Announcements

1. Time Sheets for March 1 to March 15 are due in the office by noon on Monday, March 17th.

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2. March Dates/ Holidays

* Saturday/Sunday, March 8/9 - Daylight Savings Time - Turn your clocks ahead

* Friday, March 21 - Good Friday - No classes!

* Monday, March 24 - Easter Monday - Classes at teacher's discretion. Please advise the office as to what you will be doing. If your school district has additional days off, you may want to adjust this schedule to fit that. Please keep us advised of what will be happening.

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3. Inventory - You were given information on Inventory at the January meeting. A reminder that these should be turned in by April 15th.

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4. "Save Your License Workshop" - Friday, March 14, 2008 - The Southeast and Southwest Regional ABE Professional Development Coordinators of the Minnesota Department of Education along with the ATLAS program at Hamline University offer this workshop opportunity to meet teacher re-licensure requirements. CEU’s indicating attendance will be provided. Registration information for this workshop can be found at http://www.hamline.edu/atlas Click on the Calendar of Events link.

If you wish to attend, you should do your own registration (but let Barb know). We will pay mileage if it is car-pooled; hotel - more than one to a room; one out of the area evening meal; and registration. You will also be paid wages according to the number of CEU's earned.

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5. Spring Regional - Friday April 18 - Jackpot Junction - If you wish to attend, you should do your own registration (but let Barb know). You will be reimbursed once you have attended - again paid according to number of CEUs earned. We will pay mileage - please try to car pool if at all possible. You can register at http://mnabe.themlc.org/ABEcalendar.html Look for the link to Southwest Regional Workshop.

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6. Computer position - We are continuing the process of finding a replacement for Emma. We will being doing interviews on Friday, March 14th.

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7. Reminder - Student Attendance hours should be recorded to the nearest half hour. I should not be seeing any .25 or .75 hours on attendance sheets.

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8. CASAS - We will begin phasing in the new Life and Works Reading series very shortly. After May 1st we will use only the Life & Works for reading assessments. I will be sending out the materials and phase-in directions some time in March.

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9. Jim Colwell, MDE GED Administrator, has worked with the Minnesota Department of Education School Choice Office to clarify the opportunity for GED recipients to be eligible for the Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship. The two attachments provide information about this opportunity which is for GED recipients who attained their GED between January 1, 2007 and March 1, 2008. please not that the deadline for submission of candidates was extended to March 28, 2008.

The first attachment (gen info) may sound like GED recipients do not qualify, but the revised information in the second document clearly include GED recipients. If you have questions about this opportunity for scholarships, please contact Jim at: jim.colwell@state.mn.us
Barry
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12. Literacy Minnesota and the Minnesota Community Education Association are now seeking presentation proposals for the 2008 ABE Statewide Summer Institute, Navigating the Future: Strategies for a Changing World, which will be held on August 6-8 at St. John’s University in Collegeville, MN. Presentations will focus on the following broad areas: ABE Program Management and Coordination, Promising Practices in Curriculum and Instruction, Accountability, and Community Education. We strongly encourage new and experienced ABE staff to consider sharing their ideas and expertise with their colleagues at this statewide conference. The Call for Presentations form can be accessed on the Literacy Minnesota website (http://www.literacyminnesota.org/Summer_Institute.html ).

If you are looking for ideas for presentation ideas, you might want to take a look at the list of priority ABE content areas on the MDE-ABE website: http://mnabe.themlc.org/Priority_Content_Areas.html. This is NOT meant to be a comprehensive list, but it might help you identify a topic for your presentation.

Presentation proposals will be reviewed by the conference planning committee and will be selected on the basis of the clarity of the proposal, the relevance of the topic to ABE staff and priority content areas, a balance of topic areas, and logistical considerations.

Proposals are due March 31, 2008, and presenters will be notified by May 16, 2008 whether their proposals have been accepted. In an effort to support presenters and ensure high-quality presentations, a handbook of presentation tips is available at http://www.literacyminnesota.org/Summer_Institute.html.

We hope that you will consider submitting a proposal, and we look forward to seeing you this summer at the ABE Institute!

Astrid Liden
ABE Professional Development Coordinator
Minnesota Department of Education
Adult Basic Education (ABE)
1500 Highway 36 West
Roseville, MN 55113-4266
Phone: 651-582-8424
Fax: 651-634-5154
Email: astrid.liden@state.mn.us

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***** If you've missed an announcement from a previous week, you can always find it on the Announcements page. All announcements are archived at:
http://www.marshalladulteducation.org/announcements.htm ******

Marshall ABE Links

Southwest ABE - home page for Granite Falls, Jackson, Marshall, and Worthington consortiums.
http://southwestabe.org/

Barb Glaeser
SW ABE - Marshall
607 West Main
Marshall, MN 56258
507-537-7046
marshallabe@starpoint.net