Post on 24-Dec-2015
Taking Career Awareness to Scale in Texas: Career
Awareness for Every Adult Education Student
Elizabeth B. Thompson, CFLE, CMPIAssistant Director, Texas LEARNS
ethompson@hcde-texas.org
Joanie RethlakeState Director, Texas LEARNS
jrethlake@hcde-texas.org
Texas LEARNS
A TEA/HCDE Partnership
Formed in 2003
Administration of adult education and family literacy in Texas
Eligible adult education providers include◦ ISDs ◦ Institutions of higher education◦Nonprofits ◦Other entities as described in Title II WIA
Serves approximately 100,000 students/year
Integrating Career Awareness into the ABE and ESOL Classroom
Thanks to Massachusetts SABES
Integrating Career AwarenessSystem for Adult Basic Education Support
(SABES), the Massachusetts ABE professional development organization
The goal of the curriculum is to encourage all students, at all levels, to begin thinking about and articulating short- and long-term career, educational and life goals.
Family Gets Lost in Corn Maze
Why Career Awareness?
ICA Sections
1. The Cultural Context for Career Awareness
2. The Self-Exploration Process
3. Occupational Exploration
4. Career Planning Skills
Integrating Career AwarenessOVAE Pilot
GOAL: Career Awareness Project to increase and
improve adult learners’ career awareness and planning throughout all levels of English as a Second Language, Adult Basic, and Adult Secondary Education
•
Integrating Career AwarenessOVAE Pilot
•Designed to help adult education program staff incorporate career awareness and planning into instruction and counseling
• Utilized intensive online course and related webinars
• Local programs developed a plan for sustaining professional development offerings related to career planning; and share with other local programs statewide
• Assisted NCTN in identifying state-specific materials and information to compliment the ICA curriculum.
•Responded to questions about how to connect the curriculum to state standards and other initiatives
ICA Pilot, Spring 2011
4 programs, 8 teachers/counselors
All participated in a 6-week online course
Average of 10 weeks in pilot using 9 lessons
Each lesson averaged 3.5 hours to complete
ICA Pilot, Spring 2011Teacher Feedback
• Training essential or very important• Important that the teacher value and
implement the Cultural Context lessons • Appendix article regarding the Cultural
Context should be required • Important to get student buy-in early in
the class.• Most students come to class with a fixed goal of
completing their GED, with little thought to what comes next
Statewide Strategic Action Plan Desired Outcome (C-4)
A Second Chance to Pilot ICAC-4 Pilot Initiative- Desired Outcome: By 2013, design and implement targeted
adult basic education programs to enhance employment outcomes for populations requiring workplace literacy skills.
C-4 Key Performance Measures:
Increase in the number of workforce literacy graduates (subset of ABE population)
Increase in workforce literacy graduates entering employment (subset of ABE population)
C-4 Overall Objectives
To target adult learners functioning at NRS levels 4, 5, and 6 (Grades 7-12) who, while their intent is to earn a GED, are functioning at a level where they are at risk of dropping out of the educational continuum before reaching this objective
To provide these individuals with intensive GED preparation and career readiness skills that will enable them to earn a GED and quality for job training and/or employment
To enhance employment outcomes for adult education populations requiring workplace literacy skills
To target adult learners whose intent is to earn a GED but who are functioning at a level where they are at risk of dropping out
To provide career readiness skills
Project Description/ Responsibilities
Recruit cohorts of adult learners who have begun their GED testing and/or could be available for and benefit from an intensive fast track GED course combined with career readiness
Provide intensive GED preparation and career readiness
skills (soft skills and understanding of workplace documents, behavior, etc.) that will enable these individuals to earn their GED and quality for job training and/or employment
Provide adult education providers in three regions (Houston,
Austin/Central Texas, and San Antonio) with guidelines for launching the C-4 pilot initiative supporting adult learner transitions to workforce training and/or employment. Provide technical assistance via meetings, teleconferences, and email messages.
Rationale for C-4 Pilots
Changes in ABE services (accelerated academic instruction plus career readiness)
Development/adoption of new practices
Evidence of effectiveness
Impact on/changes to state policy
Adaptation for statewide replication
Framework for TX C-4 Literacy Pilot
Clients atIntermediateLevels 4,5,6
fromAE Programs
in WFC Region
WFC refersClients
without HSD/GED with
“documents”
Recruit Clients From AE & WFC
AE Provides Fast Track
GED &Career
Readiness
Work-eligible clients attend
intensive &enhancedFast Track
GED & CareerReadiness
AE & WFCConfirm
Eligibility
AE reviews clients’
“papers”with WFC guidance
AE confirmsclients’
skill levels/eligibility
WFC identifies “Suitability”& Job & TrainingOpportunities
Clients Complete GED& AE counselsre. next steps for employment and/or training
WFC places clients in jobsand/or
occupationaltraining
AE & WFCGuide ClientsRe. Next Steps
Clients maybe or begin
working while completing
GED
Classes heldat One Stops
C-4 Pilot Initiative Collaboration and Kick-off - TEA and TWC
TWC publishes report: Assessing the Robustness of the Relationships between Local Workforce Development Boards and Adult Basic Education Providers
TWC indentifies San Antonio, Houston and Austin/San Marcos Area Boards for pilot sites
TEA and TWC draft joint letter to local workforce development boards in three regions to encourage full support and cooperation.
TEA/Texas LEARNS assists AE providers in the selection of
workplace literacy curriculum accompanied by professional development.
TEA/Texas LEARNS provides online training in use of Integrating Career Awareness into the ABE/ESOL Classroom.
4 Proposed Program Components
1. Workforce Literacy Resource Teams (WLRT):Work groups consisting of local adult education providers and local workforce partners (board or board staff; local vendors/contractors; business service directors). WLRT meets quarterly to discuss pilot goals and objectives and to identify roles and responsibilities of each partner.
2. Cross agency referral form: For use in tracking and documenting student/client activities in both adult education and workforce venues and strengthening linkages between adult education and workforce partners. The three regions are in varying stages of developing and using a formal referral process.
3. Fast track GED component: Focus on intensive writing and math components; students assessed for reading skills. Instruction delivered in 4 to 6 week courses, extended when necessary in response to student needs.
4. Career Awareness Curriculum:C-4 instructors trained in use of Integrating Career Awareness into the ABE Classroom (ICA) from World Education.
4 Proposed Program Components
2011-2012 Program Year:C-4 Summary & Outcomes
$400,000 divided by 3 regions3 Fiscal Agents (one per region)7 providers21 sites27 classes482 served to-date65 contact hours per 68% had Language gain on TABE70% had Math gain on TABE66% had Reading gain on TABE129 obtained GED to-date
Feedback from C-4 ProgramSan Antonio ISD Adult Education
Cultural Competence in career awareness can open possibilities for students!
Instructors insight into students awareness of:◦Education and Training, ◦Careers and Career ladder,◦Job Seeking and Job keeping, &◦Labor market
Next Step: Texas Received WIA Incentive Grant
The Goal
Build student pathways to college and career readiness by creating and implementing tools, support, and professional development.
Objective 1
• Provide JFF Counseling to
Careers Training
•Create a cadre of trainers to
facilitate future teacher training
and its expansion to all adult education
programs
Objective 2
Objective 3
Objective 4
• Introduce contextualization
tools at 8 pilot sites at the local teacher level for
use in both specific
occupations and academics.
• Provide train-the-trainer
classes to assist local programs to develop and
plan for implementing college and
career readiness and transitions into each program
• Create resources and professional development for teachers
through the use of effective
General Educational
Development (GED®) to
College models and
• Initiate the process to
revise the Adult Education Content
Standards• Develop a local plan to train all teachers to use ICA over the two years following the end of the grant period; develop a local plan
for contextualization, counseling to careers specialists/coaches and use of GED to College models.
The path to career awareness in all adult education classrooms begins to take shape
• 4 programs• 8 teachers
ICA Pilot
• 4 programs
• 19 teachers
C-4 Class
es
• Build trainer expertise
• Local plans
• Train all teachers
State wide
adoption
Statewide Implementation
The task:
2850 teachers/counselors (89% PT)
650 administrators (52% PT)
390 paraprofessionals (81% PT)
Located across 268,820 square miles
Achieve actual sustained implementation of ICA in every adult education classroom
Supported by a professional development consortium – 8 GREAT Centers
Not an ordinary challenge!
Key Steps
Develop 17 Master ICA Trainers (MICATS)
Local programs select 100 Key Trainers. MICATS train Key Trainers.
100 Key Trainers implement ICA in the classroom
Key Trainers train 2800+ local staff, work with director to develop implementation plan
Statewide Implementation
Create cadre of Master ICA Trainers (MICATs)MICATs Train Key Teachers in each local programDevelop local plans to train and implementKey teachers, MICATs train remaining local staff
over a 2 year periodOnline ICA Course supplements F2F trainingImplementation observed on Technical Assistance
VisitsWork with JFF to strengthen Counseling to
Careers, ContextualizationLocal Programs engage employers, higher ed.
and TWC
Anatomy of ICA Training
Face-to-face
First Follow Up Training Second Follow Up Training
Online Course Option
$$$$ Sustainability $$$$
2010-2011• Loc
al Program Funds
2011-2012• Stat
e Leadership Funds
2012-2013• State
Leadership Funds
• WIA Incentive Grant Funds
2013-2014 2014-2015• State
Leadership Funds
• Local Program Funds
Future Years• State
Leadership Funds
• Local Program Funds
Statewide Adoption of ICA
Purpose: Intentionally bring career awareness activities into every Texas adult education classroom
Result: Adults are no longer lost in the corn maze. Every student has a clear plan to transition to college or training that leads to a job earning a sustainable wage.
Let’s Discuss