The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Department of Elementary & Secondary Education
75 Pleasant Street, Malden, Massachusetts 02148-5023
Telephone: (781) 338-3000
TTY: N.E.T. Relay 1-800-439-2370
Adult and Community Learning Services
TO:
ABE Directors, SABES Coordinators, WIA Administrators, Career Centers, LWIB,
Teacher/All Staff
FROM:
Jolanta Conway, Acting ABE State Director
DATE:
July 11, 2014
RE:
What's in this Mailing?
Attached is the monthly mailing for July and will be posted shortly to our ACLS website. Please review the information and
share with your staff.
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Commonwealth Equity in Governance Award Update
On June 7th Anne Serino was posthumously awarded the Commonwealth Equity in Governance Award. The
Performance Recognition Program Award Ceremony will take place on Friday, July 18 th at the State House. There is a
general reception from 11:30 to 12:15 in the Great Hall and at the Grand Staircase right outside of the Great Hall (2 nd
floor of the State House). The award ceremony starts at 12:45 in Gardner Auditorium (East Wing sub-basement) when
Governor Patrick will present awards to the Carballo, Rooney, Mentoring and Equity Award recipients. Anne Serino’s
children, Marcy and Lee Newhall, will be accepting the award on their mother’s behalf.
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Career Readiness Initiative
The Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, its Department of Career Services, the
Executive Office of Education, its Departments of Elementary and Secondary Education, and the consortium of 15
community colleges represented under the Transformation Agenda have jointly developed the Career Readiness
Initiative (CRI) to improve the education and career readiness services provided within the state to help individuals
obtain and retain gainful employment.
One exciting component of the CRI is making ACT Career Ready 101 licenses available to adult education programs –
free of charge!
ACT Career Ready 101 is a self–paced, online career exploration and academic remediation system available to an
unlimited number of users. It brings together courses from both ACT KeyTrain and the ACT Soft Skills Suite. Through
the KeyTrain component, the program prepares users for the ACT WorkKeys and the ACT National Career Readiness
Certificate (NCRC). The NCRC is a portable credential that demonstrates achievement and a level of workplace
employability skills.
An Invitation to the Career Readiness Initiative for ABE Providers webinar will be held on Wednesday, July 30th from
9:00 am – 10:30 am. License holder selection criteria are attached and will be reviewed at the webinar. Don’t miss
out on the opportunity to bring this powerful resource into your program!
Registration information will follow in a separate email.
For more information on ACT Career Ready 101, please click on this link: http://www.keytrain.com/careerready101.asp
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Educator Evaluation Pilot Update
The ACLS Educator Policy Team (EPT), in conjunction with the Collaborative for Educational Services (CES), designed
and piloted a proposed ABE Teacher Evaluation System in FY14.
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Family Learning During the Summer and Beyond
Two posters for parents entitled It Takes Just a Minute, available in English and Spanish, cover the basics of what
parents can do every day to support talk and reading with their children. Go to:
http://familieslearning.org/interactive_tools/what_works and click on “resources”. Resources for Parents from The
National Center for Families Learning has additional ideas on topics such as summer fun, using technology, and back
to school.
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Update on HiSET: ETS statement on HiSET Standards Setting Governing Board
Educational Testing Service is committed to the provision of a high quality, effective High School Equivalency Test
(HiSET). To achieve this goal, ETS has partnered with the adult-education administration in states that use HiSET.
ETS has appointed a HiSET Governing Board to help set overall direction for the program, including the setting of
standards for performance through a systematic and established standards review process. The Governing Board has
a senior-level representative from each state administering HiSET.
ETS conducted a HiSET standard setting in April 2014 which included educators from classrooms in 11th and 12th
grade, adult education, and correctional facilities across the country. The standard setting panel provided a
performance standard recommendation for each of the subject areas. In June 2014, the Governing Board met and
reviewed these recommendations along with information about the current standards and test-taker performance to
date. As a result of this review, the Governing Board recommended to ETS an adjusted passing score, which ETS
accepted and will implement by August 2014. While the passing scaled score will remain the same, the raw score on
each test that maps to that scaled score will change.
The adoption of a revised passing score is consistent with HiSET’s commitment to a phased approach to increased
rigor over time. The ETS HiSET program is a partnership with states and continues to meet changing expectations for
high school graduates and what is needed to enter the workforce or college.
Please direct any questions to: HSET@doe.mass.edu. All questions will be reviewed and answers will be posted to
http://www.doe.mass.edu/hse/.
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Inform Parents in your Program about a FREE Summer Meals Program for Children and Youth Age
18 and Younger
Learn more about the Summer Food Service Program, find site locations and times, watch a short video.
See the attached press release which explains why it’s so important
for children to have healthy nutritious meals throughout the year with quotes from Governor Patrick, Secretary of
Education Matthew Malone, ESE Commissioner Mitchell Chester and DTA Commissioner Stacey Monahan.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Massachusetts Department of
Elementary and Secondary Education
75 Pleasant Street, Malden, Massachusetts 02148-4906
Telephone: (781) 338-3000
TTY: N.E.T. Relay 1-800-439-2370
ABE Career Readiness Initiative License Selection Criteria
The Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, its Department of Career Services, the Executive
Office of Education, its Departments of Elementary and Secondary Education, and the consortium of 15 community colleges
represented under the Transformation Agenda have jointly developed the Career Readiness Initiative (CRI) to improve the
education and career readiness services provided within the state to help individuals obtain and retain gainful employment.
One component of the CRI program is making ACT Career Ready 101 licenses available to adult education programs. Career
Ready 101 is a self–paced, online career exploration and academic remediation system for an unlimited number of users. For
more information about ACT Career Ready 101, go to: http://www.keytrain.com/careerready101.asp.
Programs interested in obtaining a Career Ready 101 license must demonstrate the criteria below. In addition, once selected,
programs will be required to sign a User/License Holder Agreement and meet the criteria therein.
1. A commitment to blended learning. Programs must demonstrate a commitment to blended learning, in which
classroom instruction methods are combined with computer – mediated activities. For example, 1 hour of a 6–hour a week
program would be spent in a computer lab using Career Ready 101.
2. A designated staff person (e.g., a teacher or “learning coach” for each course). Successful blended learning
classes must have teachers or “learning coaches” to mentor, monitor, coach, and sometimes instruct, students.
3. Commitment to integrating into Program Design. Programs must incorporate the Career Ready 101 level class into
their weekly schedules. For example, an evening Pre-ASE class that meets Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 5:00–
8:00 will use Career Ready 101 Thursdays from 7:00–8:00.
4. Access to technology. The class must have regular access to computer labs or the use of laptop carts or tablets
during scheduled meeting times.
5. Relationship with community college and/or career center. Priority will be given to programs that have established
referral relationships with community colleges, and/or routinely have their students register with their local One – Stop
Career Center.
6.
Ensure staffing to meet needs of service delivery model and that staff are properly trained.
7.
Agree to attend all regional user group meetings.
8.
Agree to track and report outcomes and results.
9. Appropriate system requirements. Programs must be able to meet all the system requirements, which can be found
at http://www.keytrain.com/requirements.asp.
If your program can meet all of the above criteria, and if you are interested in obtaining a Career Ready 101 license, email
Derek Kalchbrenner at dkalchbrenner@doe.mass.edu. In your reply, please describe briefly how you would like to integrate
Career Ready 101 into your program.
Educator Evaluation Pilot Update
The ACLS Educator Policy Team (EPT), in conjunction with the Collaborative for Educational Services (CES), designed and
piloted a proposed ABE Teacher Evaluation System in FY14. CES provided training in this system to a cohort of program
directors in the spring, and the Technical Education Research Center (TERC) led this group in math-specific workshops over the
same time period.
The response from the pilot group was favorable. Participating directors agreed that the field will benefit from an evaluation
system in order to support the growth and effectiveness of ABE teachers.
Recommendations from the pilot group focused on the relevancy, ease of use, and implementation of each component of the
system as well as the quality of the training itself. They stressed the importance of taking it slow and being ever mindful of the
variety of programming in the field. The feedback from this group will be invaluable as we enter phase two (training the teachers)
in fall 2014.
Since the start of this initiative, ACLS has been committed to including the field in the development of educator policies.
Examples of such inclusion are the Teacher Task Force in FY13, this year’s director pilot group and beginning in fall 2014, the
teacher pilot group. As ACLS moves forward with the work of the Educator Policy Team, we invite program directors to consider
joining the EP Team. Details and a membership application will be distributed to the field later this month.
Questions about this initiative may be directed to Patricia Hembrough at phembrough@doe.mass.edu.
Family Learning During the Summer and Beyond
Summer Fun Tips
The learning shouldn’t stop just because the school days do. Here are some suggestions for fun educational summer activities:
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Tie family outings to books. Create an activity around a book that you read with your child. Have the child look at the
pictures and tell the story in his or her own words or create a song about the book. Then, follow up with a related
outing. If the book is about animals, take a trip to the zoo or the park. Go to the beach or a lake if the book has scenes
taking place near or on the water.
Ask your children to illustrate stories and engage them in dialogue about their artwork. Keep an album of their artwork
so the family can continue to talk about it and so children can see their progress.
Take advantage of the warm weather and grow a garden together. You don’t need a large space — even a window
garden will suffice. Pick flowers or vegetables that will grow quickly so children can see fast progress.
Bring science home by borrowing science experiment books from the library and then trying them together. Pick some
that take advantage of the warm weather.
Make summer car trips educational. Play games where children count objects, match shapes or colors that they can
see from the car windows.
Sing with young children every day to help them make transitions. Make up songs that talk about daily activities such
as waking up in the morning, walking down the street, going to the store or going to the beach. This can help prepare
them for participating in family activities and even for making the transition to attend school.
Tips to Make Learning Part of Your Daily Routine
You don’t need to get a PhD in education or quit your job to help your son or daughter. Here are some quick, simple ways to
incorporate learning into your daily routine:
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Keep on top of what your children are learning at school. Be familiar with the textbooks, know the topics being
covered and be aware of their daily, weekly, and long-term assignments. One of the best things you can do to impact
learning is to talk with your children. With this basic information, you can have wonderful conversations with your
children that intensify their learning experience.
Exploratory learning is powerful. Show a sense of wonder about the things around you, and your children will catch
the curiosity bug. “Look at that beautiful rainbow. We need to find out what creates that band of colors.” Use some of
the following conversation starters to generate interest: “I wonder what would happen if…” “Tell me about…” Visit
Wonderopolis.org to find a Wonder of the Day® to ignite a sense of discovery all around you.
Involve your children in “teaching” you new information. Explaining something to someone else is a great way to
solidify your own understanding.
One of the most important areas of learning that impact all other areas is reading. When your children are young,
have conversations about books as you read aloud together. As your children begin to read independently, have them
read to you to help develop fluency. Discuss new words and what they might mean, and have your children explain the
overall meaning behind what is read. Doing these things not only helps your children at that time but teaches strategies
to apply independently.
Expose your children to learning areas through at-home “laboratories.” Science, technology, and math are some
of the fastest growing areas for future employment, yet few students pursue these areas because they have not had
adequate exposure and preparation. Your home is a great “laboratory” for providing hands-on learning about all kinds of
things in a real-life context. Learning how to safely change a light bulb or repair a lamp is a great opportunity to learn
about electrical wiring, using tools, conserving energy as well as being helpful. Go online or visit the library for how-to
information.
Involve your children in everyday tasks. Have them help make the grocery list, checking the pantry to see if needed
items are there. They can help cut and organize coupons, and shopping can be a scavenger hunt where your child has
the task of finding specific items. The children can use a calculator to keep a running tab of the cost and help count out
the cash to pay when you check out.
Literacy Tips
You can teach your child literacy fundamentals without a classroom or textbooks. Here are some additional tips for sharing
knowledge with children by using the world around you and maximizing the time you spend together:
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Teach math skills by letting your child count the money to pay at the store.
Ask children to find the letters in his or her name by using signs along the street and on buildings.
Increase oral language skills by sharing stories of your own childhood.
Make science come alive at home by checking out science experiment books from the library and then trying simple
experiments at home. For example, grow a vegetable with your child, chart the growth and talk about it.
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Tie reading into an outing. If you’re going to a museum, bring home a book about a favorite exhibit, so children see
reading as an experience.
Use certain techniques for reading that have been proven to increase effectiveness in reading time, including making
sound effects to capture attention and changing your voice when different characters speak. Don’t forget to talk about
the story to reinforce comprehension and memory skills, and read it again because repetition helps children recognize
and remember words.
Back to School Tips
Back to school — it’s a hectic time full of shopping, preparation, and new routines. However, just because children are headed
back to school doesn't mean that parents should stop teaching their children. And, just because life is hectic doesn't mean you
can’t make time to improve their literacy skills.
You may feel that there isn't enough time to add more activities to an already packed 24 hours. But, these ideas take just a minute!
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Choose a letter of the day. Look for the chosen letter in any printed materials you see — the newspaper, labels at the
grocery store, street signs, billboards, or advertisements on TV. Make up a silly sentence using only words beginning
with the letter of the day. (For example: Cats can cuddle. Dogs don’t drive. Amy always acts awake.)
Singing songs is certainly a literacy activity. Try this twist: Sing short songs like “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” several
times, leaving off the last word each time until there are no words left. This activity always produces giggles from
children and parents alike.
While you’re waiting for the bagel to toast, have your child look for the letter B on any items on your kitchen counter or
table. Count as many as possible before the toaster pops.
Play “Guess Who.” Describe a cartoon character, celebrity, or historical figure. Allow a guess after each detail is
disclosed. Expand your child’s vocabulary by using unusual words, and then explain their meaning. Take turns. Listen
carefully to your child’s descriptions, especially his or her choice of vocabulary. Encourage your child to paint a picture of
the character with his or her words. At the end of the game, compliment your child on any unusual or new words used.
While stuck in traffic, describe the view from the car by taking “word turns.” The activity is as easy as the name
suggests. Parent and child each add a word until the scene is described. (A… yellow… convertible… with… a…
golden… retriever… in… the… back… seat… is… next… to… our… car.) This activity works well on a walk around the
block or while waiting in line, too.
Talk to your child about his or her day. Pretend to be a television reporter. Try questions like “what was the most
surprising (curious, funny, eventful) thing that happened today?” Or gather news for the local paper. “If your day’s
activities were an article in the newspaper, what would the headline be?” You are giving your child opportunities to
increase vocabulary, recall and reflect, and you are receiving a more detailed version of the time you spent apart. Be
prepared to answer the same questions. You and your child will begin looking for events to report to each other.
Tips For Teaching with Technology
As parents buy new computers and other technology, it’s important they keep their children safe and help them maximize learning.
Here are some ways to maximize learning while using technology and making sure your children stay safe:
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Spend time online with your children. Talk to them about potential threats and help them find child-friendly sites.
Make sure the computer is in the family room or kitchen rather than the bedroom. In addition, find out what parental
controls are offered through your Internet service provider. You can find other tips at
http://www.fbi.gov/publications/pguide/pguidee.htm.
Show your work. Remember when your math teacher asked you to show your work when you solved problems? This
is still good practice, especially when your child is doing research using the Internet. Ask him or her to show you the
websites he or she used when searching for information for a school project. Look at the sites together and talk about
how your child knows whether the information is reliable and accurate. For example, can you tell from the website who
the author of the information is? If so, what are the author’s qualifications? Can you find the date that the information
was written or posted?
What are you talking about? Kids have many outlets for creative expression these days, and one of the most popular
is social networking — sites that encourage peer-to-peer communication. What is your child doing when he or she
blogs? She’s offering her opinion on something that’s important to her. In fact, many children use social networking
sites to talk about homework. There are two things you can do to ensure healthy social networking. First and foremost,
teach your children safe Internet practices and find out which sites they like to visit. Then, ask your children what
they’re writing about — what’s important to them right now — or ask them to show you how you can join their social
networking “circle” so you can see when they update messages.
Knowledge builds knowledge. One of the most important things that help children as they’re learning to read and
ultimately, reading to learn, is having background knowledge. The Internet is a great place to build your child’s
understanding of the world. A simple search on a keyword that interests your child — dinosaurs, ecology, sports cars,
Paris fashion — will get you and your child started on a journey of discovery.
Summer Meals Program Targets Childhood Hunger by Providing Access to
Free, Healthy Meals to Children and Youth
The Patrick Administration last week (July 3, 2014) launched the 2014 Summer Food Service Program, a federally funded
initiative that provides free meals to children and youth age 18 and younger when school is not in session.
Students who eat breakfast and lunch each day are healthier and better prepared to learn. But according to Feeding America's
"Map the Meal Gap" project, nearly 230,000 children in Massachusetts lack access, at times, to healthy meals, a situation that
worsens during the summer months when students lose access to school meals. Summer meal sites are located in areas
throughout the state, and meals are often provided in conjunction with enrichment and recreational activities.
"It is critically important that children across the Commonwealth have access to healthy, nutritious meals during the summer
months," said Governor Deval Patrick. "When we invest in healthy meals for our youth, we improve their chances of success in
the classroom and beyond."
"Our schools do more than just teach our children, and the necessity of this program underscores that work in communities
across the Commonwealth," said Secretary of Education Matthew Malone. "If we want our children to be healthy and active in
the summer months, we have to ensure they have access to quality meals, even when their families can't provide them. This
program does just that."
The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and administered in
Massachusetts by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The program provides children with access to
nutritious meals at schools, parks, swimming pools, playgrounds, and other community organizations. Without access to these
meals, children are at greater risk of unhealthy eating habits, fatigue, weight gain, and summer learning loss. Last summer, the
summer meals program fed on average 56,000 children and youth per day across the state.
"Children and youth who have access to healthy meals each day are able to focus and perform better – whether in the
classroom during the school year or on the playground during the summer," said Elementary and Secondary Education
Commissioner Mitchell D. Chester. "I encourage families to seek out summer meal sites, and I hope additional sponsors will
step forward so we can ensure that no child goes hungry this summer."
"The Summer Food Service Program is a vital program to feed children when school is out of session. This program
supplements the work of the Department of Transitional Assistance and highlights the importance of access to healthy foods,"
said Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) Commissioner Stacey Monahan. "DTA will continue to work with DESE to
support ending childhood hunger."
During summer 2013, more than 93 sponsors helped the program serve meals to children at 920 locations. Meals are served at
no charge to children 18 years of age and younger. No registration or proof of eligibility is required. Meals are the same for all
children regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability. The free meal service varies depending on the
community.
To learn more about the program, go to http://meals4kids.org/sfsp. To find information on site locations, including the start and
end times of service, go to http://meals4kids.org/find-summer-meal-site, contact the Department's Child Nutrition Outreach
Program at 617-723-5000, or send a text to 617-863-MEAL (617-863-6325). To watch a short video on the Summer Food
Service Program, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSKiRx9mquM.