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Plan: Florida PYs 2016-2017
Unified Plan U

Section: Adult Education and Family Literacy Act Program

Narrative: d. 1.

Published
Located in:

d. 1. Describe How the State Will Establish and Operate Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education Programs Under Section 243 of WIOA, for English Language Learners Who Are Adults, Including Professionals with Degrees and Credentials in Their Native Countries.

Current Narrative:

Civics standards are integrated in Florida’s ESOL curriculum frameworks. The civics content includes career information, contextualized lesson plans and workforce preparation activities. ESOL level 6 includes college and career readiness standards for reading integrated into the ESOL/EL Civics program. By integrating English literacy and civics education programs, the instruction is strengthened to prepare adult learners regardless of education attained in their native country, to acquire the basic skills of language acquisition and to understand the rights and responsibilities of citizenship, civic participation, and services provided by systems in the U.S. such as health, government and education. Adult educators will have the opportunity to participate in ESOL/EL Civics regional workshops and webinars sponsored in collaboration with the IPDAE, Adult and Community Educators (ACE) of Florida, and the Florida Literacy Coalition (FLC). Webinars on civics integration will also be available and archived on the IPDAE website at www.floridaipdae.org.

Teachers providing EL/Civics instruction are provided the FDOE “EL/Civics Teacher Handbook” which can be found on the FDOE adult education website http://www.fldoe.org/academics/career-adult-edu/adult-edu/resources.stml. Local educational agencies that implement EL/Civics education grants incorporate the four components of English literacy and civics education throughout the course, as found at the EL/Civics online website http://www.elcivicsonline.org/ and covers EL/Civics content.

During the next two years, the ESOL programs will begin to implement contextualized curriculum with a career focus in level 5 and 6 in the English Literacy for Career and Technical Education (ELCATE) course. ELCATE, a Bridge course, is based on the same academic standards as the ESOL course but it includes contextualized occupational content developed by the instructor or other curriculum developers. FICAPS will include a competitive grant for 2016-2017 per section 243 that includes ESOL integrated education and training activities programs. This will include enrolling students simultaneously in the ELCATE course and a career and technical certificate program. Florida was selected to participate in the Literacy Information and Communication System (LINCS) ESOL Pro Project, sponsored by the United States Department of Education, Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education with the objective of training teachers in delivering contextualized career-focused instruction. This project’s overall purpose is to provide training, establish communities of practice, technical assistance and resources for preparing English language learners for work and career pathways. Additional training to support this effort will be provided on developing contextualized instruction for ESOL/EL Civics programs. Adults, including professionals with degrees and credentials in their native countries will be enrolled in the ESOL course. However, if the adult wants to earn additional certification, he/she could enroll in the ELCATE course.