More Retired Minnesota ABE Manager Wisdom!

Once again, a number of long-employed and experienced MN ABE managers retired over the past year. After hearing of their impending retirements “through the grapevine,” I enlisted four of them to graciously participate in an email interview that included 10 questions. Then I incorporated their answers into last year’s Retired ABE Manager Wisdom document, in which managers graciously agreed to share their accomplishments, frustrations, and hard-earned manager wisdom. MANY THANKS to these managers for generously sharing their time and experience with us!

What does this mean to me as an ABE manager (or coordinator, teacher)?If you are an ABE manager or coordinator, lead or classroom teacher, I think you will appreciate their collective wisdom, honesty, and humor. You might even want to print and post the one-page Retired ABE Manager Tips by your desk or work space! As you read the latest version, consider asking yourself:

• What does this mean to my ABE program?
• What does this mean to my ABE staff (or co-workers)?

Question 1: Describe your career in 3-5 words.

Question 2: What has been your greatest accomplishment?

One ABE manager mentioned winning the PEGASUS award and another as runner-up the same year, but still recognized as a Program of Excellence. For both managers, this award publicly confirmed their exceptional ABE programs and staff. Other individual accomplishments included: (1) watching students learn and achieve success, (2) mentoring staff to become accomplished in their jobs, (3) getting managed enrollment working in an ESL program, (4) initiating and continuing a GED graduation ceremony for over 20 years, (5) starting a county jail and paraprofessional program, (6) increasing the program budget from about $300,000 to over a million dollars, (7) working through the Program Improvement Process and not having to do it again, (8) initiating and coordinating the program’s move to a MNSCU campus and collaborating with their staff and administration, (9) knowing adult learners who used ABE as a springboard to bigger and better things and seeing them do well in the community, and (10) seeing students fearfully enter the program, share their hopes and dreams, and walk away standing tall with an educational or personal success achieved.

Question 3: What has been your greatest frustration?

1. Budget issues:
   •  Lack of budget control
   •  Unknown budget amounts, which limit programming options
   •  Limiting budget amounts, which reduce options for quality teachers (full-time positions and benefits)
   •  Continually doing more with less of a budget
   •  Accessing and using UFARS for financial or budget reports
2. Program advocacy and promotion:
   •  Advocating ABE to outsiders OR advocating rural ABE differences to metro programs
   •  Program promotion and marketing – never-ending, always necessary, but too easy to move to the bottom of the “to do” list
3. Accommodating and balancing the many changes and mandates in the world of ABE
4. Interacting with MnSCU:
   •  Learning how to navigate the politically-charged atmosphere of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) system
   •  Striving to build bridges to MnSCU and making very little progress
5. Student-related issues:
   •  Dealing with the never-ending student barriers of childcare and transportation
   •  Always needing to implement strategies for student retention
6. Lack of quality teacher evaluation tools and processes that provide constructive feedback and can result in more rigorous programming

Retired ABE Manager Tips

This is a summary of the managers’ combined answers to the following questions:

• What has worked and not worked for you?
• What do you wish you had done differently?
• What does every ABE manager need to know?
• What do you wish you had known sooner?