Grant Funds for Hardship Situations

HI Everyone,  

I asked our contact at IRC about funds for students worrying about not being able to make the accumulated payments of rent.  He sent me the below email to share the information with our students.

It's a one time payment of $450 but at least it's something and yeah they ask for a lot of information, yet it's doable. 

Please share with your students sharing this concern. Maybe our instructional aids can help relate the information with the lower levels.  Students can also directly call and speak with a language interpreter at IRC.

I hope this can help some students.

Marisol Richmond

Marisol, and all Adult Ed ESL Teachers,

I can help! I oversee our CSBG Safety Net program and we are funded to help with eviction avoidance. Each household is eligible to receive a  one-time check for $450 made out to their landlord. If you have interested clients I am including the documentation we will need to enroll them and process the check below.

1. Photo or Copy of a photo ID
2. Lease Agreement with your name and your landlord
3. Statement from landlord explaining rental assistance need. This could be an eviction notice, 3 day pay or quit, email or letter from your landlord explaining balance past due.

Ex. “ I can verify that my tenant, INSERT NAME, at INSERT LOCATION AND APT. NO is behind on rent by INSERT AMOUNT DUE as of INSERT DATE. My tenant has notified me that she will be receiving rental assistance through the International Rescue Committee.

4. Bank Statement that shows eligibility. The Deposits/Additions line on the bank statement must be below 100% of the Federal Poverty Income Guidelines on the document below.

Feel free to give a call for more information. I am available until noon today and tomorrow.

Best,

Luke Johnson  |  Workforce Development Coordinator

International Rescue Committee in Sacramento

2020 Hurley Way, Suite 420 | Sacramento, CA  95825lucas.johnson@rescue.org  | T 916 844-8299 

Please Note: Due to COVID-19 protocols, the IRC in Sacramento office is working remotely until further notice. The physical  IRC office is not accessible for clients/partners/staff during this time, however we will continue to provide services remotely.

Burlington English Updates

The Student Zone tile is no longer available on the Teacher or Student Tile page. Teachers and students may access the Student Zone application via the Burlington icon on their their computer screen . Teachers and students may still download the Student Zone to their desktop by going to  https://www.burlingtonenglish.com/start/.  

As a reminder, students can access the following courses directly via the Internet (www.burlingtonenglish.com) on all computers, laptops, IPads, and Chromebooks, INCLUDING mobile phones:

- Burlington Core Courses, Career Explorations/Soft Skills, Using Your Computer videos, Vocabulary Practice, Career Wordlists, and the Virtual Class Schedule.  

- These courses do not require a downloaded application to a computer device.

The following courses can be accessed directly via the Internet (www.burlingtonenglish.com) on all computers, laptops, IPads, and Chromebooks, but NOT mobile phones:

- CASAS Prep and Digital Readers

The following courses can ONLY be accessed by Downloading the Student Zone on computers  https://www.burlingtonenglish.com/start/

- English in America, Everyday English/Advanced English, and Career Courses A and B

I am more than happy to walk you and your students through this process and I am always here to help!

All my best~ Tad Meyer

Mobile phone: 916.531.4388

Virtual Office Hours- Daily from 12:00 to 3:00

'Teaching Skills that Matter' Virtual Conference - June 16-17, 2020

'Teaching Skills that Matter' Virtual Conference - June 16-17, 2020 (OCTAE initiative)

Dear Colleagues,

On behalf of the Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education (OCTAE), the American Institutes for Research (AIR) would like to invite you to join a virtual conference that is part of the  “Teaching Skills that Matter in Adult Education” (TSTM) national initiative. This message provides information regarding the conference, including topics, benefits of attending, and registration details.

Sincerely,

Catherine Green
Senior Researcher, AIR
Director, CALPRO

2020 Teaching the Skills That Matter in Adult Education (TSTM) Virtual Conference – June 16 and 17, 2020

• Join us for the first annual 2020 TSTM Virtual Conference focused on teaching the skills that matter with approaches that work!
• Hear from featured speakers, nationally known adult education experts, TSTM state cohort participants and OCTAE leadership.
• In addition to an opening keynote presentation from OCTAE leadership, conference session topics will include:
  • Integrating the skills that matter
  • TSTM in Corrections
  • Applying the approaches that work
  • Taking TSTM to scale
  • TSTM for Administrators
  • Coaching and Changing Practice
  • TSTM – A Focus on the Topics That Matter
  • TSTM  Topics’ Relevancy in Today’s Reality
• Engage with your adult education colleagues from around the country in this interactive two-day professional development learning experience designed to help you learn how to teach the skills that matters for adult learners. 

Who should participate in the TSTM Virtual Conference?

All adult educators – this event is designed with adult education teachers and administrators at the program and state level in mind

Why register for the TSTM Virtual Conference?

• It’s FREE!  No traveling, no lodging expenses and reduced time constraints—just the professional learning and networking you want.
• Interact with adult education colleagues on relevant and meaningful content for today’s adult learners without having to leave your home or travel
• This live event will be accessible from anywhere as it will be offered completely online.  And if these dates don’t work for you, all registered participants will have access to the conference presentation and materials for six months following the event.
• Network and connect with leaders in the field, participate in group discussions around topics of interest and create lasting professional relationships.

REGISTER TODAY:  Early registration is encouraged as seats are limited. Conference registration is available on a first-come, first-served basis, and registration will close upon reaching capacity.  Please register today at: bit.ly/TSTM2020

The OTAN Staff

Side Letter of Agreement April 29, 2020

SIDE LETTER OF AGREEMENT 

Between SAN JUAN UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT (District) and the SAN JUAN TEACHERS ASSOCIATION (Association) 

Temporary Suspension of Timelines for Elections 

of Leadership Team Members and Department Chairs 

April 29, 2020 

Background: The District and the Association hold the shared belief of the importance of the democratic process of peers electing peers to various leadership positions. The parties also recognize that during this time, practitioners are doing their best to adapt to distance learning and meeting the needs of students virtually.
Intent: 
● To retain the integrity of democratic process of elections during school site closures.
● Honor that practitioners are currently focused on distance learning and virtual services.
● Recognize that the contractual election process may need to be temporarily modified in order to ensure each staff member has a vote.
Agreement: 
● Suspend the spring election timeline for both leadership teams and department chairs.
● Current leadership team members and department chairs will stay in their roles until new election timelines are established and elections are conducted.
    ○ Practitioners staying in their roles will continue to receive stipends at the pro rata amount based on when elections are conducted.
    ○ Should a vacancy occur:
       ■ Leadership Team - Seat will remain vacant pending election.
       ■ Department Chair - Temporary appointment by Leadership Team to position until the election.
● Stipend for appointed positions will be pro-rata for term of service.
● In the event that schools do not physically reopen in the fall of 2020 the parties agree to meet no later than August 13, 2020 to determine how to address the elections of Leadership Team Members

Jim Shoemake 
Assistant Superintendent 
Schools and Labor Relations 
San Juan Unified School District

Shannan Brown 
Executive Director 
San Juan Teachers Association 

Article 24 Leadership Team Elections

This notification is regarding the process for Article 24 Leadership Team elections and department chair (ABE, ASE, ESL) elections for the 2020-21 school year. Our elections for the current Leadership Team and Chairs in Adult Ed were held at the back to school meeting last fall. This is an advisory that elections for these positions will be held this coming fall. You may need to get a different date for the election, depending on what the adult ed school year will be next year. 

Also, keep in mind that there will be no SJTA Adult Ed representative next school year unless one of you decides to take on the task. The meetings tend to conflict with our teaching schedule, so you cannot be expected to attend the meetings. But you can do as I have been doing...forwarding emails and pertinent information as it arises. You are also to meet with our administrator on a monthly basis to review any issues the teachers may have. 

Migration of the Moodle server (Putting English to Works Adult Course)

Dear OTAN California Adult Education Courses Teachers,

***THIS NOTICE ONLY APPLIES TO WIOA FUNDED AGENCIES. Courses are available to non-WIOA agencies until June 30, 2020. Beginning July 1, 2020, non-WIOA agencies will lose access to these courses. If we are still in a hardship at that time, we will reassess.***

We are in the process of migrating our Moodle server, located at https://adultedcourses.org, from one physical machine to another. In this process, we will also be upgrading from Moodle version 3.1 to version 3.8.

If you plan to use your online course(s), please follow the directions below to prepare your course(s) prior to us moving it to the new server. Once you have completed the tasks below, fill out and submit this form to request your course(s) be moved to the new server. LAST DAY TO SUBMIT THIS FORM IS MAY 8th, 2020.

Request to Move Moodle Course Form 

Here is a general overview of the timeline:

Now through May 8, 2020: Teachers submit requests to have courses moved to new server
June 30, 2020: https://adultedcourses.org Moodle version 3.1 will be shut down

July 2, 2020: https://adultedcourses.org relaunched with Moodle version 3.8

Tasks to be completed before we move your course: Directions for all of these tasks are found in the End of Semester Procedures course. (https://adultedcourses.org/course/view.php?id=472)

1. You have exported your gradebook.

2. You have made a backup of your course and moved it to your local computer, a flash drive, or external hard drive.

3. Delete all inactive students from your course.

4. Fill out this form to have your current OTAN Moodle course(s) moved to the new adultedcourses.org server.

Once the new site is live, you will receive notification via email that the migration has been completed and your course is ready for student enrollment. As a teacher, your existing account should have been migrated, and you can use the same login info. If not, you may create a new account and notify OTAN so that you can be enrolled as a teacher in your course. All students will need to create new accounts and enroll in your course.

Note: The URL of the new site will be the same as the current site. However, saved bookmarks and/or links to individual courses will need to be updated.

If you have any questions, contact me at molavides@otan.us.

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we make the move to our new site.

Merry Moodling,

Marjorie Olavides, OTAN Moodle Administrator
molavides@otan.us

CATESOL Virtual Conference May 8-9 and more

We want to provide an update on some CATESOL updates - please make sure to share these with your colleagues as well:

• CATESOL will host its first Virtual Conference on Friday, May 8 (from 1:00 to 5:00, with networking from 5:00 to 6:00) and Saturday, May 9 (from 9:00 to 1:00). Featured speakers include Stephen Krashen, Keith Folse, Donna Brinton, Maggie Sokolik, and David and Yvonne Freeman, as well as presenters from our canceled Spring Regional Conferences. You can register for this conference by visiting the 2020 Spring Virtual Conference webpage. You can also apply for a Virtual Conference Stipend from the CATESOL Education Foundation.
• CATESOL is still planning its Annual Conference from October 8 to 11 in Pasadena. You can learn more by visiting the 2020 Annual Conference website.
• CATESOL has created a COVID-19 Educator Resources webpage with resources and information you can use in your instruction and with your students.
• Consider joining the CATESOL Board of Directors to further your leadership skills, advocate for your profession, colleagues, and learners, and meet great people from all over California! You must complete an Expression of Interest, which includes job descriptions for the open positions.

Thank you and please stay safe!

 -- 

Bethany Ely

Coordinator, Capital Adult Education Regional Consortium

Sacramento County Office of Education

10474 Mather Blvd.

P.O. Box 269003

Sacramento, CA 95826-9003

Phone: (916) 228-2589

Cell: (916) 790-4474

Email: bely@scoe.net

Website: www.caerc.org