Managing a regional adult education program is a complex endeavor, and successful managers can't get by with a paint-by-numbers approach. Yet the numbers do matter: the data programs collect reflect the real accomplishments of adult learners, provide educators with important feedback, and inform stakeholders of program achievements.
For this issue, Progress spoke to seven regional managers from programs that were 2025-2026 top performers in the areas of enrollment, learner persistence, Measurable Skill Gain (MSG), and post-test rate. We asked them to reveal some of their management strategies and share tips for leaders around the state.
Each manager describes approaches that have been tailored to their own unique region, but Progress readers will find remarkable similarities in their methods and advice. "At the end of the day," writes Northern Virginia manager Shekera Alvarado, "all the systems and tracking in the world cannot retain students without outstanding teachers and their amazing classroom instruction."
"Ultimately," says Southside Virginia manager Buffy Allgood, "our success is not measured solely by the number of skill gains we report, but by the barriers we help remove, the opportunities we help create, and the lives we help change along the way."
