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Taking Career Awareness to Scale in Texas: Career Awareness for Every Adult Education Student Elizabeth B. Thompson, CFLE, CMPI Assistant Director, Texas LEARNS [email protected] Joanie Rethlake State Director, Texas LEARNS [email protected]

Taking Career Awareness to Scale in Texas: Career Awareness for Every Adult Education Student

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Taking Career Awareness to Scale in Texas: Career Awareness for Every Adult Education Student. Elizabeth B. Thompson, CFLE, CMPI Assistant Director, Texas LEARNS [email protected] Joanie Rethlake State Director, Texas LEARNS [email protected]. A TEA/HCDE Partnership - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Page 1: Taking Career Awareness to Scale in Texas:  Career Awareness for Every Adult Education Student

Taking Career Awareness to Scale in Texas: Career

Awareness for Every Adult Education Student

Elizabeth B. Thompson, CFLE, CMPIAssistant Director, Texas LEARNS

[email protected]

Joanie RethlakeState Director, Texas LEARNS

[email protected]

Page 2: Taking Career Awareness to Scale in Texas:  Career Awareness for Every Adult Education Student

Texas LEARNS

A TEA/HCDE PartnershipFormed in 2003Administration of adult education and family

literacy in TexasEligible adult education providers include

◦ISDs ◦ Institutions of higher education◦Nonprofits ◦Other entities as described in Title II WIA

Serves approximately 100,000 students/year

Page 3: Taking Career Awareness to Scale in Texas:  Career Awareness for Every Adult Education Student

Integrating Career Awareness into the ABE and ESOL Classroom

Page 4: Taking Career Awareness to Scale in Texas:  Career Awareness for Every Adult Education Student

Thanks to Massachusetts SABES

Integrating Career AwarenessSystem for Adult Basic Education Support

(SABES), the Massachusetts ABE professional development organization

The goal of the curriculum is to encourage all students, at all levels, to begin thinking about and articulating short- and long-term career, educational and life goals.

Page 5: Taking Career Awareness to Scale in Texas:  Career Awareness for Every Adult Education Student

Family Gets Lost in Corn Maze

Why Career Awareness?

Page 6: Taking Career Awareness to Scale in Texas:  Career Awareness for Every Adult Education Student

ICA Sections

1. The Cultural Context for Career Awareness

2. The Self-Exploration Process3. Occupational Exploration4. Career Planning Skills

Page 7: Taking Career Awareness to Scale in Texas:  Career Awareness for Every Adult Education Student

Integrating Career AwarenessOVAE Pilot

GOAL: Career Awareness Project to increase and

improve adult learners’ career awareness and planning throughout all levels of English as a Second Language, Adult Basic, and Adult Secondary Education

Page 8: Taking Career Awareness to Scale in Texas:  Career Awareness for Every Adult Education Student

Integrating Career AwarenessOVAE Pilot

•Designed to help adult education program staff incorporate career awareness and planning into instruction and counseling

• Utilized intensive online course and related webinars

• Local programs developed a plan for sustaining professional development offerings related to career planning; and share with other local programs statewide

• Assisted NCTN in identifying state-specific materials and information to compliment the ICA curriculum.

•Responded to questions about how to connect the curriculum to state standards and other initiatives

Page 9: Taking Career Awareness to Scale in Texas:  Career Awareness for Every Adult Education Student

ICA Pilot, Spring 2011

4 programs, 8 teachers/counselorsAll participated in a 6-week online courseAverage of 10 weeks in pilot using 9

lessonsEach lesson averaged 3.5 hours to

complete

Page 10: Taking Career Awareness to Scale in Texas:  Career Awareness for Every Adult Education Student

ICA Pilot, Spring 2011Teacher Feedback

• Training essential or very important• Important that the teacher value and

implement the Cultural Context lessons • Appendix article regarding the Cultural

Context should be required • Important to get student buy-in early in the

class.• Most students come to class with a fixed goal of

completing their GED, with little thought to what comes next

Page 11: Taking Career Awareness to Scale in Texas:  Career Awareness for Every Adult Education Student

Statewide Strategic Action Plan Desired Outcome (C-4)

A Second Chance to Pilot ICAC-4 Pilot Initiative- Desired Outcome: By 2013, design and implement targeted

adult basic education programs to enhance employment outcomes for populations requiring workplace literacy skills.

Page 12: Taking Career Awareness to Scale in Texas:  Career Awareness for Every Adult Education Student

C-4 Key Performance Measures:

Increase in the number of workforce literacy graduates (subset of ABE population)

Increase in workforce literacy graduates entering employment (subset of ABE population)

Page 13: Taking Career Awareness to Scale in Texas:  Career Awareness for Every Adult Education Student

C-4 Overall Objectives

To target adult learners functioning at NRS levels 4, 5, and 6 (Grades 7-12) who, while their intent is to earn a GED, are functioning at a level where they are at risk of dropping out of the educational continuum before reaching this objective

To provide these individuals with intensive GED preparation and career readiness skills that will enable them to earn a GED and quality for job training and/or employment

To enhance employment outcomes for adult education populations requiring workplace literacy skills

To target adult learners whose intent is to earn a GED but who are functioning at a level where they are at risk of dropping out

To provide career readiness skills

Page 14: Taking Career Awareness to Scale in Texas:  Career Awareness for Every Adult Education Student

Project Description/ Responsibilities

Recruit cohorts of adult learners who have begun their GED testing and/or could be available for and benefit from an intensive fast track GED course combined with career readiness

Provide intensive GED preparation and career readiness

skills (soft skills and understanding of workplace documents, behavior, etc.) that will enable these individuals to earn their GED and quality for job training and/or employment

Provide adult education providers in three regions (Houston,

Austin/Central Texas, and San Antonio) with guidelines for launching the C-4 pilot initiative supporting adult learner transitions to workforce training and/or employment. Provide technical assistance via meetings, teleconferences, and email messages.

Page 15: Taking Career Awareness to Scale in Texas:  Career Awareness for Every Adult Education Student

Rationale for C-4 Pilots

Changes in ABE services (accelerated academic instruction plus career readiness)

Development/adoption of new practices

Evidence of effectivenessImpact on/changes to state policyAdaptation for statewide replication

Page 16: Taking Career Awareness to Scale in Texas:  Career Awareness for Every Adult Education Student

Framework for TX C-4 Literacy Pilot

Clients atIntermediateLevels 4,5,6

fromAE Programs

in WFC Region

WFC refersClients

without HSD/GED with

“documents”

Recruit Clients From AE & WFC

AE Provides Fast Track

GED &Career

Readiness

Work-eligible clients attend

intensive &enhancedFast Track

GED & CareerReadiness

AE & WFCConfirm

Eligibility

AE reviews clients’

“papers”with WFC guidance

AE confirmsclients’

skill levels/eligibility

WFC identifies “Suitability”& Job & TrainingOpportunities

Clients Complete GED& AE counselsre. next steps for employment and/or training

WFC places clients in jobsand/or

occupationaltraining

AE & WFCGuide ClientsRe. Next Steps

Clients maybe or begin

working while completing

GED

Classes heldat One Stops

Page 17: Taking Career Awareness to Scale in Texas:  Career Awareness for Every Adult Education Student

C-4 Pilot Initiative Collaboration and Kick-off - TEA and TWC

TWC publishes report: Assessing the Robustness of the Relationships between Local Workforce Development Boards and Adult Basic Education Providers

TWC indentifies San Antonio, Houston and Austin/San Marcos Area Boards for pilot sites

TEA and TWC draft joint letter to local workforce development boards in three regions to encourage full support and cooperation.

TEA/Texas LEARNS assists AE providers in the selection of

workplace literacy curriculum accompanied by professional development.

TEA/Texas LEARNS provides online training in use of Integrating Career Awareness into the ABE/ESOL Classroom.

Page 18: Taking Career Awareness to Scale in Texas:  Career Awareness for Every Adult Education Student

4 Proposed Program Components

1. Workforce Literacy Resource Teams (WLRT):Work groups consisting of local adult education providers and local workforce partners (board or board staff; local vendors/contractors; business service directors). WLRT meets quarterly to discuss pilot goals and objectives and to identify roles and responsibilities of each partner.

2. Cross agency referral form:

For use in tracking and documenting student/client activities in both adult education and workforce venues and strengthening linkages between adult education and workforce partners. The three regions are in varying stages of developing and using a formal referral process. 

Page 19: Taking Career Awareness to Scale in Texas:  Career Awareness for Every Adult Education Student

3. Fast track GED component: Focus on intensive writing and math components; students assessed for reading skills. Instruction delivered in 4 to 6 week courses, extended when necessary in response to student needs.

4. Career Awareness Curriculum:C-4 instructors trained in use of Integrating Career Awareness into the ABE Classroom (ICA) from World Education.

4 Proposed Program Components

Page 20: Taking Career Awareness to Scale in Texas:  Career Awareness for Every Adult Education Student

2011-2012 Program Year:C-4 Summary & Outcomes

$400,000 divided by 3 regions3 Fiscal Agents (one per region)7 providers21 sites27 classes482 served to-date65 contact hours per 68% had Language gain on TABE70% had Math gain on TABE66% had Reading gain on TABE129 obtained GED to-date

Page 21: Taking Career Awareness to Scale in Texas:  Career Awareness for Every Adult Education Student

Feedback from C-4 ProgramSan Antonio ISD Adult Education

Cultural Competence in career awareness can open possibilities for students!

Instructors insight into students awareness of:◦Education and Training, ◦Careers and Career ladder,◦Job Seeking and Job keeping, &◦Labor market

Page 22: Taking Career Awareness to Scale in Texas:  Career Awareness for Every Adult Education Student

Next Step: Texas Received WIA Incentive Grant

Page 23: Taking Career Awareness to Scale in Texas:  Career Awareness for Every Adult Education Student

The Goal

Build student pathways to college and career readiness by creating and implementing tools, support, and professional development.

Page 24: Taking Career Awareness to Scale in Texas:  Career Awareness for Every Adult Education Student

Objective 1

• Provide JFF Counseling to

Careers Training

•Create a cadre of trainers to

facilitate future teacher training

and its expansion to all adult education

programs

Objective 2

Objective 3

Objective 4

• Introduce contextualization

tools at 8 pilot sites at the local teacher level for

use in both specific

occupations and academics.

• Provide train-the-trainer

classes to assist local programs to develop and

plan for implementing college and

career readiness and transitions into each program

• Create resources and professional development for teachers

through the use of effective

General Educational

Development (GED®) to

College models and

• Initiate the process to

revise the Adult Education Content

Standards• Develop a local plan to train all teachers to use ICA over the two years following the end of the grant period; develop a local plan

for contextualization, counseling to careers specialists/coaches and use of GED to College models.

Page 25: Taking Career Awareness to Scale in Texas:  Career Awareness for Every Adult Education Student

The path to career awareness in all adult education classrooms begins to take shape

• 4 programs• 8 teachers

ICA Pilot

• 4 programs

• 19 teachers

C-4 Class

es

• Build trainer expertise

• Local plans

• Train all teachers

State wide

adoption

Page 26: Taking Career Awareness to Scale in Texas:  Career Awareness for Every Adult Education Student

Statewide Implementation

The task:2850 teachers/counselors (89% PT)650 administrators (52% PT)390 paraprofessionals (81% PT)Located across 268,820 square milesAchieve actual sustained implementation of

ICA in every adult education classroomSupported by a professional development

consortium – 8 GREAT Centers

Not an ordinary challenge!

Page 27: Taking Career Awareness to Scale in Texas:  Career Awareness for Every Adult Education Student

Key Steps

Develop 17 Master ICA Trainers (MICATS)

Local programs select 100 Key Trainers. MICATS train Key Trainers.

100 Key Trainers implement ICA in the classroom

Key Trainers train 2800+ local staff, work with director to develop implementation plan

Page 28: Taking Career Awareness to Scale in Texas:  Career Awareness for Every Adult Education Student
Page 29: Taking Career Awareness to Scale in Texas:  Career Awareness for Every Adult Education Student

Statewide Implementation

Create cadre of Master ICA Trainers (MICATs)MICATs Train Key Teachers in each local programDevelop local plans to train and implementKey teachers, MICATs train remaining local staff

over a 2 year periodOnline ICA Course supplements F2F trainingImplementation observed on Technical Assistance

VisitsWork with JFF to strengthen Counseling to

Careers, ContextualizationLocal Programs engage employers, higher ed.

and TWC

Page 30: Taking Career Awareness to Scale in Texas:  Career Awareness for Every Adult Education Student

Anatomy of ICA Training

Face-to-face

First Follow Up Training Second Follow Up Training

Page 31: Taking Career Awareness to Scale in Texas:  Career Awareness for Every Adult Education Student

Online Course Option

Page 32: Taking Career Awareness to Scale in Texas:  Career Awareness for Every Adult Education Student

$$$$ Sustainability $$$$

2010-2011• Loc

al Program Funds

2011-2012• Stat

e Leadership Funds

2012-2013• State

Leadership Funds

• WIA Incentive Grant Funds

2013-2014 2014-2015• State

Leadership Funds

• Local Program Funds

Future Years• State

Leadership Funds

• Local Program Funds

Page 33: Taking Career Awareness to Scale in Texas:  Career Awareness for Every Adult Education Student

Statewide Adoption of ICA

Purpose: Intentionally bring career awareness activities into every Texas adult education classroom

Result: Adults are no longer lost in the corn maze. Every student has a clear plan to transition to college or training that leads to a job earning a sustainable wage.

Page 34: Taking Career Awareness to Scale in Texas:  Career Awareness for Every Adult Education Student

Let’s Discuss