ATLAS FY26 Online Courses Available on Canvas July 1!

ABE Foundations Course

Note the state training requirement for ABE Foundations: The current Staff Training Policy states that you are required to complete ABE Foundations (in-person or via this online course) within the first 12 months of hire.

Since Summer Institute is in person this year, we will offer ABE Foundations as a pre-conference training from August 12-13. For more information and to register, visit the Literacy Action Network website.

However, if you are not able to attend the pre-conference at Summer Institute in August, the Canvas course is a great option to complete this staff training requirement! If you’ve been in ABE for a while or have already completed the course, it’s still worth signing up for it to have the most updated information available for your reference.

Some highlights of the ABE Foundations online course:

• User-friendly and engaging layout and presentation of content.
• The most recent policies and figures (funding, contact hour rates, statistics).
• Additional content on distance learning and adult career pathways.
• Updated professional development opportunities that reflect the latest adult education initiatives in MN.

ACES Foundations Course

The ACES/TIF Foundations course is also available on Canvas. This course is designed to provide a thorough introduction on how to integrate academic, career, and employability skills (ACES) into your instructional context through the use of the Transitions Integration Framework (TIF), a document that identifies key skills our adult students need for successful transitions to college, career, employment, and community involvement. This course is useful for teachers who are new to ABE in Minnesota and those who might not be familiar with ACES/TIF.

The TIF is broken into six categories:

• Effective Communication
• Learning Strategies
• Critical Thinking
• Self-Management
• Developing a Future Pathway
• Navigating Systems

These skills are sometimes referred to as soft skills. But don’t let the word soft fool you. These skills are essential in the life of an adult learner. Incorporating lessons that involve these skills at any level of the ABE classroom will ensure that your learners have the necessary skills to successfully transition to training, work, or post-secondary opportunities. It can be hard work to incorporate these skills into our daily work, but the ACES/TIF Foundations course will help you get started.

Stay tuned for an exciting new ACES/TIF webinar series coming your way this Fall and Winter!

CCRS Foundations Course

The CCRS Foundations course, an introduction to the College and Career Readiness Standards, is also available on Canvas! Like ABE Foundations, CCRS ELA and Math Foundations will be offered as a pre-conference training from August 12-13. For more information and to register for ELA or math, visit the Literacy Action Network website.

In addition to personalized feedback on your course submissions, some highlights of the CCRS Foundations course:

For ELA:

• Sections on productive struggle, pre-teaching & scaffolding complex text, creating and using text sets and building instruction around an essential question.
• Invitations to pause in each module with questions to reflect on your instruction and context.

For math:

• A template for Making Sense of a Standard, including a video presentation of an example.
• A knowledge check of content in CCRS Levels A-E that incorporates the shift of Coherence.
• Reflection prompts that require analyzing similarities and differences between the 8 math practices.

This self-paced course is perfect if you do not have a chance to attend SI this year. As always, if you’ve already completed CCRS Foundations for ELA and/or math in person or online in the past, we encourage you to enroll in the course for review.

On Tuesday, September 9, 2025, join ATLAS Staff and colleagues for a CCRS Refresher webinar from 2-4pm as we take some time to refresh on key components of CCRS Foundations. This webinar is for any teacher, coordinator, administrator, or program leader who would like to brush up on their CCRS Foundations knowledge. You will have the option to join an ELA breakout group or a math breakout group. Register here.

Additional Canvas courses

Look for information later this summer about new content for the Teaching Reading to Adults course or enroll in the FY26 course and check back often for additions!

• Access these and other active Canvas courses >>

NOTE: Remember to sign up as a STUDENT for any Canvas course offering, not as a TEACHER.

We hope you have a chance to check out these Canvas courses soon!