New Tennessee Adult Education Service Providers Announced

State Restructures Adult Education Program to Better Serve Students.

The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD) announced eight new service providers who will coordinate adult education programs in each of the state’s 95 counties today.

Currently, Tennessee has 40 adult education service delivery areas, each with a separate entity overseeing the program in its respective part of the state. On July 1, 2016 TDLWD will restructure those service delivery areas into eight districts.

During fiscal year 2015-2016 the state of Tennessee paid $3.15 million in administrative costs associated with the adult education program. The realignment to eight districts will reduce those administrative costs by $2.1 million in fiscal year 2016-2017.

“We will take that $2 million and invest into Tennessee’s adult learners,” said TDLWD Commissioner Burns Phillips. “I am confident this restructure will greatly improve Tennessee’s adult education program and help thousands of Tennesseans find better jobs.”

The Department will take the money once spent on overhead costs and nearly double the number of full-time instructors across the state, increasing the figure from 35 to 62 instructors.

With the new service contracts, which are effective July 1, providers in the eight districts will be able to offer full-time instructors a starting salary of $40,000. The current salary for a beginning adult education instructor is $28,809.

“This will allow our service providers to hire full-time instructors who are more familiar and fluent in the adult education curriculum and allow them to dedicate more time to students,” Commissioner Phillips said.

Adult education classes will continue seamlessly in each of Tennessee’s counties. Between now and July 1, TDLWD will work with the eight new providers to coordinate the start-up of the restructured program.

Over the last week educators in Louisiana evaluated the proposals of interested providers submitted to the Department’s Adult Education division and on Friday, administrators awarded contracts to the following organizations.

District 1 – Northeast State Community College

District 2 – Tennessee College of Applied Technology – Knoxville

District 3 – Putnam County Schools

District 4 – Tennessee College of Applied Technology – Athens

District 5 – Workforce Essentials

District 6 – South Central Tennessee Workforce Alliance

District 7 – Henderson County Schools

District 8 – HopeWorks