abe administrator 101 inaugural abe manager webinar

ABE ADMINISTRATOR 101INAUGURAL ABE MANAGER WEBINARBRAD HASSKAMP, MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONKARLA VIEN, LITERACY ACTION NETWORK

AGENDAAdult 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

MINNESOTA’S ADULT BASIC EDUCATION SYSTEM

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 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 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

Enrollment 78,480 74,847 73,323 74,736

Student Contact Hours

5,827,860 5,775,962 5,986,652 5,931,207

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 Aid Federal 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

WHO does ABE serve?

ABE STUDENT ELIGIBILITYAdult 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.

To increase our understanding, let’s play…

Now That’s

Accountability!

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

Now That’s Accountability!

Student: JB

STUDENT: SELENA

• A potential learner is 17 years old. Is she ABE eligible?

Now That’s Accountability!

• A potential learner is a high school graduate. Is he ABE eligible?

Now That’s Accountability!

Student: Taylor

ABE ADMINISTRATOR QUESTION 2

WHAT do we need to know about ABE students?

WHAT INFORMATION DO WE NEED FROM ABE STUDENTS?• Student First Name• Student Last Name• Student Sex• Student Ethnicity• Student Date of Birth• Student Intake Date• Student Pre-test Info• Student Entry Level• Student’s Last Grade

Completed• Location of Last Grade

Completed• Student Labor Force Status

• Student Contact Hours

• Student Class Participation

• Student Post-test Info

• Current Student Level

• Student Exit Date

ABE STUDENT LABOR FORCE STATUS

LABOR FORCE STATUSWHO IS COUNTED AS UNEMPLOYED?

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

LABOR FORCE STATUSWHO IS COUNTED AS UNEMPLOYED?

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

LABOR FORCE STATUSWHO IS COUNTED AS UNEMPLOYED?

Passive methods do not qualify:

• Attending a job training program or course,

•Reading about job openings in newspapers or on the Internet.

EMPLOYED, UNEMPLOYED, OR NOT IN THE LABOR FORCE?

Now, let’s check your understanding with…

Student: Faduma

EMPLOYED, UNEMPLOYED OR NOT IN THE LABOR FORCE?

• Faduma has completed applications with

three hospitals for jobs. However, she

won’t finish the FastTRAC CNA course

until June and doesn’t want to start work

before then.

• Probable Answer : Not in the Labor Force

Student: David

EMPLOYED, UNEMPLOYED OR NOT IN THE LABOR FORCE?

•David has not had roofing jobs yet for this

summer. He typically works only during

the summer and not in the winter. He

has been asking his buddy who has a

construction crew about jobs.

• Probable Answer : Unemployed

Student: Omar

EMPLOYED, UNEMPLOYED OR NOT IN THE LABOR FORCE?

•Omar is 22 years old, and is about to be

released from the county jail. He has

been completing applications and

resumes, hoping to find work.

• Probable Answer : Not in the Labor Force

Student: Mai

EMPLOYED, UNEMPLOYED OR NOT IN THE LABOR FORCE?

•Mai is registering for classes. She has

difficulty with conversation in English. When

you ask her if she has a job, she says she

helps her brother at his restaurant on Friday,

Saturday & Sunday. That is all the

information you get; you don’t know if she

gets paid.

• Probable Answer: Employed

QUESTION

Now That’s Accountability!

What is the NRS?

QUESTION: NRS

NationalReporting

System

Now That’s Accountability!

QUESTION

Now That’s Accountability!

The NRS defines how many official adult student levels?

QUESTION: STUDENT LEVELS

12Now That’s

Accountability!

QUESTION

Name the adult student levels defined by the NRS.

Now That’s Accountability!

QUESTION: STUDENT LEVELS

1. Beginning ESL Literacy2. Low Beginning ESL3. High Beginning ESL4. Low Intermediate ESL5. High Intermediate ESL6. Advanced ESL

7. Beginning ABE Literacy8. Beginning Basic Education9. Low Intermediate ABE10. High Intermediate ABE11. Low Adult Secondary12. High Adult Secondary

These are also called EFLs, or Educational Functioning Levels

Now That’s Accountability!

ABE ADMINISTRATOR QUESTION 3

WHAT do we teach ABE students?

ABE Eligible Content

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

What’s the Policy?

• 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

Now That’s Accountability!

Conditional Content• Conditional content is supplemental to core

content instruction

• Conditional content areas: •Citizenship/civics•Basic technology skills• Employability skills•Study skills•Health or financial literacy

What’s the Policy?

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

Now That’s Accountability!

Student: Snooki

Computer Literacy

Essential, but conditional content:

1) Must be an eligible ABE student; AND

2) The student must be participating (enrolled) in core literacy instruction

What’s the Policy?

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

Now That’s Accountability!

Student: Snooki

Conditional Work Referral

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)

Conditional Work ReferralEligibility 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. What’s the Policy?

Conditional Work Referral

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.

What’s the Policy?

ABE ADMINISTRATOR QUESTION 4

HOW do we record our ABE efforts?

Recording Student Attendance

• 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?

Now That’s Accountability!

Contact Hour Policy

BROAD DEFINITION: ABE Contact Hours are:

• In-person interaction time

• ABE student with ABE-funded staff

•Working on educational skills and goals

What’s the Policy?

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

What’s the Policy?

Distance Learning

Contact Hours VS. Proxy HoursDo 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?

Now That’s Accountability!

QUESTION: ABE DATABASES

Minnesota’s ABE Databases are:

MABE & MARCS

Now That’s Accountability!

ABE ADMINISTRATOR QUESTION 5

HOW do we measure success with ABE students?

How do you determine “educational gain” in ABE?

Educational Gain

in ABE =Completing

a NRS Level on an approvedstandardizedassessment

Now That’s Accountability!

QUESTION

Table A displays enrollees while Tables 1-12 display participants.

What is the difference between an enrollee and a participant?

Now That’s Accountability!

QUESTION: ENROLLEE/PARTICIPANT

Enrollees are any adult student with contact hours in the program year.

Participants are enrollees with at least 12 contact hours in the program year.

Now That’s Accountability!

QUESTION

The ABE databases produce tables A & 1-13 that programs submit annually. Programs should check them regularly.

What are the most important tables for programs to check?

Now That’s Accountability!

QUESTION: MOST IMPORTANT

The most important tables to check are:

Table A: Shows enrollees & contact hoursTable 4: Shows participant level completionsTable 4B: Shows post-tested participants

Now That’s Accountability!

QUESTION

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

Now That’s Accountability!

QUESTION: PROGRAM YEAR

Minnesota’s ABE Program Year starts

MAY 1The program year dates May 1 – April 30.

Now That’s Accountability!

NRS Cohort Follow UpFor all exited participants with a recorded Social Security Number:WHAT STUDENTS? FOR WHAT ARE THEY

MEASURED?BY WHOM?

Marked as “unemployed”

Obtaining employment State

Marked as “employed”

Retaining employment State

Who took all five test of the GED

Obtaining a GED State

Enrolled in Adult Diploma Classes & are at the High Adult Secondary Level

Obtaining a diploma Local Programs

Who have a diploma, GED OR are in a “transitions” class

Entering post-secondary State

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 ACCOUNTABILITYMDE-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

Now That’s Accountability!

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)

FOR MORE INFORMATION…

•Minnesota ABE Web Site (www.mnabe.org)•Literacy Action Network (www.literacyactionnetwork.org) •National Reporting System (NRS) (www.nrsweb.org)

WWW.MNABE.ORG• The Minnesota ABE web site

is the best place to check for policy and accountability information.

Two section highlights:ABE Law, Policy and Guidance

Accountability and NRS

QUESTIONS?Contact:• Other local ABE administrators• Brad Hasskamp, State ABE Policy & Operations

Specialist, at 651-582-8594 or brad.hasskamp@state.mn.us

• Todd Wagner, Interim State ABE Director, at 651-582-8466 or todd.wagner@state.mn.us