California Adult Literacy Professional Development Project

Author: Amy R. TrawickProduced by the American Institutes for Research through a contract with the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) of the U.S. Department of Education, May 2018.This 2018 report supplements the previously published Using the PIACC Literacy Framework to Guide Instruction: An Introduction for Adult Educators and provides literacy instructors ways to implement contextualized reading instruction to a population with varied needs and educational backgrounds. By connecting real-world reading tasks and standards-based instruction, this report provides resources for teachers to consider when planning a contextualized reading curriculum. The supplemental report is based on data originally released by the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIACC) in September 2016 and was produced by the American Institutes for Research through a contract with the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) of the U.S. Department of Education.

Author: Anne Mishkind, CALPROThis brief provides an overview of research on effective teaching that can be applied in multiple settings by a broad range of teachers across diverse settings. Adult education in California takes place in environments including school districts, community colleges, community-based organizations, libraries, and correctional facilities, and serves students with skills that range from basic literacy to international professional training. Across contexts, research finds that effective teaching is enriched by:thoughtful attention to student backgrounds,collecting and using student data to inform the implementation of evidence based practices including (1) learner-centered instruction, (2) rich and contextualized content knowledge, (3) use of standards to inform learning objectives, and (4) attention to foundational skills and higher-order thinking, and planning for professional development that targets specific teacher competencies

Author: Susan Pimentel, 2013This document presents a set of college and career readiness standards (CCRS) of the content that is most relevant for preparing adult students to succeed in colleges, technical training programs, work and citizenship. In the areas of English language arts/literacy and mathematics. These standards were derived from the Common Core State Standards.

Produced by U.S. Department of Education, Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education, 2016Designed to support effective instruction of adult English language learners, this document presents a set of correspondences to the college and career readiness standards (CCRS) for English language arts/literacy, mathematical and science practices.

Author: Anne Mishkind, American Institutes for Research, 2014This brief provides instructors, professional development coordinators, and program administrators with research and implementation guidance related to evidence–based professional learning and data–driven instruction.

Working on your Continuous Improvement Plan? Hear the latest from CDE on the process and goals for this year and get some tips on choosing strong goals and avoiding some common pitfalls. 

CALPRO is pleased to announce the opening of the application to the 2025-2026 Professional Learning Communities (PLC) Institute. Participating teams and individual members can choose to attend the full-day sessions in November and May either virtually or in person. The Institute will consist of the following training schedule and topics:October 10, 2025 12:30-2:00 This kick-off and orientation webinar will focus on institute expectations and process.October 10, 2025 - November 6, 2025 Teams are expected to complete online assignments.November 6-7, 2025 This two-day session in Sacramento, CA will focus on the framework and the training needed to craft plans and start a PLC process of school improvement focusing on student learning through ongoing professional development embedded in the agency’s school calendar. November 7, 2025 - May 7, 2026 Participating schools are expected to use the intervening time between the November and May sessions to take action on plans to lay the groundwork for PLC implementation for the 2023–24 school year and complete online assignments.January 23, 2026, 12:30-3:30 This webinar will focus on PLC big ideas and essential questions.March 6, 2026 12:30-3:30 This webinar will focus on team assessment collaboration.May 7-8, 2026 This two-day session in Sacramento, CA will focus on continuing training, feedback, evaluation, and problem-solving in support of implementation. Please note that you will meet with your implementation coach once per month during the Institute. The training, coaching, and online activities across the six months of training are approximately 50 hours. Applications must be received by September 30, 2025. To learn more about the Institute, please click on this link. Benefits Of Participating In The PLC Institute:Shift school culture to focus on learning results.Develop PLC processes of inquiry to achieve better results for the students you serve.Establish collaborative teams to identify essential student learning.Work collaboratively to develop common formative assessments for learning.Work collaboratively to analyze evidence of student learning and use that evidence to learn from one another.Embed professional development that fosters the ongoing processes of collective inquiry and action research.Eighteen months of PLC implementation coaching supportWho Is Eligible To Apply?Any California Department of Education, Adult Education Office WIA Title II, or California Adult Education Program (CAEP) funded agency may apply. The Agency Director/Principal and a nominated lead teacher or PD staff member will participate as a team in the CALPRO Professional Learning Community Institute. To access the application, please click on this link.For More InformationFor more information, contact coordinator Sudie Whalen.