The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education funds programs to establish free access to basic adult education services in public school systems, public agencies, and community based organizations across the State. These services are for residents of Commonwealth age 16 or older. Services are designed to enhance the individuals" literacy skills - their ability to read, write, and speak English and to compute and solve problems at levels of proficiency necessary to function as parents/family members, workers, and members of the community. Eligible agencies receiving funds from the ESE are encouraged to address the needs of clients with learning disabilities. Programs offer activities to prepare students for passing a high school equivalency assessment and moving on to post-high school education or vocational training and/or acquiring or advancing in employment.
Listed below are the programs currently available to eligible agencies in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts providing services and/or instruction in adult education and literacy services, family literacy services, Workplace Education, and English literacy programs.
| ABE Comprehensive Health | ABE Comprehensive Health Education Projects are designed to incorporate health content, curricula, and community health partnerships into instructional activities for ABE students at ESE funded ABE and ESOL instructional programs. |
| Adult Basic Education | Adult Basic Education (including literacy through adult secondary education and English for speakers of other languages) Grants establish free access for educationally disadvantaged adults, age 16 and older, for adult basic education services in their geographic or ethnic communities in the sixteen Service Delivery Areas (SDAs) across the Commonwealth. These services are supported in a common process using both federal and state ABE funding. |
| Adult Education for the Homeless | The Adult Education for the Homeless Program funds the establishment of long-term collaborations between adult learning centers and adult education for the homeless projects at shelters across the Commonwealth. These projects assist homeless adults in their efforts to achieve basic education and literacy skills and self-sufficiency in a stable, safe and secure environment. |
| Community Planning | The Adult Basic Education (ABE) Community Planning initiative supports Department of Elementary and Secondary Education funded adult education programs in developing and sustaining local ABE Community Planning Partnerships. ABE Community Planning Partnerships are encouraged to include every organization in the community with an interest in providing educational and support services to undereducated and/or limited English proficient adults and their families. |
| Curriculum Frameworks | ABE Curriculum and Professional Development Grants support ABE providers across the Commonwealth in their work assessing how ABE Curriculum Frameworks currently being introduced in the State can be used to strengthen curricula in the eligible agency"s program. Grant moneys are also used to train practitioners in how to develop curricula using the Massachusetts ABE Curriculum Frameworks. The project offers an opportunity for programs to work with curriculum development experts to enhance program effectiveness and bring ABE services up to the standards demanded by today"s lifelong learners. |
| Disability Services | The Disability Services web pages contain Disability Guidelines along with resources, promising practices, and other disability related topics that may be of interest to adult education practitioners and students. The Disability Guidelines map out what is expected of programs and how they can fulfill ACLS requirements related to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). These guidelines should be used as a reference for adult education administrators and staff to ensure program practices and policies comply with ACLS requirements. The resources, promising practices, and other disability related topics could further assist adult education practitioners in the instruction and support of adult learners of all abilities. |
| Distance Learning | The ABE Distance Learning Pilot Project is in its fifth year of operation. There will be one additional year piloting distance learning strategies and gathering data before ACLS releases a competitive RFP to integrate the distance learning initiative into adult basic education programs. The pilot projects are exploring the use of instruction over the Internet, video, computer assisted instruction, and telecommunications to overcome barriers to participation in ABE instruction that result from situations such as distance, waiting lists, physical constraints, or conflicting family/work schedules. Key issues being examined include recruitment, retention, choice of curricula, and assessment. The Project is currently supporting six regional sites or "hubs" where specially trained teaching and counseling staff work in a regional "classroom without walls" to provide instruction. |
| Educational Programs for the Incarcerated | The Educational Programs for the Incarcerated Program uses both State and Federal funds for projects designed to establish free access in correctional institutions to adult basic education services for offenders age 16 and older. Services enhance the ability of institutionalized persons to read, write, and speak English and to compute and solve mathematical problems at a level of proficiency sufficient for them to function in society and develop their potential as individuals and citizens upon release from the correctional facility or institution. |
| Even Start Family Literacy | Federal Even Start Family Literacy funds are used to improve the educational opportunities of Massachusetts families by integrating early childhood education, adult education, and parenting activities into projects that build on existing community resources. |
| Financial Literacy Resources | The Financial Literacy Resources web page contains information and links to assist programs in identifying and acquiring the materials relevant to the financial education needs of ABE students. Resources, promising practices and other financial literacy related topics are posted to encourage programs to include instruction in financial literacy to help learners become informed consumers, plan for the future, further education and training and expand their general understanding of financial systems. |
| System for Adult Basic Education Support (SABES) | The SABES Program provides funding for five Regional Support Centers (RSCs) which, in coordination with a Central Support Center (CRC) and under the direction of ESE, provide locally accessible training opportunities and resources for staff, program, and leadership development for adult basic education providers in Massachusetts. The SABES Program enables the Commonwealth to carry out state leadership activities effectively and efficiently for ABE programs through intensive technical assistance and regional and statewide training programs. |
| Technology | The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education provides primarily state funds to ABE programs to assist educators in making more strategic and effective use of current and emerging technologies. Upon approval of a local technology plan, the funds help pay for a technology coordinator for each eligible agency and for hardware and software that will enable programs to connect to the System for Managing Accountability and Results Through Technology (SMARTT). This system is currently being developed for programs to submit comprehensive error-free statistical data on performance directly to the Department via the Internet. |
| Volunteer Tutoring Services | The Volunteer Tutoring Services Program funds support projects delivering adult basic education services. Most volunteers provide instruction that supplements ABE and literacy study in regular programs. Others provide services to learners for whom participation in classroom-based adult basic education services is impossible or unsuitable. |
| Workplace Education Program | The Workplace Education Program funds eligible agencies that provide instructional services in basic literacy, numeracy, and English for speakers of other languages to incumbent workers who lack the basic skills in English expected of a high school graduate. Services are provided through partnerships among businesses, workers, labor organizations, and adult education providers. Projects are supported with a combination of primarily state and local matching resources for up to three years at which point programs are expected to institutionalize these services and continue with local and/or private funds. |
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