Planning for Adult Basic Education
North Quabbin
Area
Massachusetts
Draft for Department of Education and Others
Family
Literacy and Adult Education Partnership
A Task Force
of the North Quabbin Community Coalition
Fall 2002
I
Overview
In 2001, a task force of the North Quabbin Community Coalition formed to complete a community assets and needs assessment. The North Quabbin Task Force on Community Planning for Adult Education was initially comprised of representatives from twelve organizations serving people in the North Quabbin area and interested in issues pertaining to adult education. In September 2002, seven other organizations joined this task force to form the Family Literacy and Adult Education Partnership, which remains a task force of the North Quabbin Community Coalition.
Research for the community assessment was started in April 2001. Research began with a meeting of people representing educational institutions, businesses, human service providers, adult education students (current and former), and other community residents. This large meeting helped identify areas of concern for completing a community assessment. The key areas identified included:
· Maintaining and Expanding Adult Basic Education (ABE) Services
· Educational Alternatives for Out-of-School Youth
· Community and Civic Education
· Training and Education Beyond ABE
The research included extensive data collection from both primary and secondary sources. The findings of this research and their implications for ABE/ESOL community planning are summarized below.
Community Needs
1. Communities of Focus:
North Quabbin Area includes the nine towns of Athol, Erving, New Salem, Orange, Phillipston, Petersham, Royalston, Warwick and Wendell
2. Who lives in the community:
The North Quabbin Area is a rural area with two economic rural centers, Athol and Orange. Athol and Orange have the largest populations in the area and are the most densely populated but still have fewer than 350 people per square mile. This nine-town region is spread over 344 square miles with five towns having fewer than 30 people per square mile. There is little ethnic/racial diversity and only a small percentage of new immigrants who have limited English proficiency. However, three of the nine towns (Athol, Orange, and Erving) are among the 50 poorest towns in Massachusetts according to U.S Census 2000 data.* Many residents have lived in the area for generations. The poverty levels for individuals are highest in Athol, Wendell, and Royalston. Athol and Wendell have a larger percentage of individuals living below the federal poverty level than the average for Massachusetts. Athol and Orange have the lowest percentage of people over 25 who received high school diplomas (less than 80%). In all but three towns (Petersham, Wendell, and New Salem) the adult population with bachelor’s degrees and above is well below the state average of 33.2%, and 18-21% of the residents over 25 do not have high school diplomas. Generally during some part of 2002, unemployment among adults was higher in the five largest towns of the region than for the state.
Being isolated and at least twenty miles from larger communities, the region has faced economic depression for over fifteen years. Through the first 75 years of the 20th century the principal employment was in agriculture and manufacturing. In the last part of the 20th century many of the jobs in the
* According to Congressman John Olver’s office seven of the 9 towns in the North Quabbin region are among the 50 poorest towns in Massachusetts (from 2001 town tax information).
manufacturing sector were no longer available because of a large plant closing and through other downsizing. Farm employment gradually lessened through the 1900s. A large proportion of the population has been affected by unemployment and under employment during the past 20 years. People living in the smaller towns still remain isolated from both education programs and other services.
Primary data collection from local human service providers also revealed that there are no programs for adults with developmental cognitive disabilities who need educational programs to help them maintain their basic skills. Other providers working with teens reported that there is a growing need for educational alternatives for young people who leave school before graduating. At this point the only alternative for teens (16-19) who leave school is to enroll in the local ABE program. However, there is often a short waiting list for teens wanting to enroll in the ABE program. Many of the teens requesting adult education services are young parents or have some court involvement (e.g., probation). Over the past year, young adults have found it difficult to get jobs, as the unemployment rate in most of the towns is over 6 %.
3. What are ABE related needs?
a. Credentials: –
The largest percentage of adults over 25 without a high school diploma live in Orange (20.4%), Athol (20.1), and Royalston (17.2%). These percentages are above the state’s percentage of 16.6% of adults without high school diplomas. In Erving the percentage of adults over 25 without a high school diploma is 15.5%. In the other towns the percentage falls between 5.3% and 10%, well below the state percentage. In the towns where fewer adults have high school diplomas, more people have low-skill jobs that pay less and which may not provide a living wage for their families.
b. Need for skills despite credential: --
The lower level of formal education and technical training attained by many people in the region means that there are a higher number of low-skilled workers who work at low-wage, temporary or part-time jobs. This segment of the population needs job training if they are to retain stable employment and advance.
Both primary and secondary data
collection indicates that there is a need for pre-employment skill building and
job training. A comprehensive job
skills development program is needed and should include elements of technical
skill training (for instance apprenticeships for such job areas as machine and
metalworking, mechanics, electricians and technical training in health care),
personal mentoring, and group-based education in the behavioral/ life skills
that employers say are missing. The
need for more workplace education that relates to not only technical skills but
to communication skills, teamwork and problem solving, computer literacy, work
readiness and basic work skills relates closely to training needs outlined in Blueprint 2002 recently published by the
Franklin/Hampshire Regional Employment Board. This type of comprehensive
program calls for building partnerships with educational programs,
community-based organizations in the North Quabbin area and local employers.
c. At risk: --
The Census 2000 data shows that Athol, Orange, Erving and Royalston have a higher percentage of adults without high school diplomas than in the state. Other Census 2000 data shows that teens, ages 16-19 who do not get a high school diploma remains high for the largest towns in the region. For Orange this percentage stood at 19% and for Athol, 8% in 2000. Massachusetts Department of Education School District Profiles show that the dropout rate for 2000 at Mahar Regional School (serving Orange, New Salem, Wendell, and Petersham) was 5.9%. The dropout rate for 2000 at the Athol-Royalston (serving Athol and Royalston) was 4.4%, and the dropout rate for the Gill-Montague Regional School (serving Erving and Turners Falls) was 5.7 %. These rates indicate that there are a fair number of teens who leave high school before graduating.
Although the percentage of young women under 20 giving birth to children has dropped since 1995, it is still over twice as high (14%) as the percent of births to women under 20 in the state (6.6%) in 2000. Many parenting and pregnant teens find it difficult to stay in school and require special services so that they can complete an education program.
d. Intergenerational literacy issues: --
Primary data collected from human service providers and the adult education provider show that many current and past students have parents or other family members who do not have a high school diploma. Also of the 25 Even Start families served by the North Quabbin Even Start Program between 2001 and 2002, 64% of the parents served in adult education scored at or below 6th grade on the Test for Adult Basic Education (TABE – a standardized test given to ABE students). Without improving their basic skills, these parents may not be able to help their children with homework and thus cannot support their children in school. This may also put the entire family at risk in terms of having limited earning ability in an economy, which calls for people to have more technical skills.
e. Language: –
Census 2000 data does not indicate an increased need
for ESOL programming in the North Quabbin area. Census 2000 data indicates that 7.7% of the state's residents
over the age of five have limited English language proficiency. In all nine towns of the North Quabbin
region less than 2% of residents over the age of 5 have limited English
proficiency. However, this is an issue
that providers may wish to monitor over the next few years if there are changes
in migration patterns into the region.
Literacy Volunteers of Orange/Athol does provide free ESOL tutors for
people in the North Quabbin region.
According to their director, they have not seen an increase in requests
for their ESOL services in the past year.
f. Special needs (handicapped
accessibility): --
The North Quabbin Adult Education and the North Quabbin Even Start program are handicapped accessible. Literacy Volunteers of Orange/Athol provides one-to-one tutors for ESOL to individuals who meet in public places such as libraries which may or may not be handicapped accessible.
g. Mapping of current adult education population and other areas of needs: --
Most former and current adult education students reside close to the town centers
of Athol and Orange (within a mile of the centers). Others reside in some of the scattered subsidized apartment complexes (also close to town centers) in the two largest towns of the area. Most residents of these areas now have access to public transportation through Community Transit Services or the G-Link during the day. Other people in the region who may need adult education services are scattered in outlying areas of the seven small towns and may have difficulty getting to classes because of transportation barriers.
h. Changes since the 1990 census: --
The population change in the region between 1990 and 2000, was not the same for the whole area. Athol’s population decreased by 1.3 %. Orange’s population increased by only 2.8 % while Phillipston, Royalston, Wendell and New Salem saw population increases of 9-15%.
Since 1990 the educational attainment of adults over 25 has increased with a higher percentage obtaining high school diplomas and a higher percentage earning bachelor’s degrees. In 1990, 25% of the adults in Orange and Athol did not have high school diplomas. On Census 2000 data the percentage of adults over 25 in Athol, Orange, and Royalston was still over 19 % for adults who did not have high school diplomas. This remains higher than the state average of 16.6 %.
In terms of employment and unemployment in the two largest towns in the area (Athol and Orange), there were significant changes. The region was suffering from the Recession of the early 1990s and unemployment rates stood at 10.9 % in Athol and at 11.6 % in Orange in 1990. In 2002 the unemployment rate in Athol stood at 7.6 % and in Orange at 6 %, and was still well above the state unemployment rate of 4.5%.
i.
Special Challenges:
--
Many of the challenges for residents in the North Quabbin area relate to the growing gap in services as satellite programs of various educational and human service programs are closed due to the recent economic downturn in Massachusetts. Some specific challenges that affect residents of the North Quabbin area include:
· Downsizing and lay-offs at local employers so that people need to travel further to find steady work or be willing to work at low-wages, at a temporary job or piece together part-time work. Job opportunities for young adults are fewer when there is an economic downturn in the area.
· Rent costs are increasing which makes it difficult for people to find good affordable housing.
· The closing of the Step-Up program in Orange, a Greenfield Community College program, in January 2002 meant that there is no transition to college program in the area.
· The closing of the Department of Transitional Assistance office, Clinical Support Options, and other services has meant that people have to travel out of the area for needed services
· Cutbacks in late afternoon and early evening public transportation (fixed route bus service) means it is more difficult to get to evening adult education classes.
· Cutbacks in services by the Franklin/Hampshire Career Center means it is harder to develop much needed pre-employment and job training for young adults and others without finding new funding sources for such programs.
· Although there are employment opportunities in the region in manufacturing, retail, government/education, and health care, there are few high tech jobs. The lack of a telecommunications infrastructure (DSL, broadband, etc.) inhibits the growth of new high technology businesses in the area. In this region, many of the employment opportunities are at lower wages than outside the area. Thus, people may travel on average between 25 and 35 minutes to get to higher paying jobs outside the nine-town region. Also Starett’s, one of the largest employers in the area, has cut back hours for workers and laid some workers off in the past year.
Community Assets
a. ABE/ESOL Family Literacy Programs – The North Quabbin Adult Education Center (Orange
site of The Literacy Project), serving about 100 people a year in structured classes; the North Quabbin Even Start Program, serving 20-25 young families; and Literacy Volunteers of Orange/Athol, providing one-on-one tutoring for ESL and basic skills; are the basic ABE providers in the region.
b. Service Providers -- Specific information about service providers and members of the community planning partnership is described in the body of this report.
c. Employment opportunities – In 2002 the unemployment rate for Athol stood at 7 % and for
Orange at 6 % compared with the statewide rate of 4.5%. Opportunities for entry-level jobs exist at such places as Wal-Mart in Orange, two plastic factories, and some restaurants. Quabbin Valley Healthcare is a large nursing home which offers employment opportunities in health care and has a career ladder program for employees in conjunction with Mount Wachusett Community College.
d. Existing
Partnerships – The North Quabbin Community Coalition is a coalition of
human service providers, educational programs, other programs and community
residents which has worked on issues of concern to residents of the area for 18
years. (More details about partnerships
are discussed in the body of this report.)
e. Housing Services – There are several subsidized apartment complexes in Athol and Orange. However, the waiting lists for subsidized housing are long, and someone could be on a wait list for a year or longer.
Implications and Conclusions for ABE/ESL Community
Planning
1.
Summary
of findings
Athol and Orange, the largest towns in this nine-town region, are among 50 of the poorest towns in Massachusetts. Despite gains in educational attainment, employment levels and income during the past decade, these two towns still have a higher percentage of adults without high school diplomas and a higher percentage of births to women under the age of 20 than statewide rates. Athol has a poverty rate above the statewide average. The unemployment rates for Athol (7.6%), Orange (6.0%), Phillipston (8.2%), Royalston (8.3%), and Erving (5.6%) are above the state unemployment rate of 4.5 % in 2002. Census 2000 data shows that close to 25% of the households in the North Quabbin area have an income below $25,000, which indicates that many families may be struggling to meet the basic costs of living in this region according to data in The Self-Sufficiency Standard: Where MA Families Stand.
2. Target populations in need of ABE services
In focus group meetings, participants identified the following populations in need of ABE services.
Focus group participants included people ages 17-65 who had a variety of experiences with adult education. Many of the focus group members also had experience with a variety of human services while others had little contact with human services. Many focus group participants had contact with such services as community mental health programs, the Department of Social Services (DSS), the courts and probation, the Department of Transitional Assistance, Healthy Families, and other services. These focus groups included unemployed, disabled, underemployed, displaced workers, and employed people from the community. However, the identification of target populations did not vary much between the different focus groups and people surveyed.
Target populations include the following:
·
Residents who need basic literacy and GED services --
There was an emphasis on maintaining and possibly expanding adult education services during community planning task force meetings and in focus groups with community residents (former and current adult education students). One student commented: “It gets scary with all the cuts where they keep taking things away from the little people.”
Another focus group participant
stated: “Attending ABE classes can give
a person an opportunity for personal growth where a person starts to see their
own improvement in areas and growing self-confidence to learn and try new
things.”
·
Teen parents who need family literacy, ABE and other
support services –
Many people attending focus groups
emphasized the need for on-site childcare.
One focus group member stated: “The hours for classes were a plus with
the on-site childcare with the Even Start Children’s room and being able to
come in the morning with older kids in school.”
·
Out-of-school youth, ages 16-20, who need educational
alternatives, pre-employment and job training
“By not getting an education I may
not be able to get a good job so I can get on with things if I get my GED,”
stated several teens participating in a focus group. The North Quabbin Adult Education Center had contact with 70
out-of-school young people under age 20 between 2001 and 2002. Not all these young people enrolled in
classes, but the many were concerned about job training and getting a job. Many
were having difficulty finding a job.
·
Adults with developmental and cognitive disabilities
who need educational services in order to maintain basic literacy skills and
life skills
“For adults with developmental and cognitive disabilities, education plays an equally, if not more important role of maintaining and reinforcing existing information and skills. Offering such educational opportunities to this segment of the population should be included in adult education services in the community,” stated Virginia Hinchey in an interview (Greater Athol Area Association of Families with Special Needs).
·
Residents who need transition to community college
services
Several people in focus groups stated the need for a transitional program after completing their GED. People talked about the need for career planning and exposure to college while taking adult education classes.
·
Residents who need parent education/support and
community education
In all the surveys, focus groups
and discussions with the community planning task force, one of the key
priorities highlighted for adult education services was to include parent
education workshops and parent support.
On a survey of human service providers parent education was seen as the
number one need. Parents participating
in two of the focus groups also highlighted the need for parent education and
support, and several stated that there should be “more classes for parent
education and workshops to help parents work with older children on homework
and other issues.”
3. Gaps in existing services
·
Pre-employment and job training programs – no
coordinated local program.
·
Transition to community college program – no local
program
·
Life skills and basic literacy program for adults with
developmental cognitive disabilities – no existing educational program
·
Parent Education and Community education – community
programs that provide this service cannot meet the demand for services.
·
Computer training – no low-cost or free computer
training in North Quabbin region
4.
Barriers/Challenges to enrollment and persistence in education
Barriers to accessing services or continuing in classes once enrolled include the following as discussed in all the focus groups held during 2002:
· Childcare
· Transportation
· Personal issues related to housing, loss of job, family violence, court issues and other factors
Implication for
service planning
After over a year and a half of work by the North Quabbin Community Planning Task Force, several areas appear to be priorities for continuing the work of the task force. Many people collected information, completed surveys, helped with focus groups and attended monthly meetings. During the first year 12 organizations and other community residents were involved in the work of the task force. In September 2002 eight other organizations joined the task force. This group plans to continue working on developing priorities for taking action and moving toward a strategic plan for adult education in the North Quabbin region.
Some of the priorities that the North
Quabbin Family Literacy and Adult Education Partnership
(A Task Force of North Quabbin Community Coalition) plan to focus on in the coming year include some of the following:
· Publicity of Community Planning Report-- Work on developing ways to publicize the Community Planning Report and the work of the task force in the larger community. This may mean a press release and setting up talks with various groups such as the Chamber of Commerce and employers, Rotary Club, community colleges, and other groups. Other work may include a joint brochure highlighting North Quabbin programs doing some form of adult education (NQ Even Start, Orange site of The Literacy Project, Orange-Athol Literacy Volunteers, Valuing Our Children and other programs.
·
Parent Education
-- Begin work on a Parent Education Collaborative with representative
organizations on the task force. One inexpensive way of presenting this would
be for representative agencies to present a subject in their field of expertise
to create a parenting series of workshops.
Agencies will work together to design workshops, decide on space and
staff and work out logistics of childcare, and possibly write a collaborative
grant to help support this. The vision
is to provide support for all parents, then skill building, increase
parental/personal power of parents, and continue parent education beyond elementary
school for parents of teens.
· Developing resources and fundraising to sustain family literacy and adult education programs – This may include work with the towns of Athol and Orange to be included in town block grants. Task force members also plan to look at other possible funding which could include foundations and businesses along with governmental funding sources.
· Economic Development and Education – This will include work on developing pre-employment and some job training in the region and possible work to bring back some type of transition to college program for adults. The task force is continuing to develop ideas to carry out some of the following in the coming year:
(a)
Ask employers to
partner with area agencies to develop a “Life Skills Academy.” (ABE from The
Literacy Project with enhancements from other services such as Quabbin
Mediation and Mentoring Project). Such
a “Life Skills Academy” could focus on some of the skills local employers say
they need in workers such as communication skills, teamwork skills,
reliability, a good work attitude and pride in work, basic math and reading
skills. Such a project would include
more work with the Regional Employment Board and the Career Center to bring
more programming to the area especially for out-of-school youth.
(b) Figure out how to get local employers involved and bring them together to talk about some of the issues confronting employers in getting a good workforce.
(c) Begin to form partnerships with schools (i.e., referrals to services as developed, identify students with needs)
(d) Work to develop trade programs with a special focus on women and supports for female apprentice positions
(e)
Work to develop partnerships between employers to offer
cost-effective trainings.
· Work with Out-of-School Youth – As the Orange site of The Literacy Project (North Quabbin Adult Education Center) has contact with more (70 between 2001 and 2002) youth under the age of 20; there is a need to develop a more comprehensive way of working with this population. People on the task force hope to continue working out ways to work with this population. In the coming year this work may include:
(a) Develop the idea of a youth resource center or person for out-of-school counseling and a
transition for teens in the region. Such a resource person would have a relationship with high schools and review information regarding recent teens who left school. This program could begin with a resource person or counselor to work with teens who are leaving or have left school and would also help build up coordinated youth services in the region.
(b) Develop a partnership between college, career center and local agency willing to house a program or person working as a youth resource person. This would also include work with the Regional Employment Board and the Career Center to bring more programming to the area for out-of-school youth in the area of pre-employment programs and job training.
· Some Other Implications for Services include –
(a) There needs to be advocacy work with the Department of Mental Retardation and other agencies to get life skills education for adults with developmental and cognitive disabilities. This could include more work with United ARC (Association of Retarded Citizens).
(b) In light of budget cuts and difficult economic times, there is a need to strengthen our collaborations and figure out ways to sustain family literacy and adult basic education programs in the region while also working to expand.
(c) As there is no local community computer center for training and/or open use, there is a need to build community computer labs into whatever programs are developed for out-of-school youth and adults.
The North Quabbin Family Literacy and Adult Education Partnership is a part of a deeply rooted community-based coalition that has been serving the needs of this isolated area for eighteen years. Though the current fiscal situation of the Commonwealth represents a serious threat, the North Quabbin Community Coalition has weathered many challenges in the past, and worked with many community groups and local residents. As a partnership and current task force of this coalition, we recognize that our most important current need is to work toward maintaining and increasing our funding. Toward that end we also plan to increase public awareness of our partnership and its work through press releases, collaborative brochures, and community meetings with various organizations. Our partnership also plans to work to strengthen its collaborations for programming so that this region may have a high quality of adult education services with improved access to further education and training enabling adult learners to improve the qualities of their lives as family members, workers, and active citizens.
II
Representatives from a variety of organizations in the North Quabbin Region came together in April 2001. Using already existing contacts and a network of people concerned about education, a group of 30 people from the North Quabbin area attended the first meeting. Staff at the North Quabbin Adult Education Center (Orange site of The Literacy Project) organized the April 2001 meeting. From this group of 30 people attending the first meeting, fifteen to twenty people became part of a working task force under the auspices of the North Quabbin Community Coalition. The focus of the Adult Education Task Force was to complete a comprehensive community-wide needs assessment for adult education and training within the North Quabbin. During the first three meeting the group determined four distinct sectors of the community that seemed critical to forming an accurate assessment of the area’s needs and assets. The four focus areas included: Community (including parenting education and civic development), Business, Out of School Youth, and Maintaining and Expanding Adult Education. Four working groups then developed tools to suit each area and ran focus groups and conducted surveys to gather data. This information will be used to inform strategic planning for adult education in the region.
The area that is the focus of this community planning effort is the North Quabbin Region. This is a nine-town area located in West Central Massachusetts along Route 2 and bordering the northern edge of the Quabbin Reservoir. The area sits on the northeastern corner of Franklin County and northwestern portion of Worcester County. With a total population of 27,000 in the region, Athol and Orange are the largest towns in the North Quabbin area. The other seven towns include Erving, New Salem, Petersham, Phillipston, Royalston, Warwick and Wendell. These nine towns include a total area of 344 square miles. The population density is greatest in Athol with 346 people per square mile. However, five towns in the region have a population density of less than 30 people per square mile, which attests to the rural nature of much of the area. With its mix of forest, farmland, rural character and old industries, this region remains somewhat isolated from other parts of Franklin and Worcester counties. Being isolated and at least twenty miles from larger communities, the region has faced economic depression for over fifteen years. Through the first 75 years of the 20th century the principal employment was in agriculture and manufacturing. In the last part of the 20th century many of the jobs in manufacturing sector were no longer available because of a large plant closing and through other downsizing. Farm employment gradually lessened through the 1900s. A l