Texas Workforce Commission honors AC as a recipient of Performance Quality Improvement Award

The TWC has notified AC’s Adult Education and Literacy (AEL) Program that it will receive an AEL Performance Quality Improvement Award at the 20th Annual Texas Workforce Conference Dec. 7 in Houston.

TWC awards recognize exemplary AEL program performance in five categories, and AC has been nominated in two of them: College Integration and Local Workforce Development Board Integration.

Improving seamless integration of the AEL program into the College mainstream and the Workforce Development Board has been a priority the past two years at AC.

AEL students are not differentiated from other students at the college. AEL students have access to all the resources AC has to offer, including, full access to the College Intranet and email system. AEL students also receive equitable advising, complete financial aid assistance, even the presence of AEL support staff in credit-bearing classes for which students can now obtain College credit at the same time they complete developmental requirements.

Nominees for AEL Performance Quality Improvement Awards are derived from the many AEL programs in Texas that have received TWC grants. AC received a five-year, $5.5 million Adult Education and Literacy Grant from the TWC in 2014. Supported by this funding, AC is spearheading a Panhandle consortium’s efforts to help students acquire the skills needed to succeed in the workforce, earn a high school equivalency, or enter college or career training.

“We’re a relatively new grantee,” said Dr. Tamara Clunis, dean of academic success at AC. “To think that only two years after putting our grant into action we’re receiving statewide recognition is really exciting.”

AC’s integration with the Workforce Development Board was greatly enhanced when Dr. Clunis officially joined that Board, and it was aided further by the addition of an AEL liaison to the local Workforce Solutions office staff. The liaison offers adult basic education testing and orientations at the workforce center, while attending job fairs to refer students to workforce services and College possibilities.

First- and second-place awards will be made in each category at the conference in Houston, and recognition will be accompanied by monetary awards — $50,000 for first place, and $35,000 for second — funds intended to further support the initiatives that attracted them.

AC will be represented and supported at the award presentation on Dec. 7 by:

• Amarillo College President Russell Lowery-Hart
• Dean of Academic Success Tamara Clunis
• AEL Project Director Jacqui Jones
• AEL Instructional Director Michelle Lamons
• Workforce Board Staff — Marin Rivas, Cari Thompson, Leslie Harding, Georgette Pond and Kathy Cabezuela
• Workforce Contract Staff — Trent Morris and Steve Cross