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Supported by the
2010 National Immigrant Integration Conference - Strategy
SessionsExpanding Adult ESOL:
Increasing the Quantity andQuality of Adult ESOL Instruction
Sept. 30, 2010
Claudia Green, Executive Director, English for New Bostonians,
discussed Career Advancement,Best Practices Analyses. English for
New Bostonians provides access to high quality ESOL through
grants,professional development, innovation and expanding
resources. This can be done through 1) Grants:theres a wait list of
16,000 people in the state. Its a fast growing immigrant population
and these learnersare workers with families. The grants build
capacity in different agencies, ESOL providers. 2)
Capacitydevelopment: its done through trainings and technical
assistance to the ESOL methods used, learnerassessment, technology,
transitions and visits to programs. 3) Innovation: ENB has
innovated with itsdistance learning model and the English at Work
Capacity Building Initiative that provides training forproviders
looking to partner with businesses. 4) Expanding resources: ENB
works to increase state, federal
and private funding through the English Works Campaign, a
coalition of business, labor, community andcivic leaders that calls
for a high-quality, public-private ESOL system that serves
immigrants, businesses,and the Commonwealth. English Works promotes
business investment in ESOL, policy advocacy, andcapacity
development. The Campaign is supported by nearly 70 organizations,
an 11-member LeadershipCircle, and a growing Mayor's Circle.
Connie Nelson, Director, Massachusetts Workers Education
Roundtable spoke next. The MAWorkers Education Roundtable is a
network of worker education programs dedicated to
promotingpartnerships of employers, unions and educators that
provide high quality education as well as training forMassachusetts
union members. Programs that develop partnerships with employers,
unions, learners and
educators are programs that succeed.
The funding of workplace programs come either from private or
public sources. The privatesources can be funds from joint
labor-management partnerships. The state of Massachusetts last
yearreleased the MA Learn at Work Program, a fund dedicated for
workplace ESOL which serves as a greatpublic resource for workplace
programs.The MA Workers Education Roundtable also has a quality
focus. These are some of the indicators of qualityfor workplace
programs: 1) Intensity of instruction: its hard to bargain with
employers and there arelogistical issues. 2) Adequate and regular
classroom space. 3) Collaborative team oversight: labor
andmanagement need to oversee program, problem solve, and check
attendance. 4) Learning needs analysis:how will the learning
program help the workplace? 5) Participation has to be voluntary.
6) Balance of
quality and quantity: funds sometimes focus more on quantity. 7)
Teachers need to be prepared. Thereneeds to be capacity building
for workplace environment and contextualized curriculum. 8)
Predictablefunding. 9) Team governance, and, 10) Professional and
curriculum development.
Betsy McKay, Director of Bilingual Leadership, McDonald's
Corporation discussed that theMcDonalds Corporation has a bilingual
leadership development program in 22 sites in the US. Itsbeneficial
for the corporation, for the restaurants and for the individuals.
The program has 3 courses inESOL in a series with placement guide.
It aligns with the manager program and is contextualized,
focusing
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Supported by the
on what they need to run a shift, and can apply what they
learnimmediately. The classes run for 5 hours a week and range from
8 to 22 weeks. Theyre small classes andprovide a strong bond
between student and
teachers.
McDonalds blended approach address the real needs. There are
also virtual classes that addressstudents individually. There has
been a good retention rate of 87 percent, 46 instructors from
localcommunity colleges and a steady increase in number of
students.
Johan Uvin, Senior Advisor, Office of Vocational & Adult
Education, US Department of Education,Office of Vocational and
Adult Education (OVAE) administers, coordinates programs that are
related toadult education and literacy, career and technical
education, and community colleges. It provides adulteducation
funding to states and partners with other federal agencies to meet
its goals.What does OVAE know in regards to workplace education: 1)
Employers pay for English proficiency. 2)Integrated models produce
better labor market results. 3) Bringing the outside in: using the
context of
peoples lives makes greater returns. However, OVAE does not know
much about the effectiveness of thedifferent approaches for the
different populations.
President Obamas strategic vision includes: (i) 8.2 percent more
graduates from community colleges; (ii)at least one year of higher
education for every American, and (iii) accelerated achievement.
OVAEspriorities are: (i) work towards presidents goal, (ii)
effective teachers, (iii) college and career pathways,and (iv)
learning opportunities on demand equitable access.
In order to achieve these goals, OVAE is focusing on promoting
innovation and integration. OVAEis also providing resources to
develop ideas, test them and gather evidence.
Moderator: Lisa Soricone, Research & Evaluation Analyst,
Commonwealth Corporation
