Narrative: e. 1.

There is a precedent for collaboration, coordination and alignment of services amongst core and one–stop partners in Maine. For the last three years the Commissioners of Labor, Education and Health and Human Services have met monthly to address alignment of services. At the state level, adult education and postsecondary leaders are working together to address the issue of adult degree completion and identify what each institution can do to help solve the problem. The establishment of career pathways is seen as the most viable solution for creating awareness of employment and relevant training/education opportunities Local adult education administrators have already been meeting with their colleagues from workforce development, DHHS and other support service agencies to collaboratively address local needs. Regional and state level training has been held to assist the groups in working cooperatively. One challenge to address is the inconsistent level of participation and effectiveness across the state. Currently, local adult education programs are required to have authentic, working MOUs in place with their area workforce and support service providers as well as with postsecondary institutions to satisfy that the requirements of the Career Pathway Plan. The commitment of the core partners to agency and program alignment has been a guiding principal throughout the past 11 months of working together. As a result of that commitment, Collaborating with core programs is clearing identified as a critical component of each Strategic Objective in the Unified Plan. Overarching strategies to align the core programs are found on pages 55 and 56 of the Unified Plan. Adult Education leadership funds will be directed to efforts that bring state and local administrators and staff from the core partners together for cross training on implementation of the workforce development system as outlined in the Unified State Plan, referrals, intake, orientation, common assessments, development of actionable and meaningful MOUs, data sharing, and other transition services. B) The establishment and operation of high quality professional development programs to improve instruction provided pursuant to required local activities, including instruction incorporating the essential components of reading instruction as such components relate to adults, instruction related to the specific needs of adult learners, instruction provided by volunteers or by personnel, and dissemination of information about models and promising practices related to such programs. The goal of Maine Adult Educations professional development system is to provide Maine’s adult educators with the skills and supports they need to assimilate new learning and effectively implement new content/strategies. Technical assistance is delivered in a collegial environment that is intellectually stimulating, builds confidence, and values the participants. This type of continuous improvement model supports instructors, staff and administrators in their development of professional and leadership skills that in turn, maximizes the potential for success of the adults they serve. To make the most efficient use of leadership funds, a variety of professional development formats and delivery systems are utilized, including: • Investing in a teacher–trainer model that builds local capacity; • Supporting a State office professional development coordinator who creates, delivers, brokers and shares professional development and training opportunities for both paid and volunteer instructional staff; • Offering a variety of delivery platforms. Webinars, video–conferences, blended learning formats, asynchronous courses, and regional meetings are used to help overcome the geographic challenges of delivering statewide training in a large, rural, state; • Developing and supporting educational leadership in programs in order to build the capacity of administrators to effectively lead their staff and manage their programs; • Using the State’s adult education listserv to disseminate information about regional and national training opportunities, articles of interest, and encourage discourse and sharing of best practice among practitioners; and • Utilizing the Maine Professional Development Portal, a web–based tool used to list professional development opportunities, register participants and serve as a repository for participant transcripts (www.pdportal.maineadulted.org)

The goal of Maine Adult Educations professional development system is to provide Maine’s adult educators with the skills and supports they need to be intellectually stimulated, have confidence in their abilities, and feel valued, all within a collegial atmosphere. This type of continual learning environment supports instructors, staff and administers in their development of professional and leadership skills that in turn, maximize the potential for success of the adults they serve. Each year local programs survey staff to determine professional development needs. The results become part of the annual Career Pathways Plan that is submitted to the State. The State office uses the survey results to address the locally identified needs. In addition, the State office offers training in best practices to address areas of weakness evident from program monitoring and to align with federal adult education initiatives. Targeted professional development is planned to address the areas of CCR standards, distance learning and technology integration, IET, instructional strategies, use of data for program improvement and decision making, college transitions, IEL/Civics, and employability skills. C) The provision of technical assistance to eligible providers of adult education and literacy activities receiving funds under this title, including – i. The development and dissemination of instructional and programmatic practices based on the most rigorous or scientifically valid research available and appropriate in reading, writing, speaking, mathematics, English language acquisition programs, distance education, and staff training; Based on needs assessment of local program professional development surveys and compliance with federal and state requirements, MAE will offer training opportunities in rigorous and scientifically valid instructional practices and learning theories, data collection and management, assessment, academic and career advising, job skills and college transition. Technical assistance is also planned in: • CCRS implementation as approved in Maine’s CCR–SIA Sustainability Plan • Research–based professional development in mathematics. Maine trained its first Adult Numeracy Instruction (ANI) cohort in SY2014–2015 and plans to train another ANI cohort along with another cohort focusing on algebraic concepts. ANI addresses all content strands at all levels: incorporating increasingly sophisticated concepts of number sense; geometry; data, statistics, and graphs; and algebra at each level of math instruction. Recent research has identified conceptual understanding in mathematics as a key concept in mastering the College and Career Readiness Standards. Technical assistance to address this will be provided to help instructors promote conceptual understanding with their adult students at all levels of mathematics. • Research–based professional development in reading. Maine will implement the Reading Apprenticeship Program (RAP), a research–based and research–proven instructional framework for improving adult reading. Through a train the trainer model, instructor capacity will be built in the essential components of reading instruction or the explicit and systematic instruction including the following: phonemic awareness; phonics; vocabulary development; reading fluency, including oral reading skills; and reading comprehension strategies. Maine will expand (currently 15) the number of local programs using Student Achievement in Reading (STAR). STAR supports evidence–based reading instruction, which integrates research–based principles with practitioner experience. Maine has one nationally certified STAR trainer (and will add a second) who provides STAR training to participating programs and to new instructors and programs. Regional booster trainings and follow–up support are provided around the state. • Research–based professional development in writing. The state will expand professional development for instructors regarding the rigors of writing to meet college and career readiness standards. ii. The role of eligible providers as a one–stop partner to provide access to employment, education, and training services – The core partners are committed to cross agency professional development efforts at both the state and local levels. Steps will be taken to ensure that staff at all agencies is informed of partner services and able to help adults seamlessly access employment and workforce services. and, iii. Assistance in the use of technology, including for staff training, to eligible providers, especially the use of technology to improve system efficiencies. Maine Adult Education will continue to make use of technology to provide instruction and professional development. Local programs already use video conferencing technology to instruction students in their programs and also those adults enrolled who live in other parts of the state. Technical assistance will be made available related to the use and instructional possibilities of such equipment and also in the development of effective online courses and culture. Maine Adult Education also has access, availability and expertise with technology that surpasses the other partners. Adult education will provide technical assistance opportunities to the core partners for greater efficiency in serving clients. D) The monitoring and evaluation of the quality of, and the improvement in, adult education and literacy activities and the dissemination of information about models and proven promises within the State. Maine Adult Education implements a Continuous Improvement Monitoring Process for evaluating adult education programs. Conducted under a case management model with local programs divided amongst state staff, the monitoring process consists of three key components: on–going, data–based desk audits; educational program reviews; and on–site program monitoring. The case management approach results in deepened relationships between the state office and with local programs as well as better overall understanding of the programs. Annual Evaluations The State Office reviews each program for compliance with the Maine State Legislature’s definition (LD 1780) of adult education as a system of career pathways services. Local programs annually complete Career Pathways Plans to detail how their programs will meet career pathways requirements. In addition to meeting the WIOA definition of Career Pathway, the Career Pathways plan is also aligned to AEFLA’s Thirteen Considerations. Programs that aren’t rigorously meeting Career Pathways Plan components are given additional technical assistance to help them to come into full compliance. Data–based Desk Audits Student performance data and other program information are reviewed regularly by the adult education state office data coordinator. This data review guides ongoing conversations with local programs. All programs receiving AEFLA or state funds must enter student data at least monthly into MaineSTARS, an NRS compliant managed information system. Local programs must collect and document student information regarding student goals, educational functioning level, progress and achievements. Programs review their data at least quarterly to ensure completeness, accuracy and to determine their standing progress in regards to projected program outcome targets. MaineSTARS generates annual reports on student performance measures for National Reporting Service measures. The State data coordinator creates and distributes program specific report cards which compare local program data with state targets. On–site Reviews The State Office conducts on–site reviews at least every five years using a peer participant model guided by a review instrument tailored to programs funded by AEFLA. The on–site program reviews provide an additional effective tool for continuous improvement. The key benefits of this monitoring strategy are: Self–assessment by local programs, Cross fertilization of information for best practices and strategies, Development of baseline for program improvement, and Staff development and technical assistance. An on–site visit may also be triggered based on the Maine Adult Education Risk–based Monitoring System indicators. Additional Information The Maine Department of Education Office of Adult Education and Family Literacy uses 12.5 percent of the AEFLA grant funds under Section 223 to provide professional development and technical assistance to service providers. To enhance communication, collaboration and alignment of services with core partners, a member of the Office of Adult Education state team will participate as a member of the One-Stop operator partners group in each of the three local workforce board areas. The state director of adult education and the data/secondary completion coordinator will also serve on the state plan implementation committee. Leadership funds will be used to help support cross-training of workforce partner staff on the missions and services of each partner. WIOA 101 trainings will focus on building cross agency understanding of intake, orientations, eligibility, referrals, academic and vocational assessments and well as the missions, guiding principles and legislation under which each program operates. This knowledge is foundational to determining how to move forward to joint programming and integration of services. In the preceding pages, the breadth of professional development activities that will be offered are reviewed. Topics for professional development are determined based on the annual submission by local service providers of their professional development needs. These needs are then prioritized and appropriate PD activities are designed and delivered. To overcome the challenges of Maine’s large geographic area, professional development is delivered in a variety of modalities. Statewide and regional face-to-face trainings are offered as well as technology assisted offerings delivered through webinars, blended classes, and/or solely distance learning courses in both asynchronous and synchronous formats. In addition to the professional development topics already mentioned, technical assistance will be made available on: math concepts; developing and delivering career infused curricula; the understanding of adult learners developed primarily for new teachers of adults through participation in book study groups; integrating college and career readiness content standards into the English language acquisition classroom; delivery of a series of interviews with instructors in successful college transition programs to share their best practices; an annual college transitions conference; semi-annual meetings for directors to develop their knowledge growth in the area of instructional leadership and WIOA requirements in order to better support instructors; and an academy for new local service provider agency directors. Monthly Data Driven webinars focusing on collecting, analyzing, using and reporting data to ensure accurate student data and continuous improvement will be delivered to assist local service providers in learning how to more effectively monitor their own progress by better understanding their data. Through ongoing desk audits at the state level, the state adult education team will be more quickly able to address local data issues. In addition, the state office liaison to local programs will engage in ongoing conversations related to progress in meeting state benchmarks and local program career pathways goals. These steps will help inform next steps for professional development and technical assistance.