Narrative: e. 1.

Missouri will use funds made available under section 222(a)(2) to enhance the quality of programming in the adult education system.  Not more than 12.5 percent of the grant funds made available will be used to carry out State Leadership activities under section 223.  Missouri conducts the following State Leadership activities:

1. Missouri works collaboratively with the other core programs and partner agencies to align and coordinate services for program participants.  Training at the state level and local level has been and will continue to take place to cross-train staff to develop an understanding of intake/orientation, eligibility screening, referral between partners, and program services and activities.  In addition, the development of all components of career pathways will continue to be a priority with the focus on preparing students for careers in in-demand occupations (sector strategies). 
2. Missouri has a statewide Adult Education professional development (PD) advisory committee.  The committee meets as needed to identify future PD needs, develop PD plans and resources, identify and implement best practices in PD, coordinate PD activities, and review PD workshops as they are being developed to ensure it meets the needs of our teachers. The PD advisory committee has approximately 15 members including adult education local staff and state staff including our PD trainers. The members of the PD advisory committee seek input from all teachers and all local adult education directors to determine appropriate PD needs.  The PD committee prioritizes PD requests and determines what PD is to be developed each year and offered each year.  The PD committee also takes into account new federal requirements and state requirements to determine PD needs and PD development.  All PD workshops developed by the state’s PD provider incorporate College and Career Readiness standards.  In addition, the state agency provides PD twice per year on various topics such as new federal requirements,  (integrated education and training, quality referrals, partnering), data quality management, fiscal accountability, effective instruction strategies, assessment, serving students with disabilities, transition to post-secondary, etc.   At least three times a year, local program staff has an opportunity to share best practices with their peers.
3. The state agency provides technical assistance to programs.  Specific areas of focus include: 

• Aligning adult education and literacy activities with other core programs and one-stop partners, and the development of career pathways to provide access to employment and training services for individuals in adult education and literacy activities.
• Improving instruction by incorporating the following in the classroom:

1. the essential components of reading instruction
2. college and career readiness
3. active instruction (as opposed to study hall type classroom)
4. multiple learning strategies used to provide differentiated instruction  
5. tiered instruction that includes: whole group, small group, guided practice, and independent learning

• The development and dissemination of instructional practices in reading, writing, speaking, mathematics, English language acquisition programs, and distance education.
• The role of one-stop partners to provide access to employment, education, and training services.
• The use of MIS data reports and the use of the MIS data system.

4. The State provides oversight to grantees and/or contractors including data reviews, on-site visits, and a program improvement process for programs with deficiencies. 

The DESE staff meets monthly to conduct Desk Reviews. In these meetings, the DESE team reviews and discusses the data reports of our local programs.  If a program appears to be having an issue, assistance is offered through phone conferences and technical visits. In FY’19, DESE staff held numerous phone conferences and made personal technical assistance visits to four local programs that were having difficulties with testing, persistence, making academic gain, etc.  During these visits, the staff travel to various class sites to interview teachers and students and watch instruction in low performing classrooms and to offer suggestions for improvement. The staff then meets with the local program director to discuss performance and offer ideas on how to improve. The staff write a summative report of the visit including the suggestions that were made for improvement and send it to the local program director.

The DESE team conducts On-Site Monitoring Visits each year from the designated cohort, in addition to the on-site technical visits. To determine which programs in the cohort will receive monitoring visits, a Risk Factor Assessment Sheet is utilized which looks at the following criteria: programs that did not receive an on-site visit during the previous cycle, programs that had new directors within the last two years, programs that had a high cost per student, and programs that had low measurable skill gains.

After it has been determined which programs will receive On-site Reviews, time is spent analyzing data to see which specific classrooms will be visited based on such factors as performance, attendance, and testing. During the monitoring visit, the team looks at many areas including instruction, fiscal, testing, meeting PD requirements, teacher certification, etc.  The team also visits class sites, watches teachers deliver classroom instruction, and interviews as many teachers and students as possible.

When the On-site Review Team has gathered all needed information, they meet with the local AEL program director and his/her supervisor.  During this meeting, the DESE team discusses the areas of strength found within the program.  If there are weak areas, the DESE team offers suggestions for improvement.

After the On-site visit, the team writes and issues a report to the local program.  This report includes a summary of the review.  If any weak areas are found, the local program director is required to write an improvement plan and submit it to the state.