2019 ACE Annual Conference

Ronald Cruz,Hillsborough County Public Schools Workforce Division was selected as The John E. Lawrence Administrator of the Year at the 2019 ACE Conference. Ron’s greatest accomplishment is the exemplary performance of the program he oversees, the CARIBE Refugee Program. In fiscal year 2018, CARIBE has achieved a 64% completion rate and 52% Literacy Completion Point (LCP) rate from over 2,200 enrollments. This level of performance is typical with professional, respectful, efficient, safe and nurturing environment that he fosters for his team of educators, support staff and students. “Servant leadership” is what best describes his work and leadership style. He was instrumental to the expansion of the CARIBE Program despite shrinking budgets over the years. The most notable driver of his program’s performance are his teachers. They are well-supported through professional development, classroom observation and feedback, planning sessions and instructional resources. They especially enjoy the benefits of his skills as a trainer/facilitator. After observing his teachers, he provides thoughtful and meaningful feedback to help them improve their craft. He promotes healthy competition among teachers in maintaining high enrollment and completion rates. That is why his program has always delivered quality adult education services and surpassed its goals and deliverables, becoming a model for other institutions, counties and states. In FY 2018, his program surpassed its target deliverables by an average of over 42% in enrollments, intakes, assessments and instructional hours. He initiated several programs to increase refugees’ access to adult education and improve the quality of classroom instruction such as partnering with employers to open work-based schools for Cuban asylees, creating a Fast Track ESOL program to immediately get refugees licensed/certified or employed and spearheading the creation of a true Vocational ESOL curriculum. Through his efforts, Hillsborough County Public Schools was awarded with the USCIS Citizenship Grant, which he then used to supplement and expand his program. His dedication to refugees is beyond compare. He has bent over backwards to start a special school to serve the unique needs of the struggling Congolese refugees. He used his position and his network of partners to funnel essential social services and community support to help address issues such as bullying, unemployment, lack of available housing, discrimination, poor nutrition and hygiene. To spread awareness and advocate for refugees, he worked closely with the University of South Florida’s Anthropology Department to publish an oral history book entitled, “American Stories,” highlighting the success and journey of local refugees in Tampa. His work with refugees has earned his program and his partner organizations awards and recognitions such as the Exceptional Community Partner Award from USF College of Public Health for his program’s contribution to the Tampa Bay Gardens, a self-sustaining community garden for Burmese refugees. He has worked with the local school board to designate the month of September as Welcoming Month. He pushed for the City of Tampa to be the first Welcoming City in the state of Florida, with the overwhelming support and proclamation from the Hillsborough Board of County Commissioners in 2017. During Ron’s spare time, he devotes his skills and expertise to developing and facilitating regional professional development workshops throughout the state. He has created several resources for the benefit of adult education teachers across the state such as the ABE Mathematics Matrix, resource activities, Grab and Go Videos, online training modules, lesson plans and webinars. His contributions to the adult education community even extends across the United States as he continues to serve as national facilitator, consultant and content developer for GED Testing Service and COABE. He has worked closely with the Florida Department of Education to advocate for the professional needs of adult educators and adult ESOL students.

Nabila Bouqlata, Broward County, is a Career Advisor in Office of Student Affairs for Atlantic Technical College working with Pre-College Academic Studies students. She has been in this role since January of 2015. She works with Adult General Education students to assist in helping them meet their educational goals while supporting them through their journey to next steps either at Atlantic Technical College in one of the career training programs and/or other postsecondary options. However, Nabila’s journey at Atlantic Technical College did not start there. Nabila came to us as a student in 2010. She had recently arrived in the United States after getting married, knowing very little English. She attended our ESOL program to gain English language skills. She built her skills and then decided to apply for an available position to support other adult students. Hiring Nabila made perfect sense. She had a passion for working with people and had experiences that fit the needs of the school. Prior to coming to the United States, Nabila had earned a bachelor’s degree in biology was working in a lab and had later taught math and French to elementary-aged students when it was difficult to find work as a biologist in her country of Morocco. Working with our students was a natural next step. From that point forward, we knew Nabila was a gem. She became a part-time teacher, a certified testing proctor and later a Career Advisor. When she sees a need, she finds a way to fill it. She seeks to find innovative solutions to enhance services that are provided to our students. She regularly launches student and teacher surveys to secure information that will help to decrease barriers to participation. She also decided to research and create an online advisement/counseling live chat feature on our website so that students and potential students could ask questions and/or gain information either while on campus or at home without having to step foot in the office. She monitors and conducts live sessions twice per week while maintaining a face-to-face large ase load. Ms. Bouqlata builds relationships with students that keep them coming back. We often find that when students first encounter Nabila, they are hesitant to see another counselor because of her caring nature and genuine support that she provides to all that she encounters. Ms. Bouqlata is consummate advocate for students. As a former English language learner herself, she understands the adult student experience in a unique way. She treats everyone with kindness and respect, knowing that it can be a humbling experience to enroll in classes as an adult and pursue their educational goals. As one of the first people our students see, Nabila welcomes each student with care and takes thoughtful time during the intake process to learn each individual student’s background. She continues to build relationships, help students in decreasing barriers and walks them through the many challenges that may be faced while pursuing their goals. Nabila is not only well liked by the students, but also is well respected by her colleagues. She is always professional and ready to help in any capacity in which she is asked. Nabila would never say no. She is a find a way, make a way individual and a valued member of the Office of Student Affairs team. Ms. Bouqlata is an excellent candidate for Instructional Support Staff of the Year. All her contributions and the difference she makes in the lives of so many never go unnoticed. Although she thought she would spend her life as a biologist working in a lab finding remedies for diseases, we are so glad that she took that caring nature to interact with people in a different way. She has found her passion in teaching, advising and helping students find their way to success. Nabila has said it best herself when she says, I may not be finding cures for diseases; [however] I am finding solutions to help people become successful by leading productive lives and now they are paying-it-forward by sharing their talents within their communities.

Marilyn Williams was elected as the ACE 2019 Non-Instructional Support Staff Person of the Year. Ms. Williams is the secretary for Orange Technical College – mid-Florida Campus’ night school program, which is called the Adult and Community Education program, or ACE. Ms. Williams is an integral part of the ESOL department. She is a very visible presence in the lives of the students in the community. Ms. Williams takes it upon herself to make every ESOL student feel welcome on the campus. As the ESOL test administrator, Ms. Williams is very encouraging and motivating to the students who are very nervous when they have to take the CASAS test. She makes them feel good regardless of the scores they make. Ms. Williams has been actively involved with the community partners. As a representative of the OTC-Mid Florida Campus, Ms. Williams has helped forge strong relationships with business and community leaders. She has benefitted our students and our school. Ms. Williams attends many community events at local organizations, churches, and businesses throughout the school year to actively promote our programs. Marilyn Williams is a leader among our staff, and we can always count on her to do what is necessary for our students.

Miriam Cabrera, HIllsborough County, was awarded the 2019 ACE Award of Teacher of the Year. Ms. Cabrera is a rockstar teacher that has continued to engage and motivate her students to become a better version of themselves. She infuses her lessons with important life lessons that carry on beyond the student’s life in school. She takes extra time and effort to ensure that her lessons address the needs of her students. She maintains a high level of performance in the district when it comes to LCP’s. She also shares her knowledge and experience so that other teachers and students may benefit. She also serves as an instructional leader for the CARIBE program who ensures teachers, students and staff gets the leadership and support they need. In all the years that Miriam has been teaching, her students have improved significantly their English skills. Miriam has the ability to identify the students’ strengths and abilities to encourage learning, helping them to become successful in the American society. Students consider her a knowledgeable and experienced teacher that understands their difficulties in learning English, and they admire the way she addresses their needs and weaknesses. Miriam uses different methods of teaching and multimedia material, to make sure everybody comprehends the material given, and she also promotes the development of critical thinking, teamwork and problem-solving skills. Miriam is helpful, resourceful and she is always eager to offer her enthusiasm and expertise to help fellow teachers perform better. Her leadership and willingness to work diligently are contagious, and they have contributed in the advancement and benefit of the program. Miriam is analytical, always looking for ways to achieve her goals and she is an inspiration to think out-of-the box. On many occasions she has facilitated presentations that have always been characterized for being dynamic, effective and innovative. Miriam has been recognized by administrators and teachers as one of the best teachers of the CARIBE program. Miriam has participated actively in several professional development activities, working with fellow teachers from Hillsborough County and interacting with educators from other states in order to learn and share new teaching styles, techniques and tips to improve student achievement. Some of the Professional Development workshops that she has participated in are: Building Capacity for Florida ABE to GED Prep Program, Ventures and Step Forward Implementation Trainings, Literacy Strategies for Adult Learners, Adult Education Professional Study Day Spring Board, Designing Contextualized Instruction, Strengthening Mathematics Foundation, The English Language Proficiency Standards for Adult Education, and many others. She also holds two Masters Degrees, one in Curriculum and Instruction, and the other one in Educational Leadership.

Brevard Adult Education was awarded the 2019 ACE Award for media promotion of the year. Theirsocial media reach is over 15,000 on Facebook, 2,900 on Twitter, and 2,300 on lnstagram. These pages have been recognized by SUNSPRA and other organizations for their forward-thinking promotions. Brevard Adult Ed has partnered with iHeart Radio to debut a call-in show fall to expand their reach along the Space Coast. During the 18-19 school year, Brevard Adult Education saw an increase of 5.5% in student enrollment while the state saw a decrease of 11% in student numbers. Their efforts have been instrumental in increasing enrollment numbers in apprenticeships, continuing and community education. Their social media attention has awarded Brevard Adult Ed a $100,000 grant from Advanced Labs to help promote their programs to students with a new phone app that is under development. Next year, they will be back to present to ACE theirsuccesses with this promotional tool. COABE and other adult education programs from around the United States reach out to their program on a near weekly basis to ask for ideas on how to make their promotion efforts that much better. They proud of the fact that they have the most followed social media sites in the USA, and even happier to help other programs reach adult education students in their area.

United Way of Lake and Sumter Counties (UWLSC) was elected as the Business Supporter of the Year during the 2019 ACE Conference. The work of the UWLSC focuses on developing a healthier, safer community with a skilled workforce that contributes to the local economy and a generation that is educated and equipped for the opportunities of tomorrow. Through collaboration with a variety of community partners, including Lake Technical College, the UWLSC is able to leverage resources and services to impact and improve the lives of those in our two counties. Over the years, the UWLSC funded adult education instructors in many of our off-site locations across Lake County. Most recently, they have been instrumental in supporting our “Correction Connections” project which allows us to fund an instructor in the Lake County Jail. This instructor helps prepare the inmates for the GED® test and over the past two years, over 201 inmates were served with 77% obtaining literacy gains or obtaining their high school equivalency diploma which opened the door to increased opportunities for further education and success upon their release. In addition, the UWLSC is involved with our Adult Education Advisory Committee and assist in any way that they can to serve students who may need some special assistance in order to succeed in their classes.

Andrew Rothstein and Joyce Wasserman