Adults With Disabilities Funding Used to Support Osseo Area Schools ABE

Adults with Disabilities (AWD) funding for Osseo ABE

Osseo Area Schools received new Adults with Disabilities (AWD) funding back in 2023. AWD funding comes from the state of Minnesota and must be used by a school district’s Community Education department. Most Community Education departments utilize this funding in adult enrichment programs; however, after much consideration and research, Osseo Area Schools Community Education decided to use this funding for its Adult Basic Education (ABE) program.

Osseo ABE decided to utilize this funding to provide extra support for our students who indicate they have a disability, apparent or non-apparent, that could impact their learning. There are three ways to identify students who may need extra support.

1) Students can self-identify during the intake process by checking the box on our newly added intake question provided by PANDA. The question is a Yes/No question:

“Have you ever been diagnosed with a condition that could impact your learning (i.e. mental health, ADHD, developmental disability, learning disability, brain injury, vision loss, or hearing loss, etc.)?”

If a student checks “Yes,” our Intake Coordinator refers them to the Student Support Coordinator (currently our Program Manager) who conducts a supplemental intake interview. The Supplemental Intake Disability Registration form, also provided by PANDA, allows staff to ask further questions and gather more information to better support the student’s learning.

2) Teachers are able to refer a student by filling out a form which asks questions similar to those on the Supplemental Intake Disability Registration form. The goal of the teacher referral is to gather as much information as possible about the student before passing them along to the Student Support Coordinator/Program Manager.

3) Current students can self-identify using a QR code created with their name and contact information. The QR code is on a flyer which is posted throughout the school. Teachers also regularly put this flyer in their Google Classrooms for those students who attend online. Once a student self-identifies, the Student Support Coordinator/Program Manager reaches out.

With AWD funds, Osseo ABE is able to gather information directly from our students and community to learn more about their needs. We are now able to provide our students with noise cancelling headphones, anxiety reducing activities, and access to small group instruction, and 1:1 support with volunteers. We provide students with a calming space where they are able to grab a water or a snack, take time to collect themselves, listen to calming music, read a magazine, share thoughts on an interactive whiteboard, or just put their heads down privately. With this funding we were able to make one new hire—a part-time volunteer coordinator who has been instrumental in assisting our volunteers as they provide small group instruction and 1:1 support.

With the support of AWD funding, Osseo ABE is excited to continue learning and growing in our capacity to assist all students, including those with disabilities!

Find PANDA’s Supplemental Intake Disability Registration form under the Forms tab on the PANDA website: https://pandamn.org/forms/