ANNUAL REPORT

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ANNUAL REPORT

2012-2013

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MAEA President’s Report

A Message from President Tim Dresser

I am sure that you will all agree that this has been a crazy year. It has been a very busy year for MAEA as well.

The elections last fall left us with many new faces in Augusta that needed to be met with and brought up to speed on everything that Maine Adult Education does. It was reassuring to find both sides of the aisle are supporters of our mission. We have spent a lot of time and energy working with the legislators regarding GED. As of this writing, we are still pushing for the RFP for GED testing rights to go out immediately. We have shown the commissioner and many legislators a comparison of costs and requirements needed in making the change. Many thanks to all the directors who spent hours in Augusta helping promote our thoughts. Of course, many thanks to Cathy Newell for her endless efforts and countless hours supporting Maine Adult Education.

Last summer, the MAEA board held a retreat to reassess our direction, facilitated by Larinda Meade. The goals are listed in this report and directed work throughout the year. One result was a reorganization of the committee structure of MAEA. The intent was for each member of the board to be responsible for a committee. I saw some excellent results in the developing of many committees. The more adult educators we involve on these committees, the more solid we make the future of Maine Adult Education. It was a distinct pleasure to work with this board, made up of truly wonderful and dedicated professionals.

I leave MAEA in the excellent hands of incoming president Bill Grant. Bill did a great job meeting with legislators and staying on top of all the changes we have been facing as well as organizing this year’s MAEA Conference, all in addition to his new role as Director in Auburn. I urge all of you to consider participating in MAEA at some level. Together, we are much stronger. Thank you for allowing me to serve you as president this year.

Tim Dresser

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MAEA Board Members – 2012-2013 (Term Expires) President: Tim Dresser (2014)

Director Five Towns CSD Adult & Community Education 25 Keelson Drive, Camden ME 04856

[email protected] 207-236-7800 ext 275

President-elect: Bill Grant (2015)

Asst. Director, Lewiston Adult Education 156 East Avenue, Lewiston, ME 04240 [email protected] 207-795-4141

Past-President Carrie Castonguay (2013)

MSAD 61/72 Regional Adult & Community Education 1437 Poland Spring Road, Casco ME 04015

[email protected] 207-627-4291x24

Treasurer: Ellen Dickens (2013)

Director Central Lincoln County Adult Education 767 Main Street 1-A, Damariscotta, ME 04543 [email protected]

207-563-2811

Secretary: Executive Director fills function of Board Secretary. 2012-13 Elected Board Members:

(2013) Thelma Regan, Director Piscataquis Valley AE Collaborative 48 Morton St Suite M, Dover Foxcroft, ME 04426

[email protected] 207-564-6525

(2013) Susan Tuthill, Director Midmaine Regional Adult Community Education One Brooklyn Avenue, Waterville ME 04901

(2013) Jenny Rose, Director Mechanic Falls/Poland Adult Education – replaced Kelley Heath PO Box 129, Mechanic Falls ME 04256

(2014) Marianne Doyle, Director Mid-Coast School of Technology Adult Education 1 South Main St., Rockland ME 04841

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(2014) David Durkee, Director, Old Orchard Beach/Saco Adult & Community Ed. 40 E.E. Cummings Blvd., Old Orchard Beach, ME 04064

Appointed Members (2012-2013)

2013 Steve Pound, Director Greenville Adult Education Associate Director of Training, CIANBRO Corporation Vice-chair, Maine State Board of Education

PO Box 100 Greenville, ME 04441

[email protected] [email protected] 207-695-4619

2013 Zane Clement, Director Augusta Adult Education 33A Union Street, Augusta, ME 04330

[email protected] [email protected] (if you are sending attachments) 207-626-2470

2013 Rob Wood, Director Portland Adult Education West School 57 Douglass St. Portland ME 04102 [email protected]

207-874-8155

2013 Greg Leavitt, Director Bangor Adult & Community Education 885 Broadway, Bangor ME 04401

2013 Ray Therrien, Director Mt. Blue Adult Education 108 Fairbanks Road, Farmington ME 04938

2013 Lisa Robertson, ABE Coordinator, Windham/Raymond AE 406 Gray Road, Windham ME 04062

Ex Officio:

Gail Senese, Maine Department of Education 23 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333 [email protected]

207-624-6755 Staff

Cathy Newell

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Box 187, Greenwood, ME 04255 [email protected]

875-2722 (office) or 875-2116(home) Action Team Chairs 2012-13: Certification: Thelma Regan

College Transition: Bob McIntire (MDOE) Communication: Dave Durkee and Jenny Rose Conference: Bill Grant

Corrections: Ray Therrien Awards: Zane Clement Elections: Bill Grant Finance: Ellen Dickens

Hall of Flags & Legislative: Zane Clement Membership: Cathy Newell

Professional Development: Not filled Scholarships: Carrie Castonguay Web Portal: Lisa Robertson

Technology: Bill Grant and Bob McIntire Workforce: Marianne Doyle

MAEA Strategic Planning Retreat 2012-2013 Goals

1. GOAL: Maintain the current lobbying efforts and mobilize and build lobbying capacity in the field. 2. GOAL: Define and develop a plan that will increase MAEA’s visibility, effectiveness and branding and

promote a uniform message that communicates the value of Adult Education. 3. GOAL: Increase Adult Education funding by various sources including grant writing. 4. GOAL: Continue to enhance and expand the capacity usage of the web portal.

5. GOAL: Meet with MDOE’s certification division to create an adult education teacher support and mentorship team. The team would have the ability to approve course work and competency checklists. 6. GOAL: Sustain and enhance technology for teaching and learning.

7. GOAL: Sustain and enhance technology for data collection allowing for streamlined reporting and enhanced decision-making.

8. GOAL: Form a working group to: assess professional and staff development needs, promote and communicate professional development offerings, and to evaluate the process and product.

9. Review all scholarship announcements, rubrics and related and revise as needed. Submit possible changes to the MAEA Board for approval at the January 2013 meeting.

The Board later added another goal: Create a task force on standardizing non-credit certificate programs for adult education career pathways that allows regional modification.

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ACTION TEAM REPORTS

Certification – Thelma Regan, Chair

Without an act of legislation, there is really nothing we can change except the way the information is communicated and we have worked with the MDOE staff to improve this. Assistance with individual questions is provided throughout the year.

Communications/Marketing Action Team – David Durkee, Chair

The committee, comprised of nine members from around the state, met regularly throughout the academic year, building on previous work through encompass and utilizing materials available through the MAEA toolkit (www.maineadulted.org/support/

<http://www.maineadulted.org/support/> ). The committee developed a regional brochure template using existing branding, which can be adapted to the needs of various regional alliances while maintaining the collective imagery and look of adult education in Maine. The committee also contributed to marketing efforts for the Day of Flags and organized the pre-conference, featuring Bill Draves of LERN. The executive director continued to maintain MAEA's Facebook presence and MAEA items such as vests and pins were available for sale at some events. The committee is researching non-profit advertising opportunities through Google in addition to exploring the possibility of using banner advertisements through online newspapers beginning this August. In the coming year, the committee will continue to reserach low cost marketing techniques that will continue to capitalize on the success and name recognition of adult education in Maine.

College Transitions: Bob McIntire

Maine College Transitions serves around 1300 adult learners each year across the state through our local adult education programs. We continue to serve our target population. About half of our students are between the ages of 25 and 44 and are adults who are first time post secondary education candidates, in the workforce, beyond their teenage years, and have either never attended college or have not been successful in college, and can build skills to enter college within 12-18 months.

Evaluation reports, presentations, promising practices, program information and conference handouts are available at:

http://www.maine.gov/education/aded/dev/transitions.htm For more information or comments, please contact

Bob McIntire Department of Education Adult Education Team 207.624.6778, cell 207.592-4718,tty 207.624.6800,fax 207.624.6651

[email protected]

Web Portal – Lisa Robertson, Chair

The web portal was launched in January 2009 following a successful fundraising campaign with support from The Bangor Savings Bank Foundation, The Betterment Fund, and The Nellie Mae Education Foundation, as well as local adult education programs. The project provides the 70 participating Maine Adult Education programs with individual web sites allowing online registration and payment and statewide searching for the modest annual fee of $329. In the

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words of our partner, Rainstorm Consulting, “Since the launch of the statewide MAEA Portal in January 2009, more than 1 million visitors have made the Portal one of the most widely-used websites in Maine. The MAEA Portal is now known and trusted by Maine citizens seeking high school completion, workforce training, literacy, personal enrichment, and college preparatory courses.”

Summary:

June 2012 through June 2013, as in years past, has been a banner period for the MAEA Portal and the 70 participating program websites. Visits to the Portal and websites was the highest ever, peaking at 400,000+ visits from 273,000 people. Traffic is now up over 54% since the portal launched in 2009. In the 4+ years since launch, 950,000 people have visited the portal & program sites from over 200 different Maine towns.

The Portal also continues to be a strong and rising source of revenue for the 40+ local programs that accept online registration. In the June 2012-2013 period, 40 programs earned over $658,000, with 20+ programs earning more than $10,000 directly from their program websites. Maine people have registered for 15,000+ courses online in the past year, spending about $60 for each order.

Since the 2009 debut of the portal, more than $2 million dollars of online revenue has been earned for local adult education programs, with nearly 45,000 course registrations. That's more than 27 courses per day every day for 3.5+ years, or an average of 1 course per hour since the day the Portal launched. In FY13 the portal went over $2 million in sales.

In 2012, Rainstorm also launched two new updates at no cost to MAEA * Facebook

integration * Custom PDF registration forms In August 2012, MAEA supported the launch of two major, long-requested new features: * Multi-person checkout – to include the names of the 2nd and 3rd registrants. * Discounts system – providing programs the ability to specify basic discounts for courses in their individual catalogs.

The portal continues to be a great success for MAEA and local programs. Rainstorm provides excellent support and we know that it is essential that we continue to grow the portal and focus on integration with mobile devices and how to highlight on-line course options. We will be working with several local programs to increase the number of programs using Paypal. This will make the services provided to customers more consistent and convenient.

An issue with the portal is the fact that, while it is very user-friendly for potential adult learners, it is less so for those interested in the field of adult education and the activities of the association, including our annual conference and other training. Our goal is to improve this situation in 2013-14, and to pursue a more mobile-friendly presence.

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Conference 2012 Report – Tim Dresser, Chair

The 2012 conference was held at Colby College and was a wonderful success. The

conference serves as valuable training for adult educators across the state and the major income source that allows MAEA to exist. The pre-‐conference was based on technology with many of our MARTI technology leaders offering workshops. Many program staff attended on the same day, the Maine Department of Education training of the new MaineSTARS data system. Our keynote speaker was Glenn Cummings, former Deputy Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Department of Education and now the President and Executive Director of Good Will -‐ Hinckley School. The two primary days of the conference provided a variety of workshops. The evaluations of those workshops were overall

excellent. We have a great pool of resources across the state willing to offer their skills, helping make for a very beneficial professional development and networking event. Awards 2012, presented at Colby College, June 2012, Zane Clement, Chair

LeVasseur - Tom Nash Director – Otis Smith

Teachers – Kelley Rudd, Valerie Sullivan, Francis Welch Special Recognition – Vicki Baker

Support Staff – Kathy Pelletier

The Capitol Consortium assisted Zane in the selection process. The 2013 awards will be updated on the portal and included in the 2014 Annual Report.

Executive Director’s Report, Cathy Newell

The Maine Adult Education Association employs an Executive Director for an average of 20hr/week and it is wonderful to have the opportunity to support our field and Maine’s adult learners in this position. During 2012-13, I have attended meetings of the Board and

subcommittees, and provided staff support to Board committees and ad hoc groups; attending meetings as requested, communicating by phone & e-mail. There were several major events where I represented MAEA including the UNE SNAP-Ed grant meeting, Tri-Agency meetings, and FAME’s annual meeting. The legislative session has been very busy and I have been in Augusta far more than usual.

Several surveys were done, including salaries and computer needs for GED 2014. I worked on processing the dues notices and recruiting members. We remained about the same in number of members. The discontinuing of the 1-800 number has resulted in increased calls to the MAEA number but manageable and provides a nice opportunity to sell our programs to prospective attendees. The RUS grants, for video-conferencing, submitted by Region 2 were funded but the implementation took much longer than planned due to corporate changes with the vendor. We are very grateful for the assistance of Region 2 for their leadership with the grant, and for serving as the fiscal agent.

The transition at MDOE, with Gail Senese fully in place as permanent State Director has gone well and it is clear that Gail has quickly become a respected advocate for adult education. The addition of Kelley Heath and Nancy Dionne as permanent staff has been positive. The third year of the PD and MARTI contracts with MDOE has gone smoothly with help from MAEA

Treasurer Ellen Dickens, our bookkeeper Rich Mooney, and the MDOE staff. I have let the Board know that I would like to retire in December 2013 and will work with a new Executive

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Director to provide a smooth transition. I will continue to be committed to our field but am ready for a change.

Finance Action Team – Ellen Dickens, Treasurer

We have completed another year handling the DOE professional development contract. Gradually, the bugs are being worked out and the contract is running smoothly. The collaboration will continue through the next fiscal year at least.

We have reevaluated our portal costs and made some changes for the upcoming year for our portal hosting fees. As grants have dried up for the portal and updates are needed we will all need to share the costs of the portal even as these cost remain quite reasonable for even the smaller programs. Portal Invoices will go out in July for 2014.

Over the next year we will take a closer look at our dues structure to ensure that MAEA continues to have a viable source of income while accounting for the quite variable size of the different programs in Maine.

It has been my pleasure to serve in this capacity for several years and to work closely with our bookkeeper Rich Mooney and ED Cathy Newell but it’s time for a change. We will have a new treasurer coming on board next year with the election of Alan Lampert in that position. Our duties will overlap for several months as we transition accounts to our new treasurer.

Legislative Action Team – Zane Clement, Chair

This was a busy legislative year, beginning in the fall with discussions regarding the Governor’s budget and the need for adjustments to the statute as well as revisions to the contact system resulting from the change in the legislative majorities. Zane Clement of Augusta Adult Education chaired the legislative committee and represented MAEA on a number of occasions. There were meetings in January with legislative leaders, including Senate President Justin Alfond and Majority Leader Seth Goodall, Speaker Mark Eves and Rep. Jeff McCabe, as well as Minority leaders Senator Michael Thibodeau, Senator Roger Katz, and Rep. Ken Fredette, scheduled by HoweCahill. We were able to raise concerns re GED changes, plus discuss opportunities identified on workforce issues.

MAEA worked with Gail Senese and MDOE on the department bill on language corrections to the legislation passed in 2012. The revisions were passed this year.

Legislative contacts by programs were active especially with members of the Education and Appropriations Committees, and the Joint Select Committee on workforce and on the federal delegation.

A Resolve on GED was submitted in January encouraging an RFP, sponsored by Sen. Brian Langley. The issue of the GED RFP was resolved in early June, after much work by Bob Howe educating legislators and the Governor’s staff on the value of a competitive RFP prior to Jan. 2014. Directors assigned to members of the Education Committee were very helpful in this effort. The RFP will be issued in late July and will allow a decision to be made that is in the best interest of Maine.

The Governor’s budget included $500,000 additional funding for College Transitions in each year of the biennium, an important step in achieving our long-standing goal of bringing this

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program to scale. This received approval from both the Education Committee and Appropriations during the budget process. Right at the end of the budget negotiations it

appeared that the funding was removed; however it was removed from the original allocation of casino money and just prior to the final budget deal was funded from general fund dollars as part of an allocation of funding to the Department of Education. Great news! MAEA has sent thank you letters to all members of the Appropriations, Education and Jt. Select Committee and to leaders, as well as to Commissioner Bowen.

The Joint Select Committee on Maine’s Workforce and the Economy was a major focus of this session and MAEA was assisted in covering the many committee hearings and work sessions by Jennifer Ritch-Smith of HoweCahill. We submitted 3 initiatives for the omnibus legislation known as LD90. The initiatives related to taking College Transitions to scale, to following up the Tri-agency effort to streamline assessment and follow-up, and on expanding the availability of WorkReady responding to the interest in “soft skills”. An initiative came up from the

committee on remedial education and another on a Portland-based welcome center for Foreign Trained Professionals. A very positive Mitchell Institute evaluation of Maine College Transitions released by Educate Maine and shared with legislators, and the Joint Select Committee sent a letter to Appropriations supporting the $500,000 appropriation. LD 90 included adult education on several task force and study groups. LD 90 did receive an overwhelmingly positive vote in the House and Senate however the funding, and many of the initiatives including the Foreign

Trained Professionals Welcome Center were included in the budget unanimously approved by Appropriations and currently working its way through the legislative process.

Membership Action Team –

A list of member programs and individuals is included at the end of this report. There continues to be adjustments reflecting consolidations. The dues were not increased and a more detailed look at the dues formula is proposed for 2013-2014. We have valued organizational and individual members listed at the end of the report.

Technology Action Team – Bill Grant, Chair, and Bob McIntire, MDOE Report not available at press time – will add to the on-line version.

Scholarship Action Team – Carrie Castonguay, Chair

Recipients of MAEA scholarships for 2013, awarded in May, were Steven Cole of Smyrna Mills and Courtney Oliver of Augusta. Recipients of the Sandy Mawford Teacher Scholarships

awarded in June 2012 were Andre Cormier of Augusta Adult Education, a student at SMCC, and Cathy Giuffre-Renaud of Old Orchard Beach/Saco Adult Education, a student at USM. Awards for the 2013 Mawford Scholarships will be announced at the 2013 Conference.

Hall of Flags - Zane Clement, Chair

The annual Adult Education Hall of Flags event was scheduled for February 28 but was cancelled due to weather. It was not possible to obtain a suitable date for rescheduling. The Joint Resolution was done as usual.

Orders Joint Resolutions Joint Resolution Recognizing Maine Adult Education

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WHEREAS, since 1871, Maine’s public schools have supported the development of an adult education system which has grown and adapted to meet the needs of Maine’s residents throughout the state, and

WHEREAS, Maine’s Adult Education programs provide adults with the opportunity to learn where they live with services in 85% of municipalities, and

WHEREAS, Adult Education programs are vital to the workforce development so essential to Maine’s economy, and are working actively with partners in providing programs and courses specifically designed to help educate the workforce and prepare Maine adults for success, including

1. Direct service to Maine adults who have experienced job loss or who need skill improvement to obtain employment;

2. Career Pathways in partnership with post-secondary and workforce institutions, including career preparation and courses for Maine workers, plus certificate programs, including the implementation of a WorkReady Credential program focusing on workforce development skills for success on the job;

3. Literacy and English Language Literacy (ELL) programs and successful Family Literacy programs;

4. High school completion and GED programs with over 2491 credentials awarded in Maine in 2012;

5. College Transitions Programs providing career guidance, orientation to college and refresher and prerequisite classes for adults seeking college success. Comprehensive Adult Education College Transitions programs are in place in 22 regions covering every county in Maine;

6. Community Education including a vibrant array of self-supporting courses contributing to the quality of life in Maine communities, offering the opportunity for Mainers of all ages to share talents and learn from others;

7. A new emphasis on collaboration through the use of distance learning and video-conferencing bringing new learning opportunities to rural communities, and

WHEREAS, Maine Adult Education’s web portal system, joining local programs in providing statewide searching for courses and on-line registration and payment, has received 1.3 million visits and over 6.9 million page views in the past 5 years, with visits up 6% from 2011 to 2012, and Maine Adult Education programs are educating Maine people about the use of broadband through the Community Connections project, now therefore, be it

RESOLVED: That We, the Members of the 126th Legislature now assembled in the First Regular Session, pause to acknowledge and applaud Maine’s adult education programs, which uniquely reflect the needs of the communities they serve, and provide a vital system of service to the population of the State in this period of economic challenge, and be it further

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RESOLVED: That a suitable copy of this resolution, duly authenticated by the Secretary of State, be transmitted to the Department of Education.

Maine Adult Educators Association (1965-1967)

Maine Association for Public School Adult Education (1967-1990) Maine Adult Education Association (1990-present)

Years of Service President Location

1965-1967 Dick Mayo* Bangor 1967-1969 Jim Flanagan* Portland 1969-1970 Bob Curran Camden 1970-1971 Gerry LeVasseur Van Buren 1971-1972 Len McGinnis Waterville 1972-1973 Duke Martin Presque Isle 1973-1974 John Simpson Biddeford 1974-1975 Clayton Blood Searsport 1975-1976 Jack Webb Sanford 1976-1979 Doug McGowan* Presque Isle 1979-1981 Gaille Heseltine* Portland 1981-1982 Ray Bussiere Bangor 1982-1983 Ervin MacDonald Houlton

Loren Ritchie Sherman Station 1983-1984 Paul Dulac(resigned) Gardiner

Patrick O’Reagan Augusta 1984-1985 Dick Madore Bangor 1985-1986 Sharon Martin Westbrook 1986-1987 Dick Madore Bangor

1987-1988 Don Berry Belfast & DECS 1988-1989 Cathy Newell Bethel

1989-1990 Anne Niemiec Lewiston 1990-1991 Conrad Walton Caribou 1991-1992 Andy McMahan Fairfield 1992-1993 John Forester Augusta 1993-1994 Larinda Meade Portland 1994-1995 Janet Kalman Sanford 1995-1996 Lin Hallowell Waterville 1996-1997 Becky Dyer Biddeford 1997-1998 Anne Kemper Lewiston 1998-1999 Diann Bailey Gardiner 1999-2000 Diana McCain Bath 2000-2001 Tom Nash Sanford 2001-2002 Judy Green South Paris 2002-2003 Rob Wood Portland 2003-2004 Barbara Goodwin Waterboro 2004-2005 Gail Senese Portland

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2005-2006 Patte Bowman Skowhegan 2006-2007 Otis Smith Houlton 2007-2008 Kathi Medcalf Sanford 2008-2009 Suzanne Rojas Newport 2009-2010 Zane Clement Bridgton 2010-2011 Rob Wood Portland 2011-2012 Carrie Castonguay Bridgton 2012-2013 Tim Dresser Camden

MAEA Members 2012-2013

Institutional Program Ashland MSAD 32 Auburn Augusta Bangor Bath RSU 1 Biddeford Bucksport RSU 25

Caribou (Eastern Aroostook) Readfield RSU 38 Camden(Five Towns) CSD 19 Sullivan/Ellsworth RSU 24 Mt. Desert CSD7 Fort Fairfield Freeport Gorham Kittery Lewiston Madawaska (Frenchville) Presque Isle MSAD 1 Gardiner RSU 11 Jackman MSAD 12 Danforth MSAD 14 Gray MSAD 15 MSAD 17 & Buckfield Van Buren MSAD 24 Stacyville RSU 50 Fort Kent MSAD 27

Houlton (Hodgdon) MSAD 29/70 Unity/Mt.View RSU 3

Howland MSAD 31 Belfast/Searsport RSU 20 Eliot MSAD 35

RSU 73 Jay/Livermore Falls Waldoboro MSAD 40 Bethel MSAD 44 Newport RSU 19

Lawrence MSAD 49 Fairfield Rockland RSU 13 Cumberland MSAD 51 Turner MSAD 52 Pittsfield MSAD 53 Skowhegan MSAD 54 Hiram MSAD 55 Waterboro MSAD 57 Kingfield MSAD 58 Bar Mills MSAD 6 North Berwick MSAD 60 Bridgton MSAD 61/72 Lincoln MSAD 67

Piscatiquis Valley Collaborative Kennebunk & Arundel RSU 21 Topsham(Brunswick) MSAD 75 Vinalhaven MSAD 8

Farmington Mt. Blue RSD Old Orchard Beach/Saco Portland RSU 2 Richmond Sanford Scarborough South Portland Machias Union 102 Baileyville Union 107 Mechanic Falls RSU16 Rangeley Union 37 Sabattus Union 44 Whitefield SVRSU 12 Greenville Union 60

Damariscotta Central Lincoln Co. Hamden/Orono RSU 26

CTE Region 2 - Houlton CTE Region 3 Lincoln

Midcoast School of Technology United Technology Center CTE Reg. 9(Rumford/Mexico) Mid Maine – Waterville Area Wells-Ogunquit Westbrook Windham Winthrop(Monmouth) Wiscasset SVRSU 12 York Harrington MSAD 37 Mars Hill MSAD 42 Lisbon Falls Deer Isle Stonington Institutional Partners Axiom Technology

Maine Educational Opportunity Center

Maine Adult Corrections Education Assn.

DOE Adult Education Team Maine State Prison

Maine Centers for Women,Work & Community

USM Masters Program Learning Works FAME Maine

Literacy Volunteers - Midcoast Individual Members Patrick O'Regan Anne Niemiec Larinda Meade Judy Green Becky Dyer Ingrid Baily