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Session Descriptions

PreConference | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3

 

8:30 - 11:30

 

Distance Education Leads
Download: Slides

1:00 - 4:00

 

PD Coordinators
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8:30 - 3:00

 

Program Accountability & Quality Assurance Staff
Download: Slides

 

8:30 - 9:15

 

Opening Session (Mahalia Baldini)

9:30 - 10:45

 

Connect 4 for Student Success (Kerri Watts, Erin Miller)
Helping students to succeed through retention and persistence by eliminating problem areas and navigating to a solution.
Strategy: Improve program effectiveness
Download: Slides | Handout

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Surviving a Pandemic with Hybrid Classrooms (LaVonna Phillips, Robert Slaydon)
The presentation will detail the initial idea, preparations, set-up, and execution of our hybrid model classrooms with HSE and ESL students. The presentation will also include examples, resources for teaching, and areas to improve in building a hybrid classroom and teaching to students synchronously & asynchronously in-person and virtually.
Strategy: Address demand to implement strategies
Download: Slides

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Next Generation IET Credentialing with Blockchain Technology (Nicole Pestano, Kyle Cavolo)
In this session, participants will learn WHAT blockchain technology is and HOW it can greatly impact IET credentialing to revolutionize adult education. The use of this innovative technology enables learning data to be life-long and student-centric. Imagine how powerful it would be to potential employers if students have badges they’ve earned in the same location as transcripts? Participants of the session will also receive their own credential or certificate on blockchain for attending.
Strategy: Increase Workforce, Secondary, and Postsecondary Education and Training Outcomes
Download: Slides

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Open for Learning: The All-Day Classroom (Sofia Schiavoni, Carl Sevier, Rebecca Griffin)
Attendees will learn how to plan for and implement all-day classrooms for HSE, IET and ESL students. Topics will include registration and student onboarding, staffing issues, teaching strategies and lessons learned from NEISD's successful Adult Education Program.
Strategy: Address demand to implement strategies
Download: Slides

11:00 - 12:15

 

Teaching Inside Your Neighborhood Prison (Kenneth M. Normington, Brandon Warren, PhD, Donna Zuniga)
We will give a quick overview of the current adult education/technical programs and compare those with the apprenticeship programs. Then we will give the Top 10 Pieces of Advice for any organization that wants to consider teaching inside of their local jails or prisons.
Strategy: Increase Workforce, Secondary, and Postsecondary Education and Training Outcomes
Download: Slides

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Using Burlington for English Gains in Class (Dr. Marla Rea, Helene Laicer)
Looking for interactive curriculum to use in the ESL classroom? Come see how we have used Burlington English, both online and in the classroom! We have found BE to be a useful tool in helping our students attain fluency. (No affiliation to the company)
Strategy: Address demand to implement strategies
Download: Slides

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Correctional Education Services, Transition and Community Referrals (Kristina Hartman, Kevin Sawnick)
This session will cover the identification of career pathways for incarcerated students, how education and training are integrated and the process by which the Windham School District and Texas Department of Criminal Justice prepare students for reentry into our Texas Communities, to include partnership opportunities for community-based AEL providers.
Strategy: Increase system coordination and integration
Download: Slides

1:30 - 2:45

 

Opportunities: Adult Education and Community Colleges (Kristina Flores, Tamara Clunis, Michelle Lamons)
The Texas Success Center (TSC) supports the statewide Texas Pathways strategy to implement structured academic and career pathways at community colleges. The Texas Peer Mentor Network (TX-PMN), comprised of AEL providers across the state, partnered with TSC to integrate AEL into community colleges to provide access to credentials necessary for middle-skill jobs for more Texans. The presentation will describe Texas Pathways, the tenets of the TX-PMN, and recommendations from research and practical experience.
Strategy: Increase system coordination and integration
Download: Slides

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Bringing it Back to the New Normal: Integrate Your Remote Skills Into Your Face to Face Instruction (Ashly Winkle)
Have you spent the last year working hard to learn how to utilize technology into your virtual classroom? As we transition classes to the new normal, there couldn't be a better time to bring those new digital skills back with us to our face to face classrooms. Join Ashly Winkle as she discusses best strategies, practices, and recommendations for bringing us back to our new normal.
Strategy: Address demand to implement strategies
Download: Slides

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Dashboard Demonstration: Using the New AEL Enrollments Report (Jon Beaubien)
In this session we will discuss the new AEL Enrollments report published by TWC Operational Insight using Tableau. Beginning with a brief description of the previous process used to generate AEL reports, the presentation will explore the technology being employed to update the AEL reporting process, including a demonstration of the Tableau dashboard created for the AEL Enrollments report.
Strategy: Improve program effectiveness
Download: Slides

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A Service Solution Course Design for ITPs (Khristafer Sheffield)
Participants will learn about the English for Professionals course model from Birdville ISD Adult Education (member of Tarrant County consortium). From the big why to the how and what of our course operations. The discussion will include data driven motivation and review of crucial policy and guidance, as well as practical examples of course structure and classroom activities.
Strategy: Address demand to implement strategies
Download: Slides

3:00 - 3:30

 

Closing Session (Mahalia Baldini)

 

 

8:30 - 9:15

 

Opening Session (Mahalia Baldini, Julian Alvarez III - Commissioner Representing Labor, Aaron Demerson - Commissioner Representing Employers)

9:30 - 10:45

 

Standards 3.0: Introducing the Family Content Standards (AnneMarie Molinari-Sanders, Dale Villarreal Pillow)
This seventy-five minute session will provide an overview of the new Texas Adult Education and Literacy (AEL) Parent/Family Content Standards. Participants will review and discuss the subareas, subarea standards, and the benchmarks that are nested under these standards.
Strategy: Address demand to implement strategies
Download: Slides | Handout Packet | Standards Packet

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On the FastTrack to Getting an HSE (Mary Springer, Ashley Arreola)
Would you like to acquire HSE’s from students who may have previously bi-passed your program? Would you like help your ASE-High students get their HSE completed faster? In this session, participants will understand how to utilize TWC vouchers to increase their HSE completions, and how to use strategies and techniques to help fast track students to complete their HSE’s in record time.
Strategy: Improve program effectiveness
Download: Slides

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Teams that Get Results (Part 1) (Nancy Crawford)
This is an interactive three hour training that has been experiencing success as an on-line training since April of this year. Participants learn the one true measure of an effective team, two rules of thumb about teams and the four essential elements of an effective team. Small group participation is included.
Strategy: Improve program effectiveness
Download: Slides

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Maintaining Momentum: Professional Development Support (Debra Hargrove, Beth Ponder)
Join this session to hear more about the new Texas AEL Professional Development Centers: Statewide PD, Distance Education and Career Pathways. Learn how you, your staff and your students can access professional development and support to strengthen your program. Staff from each Center will talk about the Center structure and how we are working together to support local AEL programs.
Strategy: Increase system coordination and integration
Download: Slides Coming Soon

11:00 - 12:15

 

Standards 3.0: Introducing the Civics Content Standards (AnneMarie Molinari-Sanders, Dale Villarreal Pillow)
This seventy-five minute session will provide an overview of the new Texas Adult Education and Literacy (AEL) Citizen/Community Member Content Standards. Participants will review and discuss the subareas, subarea standards, and the benchmarks that are nested under these standards.
Strategy: Address demand to implement strategies
Download: Slides | Handout Packet | Standards Packet

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The Quality Program: Making Accountability Visible (Irene Ramos)
How can we create a quality program that is focused on staying ahead of the learning curve and the next paradigm shift? This training focuses on how one program rebranded adult education and focused on creating high quality courses while improving performance and outcomes for students. Presentation outlines best practices any program can follow to achieve goals and get results.
Strategy: Improve program effectiveness
Download: Slides

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Teams that Get Results (Part 2) (Nancy Crawford)
This is an interactive three hour training that has been experiencing success as an on-line training since April of this year. Participants learn the one true measure of an effective team, two rules of thumb about teams and the four essential elements of an effective team. Small group participation is included.
Strategy: Improve program effectiveness
Download: Slides

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Connecting with Employers Using Your Workforce Board (Trey Daniel)
The Gulf Coast Region houses a vast number of industries. Being the largest workforce area in Texas, we have figured out how to best serve the employers in need. In this partnership, Employer Services Division and AEL have partnered providers with employers seeking to enhance their staff's education levels and English Language skills. Through these partnerships, employees have improved skills and employers are providing a path for upward mobility.
Strategy: Increase system coordination and integration
Download: Slides

1:30 - 2:45

 

Increasing Successful Outcomes with Intensive Student Support (Chera Crawford, Brook Awbrey)
This session will cover Literacy Council of Tyler's practice of how we get students engaged with the program while following them from enrollment into AEL-to completion of a career pathway training program- to job placement. Strategies will be discussed on student selection, the importance of career awareness and work readiness, strategies for training support and attendance and employment search and placement.
Strategy: Increase Workforce, Secondary, and Postsecondary Education and Training Outcomes
Download: Slides

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Comprehensive Assessment 101 (Elena Madrid, Irene Ramos, Christy Kitchen)
A student's success can be highly influenced by the service and evaluation they receive during intake. Comprehensive assessment, taking a more holistic approach to understanding student needs, goes beyond testing with goal setting, supportive services and identifying learning needs. Join us as we go over the basic components of comprehensive assessment and see how a program is utilizing it as a core service component for every student.
Strategy: Improve program effectiveness
Download: Slides | Handout

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Employer-based Pathways at Tyson Foods: Increasing Promotional Diversity, Inclusion, Equity for Immigrants at Tyson Foods (Anson Green)
Increasingly, businesses seek partnerships to build programs that address social risks and limited upward mobility arising from skill and language gaps in their immigrant workforce. Unaddressed, these gaps lead to worker instability with direct impacts including costly turn-over and reduced ability to support inclusive promotional pathways. Presenters from Tyson Foods will present Upward Pathways, an AEFLA-based workplace literacy model designed to support upward mobility and equitable access to promotions. As a promising national model with adult education, community colleges, and Tyson, this is a must-see session in how frontline worker pathways are being designed while supporting NRS performance for providers.
Strategy: Improve program effectiveness
Download: Slides

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Collaboration - A Win for Everyone (Jauneen Maldonado)
I would like to share our integration model for our Academy that involves AEL, Workforce Centers, Employers, and a community of support providers to ensure students complete the trainings as well as immediately enter employment. This models allows for the braiding of funds for trainings so that we can provide high quality trainings that end in a career with a livable wage. We are able to provide intensive barrier removal while also forming a cross referral pipeline for all customers and participants.
Strategy: Increase system coordination and integration
Download: Slides

3:00 - 3:30

 

Closing Session (Mahalia Baldini)

 

 

8:30 - 9:15

 

Opening Session (Mahalia Baldini)

9:30 - 10:45

 

Cure Your Content with Contextualized Videos From the Adult Ed Med (Ashly Winkle, Debra Hargrove)
Have you found video lessons helpful, but perhaps targeted towards the wrong audience for your students? In this session, participants will learn about a new contextualized resource developed by adult educators in the state of Texas. Please join us as we take you through the development and implementation recommendations of these contextualized video lessons, which were influenced by the fictitious lives of five students, and their desire to pursue jobs and careers at the Adult Ed Med Hospital.
Strategy: Increase Workforce, Secondary, and Postsecondary Education and Training Outcomes
Download: Slides (coming soon)

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Not Just ESL...Let it Go! (Maria Ponce, Nury Burnett)
Meeting the needs of our students can be challenging, especially if those needs require a change in the way we've done things; from just ESL, to GED in Spanish, to English for Citizenship and Entrepreneur Training. Join us to take a look at our English Language Services Academy-ELSA at the Literacy Council of Tyler and LET IT GO! It is no longer just about ESL.
Strategy: Increase Workforce, Secondary, and Postsecondary Education and Training Outcomes
Download: Slides | Video Transcript

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Organizational Success in Times of Change (Kerri Watts, Whitney Patterson)
The only thing that's certain is change! Whether it's a large change like functioning in a global pandemic or small changes that your program faces daily, we can discover ways to adapt, revise and succeed.
Strategy: Improve program effectiveness
Download: Slides

11:00 - 12:15

 

Getting The Most From Your AEL Dollar (Maria Gonzalez)
Everything needs to be measured and assessed, but oftentimes what is left out is the financial aspect of how dollars relate to student performance. Many times expenditures are made based on presentations by vendors and sometimes there are no accompanying white papers or evidence of studies in peer reviewed academic journals. How does one go about to make informed decisions on products to increase student performance and overall MSG gains. How long do you wait for something to show it is working? Come listen to a seasoned educator who has experience in creating quasai-experimental studies for fiscal efficacy in the fidelity of implementation of curriculum products specifically for student performance.
Strategy: Improve program effectiveness
Download: Slides

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ESOL Job Masters (Victoria Hinojosa, Arcella Reyes, Jasmin Grabowski)
Workforce Solutions and Lone Star College working in collaboration have created a curriculum to increase ESOL students’ proficiency with the English language, become familiar with the interview process, and develop their understanding of American work culture to improve their chances of finding sustainable and gainful employment.
Strategy: Increase Workforce, Secondary, and Postsecondary Education and Training Outcomes
Download: Slides

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Breaking Down Barriers for Foreign Degreed ELLs (Leticia Farrera)
You’ve heard of the rideshare driver who was once an engineer or the store clerk who was a dentist abroad. With 27% of college-educated Mexican immigrants living in Texas, there are close to 185,000 who possess an international bachelor’s degree or higher. Unfortunately, most are either underemployed or unemployed. Join this 3-part session that exposes the U.S. barriers that exist for internationally trained professionals and the instructional webinars that were developed as a result.
Strategy: Increase Workforce, Secondary, and Postsecondary Education and Training Outcomes
Download: Slides

1:30 - 2:45

 

Building Blocks of Collaboration: AEL and Community College (Lisa Jones)
Texarkana College AEL is in its third year operating as part of the community college. During these three years, collaborations have been created for an Integrated Education and Training - Allied Health with the Community and Business Education Department. In addition, non course based options have been created to transition students who are not TSI met in math and English. The session will explain the steps and process that created the collaborations. Also, the session will outline obstacles faced, as well as plans moving forward to strengthen both areas and to build capacity
Strategy: Increase system coordination and integration
Download: Slides

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Education Opportunity Connector (Carly Woods, Tiffany Armington)
The Education Opportunity Connector brings our career offices and adult education providers together through shared Workforce Solutions services. Connector partnerships are designed to foster and cultivate strong relationships that will help career offices and adult education providers better serve customers by understanding what services are available. With this effort, Workforce Solutions strives to help customers soar to greater heights. Transforming their educational desires, as well as their career opportunities to help keep our region a great place to do business, work, and live. From initial inquiry to follow‐up, Region 6 Education Service Center (ESC), the Adult Education Lead Agency, has helped develop processes to cultivate the relationships between career offices, adult education providers, Career Navigators, and customers within the Gulf Coast Region. Follow up activities will support customers and/or students in completing education and training objectives while collecting information on educational outcomes, employment, earnings, enrollment and progress in postsecondary education or training, and credential attainment.
Strategy: Increase Workforce, Secondary, and Postsecondary Education and Training Outcomes
Download: Slides

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Internationally Trained Professional’s Educator Career Pathway Guide (Liz Moya, Mauro Hernandez, Denise Orand-Hinojosa)
Want to make a difference in how professional immigrants can be integrated in the U.S. workforce? This fast-paced session will provide an overview to the obstacles that exist for skilled immigrants wanting to establish a professional career in the U.S. Learn about the new Internationally Trained Professionals Educator Career Pathway Guide that helps those with foreign academic credentials become an educator in Texas. Your participation can help drive towards a more diverse teacher pool and increase the number of CTE and STEM educators in Texas!
Strategy: Increase Workforce, Secondary, and Postsecondary Education and Training Outcomes
Download: Slides

3:00 - 3:30

 

Closing Session (Mahalia Baldini, Bryan Daniel - Chairman and Commissioner Representing the Public)