Narrative: e. 2.

(2) Permissible Activities A) The support of State or regional networks of literacy resource centers. Maine adult education leadership funds are used primarily to fund a state level professional development coordinator position and to implement the train the trainer model for required trainers. The state office has found this to be a much more effective system in terms of costs and use of resources than the former centralized literacy resource center. The current model will continue as it has demonstrative effective in building capacity. Local adult education programs are also grouped into regional alliances. The state supports the professional development needs within specific alliances through customized training. B) The development and implementation of technology applications, translation technology, or distance education, including professional development to support the use of instructional technology. Maine uses instructional technology as a conventional and standard modality for delivering professional development. Using an industry recognized learning management system, traditional professional development content is being translated into blended, synchronous and asynchronous learning opportunities. The state office is modeling effective integration of instructional technology and supporting training for practitioners ready to incorporate this modality into instructional practice. Additional, the state office has partnered with the Center for Applied Special Technology, or CAST. CAST is a recognized leader in the field of Universal Design for Learning. This partnership involves consultation and training in creating and delivering digital learning experiences that expand access to learning for all individuals. The state office and local programs also partner with the Bureau of Rehabilitation Services. C) Developing and disseminating curricula, including curricula incorporating the essential components of reading instruction as such components relate to adults. Maine adult education is currently building capacity by training local teacher leaders in the research–based programs of STAR Reading and Reading Apprenticeship. Both programs are research–based and meet the highest standards for reliability and validity. Because Maine is a local control state and educational statutes assert it is the right of local school units and not the state to develop and/or adopt curricula, the adult education state office does not disseminate curricula, but does make recommendations and provide high quality professional growth opportunities. D) Developing content and models for integrated education and training and career pathways. For the last three years Maine adult education programs have been using a template to capture how they will address the components of a career pathways system. Extensive training was offered initially to convert the programs to this new service delivery approach. Plans are updated and submitted for approval each year. Local programs are now working with postsecondary partners and local workforce boards to determine appropriate alignment of educational pathways to career pathways. In 2015–2016, five local programs piloted IET activities. These pilots will be evaluated and presented to the field to take IET to scale. E) The provision of assistance to eligible providers in developing and implementing programs that achieve the objectives of this title and in measuring the progress of those programs in achieving such objectives, including meeting the State adjusted levels of performance described in section 116(b)(3). State assistance is provided to local programs to address required data elements and to implement best practices that will ensure measuring progress accurately. Monthly DATA DRIVEN webinars will be conducted by the state adult education data coordinator as well as regular in–person trainings to address data professional development needs as necessary. Program monitoring is also conducted and includes local site visits and real–time desk audits. Required data reports identify problems as they arise to ensure timely assistance is given to eligible providers. Funding to eligible providers is based on program outcomes including overall educational gain percentages and employment and college placement outcomes as defined in WIOA section 116 (b)(3). F) The development and implementation of a system to assist in the transition from adult education to postsecondary education, including linkages with postsecondary educational institutions or institutions of higher education. The Maine College Transitions Program (MCT) is accessible to adults at all 76 local program sites. MCT offers college preparatory coursework and additional supports to learners. These include integrating academic advising and career planning services, financial aid assistance, college planning and tours, and ACCUPLACER testing. G) Integration of literacy and English language instruction with occupational skill training, including promoting linkages with employers. For the last two years Portland Adult Education has been operating a New Mainers Resource Center. They were integrating language and occupational skills while working with employers before they knew there was IEL/Civics combined with IET. The success of these programs will be shared with other local programs in our attempts to bring this model to scale in areas where there are enough English language learners.

H) Activities to promote workplace adult education and literacy activities. Maine adult education has offered a Department of Education WorkReady certificate since 2000. This 60–hours standards based curricula was prepared in cooperation with local workforce boards and employers. The core curricula can be enhanced with the addition of hard skills to fit the needs of specific employers. The program is offered by trained facilitators at a number of locations such as adult education programs, career centers, correctional facilities, high schools, career and technical education sites, and social service offices. The next area of focus for FY 2016–2018 is to broaden the approach to focus on employability skills and the embedding of these skills in all instructional areas. I) Identifying curriculum frameworks and aligning rigorous content standards that – i. specify what adult learners should know and be able to do in the areas of reading and language arts, mathematics, and English language acquisition; and take into consideration the following: state adopted academic standards; the current adult skills and literacy assessments used in the state or outlying area; the primary indicators of performance described in section 116; standards and academic requirements for enrollment in non–remedial, for–credit courses in postsecondary educational institutions or institutions of higher education supported by the state or outlying area; where appropriate, the content of occupational and industry skills standards widely used by business and industry in the state or outlying are. In 2014, Maine Adult Education adopted the College and Career Readiness Standards (CCRS) with the goal of statewide integration into instructional practices by SY2016–17. These standards focus on high–level reading skills, critical thinking, comprehension of concepts, and applications to real world situations. In mathematics, this looks like mastering underlying concepts, procedures, and applications of math to real world problems. Math lessons are coherent as students develop skills, building on previous knowledge. In ELA/literacy, CCRS manifests itself in teaching for complexity, evidence and knowledge with more complex tests, confirming that students identify evidence in the text to support their ideas and responses. In English language acquisition, local programs are striving to support students in achievement of functional levels of literacy and numeracy that will enable them to gain employment and postsecondary training. State stress will now be on sustainability of CCRS concepts in programs where all teachers are training and becoming more adept and integrating these standards in their curricula and lessons. All local adult education programs in Maine are required to use CASAS tools for student assessment of educational functioning level and diagnostics. CASAS pretesting and posttesting are used to document educational gain as described in Section 116 as a primary indicator of performance. Additional assessments include the CASAS Employability, ACCUPLACER and HiSET equivalency test to provide specialized diagnostic information for college and career readiness and high school equivalency. The goal of the Maine College Transition program is to transition adults into postsecondary without the need for remedial courses once they enroll. Local programs will be trained to develop courses and experiences that address being successful in the college culture, possessing sufficient levels of digital literacy, and how to finance postsecondary education and/or training in a responsible way. These topics are in response to requests from our postsecondary partners. In response to needs expressed by postsecondary partners. Additionally, within the Maine Department of Education, the dialogue between adult education and Career and Technical Education will be expanded to allow for the exploration of career pathways and additional vocational inventories in advising adult learners. The Maine Unified Plan also points to new partnerships and activities between adult education and the Maine Department of Labor that will include cross agency professional development to enhance collaboration and alignment. J) Developing and piloting of strategies for improving teacher quality and effectiveness. Maine has developed two opportunities to orient new practitioners to the adult education profession. An asynchronous online course, Navigating the Waters of Maine Adult Education, offers a broad overview of the adult education landscape in Maine to new teachers, administrators and support staff. An extension activity of this course will be a book study launching Fall 2016 of the New Teacher of Adults, authored by two of Maine’s leaders in adult education, Dr. E. Michael Brady and longtime adult education instructor and program director Allen Lampert. This four week study will build a community of practice for new practitioners and encourage dialog and sharing of best practices among the participants. Additionally, members of the state team, the PD Coordinator and the Director of Special Projects, have been following and attending the Teacher Induction Toolkit offered through LINCS with the intent to pilot the Induction Toolkit in 2017. K) The development and implementation of programs and services to meet the needs of adult learners with learning disabilities or English language learners, which may include new and promising assessments tools and strategies that are based on scientifically valid research, where appropriate, and identify the needs and capture the gains of such students at the lowest achievement levels. Partnerships are crucial in guaranteeing equal access to all learners and in providing high quality services to meet the needs of adult learners with disabilities and those at the most basic literacy levels. As core partners, the Bureau of Rehabilitation Services and Adult Education work more closely to cross develop an effective referral system and train staff to use it appropriately. Planning is already underway for the Bureau of Rehabilitation Services to provide professional development for eligible providers including accessibility workshops directed to local adult education program staff. The state office of adult education provides CASAS diagnostic training to help all eligible providers to identify skill needs to target instruction and increase the academic gains of learners at the most basic levels. Strengthening partnerships with Literacy Volunteers and the Barbara Bush Family Literacy Foundation will continue to be a focus to help local programs access both services and professional development opportunities. Literacy volunteers provide one–on–one learner instructional support to eligible providers. The Barbara Bush Literacy Foundation provides training opportunities including a day long literacy conference targeted to local adult education providers. L) Outreach to instructors, students, and employers. Due to its large geographic size and areas of low population density, Maine adult education will expand its outreach to instructors, students and employers through increased uses of technology. A professional development portal is maintained with current professional growth opportunities and training events. Practitioners can learn about, register, and track their professional growth experiences through this digital interface. The state office is developing a pilot for a calendaring and organizational feature that will enable users to see several months of planned activities at a glance. The offerings will be coded by professional role and by educational strand (i.e. foundational skills, English language acquisition, secondary, workforce). A Maine Adult Education listserv, moderated by the state team, is a communication board where upcoming events, professional discourse, and relevant news and articles are posted and distributed to practitioners. Professional development on increasing the use of social media at the local program level to reach students will also be supported. A partnership with the Finance Authority of Maine on a marketing campaign designed to target students and inform them of postsecondary transition opportunities will be put into place. Coordinated outreach to employers revolves around core partnerships where a common objective is to sustain Maine’s commitment to aligning resources with employer–identified needs. Both the state office and local programs will need to receive training on the tools being developed by the Maine Department of Labor to fulfill this commitment. Examples of these next steps are the annual job vacancy surveys that identify and quantify skill gaps and then align and guide local education efforts accordingly and implementation of an outreach campaign that provides information on accessing workforce development services and resources including analysis of skill gaps, joint staff development with core partners and apprenticeship models. Local workforce development boards are key to coordinating the outreach efforts. M) Other activities of statewide significance that promote the purpose of this title. 1. The state team special projects coordinator will sit on the one–stop centers service provider committee for each local workforce board. This step expands the partnership between the state office and the local workforce boards in sharing information an alignment of services on a statewide basis. This is in addition to the inclusion of a local literacy program director on the board of each local workforce area. 2. Developing the capacity of the adult education professional development portal to display professional development opportunities offered by the other core partners. This major step will facilitate the deliberate cross training of staff and well as informally when staff chose a core partner professional development opportunity that fits their needs. 3. Active engagement of the state adult education office in the Adult Degree Completion Committee. This group, comprised of representatives from the university and community college system offices, philanthropy, industry and private groups, has as its purpose to increase the number of adults in Maine earning degrees and certifications. Involvement in this group will ensure the interests of thousands of Maine adults who need foundational skills to access postsecondary remain a part of the planning process as solutions and strategies are developed.