November 23, 2016
Successful Graduate Returns to Inspire New Family Literacy Students
Aliradel DeLaRosa, a June 2016 GED® test graduate from IU13’s Family Literacy class in Lebanon, visited Donna Dencler’s new students to give some inspiration and encouragement to those who are just embarking on their High School Equivalency journey.  Ali’s story of perseverance, balancing work and family, getting discouraged, and finally achieving her goal resonated very well with the students.  They asked Ali questions about how she prepared, what subjects were hardest, and what she is doing now that she has her  GED® .  She told them of her decision to start studying at HACC for a degree in Human Services, and the new challenges and opportunities she is experiencing in this phase of her educational journey.  At the end of her talk, the students gave her a rousing applause and told her how much she had inspired them.  Here’s a sampling of feedback that students gave after Ali visited the class:  

“Her coming to the class inspired me to keep going.  It showed that it’s not impossible -- we can make it through. There are going to be a lot of obstacles, but we have to keep going forward, and it will be worth it!”   Read more...
Teaching Tips and Resources

Tutor Handbooks now available
Two new resources are available that can help new tutors get oriented to the task of working with adult students. Found on the tutor resources page at the PA Adult Ed Resources website, these Tutor Handbooks offer guidance in either math instruction or reading and writing instruction that is rooted in the College and Career Readiness Standards. 

Advancing Mathematics Teaching and Learning in Adult Education
The Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education has begun a new three-year project called Advancing Mathematics Teaching and Learning in Adult Education. Meant to help both teachers and students of advanced mathematics, the program will use resources that are aligned to College and Career Readiness Standards, as well as innovative teaching models, Teacher User Groups, and next-generation educational technologies. More will be shared soon on a page on LINCS where you can learn more about this program and how it can impact your teachers and learners. 
High School Equivalency (HSE) Resources 
New GED® How-To guides available
GED Testing Service®  has developed several How-To guides to show educators and students how to complete a variety of routine GED® activities. With color screenshots and print-ready instructions, these guides cover topics such as how to order a GED®  credential, how to schedule a test, and how to purchase a GED Ready® test using a voucher. This extensive list of How-To guides can be a great help to both your students and yourself. 
Professional Development Opportunities
Improve delivery of parents' math skills at Family Numeracy Symposium
Family Literacy will team up with math content expert Lynda Ginsburg to present a Family Numeracy Symposium on Friday, December 2, 2016, 9AM-3PM, at PaTTAN in Harrisburg. Register in MyLearningPlan and come explore new strategies to help both adults and children to improve their numeracy skills, and hands-on activities that can be replicated in your Family Literacy Program. 
Workshop: CCRS Student Work Protocol for the ESL Classroom
This one-day, face-to-face workshop will be held at PaTTAN in Harrisburg on December 9, 9:00AM-4:00PM.  ESL teachers and administrators will learn and practice the CCRS Student Work Protocol (SWP) process with an intentional focus on ESL practice. Participants will experience the process with ELA and math lessons as they explore, analyze, and practice the Student Work Protocol process and the ELA and math CCR Standards, as well as experience being a member of a Critical Friends group. Participants should have completed the basics of the CCRS Standards in Action, either through a formally offered Division workshop or in their agency, but not have participated in one of the SWP workshops offered in August 2016.  Space is limited for this workshop. Teams from agencies are preferred. Register by November 25 in MyLearningPlan. 
Penn State Certificate Programs
In January 2017, Penn State's World Campus will be offering courses of interest to adult educators. Students in this courses earn credit toward one of two Penn State certificates: a Family Literacy Certificate and an online Certificate in Adult Basic Education.  
Webinar Series: Building Integrated Education and Training (IET) Programs
This series of webinars from World Education, Inc., highlights nine programs that are developing new services or honing well-established programs that integrate education and training. Drawn from around the country, these programs provide a range of models that are responsive to their contexts. Presenters will describe their local contexts and program designs, discuss the evolution of their partnerships, and share lessons learned so far.  Three monthly webinars begin in November.   
Communities of Practice going on now and in the spring
 The Facilitation and Consultation Project will be holding Communities of Practice in the winter and spring that you can watch for in MyLearningPlan.   A Community of Practice is a small group of people who meet online 4-5 times over two months to share ideas, techniques, and strategies relating to a particular topic and build towards improved practice. Feedback for the current communities of practice (Classroom Toolkit and Adaptive Instruction, ELA Lesson Study Protocol, and Math Practices) has been positive.
Read more...
WIOA Opportunities

Webinar: Using GED® Program Tools to Meet WIOA Benchmarks
GED Testing Service® wants to support your program's transition plan for the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). On Wednesday, November 30, 12:00-1:00PM, there will be a webinar intended to give an overview of what the changes mean for adult education programs, the expected impacts, and the tools and resources that the GED® program has to help you to prepare for WIOA implementation. Register now.
WIOA Webinar: Career Pathways - The WIOA Way of Doing Business
On W ednesday, November 30, at 3:00-4:30PM, a new WIOA Wednesday webinar will be held for state and local workforce development or adult education staff. The team of presenters will examine  national efforts to build and strengthen career pathways systems and programs, as well as highlight sections of WIOA that address career pathways. Also discussed will be the new Career Pathways Toolkit: An Enhanced Guide and Workbook for System Development that aligns with WIOA and uses hands-on worksheets to assist state and local teams with implementation of the six elements of career pathways. Log in with your WorkforceGPS account to register. 
State and National Adult Education News
2017 PA One Book, Every Young Child Book Selection
Daniel Finds a Poem, written and illustrated by Micha Archer, has been selected as the 2017 PA One Book, Every Young Child selection. This book will help children to explore and understand nature while seeing poetry everywhere through Daniel's experience.  As in previous years, Commonwealth Libraries will provide PA Family Literacy programs with copies of books for each enrolled family. Visit the PA One Book website for additional info about the program. Visit PA's Promise for information about the 2017 selection, including a form to order additional copies of the book.

Proposals requested for the Employment, Training and Education Conference
The PA Workforce Development Association (PWDA) is requesting proposals for workshops from industry leaders to be presented at the annual conference on May 10-12, 2017. Workshops will be topic-specific instruction taught by subject matter experts designed to build participants' skills or instruct how to replicate a successful program with the benefit of lessons learned. Submit the Request for Workshop Proposal Form by December 31, 2016.  Please feel free to contact the PWDA staff at 717-612-1590 if you have any questions.
Grants and Scholarships

Refugee Career Pathways Program Grant
The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) invites applications for the Refugee Career Pathways (RCP) Program. Through the RCP Program, ORR will provide funding to implement projects assisting refugees to qualify for licenses and certifications necessary to attain employment and improve self-sufficiency. Allowable activities will include case management, training and technical assistance, specialized English language training, and mentoring. Grantees may also provide refugee participants with financial assistance for costs related to the establishment or re-establishment of credentials, such as obtaining educational credits or enrollment in required certification programs. For the full grant announcement, see Grants.gov, or contact: Anastasia Brown at (202) 401-4559, or [email protected].
$4.6 Million in Industry and Partnership Grants Awarded
Twenty-eight different industry partnerships from 19 workforce development boards across Pennsylvania were recently awarded a total of $4.6 million in grants by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. The grants go to industry-specific groups of employers, who collaboratively determine their common needs and use shared resources to train incoming workers and grow their businesses. 
PA Adult Education Resources
Visit  www.paadultedresources.org  for the latest PA adult education news and resources. Recent additions to the site include:
Upcoming State and National Conferences
State and National Newsletters
These are state or national organizations' newsletters that may be of interest to you. To receive the most recent editions by email, please subscribe directly to the newsletter . 
 
OCTAE Connection, US Department of Education, Office of Career, Technical, & Adult Education
Features news and resources for adult basic, career and technical education 
October 20            November 17

COABE Newsletter,  Commission on Adult Basic Education
Features information and resources from a national organization focused on adult basic education
 
Families Learning News of the Week,  National Center for Families Learning
Features information and resources for family literacy, early childhood education, and parent education 
October 28          November 4           November 18

Workforce GPS Newsletter , US Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
Features information and resources related to the public  workforce investment system
 
GED® in Session,GED Testing Service ®
Features information and resources from the developers of the GED ® test 
November/December 2016

Rural Perspectives, The Center for Rural Pennsylvania
Features data and research findings related to a variety of topics relevant to rural PA