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LR/RI produces a bulletin every two weeks in order to inform area practitioners of news, events, and calls for participation and also as a forum for posing questions, issues and discussion topics. To read other bulletins, go to Bulletin Archives. 

Bulletin #2

4 March, 1997

Dear Colleagues, Literacy Resources/RI has been functioning for a month now. I've had an opportunity to meet with several program representatives, and am planning to meet with more of you in the coming weeks. If in the meantime you have questions, comments or would like more information, please contact me. This second bulletin contains information found on various listservs (group email lists), as well as some general information about local events. Please send me any information or announcements you'd like to see shared with providers around the state. I'm hoping to be able to send you these bulletins every two or three weeks. The purpose of these bulletins is to keep all of us as informed as possible about events, publications and activities related to adult learning. If you know of someone who would like to receive this bulletin but may not appear on the mailing list, please let me know. 

Janet Isserlis 

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NOTICES

The National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) is publishing a 24-page quarterly, FOCUS ON BASICS, which will include articles that highlight current research on a topic important to adult educators. Companion pieces demonstrate how research is being put into practice and examine the policy implications of research findings. 

World Education is working with state ABE and SLRC systems to distribute about 8,500 copies to ABE programs across the country and is putting FOB on the Internet, on NCSALL's web site, http://hugse1.harvard.edu/~ncsall/ By mail, subscriptions are: $8 for one year; $32 for 4 years. To subscribe, contact Anita Patwardhan at apatward@WorldEd.org, and to suggest article ideas, recommend writers, apply to be on the editorial board, or find out more in general contact Barbara Garner, Editor, at bgarner@WorldEd.org or at World Education, 44 Farnsworth Street, Boston, MA 02210-1211 (617) 482-9485. To view a copy of FOB, contact LR/RI.

Erik Jacobson, a research assistant at the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) at Harvard University, is working on a survey of adult literacy programs, and is part of a project conducting a survey of adult literacy programs across the U.S. and abroad in order to create a typology of literacy programs. As part of this effort, he would like to take full advantage of the available technology, especially the internet. Below is questionnaire that focuses on several aspects of adult literacy programs. Erik would appreciate responses from program representatives. Erik Jacobson, NCSALL, Third Floor - Larsen Hall, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Appian Way, Cambridge, MA 02138 (email) jacobser@hugse1.harvard.edu; or, if it's easier to fax responses to me (Janet - 863-3094), and I can collect the responses, and post them all to Erik. 

Literacy Program Questionnaire

Your Name:

Your Position in Program:

Program Name: Program Location: 

Can we contact you via e-mail?:

1. What is the structure of your program? -- Whole class or individual tutoring? -- How often do classes meet? -- How many students do you serve?

2. Do you consciously follow a model? (e.g., Kenan, Freire, Laubach, etc.)

3. What are the explicit goals of your program? What are the students' goals?

4. What learning activities do you use in each class?

5. What materials do you use? -- What texts are your students reading and writing?

6. To what degree do students influence decisions about course content and classroom activities?

7. How do you measure the success of your program?

8. How are you funded?

9. Can you characterize the demographics of your student population?

The two day sequence of workshops for adult education program staff will provide them with the skills to facilitate a workshop about decision-making processes, help students use questions as an analytical and advocacy tool so that they can define and understand issues that are of concern to them and design strategies to work with students to address issues of concern using RQP's Steps for Democratic Participation. Elements of these workshops seem to be similar to the Democracy Schools workshops facilitated by the Highlander Center, New Market, Tenn., the first of which was held during the weekend of February 22nd.

Workshops will be held in N.H. and Mass. in April and May. Workshop organizers hope that this will be the one of the next steps in their continuing efforts to integrate meaningful political literacy into our adult education practice. Art Ellison, of the N.H. Department of Education would be happy to share the results of the workshops. You can reach him at <a_elliso@tec.nh.us> or 603-271-6698 or N.H. Department of Education, 101 Pleasant St., Concord, N.H. 03301 or contact Janet at LR/RI for applications or more information. 

David Rosen, moderator of the National Literacy Advocacy (NLA) listserv reminds us that Òin the January 31, 1997 National Institute for Literacy Policy Update there is a list of key literacy policymakers for the 105th Congress. Jack Reed, of the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources is one of those people. While he is very supportive of education issues, it's worth considering inviting him and other local legislators to visit your program, or to visit their offices. Let them know what your programs' needs are, what adult learners' needs are, how long your waiting lists might be, how many hours of instruction per year per student you can provide with current resources, what adult learners have been able to accomplish with help from your program, and how our national educational goals can be advanced by their support for adult literacy/basic education/ ESOL services. And, of course, invite them to be speakers at your program graduation!

Some legislators are already supporters, but adult literacy education is just one of many worthwhile efforts they support. The challenge is to raise the level of their support a notch or two, so that whenever they are concerned about helping K-12, they automatically think, "Does adult education need this support, too?"

Then, let us know what's happening. Post to the NLA list the stories of their/your visits, adult learners' reactions to the meeting their elected officials, and what you may have learned about the legislators: their interests, concerns, perspectives. And, of course, don't forget to "meet and greet" your state legislators, too."

Please let me know if you'd like more information about the NLA list, or to share information with that list. -- Janet

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