Narrative: b.

The Iowa Department of Education will promote participation in adult education and family literacy programs through campaigns which include, but are not limited to, initiatives including workplace programs and career pathway development programs, by promoting research based practices and public and private sector partnerships to inform the public about adult education, literacy, and family literacy services. The one–stop System will be used as a vehicle to identify available educational and employment services, fiscal and human resources, and other client services to help this targeted population become literate and economically self–sufficient. The key objectives for core services are to promote accountability and transparency in investing in adult education and aligning performance accountability (enrollment, level gains, and core outcomes) to guide strategy development and drive continuous quality improvement are as follows:

• Iowa’s Adult Education and Literacy program supports efforts to increase enrollment and retention by urging programs to offer flexible schedules, support services and year–round programs in attractive and age–appropriate settings. For program year 2014, a state goal to serve five percent of the total state population without a high school degree, 18 years and older, was started. This represents a 12 percent increase in enrollment in adult education and literacy programs since last year. In addition Iowa is actively raising public awareness of adult education with an initial statewide campaign. Iowa launched a branding campaign to promote public awareness of the effectiveness of adult education. This effort has provided support in the transition to the new state’s assessment for awarding the high school equivalency diploma, effective January 2014. This statewide effort has been aimed at increasing access to services and connecting participants as quickly as possible to programs.
• Providers have been piloting and demonstrating innovative instructional methodologies, from individual to group activities, to meet the diverse needs of adult learners. Adult education programs offer a student–centered approach, in which instructors help participants set and achieve learning goals. Iowa adult education and literacy programs facilitate student progress by incorporating college and career readiness standards in instruction, sharing best practices and providing ongoing professional development and training for instructors, data specialists and coordinators of programs. Local programs measure educational levels and progress using standardized assessment tools and by following the assessment policy guidelines disseminated to programs annually. Providers record gains using the Tops Enterprise (TE®) online reporting system. The state and local providers use the data to analyze program performance.

In addition, through the introduction of STAR (Student Achievement in Reading), managed enrollment has been encouraged in each program to better direct explicit instruction in adult education and literacy classrooms. This approach supports the best practice model through student and instructor surveys as well as program performance. Additional programs will be able to adapt this approach once a cadre of state certified trainers are established in Iowa. This shift in classroom management requires a transition period and continual adjustments. Programs are excited about the results in the urban areas but continue to struggle with rural implementation.

The state benchmarks for each educational functioning level (EFL) remains the focus for local programs with performance–based funding and a targeted post–test rate of 60 percent for each program and each level of students served. This data is reviewed monthly during the coordinator webinar. Training from the state data specialist has made it possible for each program to review local data program wide as well as classroom specific. Iowa adult education and literacy programs help to ensure that adults have the skills needed to compete in the knowledge–based economy. This is in keeping with increasing economic opportunity and raising the standard of living in Iowa. Iowa’s adult education and literacy programs have been associated with community colleges since 1968 and work together to facilitate adult learners’ transition to post–secondary education. Pilots have been conducted and will be expanded to partner with credit and non–credit courses to encourage the transition of adult learners to a career pathway. The pilots are designed to increase the number of adult learners earning transferrable credit, marketable credential, and, or entering post–secondary education.

Planned Integrated Activities

Collaboration, coordination, and cooperation have been the mainstays of the program from the beginning including: 1) mutual referrals, 2) assessment, 3) tracking client goals and progress, and 4) decisions regarding the planned delivery of services to the client. There has always been strong collaboration with federal employment training programs to help adults prepare for the workforce and become self–sufficient. Adult education and literacy programs, in their local communities, seek out working agreements with Iowa Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, Iowa Department of Human Services, Iowa Department of Workforce Development, adult and juvenile court officials, and other service agencies.

With the increased awareness of the need for a workforce to be able to function in a highly technical environment, more emphasis is being placed on education. The adult education and literacy program has responded to this focus by supplying their services either in business and industry or in the classroom. The program is ready and able to provide assessment; instruction in basic academic skills; English literacy programs; workplace literacy; communication skills; and job seeking and retention skills.

Adult Basic Education

The goal of the Adult Basic Education (ABE) program is to improve students’ basic skills in language arts and mathematics. A model ABE program provides comprehensive services to meet the diverse educational needs of students and prepare them to transition to secondary education and job preparation classes

ABE programs include literacy (reading and writing) and computational skills necessary for functioning at levels comparable to students in the first through eighth grade. Courses may be remedial for students or they may provide educational opportunities for students who speak, but do not read, English. These programs are standards–based and are designed to teach the academic skills necessary for success, and to help students become more productive community members. These programs are also designed to help students develop job readiness skills, find employment, advance on the job, or enter adult secondary education classes.

English Language Acquisition

The total immigrant population in Iowa remains relatively small but increased by 2.5 percent over the past five years. In 2014, ESL services represented 47 percent of the total population served. As part of core services, English literacy services assist adults in becoming literate and obtaining the knowledge and skills necessary for employment and self–sufficiency; assist adults who are parents in obtaining the educational skills necessary to become full partners in the educational development of their children; and assist adults in completing a secondary school education.

All of the funded adult education and literacy programs in Iowa provided ESL services, defined as a program of instruction designed to help individuals of limited English proficiency achieve competence in the English language. ESL classes are offered in a diverse cross section of Iowa counties, from urban areas that have an influx of immigrants from many nations to agricultural counties that have experienced a growth in their ESL population.

Iowa’s adult education and literacy programs also make available, as needed, opportunities for English literacy/civics programs. These programs incorporate English literacy and civics education for immigrants and other students with limited English proficiency to participate effectively in the education, work and civic opportunities of this country. The programs include one or more aspects of civics education and may incorporate distance learning strategies and video services. EL/Civics programs comply with the National Reporting System (NRS) Performance Indicators.

Within the English Language Acquisition program, students are placed in appropriate skill–level classes through assessments of general language proficiency. There are six levels of instruction: beginning literacy, beginning low, beginning high, intermediate low, intermediate high, and advanced. The assessments for progressing from one level to another measure both general language proficiency and specific standards mastered. The key objectives for adult education English language acquisition are to:

• Provide stress–free and comfortable learning environments in order to reduce anxiety that interferes with obtaining language fluency;
• Integrate language acquisition with relevant life experiences stressing the importance of critical thinking, problem solving, and self–sufficiency;
• Use proficiency standards for assessing the major accomplishments of the students;
• Develop students’ receptive English language skills of listening and reading comprehension;
• Develop students’ productive English language skills of speaking and writing;
• Provide students with the ability to use English that is accurate and appropriate in a variety of academic and social settings; and
• Provide students with English language and citizenship instruction necessary to successfully complete the citizenship application and interview process.

Adult Secondary Education

The primary goal of the Adult Secondary Education (ASE) programs is to provide a curriculum that enables adults to attain a Iowa high school equivalency diploma. The ASE programs are performance oriented and deliver instruction through processes that facilitate, measure, and certify learning outcomes. Programs are conducted within flexible time limits, are relevant to the practical needs of adults, and teach the skills and knowledge necessary for self–sufficiency and employment.

Iowa’s adult education and literacy’s high school equivalency preparation activities are focused on assisting adults in the completion of a high school credential. Community colleges and correctional institutions, throughout the state of Iowa, operate 61 HSED testing centers. Between July 1, 2013 and June 30, 2014, Iowa awarded 3,408 equivalency diplomas.

Integrated Education and Training

Integrated Education and Training (IET) is defined as an education model that “combines occupational skills training with adult education services to increase the educational and career advancement of participants. In programs that deliver IET, adults participate in both occupational skills training and adult education services at the same time.” Through the adult education professional development leadership contractor, modules on IET are offered as a facilitated online course. The modules take educators and agency administrators through the process of developing plans for implementing one of four instructional models. These models integrate basic skills (i.e. ELA or ABE) with technical or occupational skills instruction. Specific objectives for the IET are:

1. Analyze and cite reasons for implementing IET models after reviewing various resources;
2. Define key terms and components of IET models;
3. Assess the degree of readiness to implement an IET model; and
4. Identify which IET models are best suited for the students and identify next steps for implementation.

Finally, effective implementation of a comprehensive IET model requires well–planned and integrated coordination of the program structure, student support services, and classroom activities. The IET training modules provided below are several options for agencies to choose the best method to meet their adult students’ needs.

1. Co–Teaching: The co–teaching model involves skills instruction in a particular in demand sector along with basic language instruction, delivered in an integrated fashion. Team teaching and co–teaching are the main strategies used to deliver the curriculum. The language and basic skills instructor deliver literacy and language education while the technical instructor teaches the related certificate or credentialing skills. After completion of the class, students are better prepared to transition to a related advanced class or employment through a career pathway.
2. Alternating Teaching: In alternating teaching, students enroll in two different, but coordinated courses. For example, students interested in healthcare careers might also attend a basic skills class. This class may incorporate important components of jobs, such as customer service and patient care, etc., along with basic language or reading skills. After attending the basic skills class, students go to a technology class to learn the digital literacy skills necessary to be successful in the workforce.

Workplace Education

Workplace education programs, defined as literacy services that are offered for the purpose of improving the productivity of the workforce through the improvement of literacy skills, represent a growing trend in Iowa’s adult education and literacy programs. In today’s economy, employees must continually upgrade their skills to remain competitive. In addition to strong reading, math and communication skills, employees need skills in solving problems, adapting to rapid change and working in teams as defined in Section 203 of WIOA.

Onsite workplace education allows workers to apply basic academic concepts to everyday job tasks, resulting in a better trained, more productive workforce. Local programs have been working with employers to identify skills employees need to be successful in their jobs and design a course of basic skills instruction around these needs. Instructors integrate examples and tools from the work environment to make learning relevant to the participant.

Workforce Training Activities

Iowa adult education and literacy provides ongoing professional development for adult education and literacy programs on how to integrate job readiness skills into the basic curriculum and incorporate real world examples from a variety of work settings into academic instruction. Training has included the World Education course, “Integrating Career Awareness at Every Level." Iowa’s focus has been to ensure that this integration occurs for English as a Second Language participants as well as with those preparing for High School Equivalency testing. Sessions during the adult education and literacy summer conference were dedicated to this topic. The development of the Adult Education and Literacy Plus Pathway pilot will include these elements for each functioning level in addition to workforce training specific to the designated career pathway.