DATE: Monday, March 20, 2023 
Time: 2–3PM (Eastern Time)

This webinar will focus on instructional best practices for using digital curricula in corrections classes. If you want to expand your current usage with digital resources or figure out how to take the first step, this session is for you. This webinar will go over best practices that educators can implement in their classrooms immediately. There will be great, practical takeaways and ideas to implement into any classroom. This list of best practices has been compiled through research and feedback from teachers and programs across the country. Topics to be covered include: student orientation, feedback, monitoring progress, ways to incorporate digital content, persistence and engagement, and more. Come learn ways to better utilize the awesome learning tools that are available to you.

Charlie Weeks got his start in adult education over fifteen years ago as an ESL and HSE math instructor. He has a passion for seeing students and teachers succeed. He has experience managing an adult education program and has worked for the State of Oklahoma’s Adult Education Division. He is now the Director of Client Success for Essential Education where he assists and trains educators from across the country.

Steph Haggard, an Educator Support Specialist with Essential Education, provides customized training to help instructors and administrators implement a robust online learning system that gives students the tools they need to succeed, both in and out of the classroom. She has been recognized for her innovative training and mentoring of other instructors, and for designing new and creative approaches to curricula and learning experiences. She has many years of adult education teaching experience with an emphasis on disconnected youth and corrections.

This webinar has been generously sponsored by Essential Education.

DATE: Friday, March 24, 2023 
Time: 2–3PM (Eastern Time)

Ability to Benefit (ATB) is a critical equity strategy that ensures that adult dual enrollment opens post-secondary doors for adult education students. In 2022, the US Department of Education conducted a negotiated rulemaking process, reaching a consensus on only one issue that impacts public postsecondary institutions—ATB. Learn how partners across the country are building pipelines in partnerships between adult education and postsecondary education, and learn how to ensure that your career-pathway efforts meet the new criteria and processes that are expected to be established by 2024.

Ivana Hanson is the REACH Collaborative Coordinator/Adult Learner Specialist for the North Carolina ICAN project. Ivana started her education career in the District of Columbia Public Schools as an English as a second language teacher in the inaugural class of DC Teaching Fellows. While teaching K–12 full-time, Ivana also taught as an adjunct English as a second language teacher and as an adult basic education instructor in both Maryland and North Carolina, including seven years at Nash Community College. Ivana came on full time at Nash as the Career Pathways and Transition Coordinator for the CCR Department where she helped to establish certified Career Pathways in Advanced Manufacturing and Healthcare. She later transitioned into the Director of College and Career Readiness position. Ivana holds a bachelor’s degree in political science with an international relations concentration from Tulane University and a master’s degree in teaching English to speakers of other languages from American University. She also holds a Community College Leadership certificate from the University of North Carolina Wilmington where she is pursuing her doctorate in Higher Education Leadership.

Judy Mortrude is a Senior Technical Advisor at World Education working to ensure that adult education students have equitable opportunities, including federal student aid.

Michelle Lamons leads the Adult Education and Literacy program—including English as a Second Language, High School Equivalency, and Career Pathway programs—to create equitable opportunities for over 58,000 members in the Panhandle without a high school equivalency (HSE). Michelle’s latest research with the Texas Success Center involves expanding the Ability to Benefit (ATB) provision in community college systems. Michelle implements ATB models at Amarillo College to enroll students in an in-demand career pathway while simultaneously completing an HSE or learning English. Michelle’s goal is to create transformational opportunities for those that would otherwise not have one. dmlamons@actx.edu

Kristina Flores is the Director of Research and Evaluation at the Texas Success Center in the Texas Association of Community Colleges. She manages research and evaluation projects to ensure outcomes are high quality, action-oriented, equity-focused, and aligned with the Texas Pathways Knowledge Development Agenda. Kristina brings 15 years of teaching and administrative experience in the K–12 and community-college sector to her role. Kristina holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Georgetown University, a master’s degree in mathematics from New York University, and a Ph.D. in STEM Education from the University of Texas at Austin.

Shirley Doan is a Senior Project Coordinator at World Education, where her work focuses on ESOL, digital equity and digital literacy, and Ability to Benefit. She has over eight years of experience in adult education, and, prior to joining the World Education team, she was the director of a community-based ESOL program in Boston, MA.

Laurencia Walker is a director with the Career Ladders Project (CLP), an organization that supports equity-minded community college design throughout California. Laurencia has experience as a student and/or a professional in each type of public education institution in California, including her previous position where she led the early-college-credit efforts at Hartnell College.

This webinar has been generously sponsored by Burlington English.