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Narrative Report for Georgia 2021

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Section 1

State Leadership Funds (Adult education and family literacy act Section 223 (AEFLA))

Describe how the State has used funds made available under section 223 (State Leadership activities) for each the following:

AEFLA Section 223(1)(a)

Alignment of adult education and literacy activities with other one-stop required partners to implement the strategies in the Unified or Combined State Plan as described in section 223(1)(a)

During Fiscal Year 2021-2022 (FY22), the Georgia Office of Adult Education (GOAE) ensured programs maintained required one-stop partnerships through ongoing desktop monitoring provided by the Instructional Services (IS) team as well as through on-site or virtual monitoring visits conducted by GOAE. In FY22, GOAE conducted five local program monitoring visits (onsite and virtual).

Adult education programs, in FY22, were required to provide quarterly Integrated Education and Training (IET) opportunities during the program year.  These IETs were aligned to the local and regional workforce development plans for the areas they serve.  GOAE offered six focused statewide trainings and targeted technical assistance meetings to local programs in order to support this requirement and ensure alignment of core partner services. 

GOAE and the Georgia Office of Workforce Development (GOWD) both sit within the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) which allows for ongoing communication, collaboration, and partnership.  In FY22, GOAE and GOWD aligned services in the following areas:

  • Title I and Title II Referral Process
    • GOAE and GOWD worked together to align their definitions of basic skills deficiency and prepared a training plan for both Title I and Title II providers so that the field is properly trained on eligibility requirements. 
    • GOWD agreed to give priority of service to Title II adult education students.
    • GOAE and GOWD worked together to streamline the process for referrals between adult education and local one-stop providers. This collaboration produced a formalized process for referrals, as well as guidance for both sets of providers that will be rolled out in FY23.  The collaboration also includes a process for data sharing amongst providers to ease the referral process. 
  • Training Opportunities
    • GOAE provided training and technical assistance to GOWD staff on the Blackboard learning management system to support GOWD’s development of training modules for their local area personnel.
    • A GOWD staff member, as a part of GOAE’s IET webinar series to the field, provided training on registered apprenticeships and the requirements of the Eligible Training Provider List (ETPL).
    • Two members of GOAE participated in GOWD’s Spring Conference.  In addition to attending sessions and meeting with local WorkSource leaders, GOAE conducted a session titled “Adult Education: A Partner with Flexible Options”.
  • Career Plus HSE
    • Two GOWD staff participated in GOAE’s Career Plus HSE Advisory Committee.
    • GOWD allocated a portion of their year-two WIOA funds for Career Plus HSE students and conducted multiple meetings between local adult education programs and the local WorkSource providers on the requirements for using these funds.

GOAE, in FY22, collaborated with the Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) for data matching through formal data matching agreements, inclusive of SWIS data. Local adult education programs established referral agreements with GDOL and worked to establish class sites with one-stop providers.

AEFLA Section 223(1)(b)

Establishment or operation of a high-quality professional development programs as described in section 223(1)(b)

GOAE assessed and adapted its professional development (PD) offerings throughout FY22 based on the continued disruptions in service caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. As programs reopened and closed once again, GOAE continued to offer virtual professional development opportunities to meet the needs of adult education programs, program administrators, and program staff who could not attend in-person PD. GOAE continued to collect, evaluate, and implement professional development solutions by taking into account research from the first year of the pandemic and its impact on adult education programs and student learning. GOAE built upon professional development provided in FY21 by expanding the following instructional support initiatives in FY22:

  • prioritizing high quality and ongoing professional development to prepare adult educators and program leaders for the demands brought on by the pandemic, such as embracing remote learning opportunities and virtual instruction
  • supporting adult educators and curriculum coordinators to explore online and remote learning instructional options for their virtual students
  • helping adult educators and program leaders to better cope with uncertainty and other work characteristics brought on by the pandemic and experienced by students as well as faculty, such as anxiety and stress, through professional development focused on well-being practices

GOAE modeled effective virtual instruction by providing rigorous, evidence-based professional development through a mixture of live webinar and asynchronous courses that incorporated volunteer and paid local, regional, and national subject matter experts. These subject matter experts provided training on emerging practices, instructional strategies, and resource identification specifically targeting remote and virtual instruction.

In FY22, GOAE offered three virtual two-day summits in place of its in-person professional development summit events. This was done to ensure adult education staff continued to receive professional development in the areas of math instruction, English Language Arts instruction, work readiness, student engagement, data management, classroom resources, and integrating technology. The three virtual summits consisted of a Math and English Language Arts Adult Educators Virtual Fall Summit; a Technology for Teachers and Instructor Well-Being Adult Education Virtual Summit; and an ESL Teaching Resources, Strategies, and Instructor Well-Being Virtual Summit. Session highlights from these virtual events include:

  • An Introduction to Building Teacher Resiliency
  • How to Plan When Time Is of the Essence: Using an Integrated & Contextualized Approach in the ELA Classroom
  • Math Instruction for Adult Learners: At-A-Distance, Blended Learning, Hybrid, and More
  • Routines for Reducing Stress and Anxiety in the ABE Classroom
  • Teaching the Anxious and Depressed Student
  • Digital Learning: Creating Engaging Face-to-Face and Virtual Learning Experiences
  • The Struggle is Real: Self Care and Balance for Educators
  • Teaching Practices to Increase Student Engagement In-Person and Remotely

GOAE professional development offerings in FY22 continued to focus on the importance of adult educators learning about and implementing the essential components of evidenced-based reading instruction as done in previous fiscal years. The redesigned Student Achievement in Reading (STAR) program allowed programs to participate virtually and allowed a FY22 cohort of the STAR training program to be implemented.

Lastly, GOAE continued to provide support for adult educators to implement Blackboard Learn and Blackboard Collaborate and to use the platform as a modality to reach students at-a-distance, and to support in-person learning, as well. Monthly support was offered through professional development sessions on a variety of key topics to support programs with implementing and supporting their online and virtual instruction practices and to help programs train new faculty and staff members:

  • Blackboard Collaborate for New Employees
  • Building Content in Blackboard for New Employees
  • Instructional Strategies for Remote and Virtual Learning

AEFLA Section 223(1)(c)

Provision of technical assistance to funded eligible providers as described in section 223(1)(c)

In FY22, GOAE staff collectively worked together to provide technical assistance to adult education programs.  Grant Program Support Coordinators (GPSC) are the primary contact between GOAE and the 30 local programs, providing programs with continual technical assistance as identified through needs assessments. 

To further address technical assistance needs, GOAE utilized the following methods to disseminate models and promising practices during FY22:

  • Monthly Newsletter: GOAE distributes a monthly newsletter to almost 1,000 subscribers. The monthly newsletter includes a spotlight article that features promising practices from local providers that have been identified through monitoring, evaluation, and technical assistance activities. Examples of spotlight article topics included, “Breaking Down Non-academic Barriers for Student Success,” “Expanding Opportunities through IET,” and features about community-based organizations and family literacy programs.
  • High School Equivalency Blitz: To increase the number of high school equivalency (HSE) graduates in Georgia, GOAE rolled out an HSE Blitz initiative to ensure all programs had access to resources and strategies to help more students graduate. GOAE featured instructors and strategies from local programs with a high HSE attainment rate, partnered with national organizations, to provide training on available resources and best practices to the field. GOAE created a Blackboard course where instructors and staff across the state shared best practices and tools with one another via discussion boards.
  • IET - Intentional. Engaging. Transformative: GOAE created a six session webinar series which shared promising IET practices to the field.  These sessions highlighted successful IET programs, regional workforce needs, needs assessments, apprenticeships, partner involvement, and the Single Set of Learning Objectives (SSLO).
  • Transition Toolkit: GOAE developed a Transition Toolkit that included tools and resources which Career Service Specialist can use with students to assess and guide the selection of the appropriate career pathway to meet their goals. This toolkit is available on GOAE’s website.  Career Service Specialists (CSS) received training on the toolkit, and it was built into GOAE’s on-boarding for new CSS personnel.
  • Student Achievement in Reading (STAR): In support of evidenced based reading practices, for those receiving STAR training, GOAE incorporated extra check-in sessions using Webex meetings to provide the cohort with extra support and to foster a stronger online community of learners. GOAE also contracted with the STAR trainer to provide technical assistance (TA) to previously trained STAR teachers via Webex.  The TA included addressing questions to provide clarity of practices such as guidance and support on how to conduct assessments properly and how to find meaningful resources. 

In FY22, all adult education programs were required to have a Career Service Specialist (CSS) on their staff which helped to foster self-efficacy and persistence in adult education students in order to meet their academic and career goals.  Career Service Specialists provided adult education students with transition services, career service guidance and workforce coaching. They also provided support services, including career exploration, job search, and job application assistance. GOAE provided professional development and technical assistance to the Career Service Specialists by offering workshops and quarterly regional meetings. Topics discussed included:    

  • Going Beyond Step One: Partner Involvement and Collaboration with Business and Industry
  • Apprenticeship, Employer-Sponsored, and Private Sector Training
  • How to Leverage IET’s into real jobs

AEFLA Section 223(1)(d)

Monitoring and evaluation of the quality and improvement of adult education activities as described in section 223(1)(d)

In FY22, GOAE supported monitoring and evaluation of adult education programs through desktop monitoring, onsite monitoring, program evaluations, and disseminating models and promising practices.

Desktop Monitoring

GOAE assigns each adult education program a Grant Program Support Coordinator (GPSC) who serves as their main contact. In FY22, GPSCs provided technical assistance and support to programs, with a focus on ensuring programs provide high quality, standards-based, and evidence-based instruction to students. GPSCs communicate with adult education programs weekly and conduct frequent, informal monitoring to ensure program compliance. 

In FY22, GOAE conducted quarterly fiscal monitoring audits for 2-3 programs each quarter. The quarterly desktop monitoring process looks at a program’s budget, expenditures, and supporting documentation for a short time period (between one and three months) and serves as an additional internal control to ensure Adult Education federal and state funds are being used in accordance with federal and state statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the federal award.

Onsite Monitoring

GOAE selects programs to monitor based on the results of an annual fiscal and programmatic risk assessment. In FY22, GOAE prepared risk assessments for each program based on a total of 11 fiscal, programmatic, and performance categories. GOAE selected five programs with the highest level of risk to conduct monitoring visits in FY22.

Based upon the monitoring visits in FY2, additional technical assistance and training will be implemented in FY23 to ensure program understanding and compliance with Time and Effort reporting requirements. 

Performance Reports

In January 2022, program organizational heads, as well as adult education program administrators, received a mid-year report, which included year-to-date information on spending, enrollment, performance outcomes, distance education, IET performance, and professional development. The reports provided a status update on each program’s progress towards their negotiated targets and other important benchmarks. GOAE provided technical assistance to programs below 40% of their negotiated targets. Additionally, GOAE began sending out monthly program metric spreadsheets to all programs to help them monitor progress towards their negotiated targets. Programs used this information to drive new recruitment and retention initiatives during the year.

AEFLA Section 223(a)(2)

As applicable, describe how the State has used funds for additional permissible activities described in section 223(a)(2)

One of the newest tools made available through support from TCSG is Blackboard Learn. GOAE implemented Blackboard starting in FY20 and has continued to support local programs as they learn the system, develop course content, and host virtual classes. In addition to multiple training sessions for new employees, GOAE also hosted other Blackboard training sessions:

  • It’s GO Time with Blackboard: GOAE held 12 sixty-minute sessions during FY22. This gave many local programs the chance to share their best practices for using Blackboard synchronously and asynchronously with students. This created new collaborations between programs. Presentation topics included software updates, online tools and resources, accessibility, tips & tricks, and managing classes and recordings.
  • Blackboard Sub-Administrator Training: GOAE held two sessions with Blackboard Sub-Administrators who are responsible for much of the behind-the-scenes maintenance that is required for maintaining user accounts, classes, and copying master content. Each program was also offered individual technical assistance sessions before new permissions were granted.
  • Blackboard Intermediate Training: GOAE held three sessions for teachers who were ready to learn the next level of Blackboard skills, like copying content, customizing courses, creating announcements, and building tests and quizzes.
  • Customized Training and Technical Assistance: Local programs also received individualized support based upon their current Blackboard needs. Multiple TA sessions covered how to use Blackboard Collaborate, plan a course, build content, and assist students with logins and course navigation.

In FY22, GOAE identified postsecondary transition as one of the State’s priority areas of focus. In order to better understand postsecondary transition rates for adult education students, GOAE partnered with Georgia State University Policy Labs to initiate a research study that would explore historical trends in postsecondary transition and outcomes for adult education students. GOAE also designed and implemented a College Interest Survey with existing students to gather information on the potential challenges impacting one’s decision to pursue postsecondary education. GOAE partnered with technical college marketing departments to develop a branded initiative, “Keep GOing,” to encourage adult education students to enroll in technical college. Through this initiative, GOAE developed a website landing page to house information and provided all programs with a resource toolkit that included flyer templates, email templates, and logos. Each program also received a list of recent HSE graduates who had not yet enrolled in technical college for individual outreach.

The Career Plus HSE (CPH) program pilot continued to be a success during FY22. CPH provides an opportunity for students to combine high school credit), GED and/or HiSET passing scores (HSE exam scores can substitute for needed high school credits), and postsecondary credentials to earn their high school equivalency credential. The program enables students to go into their chosen career field with the needed critical technical skills, education skills, and credentials.  The target population are individuals that are 21+ that lack a high school diploma or equivalency.  Over the course of FY22, GOAE worked with local programs to build twenty-eight online high school courses that align to the Georgia K-12, 9th and 10th grade courses.  These online courses allowed students to complete any needed high school courses through their local adult education program as they worked to earn their CPH credential. Plans for FY23 include launching the new online classes, moving the program from pilot status, and adding additional programs across the state.

GOAE continued to support local adult education providers with strengthening their Integrated Education and Training (IET) offering by conducting six webinars across the span of FY22. The webinars focused on policies, procedures, and best practices from across the state and nationally. All 30 local adult education providers had IETs during the program year. A total of 1,180 students were served in IET, with 931 industry recognized credentials.  

Workplace Literacy was encouraged and supported by training local programs on the ways students could earn Measurable Skills Gain through the completion of pre-established and approved milestones. A guidance document was disseminated to all providers. Applicable adult education staff were required to complete an online course in Blackboard, “Measurable Skills Gain Updates”, and pass the end of course assessment.   

In FY22, GOAE and TCSG’s Technical Education division, in collaboration with Georgia’s Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL), were awarded the Aspen Institute’s Ascend 2Gen grant which focuses building family well-being by intentionally and simultaneously working with children and the adults in their lives together. The project focused on developing an understanding of the issues, challenges, and opportunities that impact educational attainment for single mothers and student parents in completing their high school equivalency and/or their post-secondary education. Grant efforts focused on identifying and removing barriers for student parents by increasing access to public benefits and creating strategies and policies that help resolve issues with access and wrap-around services.  Five adult education programs participated in the grant during the program year. GOAE plans to continue the work and expand to other adult education programs across the state in FY23.

Section 2

Performance Data Analysis

Describe how the adult education program performed in the overall assessment of core programs based on the core indicators of performance. Discuss how the assessment was used to improve quality and effectiveness of the funded eligible providers and any plans to further increase performance in future reporting years.

During FY22, GOAE continued its target negotiation process for local programs to set enrollment and Measurable Skills Gain (MSG) targets for the year. The purpose of the target negotiation process is to allow providers to negotiate reasonable, but ambitious, targets while still ensuring GOAE fulfills its roles and responsibilities as a pass-through entity of WIOA funds. GOAE provided local programs with data, a negotiations workbook, and factors to consider in a process that mimics the federal target negotiation process. GOAE then monitored each program’s progress towards their targets throughout the year and provided support accordingly.

GOAE’s data system, GALIS, produces state- and local-level reports to support regular data analysis by GOAE and local programs. For example, GOAE and local programs used Table 4 reports disaggregated by instructor, class, and student to monitor performance regularly. GOAE also created a weekly internal report to monitor each program’s progress towards its FY22 targets throughout the year. All programs received a mid-year data report from GOAE in January 2022 to show their progress, and programs falling behind their targets were provided targeted technical assistance. GOAE also implemented quarterly local program data quality reports that included benchmarks related to performance to help programs monitor their data throughout the year, such as post-test rates.

Georgia’s overall MSG percentage for FY22 was 46.01%, which did not meet the 90% threshold of the negotiated 53.8% target for FY22. Programs continued to face challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic during FY22 such as staffing shortages and student enrollment. Nevertheless, overall enrollment increased by 30% compared to the prior year and although MSG performance remained lower than pre-pandemic rates, the overall MSG percentage was six percentage points higher than the prior year. In FY22, GOAE began reporting MSGs for Integrated Education & Training (IET) and Workplace Literacy students.  Additionally, programs improved retention and overall post-test rates, both of which contributed to improved MSG performance. When analyzing students who did not earn gains, the majority of students were those who exited prior to earning an MSG.  Upon analysis, the percentage of students earning educational functioning level gains continues to be 13 percentage points lower than pre-pandemic percentages, indicating challenges with retention and student post-test success. GOAE plans to provide additional support for retention and instruction in FY23 including targeted professional development, access to instructional resources for staff and students, and implementing a customer relationship management tool to better engage students.

GOAE saw similar trends in enrollment and MSG for ABE and ESL students. Both ABE and ESL student enrollment increased by 30% in FY22 compared to the prior year, indicating a rebound in enrollment from the COVID-19 pandemic. However, overall enrollment remains 35% lower than pre-pandemic FY19 enrollment. GOAE will continue to provide marketing and recruitment support to programs in FY23 to continue to increase enrollment. ABE MSG performance increased by seven percentage points to 45% in FY22, and ESL MSG performance increased by two percentage points to 49%. The statewide post-test rate improved by five percentage points to 52% in FY22, and this increase was reflected for both ABE and ESL students. However, the post-test rate and MSG percentage for post-tested ABE students remains lower than ESL students. 49% of ABE students are post-tested, and the MSG performance for those students is 51%; for ESL students, the post-test rate is 61% and the MSG performance for those students is 77%. The combination of increased rigor of the TABE 11/12 and retention struggles continue to create challenges for achieving MSGs for ABE students. GOAE plans to provide technical assistance and access to instructional resources to assist programs in this area.

For the other indicators of performance, GOAE saw a five-percentage point increase in second quarter employment compared to FY21 and a two-percentage point increase in fourth quarter employment. GOAE saw a slight decrease of one percentage point in credential attainment, largely due to a change in business rules to reflect clarifications provided during an NRS webinar. GOAE also saw a decline in the overall raw number of participants included in the follow-up indicator calculations which is a reflection of the drop in enrollment from the pandemic and the time lag for cohort inclusion. In FY22, GOAE established specific strategic goals focused on employment and postsecondary transition outcomes to ensure our programs are also monitoring data in these areas. For instance, GOAE partnered with the technical college system to launch a “Keep GOing” marketing effort in FY22 that provided programs with templates and resources to support transitioning adult education students to postsecondary.

Programs continued to offer distance education and virtual services through the Blackboard learning management system in FY22, but also re-opened many in-person services during the year. In FY22, 39% of participants were classified as distance education and 42% of contact hours were proxy contact hours, compared to 62% distance education students and 64% proxy contact hours in FY21.

Given that FY22 was the second year GOAE implemented negotiated targets with local programs, GOAE used progress towards FY22 targets to identify programs for additional technical assistance throughout the year and placed three programs on Strategic Improvement Plans in FY23 based on FY22 performance. GOAE also used FY22 performance and its strategic initiatives to revise the target negotiation process for FY23 to include targets for IET credential attainment and HSE attainment. GOAE will continue to monitor progress towards these targets through regular data analysis, mid-year reports, and accountability conversations. Based on program performance, GOAE will implement technical assistance, Strategic Improvement Plans, sanctions, and incentives.

Section 3

Integration with One-stop Partners

Describe how the State eligible agency, as the entity responsible for meeting one-stop requirements under 34 CFR part 463, subpart J, carries out or delegates its required one-stop roles to eligible providers. Describe the applicable career services that are provided in the one-stop system. Describe how infrastructure costs are supported through State and local options.

Per 34 CFR § 463.415, GOAE delegated its required one-stop responsibilities to local providers. In Georgia, the 19 Local Workforce Delivery Areas (LWDAs) do not directly align with the service delivery areas of the state’s 30 adult education providers. Therefore, GOAE designated a primary adult education one-stop partner in each LWDA to fulfill one-stop partner responsibilities, including signing the MOU and paying infrastructure costs. Adult education programs that were not the primary one-stop partner were still required to engage with their local one-stop(s) by providing direct linkage to their services and participate in one-stop partner meetings.

GOAE accomplished this delegation through two grant assurances – one related to negotiating infrastructure costs and another related to ensuring programs have direct linkage to the one-stops in the LWDAs where they serve students.

Due to the ongoing effects of COVID-19, on-site services and staffing were impacted at the one-stop centers during much of the year. Most adult education programs provide career services opportunities through direct linkage and connected with one-stop clients and service partners through phone and virtual platforms.  One-stop clients were provided intake and instruction for adult education programs through electronic platforms and, where available, they were offered the opportunity to engage in in-person instruction for HSE, ESL, and citizenship preparation.  Three adult education programs were able to resume in-person services within the one-stop facilities during the year.

GOAE ensures adult education programs are fulfilling one-stop partner responsibilities through both desktop and onsite monitoring.  Onsite monitoring includes the review of one-stop MOU agreements and interviews with one-stop and LWDB representatives.  In addition, GOAE annually collects and reviews information regarding infrastructure costs payments made by adult education programs. 

Section 4

Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education

Describe how the state is using funds under Section 243 to support the following activities under the IELCE program:

IELCE Funds and grants

Describe when your State held a competition [the latest competition] for IELCE program funds and the number of grants awarded by your State to support IELCE programs.

In November 2020, GOAE closed its competitive grant round for the next four-year cycle which runs from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2025. To ensure services were available across the entire state, GOAE relaunched its Integrated English Literacy & Civics Education (IELCE) grant competition from March 2021 to April 2021. OAE awarded grants to 12 adult education programs throughout Georgia. A total of $1,951,350 was allocated in FY22 between the 12 adult education programs.  In June 2021, one IELCE adult education provider opted to return its IELCE grant award, leaving 11 IELCE providers for FY23. 

IELCE program spending was monitored throughout FY22 and was included on the FY22 mid-year report.  Adult education programs found to be underspending IELCE funds were provided technical assistance by GOAE senior leadership. 

A total of 3,077 IELCE students were served during FY22. Services for many programs continued to be impacted by the effects of COVID-19. In fact, two adult education programs remained full virtual for the year.

Training activity

Describe your State efforts in meeting the requirement to provide IELCE services in combination with integrated education and training activities;

All IELCE providers were required to offer GOAE-approved Integrated Education and Training opportunities to their students during the year. All IELCE providers met this requirement.

IELCE Section 243(c)(1)

Describe how the State is progressing towards program goals of preparing and placing IELCE program participants in unsubsidized employment in in-demand industries and occupations that lead to economic self-sufficiency as described in section 243(c)(1) and discuss any performance results, challenges, and lessons learned from implementing those program goals; and

A total of 217 IELCE students were served through IET offerings. The IETs were aligned to the workforce needs as identified in the local and regional workforce plans. Training opportunities included: Customer Service Representative, Microsoft Excel, Guest Services, and Forklift Operator.  These training opportunities were designed to support and ensure that participants had opportunities to enter the workforce as a part of in-demand industries and occupations that lead to economic self-sufficiency. Also, each program was required to have a designated Career Services Specialist to help students connect to meaningful employment opportunities.

IELCE Section 243(c)(2)

Describe how the State is progressing towards program goals of ensuring that IELCE program activities are integrated with the local workforce development system and its functions as described in section 243(c)(2) and discuss any performance results, challenges, and lessons learned from implementing those program goals.

While all IELCE providers met the requirement of offering approved IET opportunities, not all programs had ongoing opportunities for their students to engage in IET across the full span of the year. Therefore, to further strengthen IET efforts and outcomes, changes were made to policies and procedures in FY23, including the requirement for local programs to negotiate credential attainment numbers and to have IET opportunities for students in each quarter of the program year. IECLE providers were also strongly encouraged to engage with their workforce partners through the local workforce development board meetings and one-stop partner meetings. 

Section 5

Adult Education Standards

If your State has adopted new challenging K-12 standards under title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended, describe how your Adult Education content standards are aligned with those K-12 standards.

GOAE adopted the College and Career Readiness Standards (CCRS) for ABE/ASE student instruction and the English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS) for ESL student instruction when they were released in 2014.  In FY22, GOAE continued to provide professional development offerings with an emphasis on the consistent implementation of the CCRS and ELP standards. This was supported through partnering with the National Center for Families Learning for three introductory online courses that were offered in the Fall of 2021 and in the Spring of 2022 for new adult educators learning about the CCRS or the ELPS for their instructional planning and student support practices. GOAE further supported ABE/ASE instructor professional development in the area of implementing the CCRS standards through a follow-up ten-week course it developed on exploring the standards. Additionally, GOAE supported ESL adult educators through the recommendation of LINCS courses to further explore the implementation of the ELPS standards.

During FY22, GOAE’s four Grant Program Support Coordinators (GPSC) monitored local program use of the standards through on-site and virtual visits to programs.  This included reviewing lesson plans and classroom instruction to ensure usage of the standards, alignment of the teaching objectives, and lesson content connected to the identified standard(s).  A standard Quality Instruction Rubric (QIR) was used by GOAE to assess lesson plans and instruction.  The QIR assesses lesson plans and instruction in the areas of: Learning Objectives and Standards Alignment, Emphasis on Support and Community, Applied Learning, Peer-to-Peer Interaction, and Mastery of Concepts.  All adult education programs have been provided training on the QIR.  Additionally, an online course was developed at the on-set of the pandemic and is updated annually so that new teachers and administrators can receive the necessary training. 

The GPSC team also provided targeted training and technical assistance to the designated local program Instructional Leader(s).  All trainings either focused on or included the importance of standard-based instruction.  Topics included:

  • Focus on Standards and Lesson Plan
  • Teacher Observation and Feedback
  • Supporting Teachers with HSE Outcomes
  • Onboarding Plans and Practices
Section 6

Programs for Corrections Education (AEFLA Section 225)

What was the relative rate of recidivism for criminal offenders served? Please describe the methods and factors used in calculating the rate for this reporting period.

The Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) has a distinct and independently funded education program for offenders. Since GDC’s funds are not enough to serve all offenders and all facilities, adult education local providers support these efforts by offering classes in prisons, local jails, day reporting centers, and substance abuse centers. During FY22, 24 adult education programs served 1,770 correctional students throughout the state. As programs worked to reopen classes in correctional facilities, enrollment in correctional facilities almost doubled (91% increase) compared to FY21. Corrections students earned 866 measurable skills gains in 1,795 periods of participation (48.25%), which was eight percentage points greater than the previous year, indicating a continued rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Five local adult education providers were able to offer Integrated Education and Training (IET) as part of their educational services within correctional settings for inmates that were approaching re-entry. These programs served 222 inmates through IET offerings that included Forklift Operator and Welding. 184 inmates earned industry-recognized credentials. 

GDC’s recidivism rate calculation looks at new arrests or parole violations with returns to prison within three years. During FY21, GOAE worked with the Technical College System of Georgia’s Data and Research team to establish a data sharing agreement with GDC to begin calculating recidivism rates specifically for GOAE correctional students. GOAE also began collecting GDC identification numbers for adult education students in GALIS to assist with the data match. GOAE is still working to improve the match rate, and during FY22, GOAE identified additional questions regarding the GDC data shared. As a result, the latest recidivism rate available based on FY18 releases for incarcerated adults completing GOAE programming (and who matched to GDC data) was 12%, compared to 29% for the general incarcerated population according to the latest report from GDC.