows participant level completions Table 4B :Shows post-tested participants

QUESTION What is the start date of the program year in Minnesota ABE?

QUESTION: PROGRAM YEAR

For all exited participants with a recorded Social Security Number: WHAT STUDENTS?FOR WHAT ARE THEY MEASURED? BY WHOM? Marked as “unemployed”Obtaining employmentState Marked as “employed”Retaining employmentState Who took all five test of the GED Obtaining a GEDState Enrolled in Adult Diploma Classes & are at the High Adult Secondary Level Obtaining a diplomaLocal Programs Who have a diploma, GED OR are in a “transitions” class Entering post-secondaryState

ACCOUNTABILITY – CONTINUED Consortium NRS data is reviewed, at a minimum, annually ABE Consortia are ranked along side each other according to the core indicators of performance and state aid revenue participant cost Desk Review Compliance Review Corrective Actions Program Improvement

FEDERAL ACCOUNTABILITY MDE-ABE reports MN’s aggregated NRS data annually to the Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE) – US Department of Education (USDOE) State NRS results are ranked along side each other Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Incentive Grant Negotiate NRS targets annually Trend = continuous improvement

CONSEQUENCES OF LOW PERFORMANCE Report Card Program Improvement Process For more info, check the ABE Program Improvement Policy

A YEAR IN ABE: FALL STAR Kick Off MN Numeracy Initiative Kick-Off Leadership Excellence Academy Launches Fall Managers’ Meeting Fall Regional Events MN Project IDEAL Distance Learning Trainings Launch ABE Narrative Writers Workshop Program Improvement Workshop MCEA Conference MLC Volunteer Management Conference MinneTESOL Conference ABE Support Services Conference

A YEAR IN ABE: WINTER/SPRING Winter/Spring Regional Events ABE Program Improvement Plans Due (Feb. 1) TESOL Conference (March/April) COABE Conference (March/April) ABE Application RFP released (Due June 1) EL/Civics Grant RFP released Grant Application Meetings (April) Current Program Year ends (April 30) New Program Year starts (May 1) ATLAS Adult ESL Institute ABE Five-Year Narratives Due (June 1)

A YEAR IN ABE: SUMMER New Fiscal Year starts (July 1) New EL/Civics grant cycle starts New Supplemental Service grants start ABE Summer Institute New FastTRAC Grant Application RFP Released/Applications Due ABE Regional Transitions Aid Plans (Summer and Fall)

Minnesota ABE Web Site ( Literacy Action Network ( National Reporting System (NRS) (

The Minnesota ABE web site is the best place to check for policy and accountability information. Two section highlights:

Contact: Other local ABE administrators Brad Hasskamp, State ABE Policy & Operations Specialist, at or Todd Wagner, Interim State ABE Director, at or