Narrative: f.

Assessing quality of adult education and literacy activities happens at both the state and local levels.

The AEFLA contract with sub-grantees stipulates that instructors engage in at least 12 hours of professional development annually and to facilitate that happening, the state office provides training opportunities year-round in multiple delivery formats and locations. Meetings for local directors are held annually and a series of trainings for new directors are conducted throughout the year. Webinars on special topics appropriate for administrators, instruction, and administrative staff are provided through technology and face to face. Though electronic means of delivery are relied on due to Maine’s geographic challenges, there are still benefits of the state team going to the programs to meet with learners, observe classes and strengthen relationships.

The state disseminates professional development information in a variety of ways. An annual calendar of high-quality professional development offerings to develop or enhance quality of instruction in the required, and many of the permissible leadership activities, is created and distributed prior to the start of each school year and updated as necessary. Local providers are also notified of upcoming trainings and resources through the Maine Adult Education listserv. Maine’s professional development portal is utilized to advertise, collect registrations for each training, verify number of professional development hours someone earns, and create transcripts. It is interesting to note that in addition to adult education practitioners, instructors from the K-12 and community college systems, as well as from partner organizations have been in attendance at many of the trainings.

To ensure the trainings meet intended outcomes, participants are required to complete an evaluation at the conclusion of each state sponsored professional development event. The evaluations are used to assess effectiveness and determine any necessary changes. The comments on evaluations often inform the state regarding topics for follow-up trainings. Also taken into consideration in the planning and delivery of these trainings are the results of the professional development needs assessments completed by local providers.

In addition to the calendars and professional development portal, the use of a managed learning system assists in assessing quality. The system provides a means to gather information on instructor, staff and administrator participation in online resources, levels of engagement in facilitated communities of practice, and quality of outcomes. These communities provide the state with valuable information on areas in need of additional training. The listserv, professional development portal and managed learning system provide the means for widespread dissemination of information on proven or promising national, state and local practices.

In terms of assessing quality at the local level, providers are expected to meet the quality for instructional standards and outcome targets established in the AEFLA RFP. How well providers meet these expectations is determined through a variety of methods, including: participation in professional development; meeting performance goals; monthly expenditure reports to ensure grant funds are only used for eligible activities and as allocated in approved budgets; timely submission of reports; and onsite and desktop monitoring. Annually, each local provider is required to submit a year-end narrative, data and budget report. Depending on the severity, budget reports that reflect inappropriate expenditures or variances from the approved budget will be requested by email or phone to make appropriate budget adjustments, renegotiate the budget, or have funding halted until the matter is reconciled. Any quarterly reports that contain performance outcomes or targets that are below 90%, a plan must be submitted that includes improvement strategies and timeline for implementation and improvement. Examples of targets include post-testing rates, transitions to employment/postsecondary and/or employment, advancement in educational functioning level, and data match percentage. Technical assistance is provided to each provider in response to their submitted plan.

When following the steps above does not result in acceptable levels of improvement, the local provider will need to specify within 30 calendars how the findings will be addressed in a correction action plan. Once the plan is approved, the corrective steps can occur.