Excelling Program Awards Criteria

• Increased percentage in overall MSG target
• Meets or exceeds overall MSG percentage target
• Meets (at least 90%) or exceeds enrollment target for all funded program areas
• Identified in the top 50% of Title II Programs based on the Risk Assessment Ranking
• Programs were disqualified if they had been issued a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) in 2025-2026 or a Memo of Concern (MoC)

Excelling Adult Education Program Award for ABE/ASE

Recipients: Central Arizona College Adult Education and Gila County Adult Education

Excelling Adult Education Program Award for ESOL/IELCE

Recipients: Somerton Adult Education

Innovation Award for Integrated Education and Training

Recipients: Queen Creek Adult Education

Innovation Award for Workplace Literacy

Recipients: Gilbert Adult Learning Program

State Leadership Participation Award

Recipients: Literacy Phoenix

Adult Education Recognition for Credential Attainment Rate Award

Recipients: Gilbert Adult Learning Program

ARIZONA@WORK Workforce Partner Award

Recipients: LaPaz/Mohave Counties

Adult Education Program Director Retirement Recognition

Recipients: Christine Niven, Program Director at Mesa Adult Education Program

AALL Rookie of the Year Award

This award honors an AALL member who has one to three years of active service in the field of Adult Education. The nominee has shown leadership, professional excellence, and contributed to lifelong learning.

Recipient: Kyrra Richard, Learning Assistant at Northland Pioneer College

AALL Educator of the Year Award

This award honors an AALL member who has four or more years of active service in the field of Adult Education, as either a full-time or part-time instructor. The nominee has shown leadership, professional excellence, and contributed to lifelong learning.

Recipient: Kathy Christensen>, Instructor at Pima Community College - Adult Basic Education for College & Career

AALL Support Staff of the Year Award

This award honors an employee who serves in any of the following capacities: clerical, classroom/lab aide, GED examiner, administrative assistant, support technician, student services. The nominee has contributed significantly to improving services for students. The nominee can be a full-time or part-time employee and does not have to be a member of AALL.

Recipient: Veronica Gutierrez, Senior Administrative Specialist at Rio Salado College

AALL Volunteers of the Year Award

This award recognizes a volunteer who has contributed their time to serving a program in any of the following capacities: clerical, classroom/lab aide, advisory board, leader, or educator.

Recipient: Tim & Stephanie Siemens, Volunteers at Queen Creek Adult Education Program

ABE/HSE Student of the Year Award

This award honors an ABE/HSE student. The nominee has been an active student during the current program year, demonstrated persistence and leadership, and contributed to adult education.

Recipient: Maya Dibble at Gila County Adult Education

ESOL Student of the Year Award

This award honors an ESOL or citizenship student. The nominee has been an active student during the past program year, demonstrated persistence and leadership, and contributed to adult education.

Recipient: Hector Castillo at Pima Community College - Adult Basic Education for College & Career

Additional information can be found on the AALL website.

Individuals enrolled in WIOA Title II Adult Education programs can earn their HSE Diploma through the HSE PLUS Career Readiness Pathway by demonstrating Academic Readiness (14 points) and Career Readiness (8 points) as described below for a required total of 22 points.

Individuals must be enrolled in a WIOA Title II Adult Education program be sixteen years of age or older not enrolled in secondary school or required to be enrolled in secondary school and lack a high school diploma.

No. The GED® Testing Pathway and the College Credit Pathway are still available as alternatives for individuals seeking to obtain their HSE Diploma in Arizona.

Eligible individuals may earn the required 22 points by combining different sources in each area: Academic Readiness and Career Readiness. The specific options within each area include High School credits, College credits, GED® tests passed, WIOA Title II Adult Education classes for Academic Readiness, and College credits, IET Programs, CTE credits, Career Readiness Credential, Employment or internship, Industry Recognized Credentials or Certificates for Career Readiness.

Individual must earn 14 points as follows: English Language Arts (4 points), Mathematics (4 points), Science (3 points), Social Studies (3 points).

Individuals must earn 8 points by using a combination of the different eligible sources in this area.

Note: Eligible individuals must be actively enrolled in a WIOA Title II Adult Education provider. Application submission will be completed through the eligible Adult Education program.

Program Introduction and Overview

The Community College Adult Education and Workforce Development Program is established as Arizona Revised Statute §15-217.01 (Senate Bill 1744) and per A.R.S. §15-217.01(A) the program provides adult learners with preparation for and access to integrated education and training as defined in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (P.L. 113-128; 128 STAT. 1425; 29 United States Code Section 3272) and additional study and support services. Per A.R.S. §15-217.01(B), program applications are accepted annually.

The program application is comprised of three parts.

• Part I: Eligibility Screening
• Part II: Application
• Part III: Program Requirements

The program's funding will be invoice based, and reimbursement will be provided through the Arizona Procurement Portal (A.P.P.) system. The Arizona Department of Education will issue contracts for approved providers.

The total State funding is up to $5,700,000 for all approved providers and available until the appropriation is depleted.

Application Submission Deadline: September 12, 2025

Eligibility Requirements A.R.S. §15-217.01(B)

B. Applicants/program providers must meet all the following eligibility requirements to apply for funding for the Community College Adult Education Workforce Development Program:

1. Be a community college district that is established pursuant to section §15-1402; and
2. Provide adult education and literacy activities that prepare adult learners for attainment of a high school diploma or high school equivalency diploma; and
3. Provide adult learners with access to integrated education and training models, including workforce training, industry-recognized credentials, degree programs, or workforce programs that are accredited by a regional accrediting body that is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Application Link

Applications are closed.

Program Introduction and Overview

The Continuing High School and Workforce Training Program is established as Arizona Revised Statute §15-217.02 (Senate Bill 1744) and per A.R.S. §15-217.02(A), the program provides adult learners with alternative study services that leads to the issuance of a high school diploma and industry-recognized credentials. The Arizona Department of Education shall administer the program, and the Arizona State Board of Education shall authorize eligible service providers to participate in the program and to establish a program school in partnership with a school district or nonprofit charter school.

The program application is comprised of three parts.

• Part I: Eligibility Screening
• Part II: Application
• Part III: Program Requirements

The program's funding will be invoice based and reimbursement will be provided through the Arizona Procurement Portal (A.P.P.) system. The Arizona Department of Education will issue contracts for approved providers.

The total State funding is up to $2,726,825 for all approved providers and available until the appropriation is depleted.

Application Submission Deadline: September 12, 2025

Eligibility Requirements A.R.S. §15-217.02(B)(1)(2)

B. Applicants/service providers must meet both of the following to be eligible to participate in the Continuing High School and Workforce Training Program:

1. Be a nonprofit corporation that is qualified as tax-exempt pursuant to section 501(c) (3) of the internal revenue code or be an adult education provider that is approved by the division of adult education within the Arizona Department of Education.
2. Demonstrate at least a ten-year history of providing workforce training and career services in Arizona to individuals eighteen years of age and older and who have had limited educational and training opportunities due to educational disadvantages, disabilities, or other barriers to education, such as lack of reliable and affordable transportation, lack of childcare or food insecurity.

Application Link

Applications are closed.

Links to Q&A Document

Community College Adult Education and Workforce Development Program Questions and Responses

Continuing High School and Workforce Training Program Questions and Responses

Implementing evidence-based reading instruction for ABE students.

Required for:

• Programs that do not currently have a STAR/ARISE Trained cohort or
• Programs who would like to expand evidence-based reading instruction and
• Administrators who were not part of their programs' STAR/ARISE cohorts

Year 1 Cohort Important Dates

Thank you for participating!

Year 2+ Schedule

2026-2027 ARISE Training Calendar - Year 2 Webinar Series Schedule

Content	Dates	Time	Format	Registration Link
Fluency	12/04/2026	1.5 hours	Virtual	Register
Vocabulary	01/08/2027	1.5 hours	Virtual	Register
Comprehension	02/05/2027	1.5 hours	Virtual	Register

Building Relevance Through Contextualized Learning

Presented by Chris Miller, an Adult Education Professional Learning and Workforce Specialist

This professional learning series will help Arizona adult education teachers and administrators strengthen learner engagement by connecting academic instruction to meaningful life, career, training, and postsecondary applications. Participants will learn a practical framework for contextualizing instruction, apply it to an existing lesson, test the redesigned lesson with learners, and share results during a follow-up session.

Part 2 on Wednesday, November 18^th from 03:00 PM - 04:00 PM

Building Relevance Through Contextualized Instruction - Nov 4 / 18 3:00p - 4:00p

The Teaching the Skills That Matter in Adult Education project (TSTM) trains teachers to integrate the skills that matter to adult students using approaches that work across engaging topics. Using the project's tools and training, adult education teachers can teach these transferable workforce skills students need across multiple contexts.

Explore the Online Toolkit to get started with read-made lesson plans and resources for the classroom.

This is the first of the quarterly meetings supporting Teaching Skills that Matter (TSTM). This community of practice is open to any teacher or administrator wanting to utilize the TSTM framework in their classroom/program.

The meeting is discussion-based and centers on a featured topic each month. This month, two teachers from Rio will share how they have applied the TSTM framework through their monthly PLC work focused on the nine essential skills.

Meeting on Friday, January 16^th from 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM

TSTM COP PY26-27: 11/6/26; 1/15/27; 3/5/27; 5/7/27 (10:30a-11:30a)

The Beginning Curriculum for Adults Learning Math, or BeCALM, was developed by the Technical Education Research Center (TERC) development team to craft a coherent progression of units and lessons that integrates the Mathematical Standards domains for beginner levels.

BeCALM features remote-ready units for adult learners needing math instruction at beginning levels (ABE 2 - ABE 4.) BeCALM is a conceptually-focused and cognitively rigorous curriculum that supports begnning math learners in developing math concepts and skills while centering student thinking.

2026-2027 BeCALM Training Calendar

Content	Dates	Time	Location
Follow-up Webinar	12/03/2026	01:00 PM - 02:30 PM	Virtual

Adult Ed 101

Focus: This course is designed to provide information on Title II Workforce Innovations and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and the Arizona Adult Education System. Applicable for new adult education staff. Register here.

Blended Learning Certification (TVM Requirement)

Focus: Ensure an understanding of blended learning as a mode of instruction. This course will also provide a deeper dive into the evidence and use of the 'Teacher Verification Model'. Register here.

Building a Google Site for Your Blended Classroom

Focus: Explore how Google Suite can support the learning goal(s) in the blended classroom. Create a Google Site with a curated YouTube video, a Google Form, and some written guidance for students to follow. Register here.

Introduction to the Adult Education English Language Proficiency Standards

Focus: Introductory training on navigating the English Language Proficiency Standards for Arizona Adult Educators. Register here.

English Language Proficiency Standards (Part 2 - Deconstruction)

Focus: Additional training on deconstructing the English Language Proficiency Standards for Arizona Adult Educators. Register here.

Introduction to the AZ Adult Basic Education Standards Course

Focus: Introductory training on navigating the Adult Basic Education Standards for Arizona Adult Educators. Register here.

Adult Basic Education (ABE) Standards (Part 2 - Deconstruction)

Focus: Additional training on deconstructing the Adult Basic Education Standards for Arizona Adult Educators. Register here.

Digital Literacy for Teachers (Beginner)

Focus: Introductory training on Microsoft Office Suite and Google G Suite to support Digital Literacy in the classroom. Register here.

Digital Literacy for Teachers (Intermediate)

Focus: Internet security, copyright & fair use, the Creative Commons, creating engaging presentations, utilizing feedback tools, creating surveys, and analyzing survey results. Register here.

Digital Resilience in the American Workforce (DRAW)

Focus: Digital Resilience in the American Workforce (DRAW) initiative supports the development of tools and resources to help teachers build the digital literacy and digital resilience of adult learners. The five-unit DRAW course was developed with the purpose of providing an introduction to key components of Digital Resilience. Register here.

HyFlex and Virtual Learning Engagement Course (NEW!)

Focus: In this course, teachers are able to plan their virtual and/or HyFlex classrooms with customizable resources. This course is recommended for new teachers being asked to teach in these modalities and those wanting more ideas to support engagement in their classroom. Although the course focuses on the HyFlex and Virtual classrooms, the resources presented in this course can be valuable in supporting engagement and digital literacy of in-person classes as well. Register here.

The Literacy Information and Communication System, or LINCS, is a national leadership initiative of the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) to expand evidence-based practice in the field of adult education. A number of valuable, on-demand professional development opportunities are available through their website at lincs.ed.gov.