State Leadership Funds (Adult education and family literacy act Section 223 (AEFLA))
AEFLA Section 223(1)(a)
New Mexico invested the majority of funds made available under Section 223 in three primary buckets: (1) Supporting the Literacy Pro contract for our LACES database and support for the use of that database, (2) Professional development initiatives and opportunities, including the services of three consultants with distinct roles, and (3) state staff salaries. We also used state leadership funds for (4) activities related to outreach in the state related to adult education, travel for state staff to attend professional development opportunities, and state office supplies.
To support implementation of strategies and initiatives in New Mexico’s Combined State Plan, the former and current State Directors and staff members engaged in various initiatives and participated actively in cross-agency committees and task forces. One state staff member’s role (our Education/Workforce Development Systems Specialist) continues to be partly dedicated to supporting partnerships, alignment, and the implementation of strategies and initiatives in New Mexico’s Combined State Plan. State staff actively represent Adult Education on state, regional, and local partnership initiatives and governance structures, from serving as part of the multi-agency WIOA state leadership team to serving on myriad committees and task forces, including Director Gallup serving on the state workforce development board. State staff largely contributed to many related cross-agency collaborations, at times taking a lead role. Examples: (1) RISE NM & The New Mexico Longitudinal Data Project, (2) Collaborating with the Public Education Department to authorize the National External Diploma Program (NEDP) as an alternative to the high-stakes HSE testing route, with nine implementing agencies vetted and selected by the end of the program year, and (3) Supporting New Mexico’s state-level membership in the national Pathways to Prosperity Network for a second year and collaborating in a formal partnership with national nonprofit JFF to solidify a cross-agency collaboration between the Higher Education Department and other state agencies who had all separately identified education and career pathways that lead to high-wage, in-demand jobs as a key strategy to support educational attainment and economic advancement for New Mexicans.
The JFF Pathways collaboration has been strategically tied to one of our longitudinal professional development initiatives, facilitated by Jeff Fantine. For the last three years, our office has funded and collaborated on the longitudinal Career Pathways Initiative (CPI) to support local Adult Education programs’ adoption and strengthening of career pathway-oriented service delivery models. One of many critical aspects of this service delivery model includes the formation of effective partnerships, including with core WIOA Title partners, local workforce development boards, American Job Centers or “One Stops,” employers, school districts, and other community organizations and partners. PY 21/22 was the final year of this field-based initiative. Technical Assistance and Coaching (TAC) teams were formed around five topics: New programs/leadership, developing partnerships, contextualizing instruction, IET development, and serving English language learners in career pathways. With the development and expansion IETs one key focus of CPI Year 3, several new IET programs were launched and more are slated for development. Many of the lessons learned and tools created during the CPI continue to inform and populate the state PD system and Propel website, as described in the next section.
AEFLA Section 223(1)(b)
NMHED-AE provides high-quality professional development (PD) opportunities for local programs throughout the year. In PY 21/22, 7 teams of New Mexico adult education administrators and teachers participated in the intensive, virtual Student Achievement in Reading (STAR) program. At the state level, New Mexico’s participation was spearheaded by State Director Gallup. Through our three professional development contracts, we offered numerous high-quality PD programs throughout the year, including Teaching Skills that Matter (TSTM) presentations and a course; Training from the BACK of the Room (TBR); monthly tech talks and ESL technical assistance webinars; a monthly data quality and performance webinar with LiteracyPro; the third year of a highly successful Career Pathways Institute that resulted in shareable resources and projects on a wide variety of career pathways topics; access to a series of Pathways to Success Webinars; and a series of customized, virtual technical assistance workshops from LINCS on the topic of serving students with disabilities. Moreover, in partnerships with the New Mexico Adult Education Association (NMAEA) and the New Mexico Teachers of Speakers of Other Languages (NM TESOL), we co-hosted a 2-day fall virtual Teachers’ Institute and an in-person spring Adult Education Conference that offered numerous content tracks for all the different services our programs provide.
We are particularly proud of two PD innovations this year in New Mexico. The first is the development of the Propelnm.org website, which is a practitioner-focused adult education website that provides a tremendous amount of support to our local programs, including contact information, a frequently-updated state calendar, announcements, links to all policies and forms, guidance and resources, and much more. Prominently featured on that site is an entryway to our PD Portal, where practitioners can access online learning opportunities. The site and portal are part of the comprehensive PD system we are designing and implementing in New Mexico. The second innovation we are proud of this year is the extent to which we have involved our adult education field in the development of the system. In PY 21-22, a large number of adult educators participated for months in practitioner-led PD planning groups on the topics of PD policy, credentialing, and PD content. Their thoughtful recommendations led to the development of a state PD policy and informed, and will continue to inform, key decisions in system design.
Our consultants and staff also participated in PD opportunities in order to better support our programs and promote continuous improvement. In addition to LACES training for all state staff, state staff members and the State PD Coordinator (a consultant through the University of New Mexico-Valencia) participated in the Coalition on Adult Basic Education (COABE) conference, the IDEAL Consortium Summer Institute, a Jobs for the Future (JFF) Pathways to Prosperity national meeting, and numerous other learning opportunities.
AEFLA Section 223(1)(c)
Technical assistance (TA) was provided to programs by request and as structurally initiated by NMHED-AE. In PY 21/22, structurally initiated forms of TA included key updates of tools and policies, including our Data Policy and all of our monitoring tools; monthly virtual meetings with program directors, in which we provided guidance and discussed key issues relevant to compliance and performance; twice-weekly email updates to directors on compliance, performance, and upcoming opportunities; the development of the Propeln.org website that provides a wealth of resources for programs; the development of a New Hire Handbook for all new program staff; monthly data quality and performance webinars hosted by LiteracyPro for all directors and data techs; and customized TA prompted by data and financial desk reviews and site visits.
NMHED-AE provides TA by request as well. We emphasize that program staff should freely contact us, and all state staff respond to multiple requests for TA a week. Our Data Administrator responds to multiple TA requests each hour. We have a warm and closely collaborative relationship with local programs in New Mexico which lends itself well to just-in-time TA. If the state staff are not able to answer a question or provide specific TA, we are often able to connect program staff to their knowledgeable peers and to our professional development consultants, who ably offer the assistance with our oversight.
AEFLA Section 223(1)(d)
The primary purpose of program monitoring is to provide program oversight. This oversight monitoring ensures that funded programs comply with the federal and state requirements of the grant funding. This monitoring includes the review of fiscal and data processes and procedures, expenditures, provided services, eligible students, and other aspects of the grant agreement and federal and state regulations and requirements. Another critical purpose of program monitoring is to promote continuous program improvement. In our program improvement monitoring, we examine data and performance records, curriculum, program management, teacher and staff development and training, curriculum, and other program related components in order to assist programs in meeting students’ needs.
Our monitoring activities around compliance, fiscal management, data integrity and performance, and program management are carried out on an ongoing and regular basis throughout the year, as well as through formal site visits. Ongoing monitoring and evaluation on fiscal management and data integrity are both carried out through monthly desk review, which may prompt one-on-one technical assistance and/or correction of individual programs. In addition to monthly desk reviews, data integrity and performance are also reviewed with programs on a quarterly basis in synchronous virtual meetings and technical assistance is further provided through monthly data and performance webinars led by LiteracyPro. Fiscal desk review involved processing requests for reimbursement for state and federal grants, and the comparison of these requests to program budgets and allowable costs rules. Ongoing monitoring and evaluation on program management, including WIOA partnerships, IET, and funded work under WIOA Sections 225 and 243, are carried out through frequent, one-on-one interaction with our program staff. Technical assistance provided to programs was reinforced through monthly all-program meetings and twice-weekly email updates from the state office, as well as through targeted professional development opportunities.
Programs turned in their annual reports by September 1. We read these reports and used the information gleaned from them, as well as information about each program contributed by each staff member according to their area of expertise, to evaluate local programs for risk. The NMHED-AE team completed our Risk Assessment Tool in the fall of 2021 on all 26 AEFLA-funded programs and identified six programs as priorities to visit in program year 2021-2022. The programs identified for Site Visits during the 2021-2022 program year were Northern New Mexico College (NNMC), Gordon Bernell Community School (GBCS), Youth Development, Inc. (YDI), Catholic Charities (CC), Southeast New Mexico College (SENMC), and Luna Community College (LCC). A NMHED-AE staff member’s surgery and wildfires that threatened one of the communities caused the postponement of two of the visits (SENMC and LCC) to October 2022.
Formal site visits provide us the opportunity to take a deeper and more wholistic look at each program. In PY 21/22, site visits followed a hybrid model with an online Entrance Meeting, followed by in-person program, data, and fiscal meetings, and an online Exit Meeting in which the Site Visit Report and Program Enhancement Plan (PEP) were reviewed between the NMHED-AE team and AEFLA Program staff and administration. NMHED-AE staff systematically monitored the PEPs in PY 21/22, and continue to do so now, to ensure that technical assistance is provided as needed and that deadlines for each item are met.
NMHED-AE revised its monitoring procedures and implemented more thorough practices in PY 21/22. Our revised documents are posted online for our programs in an effort towards increased transparency and partnership in continuous program improvement (https://sites.google.com/nmdelt.org/propelnm/policies-accountability/monitoring-reporting?authuser=0). Our revised monthly data review survey is located here: Monthly Program Performance Collection (office.com)
AEFLA Section 223(a)(2)
Many of the items we briefly discuss in this section are also covered elsewhere in this report.
- For the last three program years, New Mexico has participated in a statewide Career Pathways Initiative (CPI), under the guidance of Jeff Fantine. PY 21/22 was the third and final year of CPI. In this year, Dr. Fantine created a number of Technical Assistance/Coaching (TAC) groups that led participants through almost a year skills-building, coaching, and tool development on five separate topics: new programs/leadership, developing partnerships, contextualizing instruction, creating and delivering IET programs, and serving English language learners in career pathways. Dr. Fantine showcased the outcomes of these TAC groups at the spring Adult Education Conference through interactive poster sessions and through a half-day virtual symposium for NM practitioners in the summer of 2021 that explored a regional approach to delivering IET programs and employer-driven IET programs. CPI Year 3 led to significant innovation in our field.
- It should be noted that in PY 21/22, the New Mexico passed the Opportunity Scholarship, legislation carried by NMHED. The Opportunity Scholarship is currently the most progressive and comprehensive free college program in the country, and it benefits adult learners of any age, those who are pursuing certificates and two-year degrees, in either community colleges or 4-year institutions. In addition, in our work as a member of Jobs for the Future’s (JFF) Pathways to Prosperity Network, NMHED-AE initiated a cross-agency dialogue on the topic of pathways between adult education. This cross-agency work in PY 21/22 culminated in a day-long symposium that brought together decision-makers from five executive agencies in New Mexico, including several members of Cabinet leadership, to discuss a way forward in the development of career pathways in New Mexico and clear transitions from Adult Education. We plan to sustain this cross-agency work through participation in several state task forces, as well as through NMHED’s participation in Complete College America. We also identified barriers to post-secondary transitions for adult learners in our state, including the poor implements of Ability to Benefit, complicated and often intimidating testing and institutional barriers to enrollment, the requirements for developmental education courses – which can be expensive for students over time, and lack of supports and flexibility a for adult learners who do matriculate in post-secondary education.
- One of the major innovations in outreach to students and other organizations around the state was the creation of our Online Student Intake Portal, maintained by LiteracyPro. This portal allows potential students to provisionally apply to adult education programs from anywhere through a simple URL. Our workforce partners, our library partners, and other organizations can easily refer potential learners to adult education through the online portal. When they fill out the intake information, their information will be automatically ingested into LACES and learners will receive contact information for programs in their area, and the programs themselves will also receive the learners’ information. We anticipate that this portal will help us raise enrollment, reach more rural students, cut down on data entry time for overworked data techs, and strengthen connections between our local programs and community partners. The state office also created customizable flyers in Spanish and English with the intake portal reduced to an easy-to-use QR code.
Performance Data Analysis
Enrollment and its dynamic serve as a good indicator of overall health of the program. New Mexico’s NRS enrollment trends for the past four years are highlighted in the table below.
|
Program Year |
Beginning Literacy |
Adult Education |
Adult Secondary Education |
ESL |
Total Enrollment |
|
PY 18/19 |
2632 |
3813 |
361 |
4,112 |
10,918 |
|
PY 19/20 |
2275 |
3462 |
230 |
3,527 |
9,494 |
|
PY 20/21 |
1367 |
2264 |
255 |
1,424 |
5,310 |
|
PY 21/22 |
1410 |
2375 |
259 |
2,010 |
6,054 |
The enrollment in PY 21/22 started showing signs of post-pandemic recovery. While the enrollment fell over 44% in PY 20/21 from PY 19/20, it increased by over 14% in PY 21/22. The largest increase was in ESL enrollment that showed growth of over 41%. While numbers have not reached the pre-pandemic levels just yet, a gradual recovery in numbers of participants is expected. Different local programs showed different performance in enrollment numbers, with a spread between 37% decrease to 160% increase in enrollment. New Mexico is hoping to use face-to-face instruction alongside the online learning experience gained through the pandemic to increase the enrollment by more than 14% in PY 22/23 and get closer to pre-pandemic levels.
Another important performance indicator to examine is measurable skill gains. Four years of the aggregate data is presented in the following table.
Measurable Skill Gains
|
Program Year |
ABE Level 1 |
ABE Level 2 |
ABE Level 3 |
ABE Level 4 |
ABE Level 5 |
ABE Level 6 |
ESL |
Total Enrollment |
|
PY 18/19 |
37.1% |
37.4% |
33.3% |
33.9% |
42.2% |
37.8% |
36.4% |
35.7% |
|
PY 19/20 |
37.9% |
32.2% |
28.9% |
31.7% |
30.2% |
16.7% |
29.4% |
30.3% |
|
PY 20/21 |
40.3% |
31.8% |
28.3% |
33.3% |
27.1% |
29.4% |
31.1% |
31% |
|
PY 21/22 |
37.5% |
36.4% |
37.1% |
42.8% |
31.9% |
40.3% |
33.9% |
36.5% |
Overall % MSGs have improved significantly in PY21/22 - by more than 5% - and have now surpassed pre-pandemic levels. The same trend can be seen in almost all MSGs levels. The largest increase is seen in ABE Level 6. While the MSGs were either decreasing or staying steady in PY 18/19 – PY 20/21, this is a first increase seen in recent years. It can be attributed to program recovery from the pandemic as well as improved data procedures.
Post-exit indicators also serve an important role in overall assessment of program performance and are presented in the next table.
|
Indicator of Performance |
PY 20/21 |
PY 21/22 |
Target for PY 21/22 |
Difference of Targets to PY 21/22 Performance |
|
Employment 2d Quarter after Exit |
22.0% |
37.2% |
25.0% |
+12.2% |
|
Employment 4th Quarter after Exit |
10.6% |
23.5% |
35.3% |
-11.8% |
|
Median Earnings Employment 2d quarter after Exit |
3,730.30 |
4,219.96 |
3,220.00 |
+999.96 |
|
Credential rate |
26.86% |
22.8% |
37.1% |
-14.3% |
Most of the core performance indicators have increased in PY 21/22 compared to PY 20/21. The only decrease is seen in Credential attainment rate. This decrease can be attributed to the remaining effects of the pandemic since this indicator lags a year behind the reporting year. The decrease can also be attributed to difficulties with our post-secondary match. Employment 4th Quarter after-exit and Credential rate are still below the negotiated targets. Improvements in gathering after-exit information are planned for next year. Initiatives to encourage credential attainment rate are also in process during PY 22/23.
Integration with One-stop Partners
With the addition of one FTE dedicated partly to partnership-building, since 2018 NMHED-AE has made cultivating increasingly strong and productive relationships with core WIOA partners and providers in New Mexico a top priority. As the state’s eligible AEFLA entity, this program year we continued to operate on two levels to address this priority and to meet our legislative requirements, including one-stop requirements: (1) On the state level, working with the Department of Workforce Solutions (DWS), one-stop leadership, and other state agency core partners as part of New Mexico’s WIOA leadership team, largely responsible for creating the Combined State Plan and centrally supporting its implementation, and (2) On the internal and local levels, supporting our local AEFLA subgrantee providers in their workforce region-based WIOA partnership efforts, including the creation and implementation of Local Area Plans and actively collaborating to fulfill our collective one-stop obligations. Title II has strong workforce board and committee membership on both levels. In PY 21/22, NMHED-AE continued to delegate the responsibility of negotiating appropriate one-stop infrastructure costs to local Adult Education subgrantee programs, with our office providing guidance and additional support with the MOU process as requested or needed.
Providing enhanced coaching on building stronger WIOA partnerships at the local level--including working with local one-stop providers--was among the key priorities which shaped our final year of the longitudinal Career Pathway Initiative. While all local Adult Education programs have now built basic career exploration and navigation into their service delivery models, programs rely on partnerships with Title I and one-stops to provide complimentary and more extensive career services and training. Without an interoperable data system, smooth referrals and program participant tracking continued to be a primary challenge for all partners (especially since Title II is typically not co-located in our state’s one-stops), but the state’s Longitudinal Data Project, co-led by NMHED, is in development and on track to address this pressing need. In addition, NMHED-AE’s launch of a new online student intake portal, accessible by all partners, helped to reduce this service barrier. The COVID pandemic continued to be a large operational factor in PY 21/22. However, our local AE programs and one-stops were increasingly able to resume at least some of the in-person career, education, and training services that had been frozen or significantly disrupted in the prior year.
Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education
IELCE Funds and grants
New Mexico held a competition for both AEFLA and IELCE in spring of 2021. Eight Adult Education programs applied for IELCE funding: six previously funded programs and two new programs. All eight were selected for funding. Seven of the programs are connected to higher education institutions and one is a community-based organization. The programs receiving IELCE funding are Catholic Charities (CC), Doña Ana Community College (DACC), Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell (ENMU-Ros), Eastern New Mexico University- Ruidoso (ENMU-Rui), Santa Fe Community College (SFCC), University of New Mexico- Los Alamos (UNM-LA), University of New Mexico- Taos (UNM-T), and University of New Mexico- Valencia (UNM-V).
Training activity
Our state encourages, but does not require, IELCE programs to enroll students in integrated education and training activities. Instead, we encourage them to provide access to IETs for all students whenever possible, and we require them to always incorporate other contextualized workforce preparation activities into their courses. The eight local programs that receive IELCE funding work to meet the requirement to provide IELCE services in combination with integrated education and training activities, and contextualized workforce training opportunities, in a variety of ways. CC, UNM-V, ENMU-Ros, and UNM-T all use Burlington English and other software programs to integrate language acquisition activities with level-appropriate workforce preparation activities. Most of these programs also offer one or more IET programs. DACC, ENMU-Rui, SFCC, UNM-T, and CC offer IET programs and encourage IELCE student participation in the programs. At UNM-LA, IELCE students learn soft skills and job skills in a contextualized classroom. This program’s IELCE offerings are in development and the program is working on partnerships with one employer so far, and enhancing their workforce preparation activities. All IET programs at DACC are open to IELCE students while SFCC’s IELCE students are allowed to matriculate into their IBEST classes (their form of IET) when they achieve a Level 5 or 6 proficiency. ENMU-Rui’s classroom instruction is provided by both a CTE and adult education instructor and the program provides supplementary and student support services. At UNM-T the ESL Coordinator works closely with the campus Student Resource Navigator to assess and address both the academic and non-academic needs of the students, including IELCE students. Students in the Community Health Worker (CHW) and Solar Technology IET programs have been supported by the ESL Coordinator including tutoring sessions to support the class instruction.
IELCE Section 243(c)(1)
Many IELCE programs describe partnerships that play a role in preparing and placing IELCE students in unsubsidized employment in in-demand industries and occupations that lead to economic self-sufficiency. ENMU-Rui has established collaborative relationships with local institutions and business including the Lincoln County Medical Center, the Village of Ruidoso, and Region IX to work with students on the workplace skills the IELCE students need to be successful in the workforce. SFCC refers IELCE students to the Academic and Career Education Program, IBEST Program, Literacy Volunteers of Santa Fe, and the Department of Workforce Solutions to help them secure preparation and placement in employment opportunities. DACC targets preparing students to enter unsubsidized employment but relies on WIOA Core Partners to facilitate placement. Similarly, UNM-LA partners with the local One-Stop representative who give in-person and online presentations and help IELCE students create individual Workforce accounts and portfolios. ENMU-Ros has a strong relationship and is in close proximity to the regional workforce office. This helps them provide wraparound support services to IELCE students. They have also engaged students in a variety of activities including applied citizenship preparation, civic participation, field trips that support class instruction, peer-to-peer learning, and technology. Further, they have developed community partnerships to provide additional resources to IELCE students. Three programs, DACC, UNM-T and ENMU-Ros also are seeking ways to help IELCE students get foreign transcripts translated. All three programs report that this is a challenge for students who have received post-secondary education in other countries. Often it is easier for these students to obtain an American HSE than get their foreign transcripts translated. However, these programs acknowledge that these students could benefit from having these credentials evaluated so they could enter relevant training and employment opportunities that match their educations. All of our IELCE programs have expressed strong concerns and frustrations regarding the requirement to connect students to employment in the state and national context of severe hiring restrictions imposed upon economic migrants who are not able to obtain the proper documentation.
IELCE Section 243(c)(2)
The eight IELCE programs work towards the program goal of ensuring that IELCE program activities are integrated with the local workforce development system in a variety of ways. UNM-V integrates information on high-demand industries, especially health care, and labor market information, as a part of career exploration in IELCE classes. ENMU-Rui uses state and local labor market information to identify local in-demand occupations and guides IELCE students into certificate programs in the Career Technical Education program such as Certified Nursing Assistant and Cyber Security. They assist students with resumes, applications, and post-secondary credentials. CC also incorporates labor market analysis in their IELCE classes but takes it a step further and trains all students to use the Workforce Connections online portal where they can upload resumes and explore career options. Similarly, ENMU-Ros invites WIOA Partners to attend IELCE class orientation and present information on eligible training providers, labor market information, and requirements for entering each program of interest to the students. UNM-LA works with local providers to educate and involve IELCE students in pursuing local jobs with good earning potential. IELCE classes receive live presentations from the local One-Stop representatives. A challenge for the program has been getting outside agencies and employers to visit the IELCE program and give live presentations. DACC is building a partnership with the Career Services Department on its campus in order to help guide help guide students through the process of foreign credential evaluation and allow students with credentials from their native countries to transfer their skills to the job market in Southern New Mexico. SFCC describes its IELCE population as already at work in the local community and sees that as proof of integration into the local workforce development system. UNM-T, SFCC, and other programs expressed concern and frustration in PY 21/22 about barriers that IELCE students have with integrating with the local workforce system because of a lack of social security numbers. They have found that to be a barrier that keeps their IELCE students from accessing workforce services and resources from HELP New Mexico, the WIOA Title I provider in their area.
Adult Education Standards
In 2010, the New Mexico Legislature adopted the Common Core State Standards for K-12. NMHED has adopted the College and Career Readiness Standards (CCRS) developed by OCTAE to align with the Common Core Standards. All courseware and lesson plans used by Adult Education programs statewide must align with CCRS and thus align to the Common Core. NMHED-AE has no significant changes on this front for this reporting period, other than to emphasize that all state-sponsored PD initiatives are designed in part to support local AE program providers’ increased competency with respect to designing lessons and instruction aligned to CCRS. NMHED-AE also promotes alignment with the English Language Proficiency (ELP) Standards for those programs that offer English as a Second Language instruction. Both may be accessed on our state website for practitioners, Propelnm.org at this tab: Propel NM - Content Standards (google.com)
Programs for Corrections Education (AEFLA Section 225)
The New Mexico Corrections Department (NMCD) supplied us with the data below, indicating they had taken offenders from the LACES database NRS Table 4 FY 18-19 and compared them against the offender population released during FY19 to determine the population from NRS Table 4 that were released. They then calculated the recidivism rate for the overall population released in FY19, defined as individuals who returned to custody within 3 years.
Number of Offenders Released during Period: 3348
Not Meeting NRS Table 4 Criteria: 3067
Meeting NRS Table 4 Criteria: 281
Number of Offenders Returned within Specified Time Period: 1244
Not Meeting NRS Table 4 Criteria: 1113
Meeting NRS Table 4 Criteria: 131
Baseline Recidivism Rate (Returns / Releases): 37.16%
Not Meeting NRS Table 4 Criteria: 36.3%
Meeting NRS Table 4 Criteria: 46.6%
NMCD emphasized the following when they supplied this data: “Although the NRS 4 table participants have a higher recidivism rate, we are comparing it with a group that will include those who already have an HSD/HSE or other types of certifications. There are many other factors that can impact recidivism including demographics, level of education, participation in other programming pre and post-release, employment post-release, etc.”
Our Education & Workforce Development Systems Specialist, Michelle Ribeiro, has significant Corrections Education expertise and continued to spearhead much of our collaborative work with New Mexico’s Section 225 Adult Education providers and other partners. She also continued to support multiple initiatives and working groups on the national level, including a new appointment this year to COABE’s Prison Education task force.