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Over two years ago, the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education funded the Designing Instruction for Career Pathways (DICP) Initiative, recognizing that adult education and training should be sector-specific and aligned to local workforce development needs. The Adult Career Pathways Training and Support Center was developed as part of this initiative to provide adult education practitioners with unlimited access to a robust collection of instructional resources, implementation strategies, best practices, research, online courses, and other tools as well as collaborative peer learning opportunities and resource-sharing. This special edition of ACP News highlights some of the achievements of the past year as well as a sneak peek at what can be expected in 2013!

At the start of 2012, the ACP-SC Community launched with about 25 members. Today, there are over 1,600 regular visitors who read and engage in the forums and other community activities. Read the note in this newsletter from the ACP-SC Community Manager Jacob Mullin to learn how ACP-SC has and will continue to grow and support this unique online learning community.

By building an online community of Adult Career Pathway practitioners, ACP-SC is supporting interactive collaboration and engagement between users that expands upon the website’s numerous professional development opportunities such as the webcasts, online courses, regional trainings, issue briefs, and downloadable resources.

(From right to left) ACP-SC Webcast Series Presents: Developing Effective Bridge Programs panelist Christopher Coro, Deputy Director, U.S. Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education, Division of Adult Education and Literacy, Donald McCoy, K-to-College STEM Education Consultant, Thomas DuBois, Director of New Initiatives, Instituto del Progreso Latino, and Michelle Carson, Deputy Project Director, Kratos Learning.

Ann-Claire Anderson, Center for Occupational Research and Development, facilitates a regional workshop for teachers at the Arizona Association for Lifelong Learning 2012 Conference.

This past year ACP-SC developed two new self-paced online courses that provide “how- to” instruction around key areas for developing and implementing Adult Career Pathways systems. Companion webcasts to the Building Strategic Partnerships and Developing Effective Bridge Programs courses feature experts in the field expanding on the courses’ content. Watch the previously recorded webcasts online. We invite you to participate in this year’s live upcoming webcasts.

Also in the new year, take your state or region’s career pathways professional development further with an ACP-SC regional training workshop. In 2012, ACP-SC started offering regional workshops on Designing Contextualized Instruction for Career Pathways. Based on the positive feedback from these trainings, ACP-SC will continue offering this opportunity to interested states and regional associations.

I-Fang Cheng, Education Analyst, Kratos Learning at the ACP-SC booth during the 2012 COABE conference.

The content of the training materials is designed to custom fit the needs of participants at every stage of Adult Career Pathways program development or implementation. As states implement and strengthen their Adult Career Pathway programs, many have lessons, resources, and outcomes to share that are useful to teachers and program administrators. Learn more about the Adult Career Pathway activities happening in other states in the ACP-SC State Spotlights in Review article in this newsletter.

Moving into this year, ACP-SC will continue to add new resources and tools that support the field. This newsletter highlights some of them and lays the roadmap for the year to come. Please continue to take the ACP journey with us.

For more about upcoming ACP-SC activities and offerings in 2013, email info@acp-sc.org.

ACP-SC State Spotlights in Review

Throughout the year, ACP News focuses on the emergence and progress of career pathways systems in states across the country. Here is a look back at states we focused on in 2012:

Kansas

Kansas is in the midst of an implementation grant as part of the Accelerating Opportunity initiative with nine Kansas community and technical colleges engaged in Accelerating Opportunity: Kansas (or AO-K, for short). AO-K uses an integrated education and training career pathways model to deliver career and technical education with adult basic skills instruction, keying off the successful I-BEST model created in Washington State. The state’s goal is to scale the AO-K model to all 26 community and technical colleges in Kansas. Click here to read more about Kansas’ efforts.

Kentucky

As a participant in Jobs for the Future’s demonstration project, Accelerating Opportunity, Kentucky’s vision is to implement a collaborative career pathways model that prepares students to be college and career ready. The initiative seeks to reform how education is delivered to lower-skilled adults by integrating basic skills education with technical training. Accelerating Opportunity was launched at eight of Kentucky’s 16 community and technical colleges in January 2012 with the goal to expand the initiative to all 16 by the end of the three-year initiative. Click here to read more about Kentucky’s efforts.

Minnesota

Minnesota's FastTRAC (Training, Resources, and Credentialing) Adult Career Pathways program is a statewide partnership of Adult Basic Education (ABE), workforce development, and the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) systems, including non-profits and human services. Focused on improving outcomes for low-wage, lower-skilled adults through a career pathways approach, Minnesota’s vision is that every two-year MnSCU institution will have one or more FastTRAC Adult Career Pathways programs leading to certification in high-growth, high-demand occupations. Click here to read more about Minnesota’s FastTRAC efforts.

Montana

Montana developed the Personalized Employment Plan (PEP Talk) that connects adult learners with information, resources, and personalized support to develop long-term employment plans. PEP Talk helps adult learners set long-term goals supported by realistic plans to achieve them and programs across the state are sharing their success stories of PEP Talk implementation. Click here to read more about Montana’s PEP Talk.

North Carolina

The North Carolina Community College System, has made Accelerating Opportunity—including North Carolina’s own integrated pathway program, Basic Skills Plus—a top priority for 2012. North Carolina’s scale-up strategy for Accelerating Opportunity involves all 58 community colleges in the state. Click here to read more about North Carolina’s efforts.

Virginia

Numerous career pathways initiatives emerged to serve target populations in the state of Virginia. The career pathways system became the principal model for workforce development in Virginia, bringing together nine state agencies with responsibilities for administering federal and state-funded career and technical education and workforce development programs. Click here to read more about Virginia’s efforts.

Look for highlights from Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, New York, and others in 2013!