1. Start By Connecting Participants Introduce yourself to your neighbors:  Name  Organization  How has your organization’s practices changed over the past 5 years?  What important issues is your organization currently facing?  What is a key innovation you have witnessed recently?

2. Brad Hasskamp, ABE Policy & Operations Specialist, Minnesota Department of Education

3. Start By Connecting Participants Introduce yourself to your neighbors:  Name  Organization  How has your organization’s practices changed over the past 5 years?  What important issues is your organization currently facing?  What is a key innovation you have witnessed recently?

4. Brad Hasskamp ABE Policy & Operations Specialist Minnesota Department of Education Background 2002Volunteer ESL TeacherNeighborhood House 2002-2003EFL TeacherBibo Middle School (Shenzhen, China) 2003-2006ESL/ABE/Children’s Literacy Program Manager Neighborhood House 2006-2010ABE Learning Centers Manager Minnesota Literacy Council 2007-2010Professional Development Advisor St. Paul Community Literacy Consortium 2006-2010Board MemberLiteracy Action Network

5. How would you define

6. “Creativity is thinking up new things. Innovation is doing new things.” - Theodore Levitt

7. CultivateReplicatePartnerNetwork Open Source

8. “Innovation – any new idea – by definition will not be accepted at first. It takes repeated attempts, endless demonstrations, monotonous rehearsals before innovation can be accepted and internalized by an organization. This requires courageous patience.” - Warren Bennis

9. What sparks innovation?

10. Innovation comes from failure. Innovation comes from our needs to survive & improve.

11. Work individually or in small groups Analyzing your organization

12. Program Organization Consortium State Federal

14. Issues:  Communities with low student numbers and low need  Struggling with student retention  Teachers struggle with technology  Low student literacy gains Need:  Increase student retention and literacy gains Idea:  Use volunteers in areas of low need to tutor students on distance learning curriculum

15. Issues:  Struggling with student retention  Teachers struggle with technology  Students want to work on distance learning curriculum Need:  Serve students online Idea:  Volunteers serve as online tutors helping students via Skype

16. Issues:  Low student literacy gains  Struggling to effectively serve students who are deaf and/or have disabilities  Program resources are low/insufficient Need:  Better serve students with disabilities Idea:  Work with a graduate school to have a class/group research international, national, and state data and practices

17. Issues:  Too many students in the class  Students want to gain work experience  Students’ levels and needs vary greatly Need:  Serve smaller groups of students without turning lots of students away Idea:  Have a graduating/former student tutor a beginning-level group

18. Issues:  Volunteers from a local business are only willing/able to volunteer  And…? Need:  Articulate the need Idea:  What’s your idea?

19. Issues:  Identify key issues Need:  Articulate a primary need Idea:  What’s your idea?

20. “Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world!” - Joel Arthur Barker

21. What additional questions do you have?

22. Minnesota ABE Web Site http://mnabe.themlc.org/ Rob Podlasek Volunteer Training Manager Minnesota Literacy Council rpodlasek@themlc.org Brad Hasskamp ABE Policy & Operations Specialist Minnesota Department of Education brad.hasskamp@state.mn.us 651-582-8594

23. Which volunteers are required by MDE-ABE policy to receive training?

24. All ABE volunteers who:  Directly tutor or instruct students; &  Generate ABE contact hours independent from a classroom teacher.

25. How long is the training volunteers receive at the beginning of their service, according to MDE-ABE policy?

26. The pre-service training is hours

27. Do volunteer classroom assistants working under the direct supervision of a teacher need to be trained?

28. according to MDE-ABE policy but…

29. Do volunteers need the pre-service training if they are working with students when the teacher is not in the building?

30. according to MDE-ABE policy

31. Do volunteers need the pre-service training if they are responsible for a class of students and under only minimal teacher supervision?

32. according to MDE-ABE policy

33. Do volunteers need to be trained if they are taking a group of students to another room to work with them?

34. according to MDE-ABE policy as long as…

35. Do volunteers need to be trained if they are only doing student intakes?

36. according to MDE-ABE policy but…

37. Do volunteers need to be trained if they are only working with programming not receiving state or federal ABE funding?

38. according to MDE-ABE policy

39. Which 4 types of certification or experience can make an ESL volunteer exempt from the state’s pre-service training requirement?

40. ESL volunteer exemptions:  TEFL/TESL Certificate  College degree in ESL or Linguistics  Current Minnesota K-12 License  Over 400 hours of documentable ESL instruction (paid or volunteer) in comparable programs

41. Which 3 types of certification or experience can make an ABE volunteer exempt from the state’s pre-service training requirement?

42. ABE volunteer exemptions:  Current Minnesota K-12 License  Current Minnesota ABE License  Over 400 hours of documentable ABE instruction (paid or volunteer) in comparable programs

43. What 5 topics must be covered in a pre- service volunteer training, according to MDE-ABE policy?

44. Required Pre-Service Topics:  Initial & Ongoing Assessment  Goal Setting & Follow-Up  Working with Texts  Lesson Planning  Working with Adults

45. Proposed Pre-Service Topics:  Accountability & Assessment  Goal Setting & Follow-Up  Working with Texts & Curriculum Resources  Lesson Planning  Working with Adults

46. Volunteers must receive pre-service training within what time from their volunteer assignment, according to MDE-ABE policy?

47. Volunteers need to get trained within months

48. Where can volunteers get pre-service training, according to MDE-ABE policy?

49.  Minnesota Literacy Council’s Main Office  Local sites that bring in MLC trainers  Programs that get their training certified by the MLC & by the MDE-ABE office

50. Are volunteers required to receive ongoing training?

51. according to MDE-ABE policy

52. Programs cannot count ABE contact hours for students who have not made a level gain in 30 months. Some programs use volunteers to work with these students. Is this a best practice? How would you balance an effective use of resources and using the best resources for the students that need it most?

53. Volunteers must receive what amount of ongoing training, according to MDE-ABE policy?

54. Volunteers need hours of ongoing training annually

55. Can school districts use unlicensed volunteers and count ABE contact hours?

56. according to MN State Statute and MDE-ABE policy, BUT…

57. PointsCategory <16 16-24 >24