Sucess Stories

You, Me and The Texas Adult Education
Administrator Credential

by Chris Palacios
Del Mar College, Department of GED Instruction, Corpus Christi

Having been the first administrator to successfully complete the Texas Adult Education Administrator credential pilot in mid-January 2008, I have had a little over five months to reflect on its value. Did it meet my expectations? Were there any surprises? Does this credential have any value for other administrators? What might be the impact of having completed the credential on program management and program improvement? Is it good enough to add greater value to our daily efforts to manage the myriad of changes, challenges and the occasional crises we face?

Did it meet my expectations? Yes! It helped me increase the depth and breadth of my understanding of what every AE administrator should know and be able to do. It also helped validate what I have had to learn heuristically over the past eleven years.

Were there any surprises? Yes! I discovered and came to understand more completely my areas of weakness, but I also learned what I needed to do to improve each.

Does the credential have any value for other administrators? Oh, yes, especially for administrators with less than two years of experience, as it will help shorten their learning curve. Seasoned administrators may have a similar experience as my own.

What might be its impact on program management and program improvement? The credential helps the administrator with program assessment because it helps identify weaknesses. It aids with program management because it provides a comprehensive picture of program components that must be managed.

Finally, is the credential good enough to add greater value to an administrator’s daily efforts? You bet! In fact, the pilot revealed that only one additional area of knowledge needed to be added to the core content areas: National Reporting System (NRS).

How terrific is that? VERY!!!