Explore New Career Maps and How-To Guide on the PAAER Website

The PAAER website now features updated career pathway maps and a practical how-to guide designed to support adult education practitioners as they help adult learners plan their potential career path.

These new tools can help adult learners explore in-demand occupations, understand the skills and credentials needed, and visualize potential advancement opportunities. Sample maps include dual-entry and multi-entry examples, such as one focused on Logistics and Transportation, as well as blank templates that can be customized to reflect local workforce needs.

The accompanying How-To Guide for Using Career Pathway Maps offers a step-by-step approach to setting career goals. It encourages learners to assess their interests and strengths, explore high-priority occupations, map out education and training steps, and identify available supports like tutoring or financial aid. The guide can support adult education practitioners with developing a clear action plan (short- and long-term goals) with learners.



Visit the Career Pathways section of the PAAER website to access the new tools and contact Loretta Lininger of the Workforce Development System Liaison Project at lml160@psu.edu for additional support.

Community of Practice for ESL - Show Your Interest Today

The Professional Development System is launching a community of practice (CoP) to support ESL instructors, administrators, and support staff from PDE-funded adult education agencies. Our first meeting will be held in May. If you're interested, please complete this short form today, April 25 to share your availability. This initial session will focus on gathering input to shape future meetings, so even if you’re unsure about ongoing participation during the 2025-26 program year, we encourage you to attend and share your ideas. After you complete the form, we’ll follow up with the meeting date and Zoom link. We encourage you to share this information with other PDE-funded adult educators who may be interested in joining our ESL CoP. For more information or questions, please contact Chelsea DeLeo at cdeleo@tiu11.org.

Upcoming Professional Learning for Adult Education and Family Literacy Staff

Staff at PDE-funded adult education and family literacy agencies can view a list of upcoming courses now available for enrollment in the PD Portal. For more information about any of these courses, please visit the PD Portal, open the course catalog, and view the syllabus. If you are interested in enrolling in a course, please consult with your in-house professional development specialist (IHPDS) to determine if the course meets your professional learning goals.

CAL's Free Training for BEST Plus 3.0 Assessment Available Through April 30

The Center for Applied Linguistics' free BEST Plus 3.0 Assessment training is available until April 30, 2025. After that date, the cost for CAL's training will be $125 per participant. The Professional Development System will not have access to CAL's training materials until the summer, so there will not be a course available in the PD Portal until later next program year. Please plan accordingly and encourage any staff from PDE-funded agencies to enroll and complete the free BEST Plus 3.0 Test Administrator training available in the PD Portal by April 30. 

Attention, Programs Using the CASAS Assessment

The CASAS website will reset its system on July 1. If you are enrolled in PA CASAS training, please make sure to complete all required CASAS modules and download your certificates by June 30. After July 1, all progress will be lost, and you will need to redo the modules from the beginning. Certificates cannot be re-downloaded after the end of the program year. 

Presentation Proposals

The 2025 Families Learning Conference will be in Charlotte, NC, November 2-5, 2025. The National Center for Families Learning is seeking family learning professionals to present best practices, strategies, and resources to use in classroom and community settings that help families succeed in accomplishing their learning and career goals. Proposals should reflect highly interactive and engaging presentations that include strategies and/or materials that attendees can use right away in their classrooms or programs. Proposals must make strong connections to multigenerational learning. Learn more about the proposal process which is open through May 4.

The job postings below are for adult basic education programs funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Education and, at least in part, by WIOA Title II funds. You can also find the postings on the PAAER website. To post a job, please email the job advertisement to mjmanfred@tiu11.org. 

• Director of Finance - Delaware County Literacy Council
• Digital Literacy and Assessment Specialist/English as a Second Language Instructor - Vita Education Services

Visit PAAER.org for the latest PA adult education news and resources. Recent additions to the site include:

• ELA Lines of Inquiry
• Career Pathways Maps
• Updated eData Access Database Template

• PAACE Conference - April 27-29, 2025, State College, PA
• PA Workforce Development Association (PWDA) - April 30 - May 2, 2025, Hershey, PA
• NCFL Families Learning Conference - November 2-5, 2025, Charlotte, NC

State and national organizations' newsletters are listed below and may be of interest to you. To receive the most recent editions by email, please subscribe directly to the newsletter. 

Adult and Family Literacy Today

Features updates on adult and family literacy research, policy, and practice from the Goodling Institute for Research in Family Literacy and the Institute for the Study of Adult Literacy

April Newsletter

Families Learning, News of the Week, National Center for Families Learning

Features information and resources for family literacy, early childhood education, and parent education.

April 11 | March 28

COABE Connects, Digital Equity, Coalition on Adult Basic Education

Features national information, resources, and initiatives for adult basic education.

April 18 | April 11 | April 4 | March 21