Addressing Student Need in a Rural ABE Program

Creative staffing and program delivery…

In one of the smaller towns in our region, we recently had a teacher retire and couldn’t fill the position, but there were still students 35 miles away from our main site wanting class. So, we tried brainstorming alternative ways of providing service. We hired a teacher and technology assistant—a position we haven’t had before—who is bilingual in the students’ language. I started teaching this class in January 2026.

Currently, the class is held at the local elementary school four nights a week.

• Two of the nights, students attend class with both the teacher and the assistant.
  • Both staff members are in-person and face-to-face with the students.
  • The assistant interprets when needed and helps the teacher with other tasks.
  • Students work with the teacher on grammar, group tasks, or
  • receive instruction on a topic from Ellii that students will later complete on their own.
• The other two nights, students attend class with only the assistant.
  • Students work on a group assignment for the week or
  • use their devices to access either the assigned Ellii lessons or Ellii Solo

This structure provides students with a place to go every day for class, and a physical space where the assistant can help with any tech issues and questions.

…lead to student success!

The success and progress of these students to date is far beyond what we anticipated! We never imagined these six students would have completed 321 hours of independent work in such a short time!

• 296 of these hours completed through Ellii
• 20-78 hours dedicated outside of class per individual student to practicing and learning English
• 3-10 point increase in scores on a single Reading and Listening test
• 3 of 5 students tested advanced a level in both Reading and Listening

When the class first started, I informed students that this was a new type of class structure and explained how it was envisioned to go, emphasizing that we were learning together and could adjust the class as needed. I asked students for ongoing feedback.

The students have been honest in their feedback so far and recently stated they like the ability to work together even if I am not there. But, ideally, they would like me there all four days.

Challenges to meet

Overall, the class has been going well, yet there are a few challenges. The biggest challenge is trying to coordinate the lessons just right to match up with what students do on the days when I am teaching and what they work on the days I am not there. Typically, what I’ve done is print copies of the PDF version of the Ellli lesson for students. Then, I compare the PDF version and online version of the lesson, checking for similarities and differences. From there, I determine what parts, aside from the main content, students may need direct instruction on when we are all together. Then, the other parts of the lesson are assigned to students to complete on the days I am not there, along with the online version of the lesson.

Lessons learned

Here are a few tips if your program is facing the challenge of providing instruction to a particular group of students:

1. Have a plan and start small. Know what your goal is, take baby steps, and don’t rush. For example: How many days a week will the class be? What is the time? What resources do we have available in our program (curriculum, devices, staff, etc.)? How can we utilize these resources?
2. Be patient and flexible. Things will not always go as planned. Be kind to yourself and look at ways you can adapt where and when needed.
3. Keep an open mind and think outside the box. Be creative if you need to. You never know if something works unless you try.

By keeping these things in mind, our program has been able to provide instruction to these students and open a pathway for them to be successful—a pathway that has surpassed our initial expectations and reminds us of endless possibilities when we put students’ needs at the core of our programming.