Effective Date: (Date)

Local ABE Consortium Instructional Program Description - Template

Effective Date: (date)

Purpose and Rationale – The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) – Adult Basic Education (ABE) office requires that:

 In order to be receiving ABE-funded services, ABE students must be enrolled and receiving instruction in at least one of the following core content areas: reading, writing, math, speaking, listening, ESL, or GED/diploma  Programs must have a written description of classes and programming offered

Required Benchmarks for ABE Consortia:  MDE-ABE expects that programs develop focused curriculum and instruction for the core content areas  MDE-ABE has strongly encouraged programs to align curriculum to the competencies and content domain of the standardized assessment tools  Consortia need to consider developing consistent curriculum that can be used consortium wide or between consortia to compensate for student mobility

Local Consortium Plan to Implement Instructional Program Description –

Suggested headings for this section follow:

 Description of programs

o Brief description of the general categories of ABE instruction offered at the consortium or program. (See South Washington ABE Program Manual example.) o Description of class sequence/levels by program o Classes offered in each program of study. (See St. Paul ABE Course Description Template example.) Descriptions of each of these programs of study should include: . Goals (broad purpose) . Specific content . Delivery styles – classroom, one-to-one, group, distance learning, computer-assisted, etc. . Level – test score range, abilities and skills . Class content alignment with assessment competencies and content domain . Activities . Texts, educational technology, or other instructional materials used o Curriculum description (optional)

 Class schedule

 Classroom observations

MN Department of Education – ABE 1 Local ABE Consortium Instructional Program Description - Template

o Staff responsibilities o Observation schedule o Observation tools used – used in new staff orientation o Needed preparation for observation, i.e., lesson plans, notification time o Observation feedback and debriefing o Strategies and actions taken if improvement is needed

Contact Information

Helpful Definitions Course description is intended to outline goals, objectives and content by level, and information about materials and activities that are used to support the attainment of goals and objectives.

Curriculum overview and framework is intended to provide an organized plan that defines the content to be learned in terms of the general categories of skills and knowledge. It includes subject matter and/or language objectives and sequencing and materials to meet described group of learners in the defined context.

MN Department of Education – ABE 2