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2575West88thStreetBloomington,MN55431952-681-6170www.metrosouth.org

MESSENGER What’sInside:

FindingaHappyMedium2BriarHill 3EmploymentNavigator 4StaffingChanges 5DigitalLiteracy 6LearningExchange 7GraduationInvitation 8

Graduation2017

When:June15,20177:30p.m.

Where:OlsonMiddleSchool4551West102ndStBloomington,MN

Who:MetroSouthgraduatesfromourGED,AdultDiploma,

andChoiceprogramsPleasejoinus!

MissionStatement:

Supportingtheeffortsofalladultswhowishto

improvetheirlivesthroughliteracy,education,careerdevelopment,andlifelonglearning.

CommunityResourceFairWhere do sign your children up forswimminglessons?Howdoyougethelpwith internet access if you are low-income?What help can you get at theWorkforceCenter?Thesearejustafewofthequestionsstudentsfoundanswersto at Metro South’s CommunityResource Fair on Tuesday, February28th. When morning classes ended at12:30, our halls were lined with 20tables from various agencies andorganizations. City, county, schooldistrict and community programsbrought materials and information toshare with our students and engagedtheminconversationsabouttheirgoalsandneeds.

Jackie Doncavage (see photo) fromBloomington Park and Recreationbrought information about adaptiveprogramming and inclusion services,adultsportsandleagues,youthsummerprograms, Arts in the Park, and theFarmersMarketwhichhasbecomeverypopular. Although many residents getthe information they need fromwebsites, our students really benefitfromhavingaflyerorbrochuretorefertofordatesandtimes,phonenumbers,maps,andotherdetails.

A favorite stop for our students is tocheck in with Bloomington School’sOffice of Educational Equity staffmembers.Theyarewell-knowntomanyofourstudentsandarealwayssowillingtohelpwithawidevarietyofconcerns

thatour immigrant familieshaveabouttheirchildintheK12schools.Questionsabout testing, culture, attendance, andspecial programs are common and theOEE staff does an amazing jobaddressing these concerns andconnectingfamiliestoresources.

The Hennepin SouthWorkforce Centercontinues to offer many programs andservices for job seekers as well asbusinesses and communities. TheDepartment of Employment andEconomic Development (DEED) isMinnesota’s principal economicdevelopmentagencyandtheHennepinSouth Workforce Center is just one oftheirlocationsthroughoutthestate.

Metro South ABE is grateful to all theorganizations who attended ourcommunity resource fair. We hope toseeyouallnextyear!

Spring/Summer Issue 6

About Us:

Metro South Adult Basic Education is a MinnesotaDepartment of Education site. We are a consortium of the Bloomington, Richfield, Edina, and Eden Prairie school districts. Our programs exist to serve the needs of adult learners who wishto improve their English skills or work toward their GED or Adult Diploma. Our main campus islocated at 2575 West 88th St. in Bloomington. Please feel free tocontact us for more information about any of our programs at952-681-6170 or at msabe@isd271.org.

Family Literacy AcademyWhat’s Inside:

2575 West 88th Street Bloomington, MN 55431 www.metrosouth.org 952-681-6170

Family Literacy Academy 1Phlebotomy Class 22018 Graduation 2Welcome New Staff 3Volunteers 3Field Trip 4

Mission Statement:

Supporting the efforts of alladults who wish to improvetheir lives through literacy,education, careerdevelopment, and lifelong learning.

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Family Literacy Academy is apartnership between BloomingtonEarly Learning and Metro South AdultBasic Education. The program is located at the Pond Family Center at9600 3rd Avenue South, Bloomington.

Family Literacy Academy providesEnglish and parenting skills to adultsand quality education for their youngchildren. Our program empowers families to seek information and resources that ensure strongeducational, economic and healthoutcomes.

This year the schedule changed from mornings to afternoons, Mondaythrough Thursday, 1:30-4:00pm. There are currently four componentsto the program: • three and four-year old preschool classes M-F • adult ESL M-TH • Parent and Child Together (PACT) time twice a week for 30 minutes • one-hour parenting class once a weekIn addition, there is sibling care fortoddlers 18 months and older as wellas transportation for families if needed.

At this time, the program serves 20low-income families including 17 preschool children and 10 toddlers.The preschool children are divided byage between two classes this year,enabling them to learn alongsidenative English speaking children. Parents are also divided into twoadult ESL classes taught by MetroSouth teachers and volunteers.

A public health nurse provided by theCity of Bloomington presents healthinformation on a monthly basis and provides resources and support forfamilies on a weekly basis.

Family Literacy Academy is a muchappreciated opportunity in the Bloomington community. Here area few comments from the adultstudents to highlight the value of theprogram.

“I can spend time reading, playing,and learning with my child at PACTtime. My child is happier and we are closer because we are coming to school together.”

“FLA for me is to see how my childplays with other children.

It is a good

opportunity for me and my child to meet other mothers and make new friends. It’s good to learn about other cultures in our community.”

“I learn about my child’s development, social skills, and discipline at the same time as learning English.”

“I appreciate we have PACT timebecause I can spend quality parenting time with my daughter. I share this with other families because it is so valuable.”

“I hope the program continues

throughout the years so more parents in the community can apply and be a part of the FLA program in Bloomington schools so others can learn English while our children are also learning and getting ready for kindergarten.”

MESSENGER

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BriarHill

Eden P ra i r i e S choo l s Ea r l yChildhood Programs and MetroSouth Adult Basic Education havecollaborated to offer a familyliteracyclassatBriarhillApartmentsinEdenPrairie.EdenPrairieschoolshas been providing an outreachECFE class serving mothers andtheir children from age birth-5 attheBriarhillApartmentcomplexforseveraldecades.

Manyofthemomswhoenrolledinthis class participate because theyhavelanguagebarriersthatmakeitdifficult for them to joinanEnglishspeakingECFE class. Parents in thisprogram have long asked for sometype of English class onsite astransportationandchildcareneeds

prohibit them from participating inregularMetroSouthclasses.

This classmeetsonceaweek for2hoursinthecommunityroomintheBriarhilloffice,whichisashortwalkfor participating families. EPS EarlyChildhoodstaffplanandimplementweekly activities for children birth-5 that help to build early literacyand school readiness sk i l l s .Seasoned Metro South volunteerAndy Otness (pictured below)provides a wide range of activitiesand lessons. Terri Blackburn,Outreach Liaison for Metro South,does student assessment andsupports Andy with teachingmaterials.

Andy says, “When I first met thislovelygroupofEastAfricanmoms,Iwondered how to initiate mutualdelight in our gatherings. Food, ofcourse, was the answer! I broughtin three, visually different applesand, as a group, we decided onsome descriptive words and thentasted each.” The group thoughtGranny Smiths were "sour" and"tough". Delicious apples tastedsweet and soft. The Minnesotaapplewas crunchy. Then theyeachhad a small taste of a baked apple

piemadefromgrannysmithapples.Andyaskedstudentstosaywhythegrannysmithtastedsodifferentasapie.

The following week, a studentbrought in a sample of her bakedmeat pies, known as Sambusawhich is very popular in Somalicuisine.

InEnglish, studentsdescribedwhatwas in it and how to make them.We now know that we all lovedelicious food and have had amutualexperience.

Feedback fromtheparticipantshasbeen extremely positive with theonly criticism being that theywanttocomemoredayseachweek!

Spring/Summer 2018 Issue 6

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M e t r o S o u t h A d u l t B a s i c E d u c a t i o n S p r i n g 2 0 1 7 I s s u e 4

2575West88thStreetBloomington,MN55431952-681-6170www.metrosouth.org2

AboutUsMetro South Adult Basic Education is a Minnesota Department of Education site. We are a consortium of theBloomington,Richfield,Edina,andEdenPrairieSchoolDistricts.Ourprogramsexisttoservetheneedsofadultlearnerswhowish to improve their English skills orwork toward theirGEDorAdultDiploma.WealsoofferCollegePrep andCareerPathwaysclassesforstudentswhowould liketoattendcollegeor improvetheir jobsskills inavarietyofareassuch as Customer Service, Child Development Associate, CertifiedNursing Assistant Prep, Food Careers, andMedicalTerminology. Some Career Pathways classes prepare students to earn a nationally recognized certificate. Our maincampusis locatedat2575West88thStreet inBloomington.Pleasefeelfreetocontactusformoreinformationaboutanyofourprogramsat952-681-6170oratmsabe@isd271.org.

Technology-FindingaHappyMedium

Adult ESL Teachers Brigid Erikson andAlisonWilcox areparticipating in the current year’s Flexible LearningCohort (group)with Bloomington Public School District.Flexible Learning, orBlended Learning, iswhen contentand teacher support are provided to students usingtechnology inside and/or outside of the classroom. Forexample, students may learn material in class using awebsiteorlearningmanagementsystem,ortheymaylogin to a website to access that material at home oranywherethereisInternet.AtMetroSouth,weseemanyadultstudentsusetheircellphonesinoroutofclasstoaccessappsandwebsitessuchasEnglishdictionariesorvocabularysites.Teachersinthedistrictarebeginningtouse technology for learning with different models(station rotation, flex and flipped).With our adult ESL/ABEstudents,studentsneedmorepersonalassistanceinclasswithbuildingdigital literacy skills andwithEnglishsothatlearnerscanfeelcomfortableusingtechnologyinEnglishanywhere.

Brigid and Alison are excited to explore the best andmostwidelyused technology tools so thatESL studentscan learn, for example, Google Docs, email, Moodle,blogs, digital presentations, and other ESL learningwebsites while building their English skills at the sametime.But for teachers,choosinghowtoorganizeall thetechnology tools, websites, and content that studentsaccess by Internet is not easy! Teachers also want toknowhowtomaketechnologyandclassresourceseasierfor students to access and navigate. For their project,Brigid and Alison decided to focus on the question:Which digital resources are essential for a streamlinedadult ESL classroom? In otherwords, how can teachersutilize technology to efficiently organize all their classcontent/resources and possibly use social media tocommunicate and inspire? This topic is useful for theadult ESL classroom because some teachers (andstudents) are feeling overwhelmed with so muchtechnologyandothersarebarelyusingtechnologyatall.Thestreamliningwillbeusefulforbothtypesofteachersto find ahappymedium thatmay, in turn, impact theirstudents’learning.

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This 2017-18 school year, Metro South Career Pathways launched anew Phlebotomy class in partnershipwith Hennepin Technical College(HTC). This class, in accordance withWIOA and made possible through a federal grant, is a 64-hour course thatcombines English Language/Civicseducation with content and skillinstruction, including CPRcertification. Successful graduates ofthe class receive a certificate of accomplishment that is also acceptedin HTC healthcare programs thuspreparing learners to either enroll inthose programs or work as aphlebotomy technician. Topics covered: • Phlebotomy equipment and procedures • Blood collection by venipuncture capillary punctures • Basic anatomy as it relates to blood collection • Safety procedures • Professional ethics and liability (HIPAA) • CPR for Healthcare Providers

The field trip to a local CSL Plasma Center and additional career guidance from our Opportunity Navigator has helped students feel prepared to workimmediately in the field after completing the class. For example,student surveys from past classesindicate that students feel they arewell prepared with the knowledge and skills to work in the field and that they felt supported in the class. As the popularity of this class has spread,we now have 16 dedicated studentsenrolled in the spring session!

On average, phlebotomy techniciansmake $16/hour and the career outlook is very bright as many peopleare ill or aging and in need of theseservices. Phlebotomy training canalso open doors to a very good careerin the medical field since having thistraining applies to nursing, labtechnicians, medical assisting, and other similar jobs. Additionally, it is a natural sequence in our Career Pathways healthcare classes, starting with Nursing Assistant Prep, then moving to Medical Terminology, and finally to the more demanding Phlebotomy class. The future looks bright in healthcare with our students’ interest and training in healthcare matching the abundance of healthcare opportunities in the south metro area.

Self Advocacy Series

Career Pathways: New Phlebotomy Class

2575 West 88th Street Bloomington, MN 55431

Metro South Adult Basic Education Metro South Adult Basic Education

952-681-6170

She spent some of her high school years living and studying in Dubai. Alicia will spend her service year helping students with their career and educational goals as well as assist them in building employment readiness skills including employment interest assessments, resumes, cover letters, job search and participate in mock interviews. Alicia is new to the metro area, recently moving here from Iowa with her husband. She is enjoying getting to know Minneapolis. She likes the Twin Cities dining scene and visiting the beautiful parks with her dog, Samson.

Fall/Winter 2017 Issue 5

2575 West 88th Street Bloomington, MN 55431 www.metrosouth.org 952-681-6170

them to the finish line so they can achieve the standards and feel confident moving to the next level. This is good for the students, and also helps our program with retention and graduation rates. Students are so appreciative of his work that they haveeven stopped Kellie McGowan, Metro South Director, in the hallway tothank her for hiring him!

Welcome New StaffGED/College Prep students. She admires their dedication to their learning as so many of them have responsibilities outside of class like family, work and volunteering. She is thoroughly amazed at how they make time to improve their lives through education.

Rachel also helps with LearningExchange, the adults with disabilities program. She provides support toinstructors and assists students. Rachel especially enjoys working withthis program as she finds the participants to be delightfullyenthusiastic!

Rachel previously lived in North Carolina where she did volunteerESL teaching. She really liked the time she spent in North Carolina, butmissed her friends and family. Welcome back to Minnesota and thank you for your help!

Suzanne Jost has taken over Terri Blackburn’s position as ESL Outreach Liaison. She has taught in Japan for three years, has worked to support volunteers with a non-profit, taught K-12 and and also works as a Metro South teacher. It is very exciting for her to be able to work with our students because it allows her to join her two passions -

volunteering and teaching!

Suzanne manages the adult ESL classat the Edina Community Center where the lead volunteer is BillSwanson, a newly retired freelancewriter, author, and editor. We are happy to have Bill volunteering withthe upper level class, which now meets two days a week.

2575 West 88th Street Bloomington, MN 55431 www.metrosouth.org 952-681-6170

2016-17 Graduates

Phlebotomy class graduates with teacher Lisa Gunderson andMetro South’s Alison Wilcox.

Students learning blood collection procedures.

Metro South is happy to announcethat Kevin Bartish has joined us as a full-time math instructor in the AdultDiploma program. Until this year, Kevin worked part-time as a math instructor in the Adult Diploma program at Metro South and also generously donated his time as a volunteer for over five years. Beforeworking at Metro South, Kevin taughtmath at a school in Longmont,Colorado. Since joining our program,Kevin has worked on developingunique ways of integrating the CCRSmath standards into his curriculum.He has also worked hard to integratetechnology into his class - from creating his own website to teachingstudents how to use Excel to earnNorthstar Digital Literacy certificateslast year. Kevin’s efforts to use strategies that address differentlearning styles seem effortless when he is teaching challenging topics likefinding the surface area and volumeof polygons. His compassion forstudents leads him to go above andbeyond his required duties to maketime for struggling students beforeand after class.

Kevin makes students feel comfortable learning math. He doesn’t give up on them because he believes they are capable of mastering concepts in math. He gets

Volunteers

The fall session was very successfulwith eight students of various backgrounds successfully completing.These students worked hard to passknowledge tests as well as complete15 successful blood draws with instructor Lisa Gunderson.

2018 Graduation

Rachel Zubrzycki, paraprofessional,helps students and staff in the GED/College Prep program on Monday and Wednesday evenings. She assistswith testing and student registration. She is the first point of contact for students and warmly welcomes themwith a smile and greeting. Rachel also contacts students who have taken a break from their studies to let them know they are missed and to encourage them to come back to school.

Rachel enjoys working with instructor, Craig Anderson and the

Spring/Summer 2018 Issue 6

Suzanne Jost Bill Swanson

Metro South Adult Basic Educationand CHOICE Alternative High School will hold their graduation ceremonyon Thursday, June 14 at Hubert OlsonMiddle School. The ceremony starts at 7:30pm and will honor and celebrate students from the GED and Adult Diploma program and CHOICE.

Students work hard all year for this chance to walk across the stage to receive their diploma. We are proud of your accomplishments and wish you good luck as you pursue work, college or technical education in the future.

Kevin Bartish

Rachel ZubrzyckiVolunteer Nancy Jarvis M.D. helping phlebotomy students practice their

skills.

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2575West88thStreetBloomington,MN55431

GraduaPon2017

You and your guests are cordially invited to the Metro South Adult Basic Education

2017 Commencement Ceremony

Hubert Olson Middle School Thursday, June 15th, 2017 at 7:30 p.m.

Reception to follow in cafeteria

Hubert Olson Middle School, 4551 West 102nd Street, Bloomington, MN

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Fall/Winter 2017 Issue 5

A Field Trip to Park Square Theater

Metro South is partially funded with a grant from the Minnesota Department of Education using state and/or federal

funding.

Minnesota Statute Section 124D.522 and/or CFDA 84.002 Adult Basic

Education Grants to States.

Metro South Adult Basic Education

2575 West 88th StreetBloomington, MN 55431

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Spring/Summer 2018 Issue 6

In March, Metro South Adult Diplomastudents took a field trip to the ParkSquare Theater to see the play,A Raisin in the Sun. Students werethrilled to attend the performance. For many, this was their first experience with theater.

“I really enjoyed my trip to see the play as it was my first time in a theater. Thank you Metro South.”

-Emmanuael“I feel it was a very fun and amazing play. For me it is something that we can do more often because it gives us a break and we learn something new. It helps to see new places and is something really good for people who do not know much about Minnesota.

-Severiano