Narrative Report | National Reporting System

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)

The Agency of Education (AOE) worked with core partners in the spring of 2022 to modify the Combined State Plan and with the Vermont State Workforce Development Board to develop and revise a one-stop partner MOU. Both activities required virtual meetings and coordination of reviewing and revising draft text. AOE continued to participate in the Adult Re-Entry Strategies (ARES) cross-disciplinary workgroup that includes core partners. ARES is led by the Department of Corrections, that has been awarded the grant to reduce recidivism for moderate to high-risk offenders by helping them successfully transition to employment, which often includes access to education and job training. In PY21, the group met five times virtually to review progress of grant pilot programs. One pilot involves community groups in two strategic areas of the state: Burlington, the most populated region and St. Johnsbury, which is in a very rural region known as the Northeast Kingdom. These pilot groups, comprised of groups that provide services to adults re-entering, have been meeting to identify how best to coordinate the transition from incarceration. Coordination of services between service programs is imperative – services that focus on what will be needed immediately and what other services may follow once the adults re-entering have met certain requirements of their release.

To address two strategies in the state plan, Department of Labor and AOE staff began meeting together in PY21 to explore possibilities for expanding access to Registered Apprenticeships and to preparing AEL providers to develop and implement pre-apprenticeship programs that may also be delivered as Integrated Education and Training programs. Planning for a series of regional virtual trainings began in PY21 for AEL providers that will include the basics of Registered Apprenticeships, the employers by region who have RAs, the identified skills needed for some RAs, and the basics of pre-apprenticeship programs to meet RA pre-requisite skills. These trainings will occur in the spring of 2023.

The AEL state director continued to meet with one-stop partners in order to orient them further to the work of Title II. During the reporting period, such meetings took place with the new executive director of the State Workforce Development Board, Department of Labor staff working to provide services and supports to refugees through the workforce development division, and colleagues at the Agency of Education including the English Language Program Coordinator under ESSA. The state director also consulted with several high school staff to provide information about Title II services available to adult English Language Learners.

Another strategy in the state plan involves assisting employers in accessing and retaining qualified workers. AEL providers have been tracking the services they provide to employers since PY20 and sharing the data with the Department of Labor to be included in the Statewide report for the Effectiveness in Serving Employers indicator. In PY21, AEL providers served 24 employers around the state with information about the one-stop system and services available, access to training, and services to improve skill levels of employees.

Finally, a new component of the core program’s data share agreement was implemented for the first time in PY21. The AOE now shares data quarterly with Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) that provides co-enrollment information and VR is able to track any MSGs and other accomplishments of their customers through their participation in AEL.

AEFLA Section 223(1)(b)

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

Vermont AEL providers increased their student enrollment and engagement this year. In order to further this upward trend the State continued to provide technical assistance, described below. The State also disseminated information on professional development (PD) provided by other entities, such as the EdTech Center of World Education, LINCS, and webinars and opportunities provided by the Vermont Agency of Education and other State agencies. Statewide-sponsored professional development topics included career exploration, serving students with learning disabilities, and teacher competencies.

Twenty virtual professional development events were delivered during the year. State presented events included training on the State’s Adult Education and Literacy database, Vermont’s High School Completion Program (HSCP), and the National Reporting System. The State created participant evaluations and received mostly positive feedback from field staff participants. Over 90% of participant responses indicated “Excellent” or “Good” when asked how they would rate the training, and 100% of participant responses indicated that they “Agree” or “Strongly Agree” that they would recommend the training to others.

Events presented by State-level staff:

Event	Date	Attendance
Data Specialist Training	8/25/21	11
Data Specialist Training	12/7/21	12
Data Specialist 101	1/27/22	12
HSCP Plan Manager and Program Director Training	1/20/22	27
Annual NRS Refresher (held twice)	5/20/22; 5/26/22	34; 35
Data Specialist Training	6/16/22	12

PD events related to the administration of assessments:

Event	Date	Attendance
BEST Plus 2.0 New Administrator Training (held twice)	11/8/21 - 11/10/21; 11/15/21 - 11/19/21	3; 1
BEST Plus 2.0 Refresher	5/19/22	9
Introduction to Assessment for Adult Education	8/2/21 – 8/27/22	5
Teaching Excellence in Adult Literacy (TEAL) - Writing	8/30/21 – 9/10/21	2
Teaching Excellence in Adult Literacy (TEAL) - Math	8/30/21 – 9/10/21	3

Through Vermont’s continued membership in the New England Literacy Resource Center (NELRC), webinars developed and hosted by NELRC staff were made available to local provider staff. The NELRC annual workshops developed in collaboration with the AOE were titled: “Hone your Skills: Career Exploration Tools and Approaches”; and “Language-Based Learning Disabilities: Overview and Strategies for Teaching Adults”. The former was attended by 11 Vermont AEL provider staff and the latter was attended by 22 Vermont AEL provider staff. We are looking into coordinating a follow up event for the Language-Based Learning Disabilities workshop based on positive participant feedback.

The State also promoted attendance for the NELRC webinar titled “Equity, Program Improvement, and Collaboration: What Data Can Do for You” presented live in PY21. The recording is available on the NELRC website.

AEFLA Section 223(1)(c)

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

The AOE provided 27 technical assistance (TA) meetings with leadership and other local AEL provider staff during the reporting period. The AOE continued to provide an increased level of TA specific to individual AEL providers this year. Events included:

7 meetings with all four AEL provider leadership staff. TA included topics such as the GED, community re-entry for incarcerated individuals, the Seal of Biliteracy, professional development opportunities, policy changes, and group troubleshooting through sharing of local challenges;
2 meetings with providers about progress toward targets and benchmarks language introduced in the revised grant agreements;
1 FY22 budget discussion with an individual provider;
12 meetings with individual provider leadership staff to review progress toward performance targets, grant agreement requirements, distance education services, IET programs, and PD/TA needs;
1 individual provider meeting to discuss their grant narrative;
3 meetings with individual providers on IET development and implementation; and
1 individual provider meeting to discuss HSCP students.

Dissemination of resources and information included links to a research study on the literacy skill differences between adult native English and native Spanish speakers, the EdTech Center’s Integration Strategy Toolkit and Distance Education Strategy webinars, and the American School Counselor Association’s Career Development Month webinars. The AOE began a weekly Resource Spotlight through their listserv, making the field aware of the many online resources available to them, including NELRC’s The Change Agent, the EdTech Center’s Digital Skills Library and the National Skills Coalition’s Resources webpage.

AEFLA Section 223(1)(d)

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

The AOE conducts quarterly desk monitoring in several ways. For those students receiving reimbursable services under the state-funded High School Completion Program, each student record is audited for accuracy, updated information such as goals and achievements, valid assessments, and appropriate instructional services. Other quarterly monitoring includes each AEL provider to review progress toward performance targets to identify challenges and successes. Beginning in PY21, the AOE includes in AEL grant agreements a list of expectations for progress toward meeting established Federal and State targets known as “benchmarks”. For example, at mid-year, AEL providers are expected to have reached these benchmarks:

By December 31, 2021, the subrecipient will be expected to meet the following benchmarks to demonstrate progress toward meeting the annual targets:

50% of total students served
90% of students with baseline assessment
25% of students with progress assessment

If subrecipient is falling short of two or more of the mid-year benchmarks, the subrecipient will be required to develop a CIP (Continuous Improvement Plan). The CIP will need to include specific strategies that ensure meeting the annual performance targets before July 1, 2022.

Benchmarks were also developed for the end of the third quarter. In this way, AEL providers are held accountable for continuous work toward meeting the annual targets. The practice of reviewing these benchmarks at mid-year and the end of the third quarter resulted in a deeper conversation with each individual provider into their recruitment, engagement and assessment practices. No AEL providers were required to submit a Continuous Improvement Plan because they met at least two out of the three benchmarks each quarter. The AOE reviews the number of students without progress (post-test) assessments although they have received at least 40 hours of instruction and asks questions about specific students in order to better understand the barriers to assessing. This desk monitoring led to improved outcomes this year for student recruitment and engagement, but we continue to struggle to improve the progress assessment rate. More on this issue is discussed in the Performance Data Analysis section below.

AEFLA Section 223(a)(2)

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

Vermont continues to participate in the New England Literacy Resource Center with four other New England States. Participation of AEL provider leadership in board meetings was strongly encouraged. The AOE’s State Director of Adult Education and Literacy participated in three board meetings and nine meetings with other state directors in the NELRC. The state directors’ group shared knowledge and strategies on such topics as competing grants, developing IETs and professional development opportunities. As previously mentioned, the AOE also worked with NELRC staff to bring two webinars to local AEL provider staff – the topics were selected based on the expressed needs of field staff.

Through consultation with AEL provider staff, the AOE was able to approve additional platforms for distance education. With a focus on standards-based content, there are now six distance education platforms approved for proxy hours under the Learner Mastery Model – an increase from three in the previous program year. As a state that is new to distance education as a formal strategy for instruction, Vermont has progressed a great deal in this area, but will continue to encourage direct instruction as the primary strategy for improving student skills.

Vermont secondary students have access to the dual enrollment program, which supports eligible students to take two college courses. The program is available not only to high school enrolled students, but also to adult education and literacy students assessing at a minimum of NRS 5 in the skill areas of reading, language, and math on the TABE 11/12. For those not demonstrating an NRS 5 in all three skill areas, AEL providers may submit a prior approval form to make the case that the student has shown readiness in the content area of the college course in some other way (i.e., Accuplacer, GED College Ready scores, evidence of proficiency on high school transcript, etc.)

The state engaged in a procurement process for an AEL database contract during PY21. A new vendor was selected to improve efficiencies for both field and AOE staff and to improve data analysis capabilities. As a state utilizing a “homegrown” system for nearly 20 years, this transition will be significant. Implementation of the new system is scheduled for the spring of 2023.

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.

Statewide, AEL served 15% more students than in the previous program year and also showed an increase of 23% of students qualifying for the Federal report as well as a 23% increase in ESL students served. Among non-ESL students, Vermont continues to see a shift from the ASE population to ABE. In PY19, 51% of all students entered at the ABE level (NRS 1-4) – the population increased in PY20 to 62% and then increased again to 66% in PY21. It is well-documented in Vermont that learning loss occurred as a result of the pandemic in K-12 and this pattern is also apparent in the AEL population. Another variable may be that more higher-need students are seeking Title II services in order to increase skills and access better job opportunities. The trend has put a financial and capacity strain on AEL providers who need to provide services for longer periods to a higher percentage of students in order to ensure successful transition to college and/or employment.

The ESL student population recovered to the PY19 pre-pandemic level of 22% of overall students after a drop to 17% in PY20. This increase can be attributed in part to refugee resettlements in areas of Vermont that include Afghans and Ukrainians. Also, more ESL students feel safe returning to in-person services.

During technical assistance meetings, the AOE discussed the number of students without a current EFL. Sometimes this occurred because a student did not return after an initial orientation to take baseline assessments, but more often the cause of the problem was that some active students had not been given a progress assessment in a year or more. When the EFL expires, Vermont requires that the students are re-baselined and MSGs are not possible in those cases. With this emphasis on ensuring that every student with at least 12 hours of service had an active EFL, Vermont’s local AEL providers were able to increase the rate from 91% in PY19, 87% in PY20 to 96% in PY21. This progress helped improve the number of students qualifying for the Federal report from 67% in the previous year to 71% and created more opportunity to capture academic progress through progress assessing.

Vermont missed the MSG target of 40%, showing a statewide rate of 26.77% as compared to 27.23% in PY20. Data analysis does not make clear why the drop in MSG performance occurred. One factor is that AEL providers did not meet the state-imposed target of 50% of students with baseline assessment receiving a progress assessment. In fact, the rate dropped from 34.87% in PY20 to 30.3% in PY21. Again, AOE had repeated discussions with AEL providers about the need to pre- and post-test. Reasons that some students were not progress assessed include: the student exited services, the student had less than the required 40 hours of instruction between assessments, the student did not have reliable internet in order to be virtually proctored and some did not have the transportation/time to take the assessments in-person. Some providers reported that a higher number of students had anxiety associated with testing and were difficult to engage in assessments.

For core follow-up outcomes, Vermont demonstrated increases in percentages for employment both second quarter and fourth quarter after exit. The increases were from 38.77% to 41.73% and 37.6% to 42.7% respectively. However, the targets of 45% and 46% were missed. Vermont expects the positive trend to continue as the economic recovery from the pandemic continues. The rate of unemployment in Vermont decreased slightly from December of 2020 to December of 2021 (3.8% to 3.1%). As of June of 2022, the rate had dropped further to 2.2%. The median earnings decreased by nearly 15% and missed the negotiated target of $4,000 by just over $600. It is not clear why median earnings would decrease except it should be noted that the cohort had 44% fewer students represented as compared to the cohort reported in the year prior.

The credential attainment rate at 68.93% well exceeds the target of 28% as it did in the prior year.

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.

The State eligible agency is the Vermont Agency of Education. In PY21, a new One-Stop Partner agreement was developed and signed in the spring of 2022 for the period of July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2025. This new agreement was overdue as the previous agreement had expired on July 1, 2019. The AOE participated in three meetings to discuss the agreement, which includes the infrastructure costs agreement as the AOE has allocated Federal WIOA funds in the amount of $1,181.00 that will be paid out in quarterly installments in PY22.

Local AEL providers provided Title II-applicable career services in PY21 as follows:

Career Service	# Students
Outreach, intake, and system orientation (1X1)	284
Outreach, intake, and system orientation (Group)	54
Initial assessment of skill levels (1X1)	658
Initial assessment of skill levels (Group)	0
Referrals and coordination (1X1)	89
Referrals and coordination (Group)	11
Provision of performance information and program cost (1X1)	6
Provision of performance information and program cost (Group)	0
Information on and referrals to supportive services (1X1)	12
Information on and referrals to supportive services (Group)	0

We have seen an increase in the number of students receiving career services over three years in the category of outreach, intake and system orientation (a 149% increase). The AOE has reason to believe that the career services provision is still under-reported based on anecdotal discussions of a higher number of students entering AEL services with moderate to high needs in terms of skill levels, economic challenges that include housing, food and transportation, as well as high stress levels. We are also seeing an increase in the number of students with one or more disabilities. The ability of the providers to refer and support struggling students is crucial to the ability of students to succeed in their educational pursuits.

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.

The competition for grant funds under Section 243 in Vermont was held in the spring of 2021 – the next competition for grand funds is scheduled for the spring of 2023. Vermont Adult Learning was awarded 92.6% of the funds per year for a two-year grant period beginning July 1, 2021 and ending in June of 2023. In PY21, Vermont Adult Learning (VAL) was awarded $56,180 of the $60,670 available for PY21. Central Vermont Adult Basic Education (CVABE) received $4,490 and served 39 of the total 228 IELCE students in PY21.

Training activity

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

Since the pandemic, AEL providers have struggled to plan and implement IET programs in an environment of fear of contracting COVID and shifting methods of service provision. One-Stop partners felt as overwhelmed as AEL providers in finding ways to meet students’ increased level of need, including mental health, homelessness, and learning loss due to an interruption in education. ESL communities experienced a disproportionate negative impact of COVID infections and providers reported that they were less likely than other populations served to participate in the in-person services once learning centers re-opened. In PY21, Vermont had an increase in the number of ESL students participating in services, though our two IELCE providers only had one IET program. The one IET program offered only had one student completing, and this student was not in the IELCE program. PY21 did, however, see some innovations in IET creation.

VAL secured a two-year, $300,000 grant from the Vermont Low Income Trust for Energy (VLITE) to design, implement and evaluate an IET program preparing individuals for entry level jobs in solar panel installation, heat pump installation and/or weatherization. The IET, titled “Energy Works”, launched pilot sessions in Rutland County in PY21 with plans to replicate it in Franklin County. The program provides training in technical, workforce and academic skills necessary to achieve good paying jobs weatherizing homes. The first two sessions were well attended and provided a good opportunity to refine the program to ensure it meets the criteria to be an IET before submitting an IET checklist to the AOE in the spring of 2022. The AOE has since approved the program for implementation as an IET. After two years, VAL is once again offering IET programs in FY23, thanks to the significant time and effort put into piloting and refining the Energy Works program.

CVABE continued to serve a growing number of ESL students in order to bolster language, literacy, and civics skills. They had two proud students achieve their dreams of becoming citizens and welcomed many new ESL students with beginning language skills around the fourth quarter start date, as families from Afghanistan and the Middle East were settled with local hosts. CVABE approached the local provider of LNA training for an IET partnership that might have been of interest to some of our ESL students with health care/personal care backgrounds in their home countries, but the partner was not interested in the opportunity for concurrent instruction, preferring instead to refer any individuals that they recruited for one-on-one assistance to CVABE.

CVABE was approached for a workforce development partnership with ReSource and Vocational Rehabilitation at a tech center. A significant amount of staff planning time from CVABE resulted in the IET approval from the AOE for a cohort, which began in early July 2022 with 8 participants involved. However, a medical emergency of the AEL provider staff member prevented the inclusion of AEL instruction and the program did not meet the requirements of an IET.

The State has increased its technical assistance to ensure that IELCE grantees have active IET programs in PY22 that serve ESL populations. The providers have found that ESL populations are diverse in their career goals, which makes it challenging to find cohorts large enough to build IET programs. The State provided increased TA in PY21 in the form of assistance developing the single set of learning objectives, access to the IET Design Toolkit and individualized meetings with providers to review their particular IET program goals.

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

ESL classes integrate civics and citizenship education with English literacy. Providers use Burlington English (BE), an online educational program that integrates civics training and workforce preparation training into teaching the English language.

Our data indicates that in PY21, for all Periods of Participation (PoPs), 28% of our IELCE participants were employed the second quarter after exit, and 27% of our participants were employed by the fourth quarter after exit. In PY21, the Vermont AEL providers provided 228 students Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education services.

Compared to the overall AEL population (42% and 43% respectively), post-exit employment rates are low for the IELCE population. We are pleased, however, to see that the median earnings for second quarter after exit is $7,595.40 for IELCE students as compared to $3,395.64 for the overall AEL population. Possibly, it is due to a number of IELCE students entering our program who already have higher degrees. New Americans entering Title II-funded services in Vermont have a wide range of English skills and educational backgrounds, yet the vast majority depend on English language instruction to help them achieve academic, citizenship, and career goals.

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.

AEL providers participate in regional workforce groups including Vocational Rehabilitation’s Creative Workforce Solutions, which match employers with job seekers who have disabilities. Some regions convene “workforce development boards” that are independently striving to mitigate workforce shortages by increasing access to training and meeting employer needs. These groups are not overseen by a state entity and vary in their degree of engagement and efficacy. Providers communicate with local employers to recruit students and to match employers’ workforce needs with students who possess or can attain the skills.

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.

AEL content standards continue to be aligned with Vermont’s K-12 Education Quality Standards (EQS). The EQS adopts the Common Core Standards, which incorporates the College and Career Readiness Standards (CCRS). Every hour of instruction tracked in the database must display the predominant standard addressed in the session – whether it is an EQS transferable skill or a CCRS for Adult Education standard.

In addition, the revised assessment manual for PY21 expanded platforms allowed for proxy hours. Each platform was vetted by the State through the lens of standards-based content. Only Learner Mastery Model proxy hours are permitted for these platforms to ensure that student hours tracked are the result of mastery of standards. The new platforms are: Essential Education’s GED Academy; Khan Academy for content areas aligned with EQS: math, reading and language arts, and science; and IXL in the standards-aligned content areas of math, language arts, science and social studies.

The AOE continues to uphold a minimum of NRS 5 skills in reading, language, and math for graduates of the state-funded High School Completion Program (HSCP) unless a prior approval has been sought and approved. Through this program, AEL providers work with local schools to develop personalized learning plans that meet the school’s Proficiency Based Graduation Requirements. This is another way that there is alignment with K-12 standards and Vermont residents are afforded the option of a diploma from a local high school as an unenrolled from school student. AEL students also have the option of pursuing the GED with preparation support from their local AEL provider.

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.

Per Vermont’s WIOA Combined State Plan, Title II funds are not used to fund corrections education for incarcerated individuals. The Community High School (CHS) of Vermont, which serves incarcerated individuals through education and access to a diploma, is planning to use the TABE 11/12 as an important strategy to successfully transition from CHS to Adult Education and Literacy services that will lead to a high school diploma or GED. Although CHS can issue diplomas, not all incarcerated individuals are able to complete their graduation requirements before their release. AEL stands ready to serve this population, as well as any other re-entering adults who are eligible for services due to basic skills deficiency or who are English Language Learners.

Narrative Report for Vermont 2021