Taking Career Awareness
to Scale in Texas: Career
Awareness for Every Adult
Education Student
Elizabeth B. Thompson, CFLE, CMPI
Assistant Director, Texas LEARNS
ethompson@hcde-texas.org
Joanie Rethlake
State Director, Texas LEARNS
jrethlake@hcde-texas.org

A TEA/HCDE Partnership

Formed in 2003

Administration of adult education and family
literacy in Texas

Eligible adult education providers include

Serves approximately 100,000 students/year
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ISDs
Institutions of higher education
Nonprofits
Other entities as described in Title II WIA
Texas LEARNS
Integrating Career Awareness into
the ABE and ESOL Classroom
Integrating Career Awareness
 System 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 shortand long-term career, educational
and life goals.
Thanks to Massachusetts
SABES
Why Career Awareness?
Family Gets Lost in Corn Maze
1.
The Cultural Context for Career
Awareness
2.
The Self-Exploration Process
3.
Occupational Exploration
4.
Career Planning Skills
ICA Sections
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
Integrating Career Awareness
OVAE 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
Integrating Career Awareness
OVAE Pilot

4 programs, 8 teachers/counselors

All participated in a 6-week online course

Average of 10 weeks in pilot using 9
lessons

Each lesson averaged 3.5 hours to
complete
ICA Pilot, Spring 2011
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
ICA Pilot, Spring 2011
Teacher Feedback
A Second Chance to Pilot ICA
C-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.
Statewide Strategic Action Plan
Desired Outcome (C-4)

Increase in the number of workforce
literacy graduates (subset of ABE
population)

Increase in workforce literacy graduates
entering employment (subset of ABE
population)
C-4 Key Performance Measures:

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
C-4 Overall Objectives

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.
Project Description/ Responsibilities

Changes in ABE services (accelerated
academic instruction plus career
readiness)

Development/adoption of new practices

Evidence of effectiveness

Impact on/changes to state policy

Adaptation for statewide replication
Rationale for C-4 Pilots
Framework for TX C-4 Literacy Pilot
AE & WFC
Confirm
Eligibility
AE Provides
Fast Track
GED &
Career
Readiness
WFC identifies
“Suitability”&
Job & Training
Opportunities
AE & WFC
Guide Clients
Re. Next Steps
Clients at
Intermediate
Levels 4,5,6
from
AE Programs
in WFC Region
AE reviews
clients’
“papers”
with WFC
guidance
Work-eligible
clients attend
intensive &
enhanced
Fast Track
GED & Career
Readiness
Clients
Complete GED
& AE counsels
re. next steps
for employment
and/or training
WFC places
clients
in jobs
and/or
occupational
training
WFC refers
Clients
without HSD/
GED with
“documents”
AE confirms
clients’
skill levels/
eligibility
Classes held
at One Stops
Clients may
be or begin
working while
completing
GED
Recruit
Clients
From
AE & WFC

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.
C-4 Pilot Initiative Collaboration
and Kick-off - TEA and TWC
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.
4 Proposed Program
Components
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











$400,000 divided by 3 regions
3 Fiscal Agents (one per region)
7 providers
21 sites
27 classes
482 served to-date
65 contact hours per
68% had Language gain on TABE
70% had Math gain on TABE
66% had Reading gain on TABE
129 obtained GED to-date
2011-2012 Program Year:
C-4 Summary & Outcomes
Cultural Competence in career awareness
can open possibilities for students!

Instructors insight into students
awareness of:
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Education and Training,
Careers and Career ladder,
Job Seeking and Job keeping, &
Labor market
Feedback from C-4 Program
San Antonio ISD Adult Education
Next Step: Texas Received WIA
Incentive Grant
Build student pathways to
college and career readiness
by creating and
implementing tools, support,
and professional
development.
The Goal
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
•Introduce
contextualization
tools at 8 pilot
sites at the local
teacher level for
use in both
specific
occupations and
academics.
Objective
3
•Provide trainthe-trainer
classes to assist
local programs
to develop and
plan for
implementing
college and
career
readiness and
transitions into
each program
Objective
4
•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
•Develop a local plan to train all teachers to use ICA overContent
the two
Standards
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.
ICA Pilot
• 4 programs
• 8 teachers
C-4
Classes
• 4 programs
• 19 teachers
State
wide
adoption
• Build
trainer
expertise
• Local plans
• Train all
teachers
The path to career awareness in
all adult education classrooms
begins to take shape
The task:

2850 teachers/counselors (89% PT)

650 administrators (52% PT)

390 paraprofessionals (81% PT)

Located across 268,820 square miles

Achieve actual sustained implementation of
ICA in every adult education classroom
Supported by a professional development
consortium – 8 GREAT Centers

Not an ordinary challenge!
Statewide Implementation
Develop
17 Master
ICA
Trainers
(MICATS)
Key Steps
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
implementat
ion plan
17 Master ICA Trainers from GREAT Centers
Online ICA Course
with classroom
implementation
Full Day F2F to
become Curriculum
Trainers
TOT to train Key
Trainers how to train
their co-workers
Conduct Training
and Follow-ups
Key Trainers Trained by MICATS
Work with director to
create College &
Career Readiness
Implementation Plan
ICA training, implement curriculum,
participate in followup training
Attend full Day Faceto-Face Training of
Trainers
Train local staff to
use ICA; conduct
two follow ups
Local Teachers/Counselors/Other Staff
Attend Face-to-Face training and
participate in two follow-up trainings
Implement in the classroom








Create cadre of Master ICA Trainers (MICATs)
MICATs Train Key Teachers in each local
program
Develop local plans to train and implement
Key teachers, MICATs train remaining local staff
over a 2 year period
Online ICA Course supplements F2F training
Implementation observed on Technical Assistance
Visits
Work with JFF to strengthen Counseling to
Careers, Contextualization
Local Programs engage employers, higher ed.
and TWC
Statewide Implementation
Face-to-face
First Follow Up Training
Second Follow Up Training
Anatomy of ICA Training
Online Course Option
20102011
20112012
20122013
• Local
Program
Funds
• State
Leadership
Funds
• State
Leadership
Funds
• WIA
Incentive
Grant
Funds
20132014
20142015
• State
Leadership
Funds
• Local
Program
Funds
Future
Years
• State
Leadership
Funds
• Local
Program
Funds
$$$$ Sustainability $$$$
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.
Statewide Adoption of ICA
Let’s Discuss