Adult and Community Learning Services (ACLS)

2011 Regional Meetings

January 10, 2011 Dear ABE Practitioners and Partners, I hope that you will be able to attend one of the upcoming Adult and Community Learning Services' Regional Meetings. At the Regional Meetings, we will continue the discussion that started at the 2010 ABE Directors' Meeting. We'll focus our attention on the emerging role of the ABE system to increase the number of students who achieve college and career readiness as a result of participating in your programs. Research and our own life experiences, tell us that having a GED or high school credential is no longer sufficient to allow our students access to jobs that will enable them to support their families. We know that the share of jobs that require some post secondary education or training is increasing and that those are also the jobs that pay higher wages and have higher vacancy rates. To date, the track record of GED graduates successfully completing post-secondary education has been disappointing. Nationally, only 27% of GED graduates ever enroll in college and only 20% of those complete in 2 years and only 4% complete over 4 years. 85% of GED graduates who enter community colleges require some form of remediation and only 15% of those who require developmental education ever earn a degree or a certificate. Making the transition to a system that is able to ensure that adult learners are college and career ready is challenging in many ways. We are faced with our students' need to earn a GED to satisfy their immediate employment needs and the limited time and resources available to them to support extending their participation in an ABE program. We are also faced with the challenge of meeting the increased level of skills and knowledge that our students need to succeed in post-secondary education. Teachers and counselors face many challenges and now they must be prepared to address increasing academic requirements and counseling demands that are critical to ensuring that our students can achieve their goals. In order to continue the dialogue about supporting students in their next steps started at the Directors' Meeting, ACLS would like you to consider the following question: How can the ABE system make sure that students, teachers, counselors and directors are able to meet the new demands that are being placed on them? I look forward to our conversation. To register, please use the following link:
http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22BNM3W68GF Sincerely,
With literacy in mind. Anne Serino

Last Updated: January 11, 2011