COABE Awards, Incentive Grants, and Scholarship Program

Welcome to the COABE awards, incentive grants, and scholarship program!  All members of COABE may nominate or participate in this program, and all nominees must be current members of COABE.  Generously funded by the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, this year COABE is awarding six awards, four scholarships, and four incentive grants.  If you have any questions about the program, the associated process, or your membership, please contact info@coabe.org.

COABE members were invited to participate in this year's national level awards, incentive grants, and scholarship program. State associations were encouraged to submit winners of their state level awards, and all members were given equal consideration as long as their membership dues are current. Award recipients must have current membership in COABE, and the deadline for participating was December 30, 2011. All applicants and nominators were notified on February 1, 2012. Winners are required to submit a 100 word bio and a quality picture to info@coabe.org by March 1, 2012 for inclusion in the awards program.

Description of COABE Awards

The Adult Learner of the Year Award is provided to a learner who has demonstrated leadership within the formal or non-traditional learning environments.  This award is given to a student who has overcome difficult circumstances to pursue adult learning, who has supported other adult learners, and who has managed significant adult responsibilities such as those related to employment, family or community.

The Outstanding Teacher of the Year, Edgar M. Easley Award is provided to a practitioner with five or more years of adult education teaching experience that participates in school and community activities.  This award is given to an individual who understands the characteristics of the adult learner and who is committed to the adult/continuing education profession.

The Adult Basic Education Administrator of the Year Award is awarded to an adult education administrator with five or more years of experience who has made an outstanding contribution toward fostering the concept of education as a continuing life-process. The awardee must demonstrate a contribution to adult education at the community, state, and/or national levels.

The Partners in Adult Learning Services (PALS) Award honors an individual or organization that is not employed in the field of education, but that has made an outstanding contribution to adult basic education/literacy as a community leader at the local state, regional, and/or national level.  Contributions may be in one of several areas such as: legislative/public policy, leadership, instruction/tutoring, innovative services, initiating cooperative interagency activity, school/community/business partnerships or advisory committees.

The Outstanding Workplace of the Year, Chester Klevins Award honors an institution which has developed an outstanding workplace literacy program serving a local community, state/province, region and/or nation, has provided programming for more than three years, has developed customized services/curriculum at varied workplace settings, and who can provide evidence from employers that the program has met their objectives.

The Promoting Literacy Nationally and Internationally, Kenneth J. Mattran Award honors an individual who has a distinguished record of achievement in promoting literacy at the national or international level.

COABE Incentive Grants

COABE provides incentive grants which support activities or projects in the field of adult basic education through the secondary level.  The best practices gained by the incentive grant winners will be archived in an online repository as a resource for the literacy field. The overall purposes of the grants are to promote:

• Field-based, practitioner-developed activities for student/faculty growth
• Program improvement through enhanced curriculum, instruction, assessment, counseling, student services, research/evaluation, or community involvement

Projects that are considered for support may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In-house video production for orientation, staff development, instructional scenarios
• Mentor teacher or peer coaching training/implementation
• Development and dissemination of innovative instructional materials/techniques, including distance learning activities
• Assessment and evaluation procedures
• Small research projects such as student follow-up studies, classroom research on effective instructional techniques, effect of child care service on attendance, etc.
• Cross cultural training
• Systematic evaluation and training for innovative use of software for specific purposes
• Enhanced guidance activities, student services, student handbooks
• Expanded recruitment/retention strategies
• Development and implementation of student needs assessment
• Development of instructor resources such as handbooks, supplementary materials, abstracted bibliographies or materials evaluation and selection for professional libraries, developing/collecting and cataloging a realia library
• Networking/community linkages

COABE Scholarships

Scholarships from COABE fund, or partially fund, college level courses of study that will advance the professional standing of COABE practitioners.  Examples of scholarships include employees or volunteers in the field of adult basic education earning a degree or a state certificate/credential; obtaining an ESL certificate; teacher/counselor obtaining counselor/administrative credential; earning an advanced degree in adult education.

COABE Awards, Incentive Grants, and Scholarship Archives

Click here to view the COABE award honorees for 2011

Special thanks to Dollar General for its financial support in sponsoring the COABE awards, incentive grants, and scholarship program!