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LR/RI produces a bulletin roughly every two to three 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. The current bulletin is posted below. To read previous bulletins, go to Bulletin Archives.  To receive the bulletin via email, contact LR/RI. April 26, 2007 Bulletin #241 Dear Colleagues,  Calls for participation, employment, funding, and conference and workshop opportunities, online and other resources.  To post information,  and/or to receive the bulletin via email, please contact LR/RI or leave a message at (401-863-2839).   Janet Isserlis  ____________________________________________________________ NOTICES RI Adult Educators’ conference: save the date. The fifth state conference will be held on May 17th, at the Airport Radisson.  To register, please contact lrri@brown.edu.  You don’t need to pre-pay, but please do register by by April 30th (NO later than May7th), so that we can have an accurate count for materials and lunch.  More information here.  ESOL  share -  April 25, 2:30 pm., Genesis Center, 620 Potters Avenue, Providence  Using online resources.  Practitioners from Progreso Latino will share work they’ve done using online materials and programs; please bring your ideas, share sites that you’ve used FREE GED CLASSES for Southeast Asian Youth. - At PrYSM (Providence Youth Student Movement) you can get paid $100/ Month to get your GED and get involved in the community.   Requirements:  Must be between 14-21 years of age;  Must be of Cambodian, Laotian, Hmong, or Vietnamese descent;  Must not currently enrolled in high school; Must be able to attend class Mon- Friday, from 6- 8 PM. Description: Monday- Thursday, 6-8 PM, students will get class instruction as well as some one-on-one tutoring that is specialized to their learning needs.  On Fridays, 6-8 PM, students will learn about different issues in the Southeast Asian community (from poverty to education to deportation), and work to develop their leadership as community organizers.  At the end of each month, students will receive $100.  Call Paul at 401-480-3890 to schedule an interview or email bridge@prysm.us. DEADLINE: May 1, 2007. PrYSM is a grass-roots Southeast Asian youth organization working to end state-, street-, and interpersonal- violence affecting Southeast Asian American youth in Providence, Rhode Island.   http://www.prysm.us Adult Education Professional (AEPRO), a joint project between The Center for Literacy Studies and the Ohio Literacy Resource Center announces the Online Idea Exchange.  Developed in response to feedback and requests from developers, participants, facilitators and others in the field, The Idea Exchange is a free forum where adult educators interested in Distance Education can share their experience, ideas, questions and knowledge, and is designed to be developed by the adult education field. The structure and framework is in place, along with several resources and initial posts to help get the discussion started. Additional content with a focus on how the Adult Education field can utilize Distance Education will be generated by the exchange of ideas; growing as questions are asked, experiences shared, topics created and resources are identified. The platform can easily integrate additional communication tools (wiki, polls, blogs etc). Please share thoughts and ideas you may have on how other tools can be integrated to provide additional services .   Please help us develop this community by visiting http://www.aeprofessional.org/community/  If you have any questions, comments or suggestions for the resources or opportunities listed at the site please contact DECommunity@literacy.kent.edu. Change Agent CALL FOR ARTICLES Theme:  Taking Action to Stay In School Adult students face many challenges as they try to balance their work life, family life, and commitment to their education. Most students, at some point or another, encounter obstacles too difficult to overcome and have to stop out from school. We’re looking for students who have creative ideas and are taking action to keep themselves and their classmates in school. This issue of The Change Agent is about the external challenges (working too hard, health issues, lack of transportation or child care) that make it hard to keep coming to class and the ways that students are taking leadership to address those difficulties. Questions for students and teachers to think about:  (Please choose one question to write on.) What needs to happen in your community, workplace, or program so you can keep coming to class? What are some things you think you could do with your classmates to address the challenges of staying in school?  Have you done any organizing with your classmates or program around transportation, child care, jobs and wages, or health care? What was it, how did you do it, what happened? How have other students helped you stay in school? If your program provides child care or transportation, how did you make it happen and has it made a difference in learner persistence?  All articles must be received by May 18, 2007. All articles will be considered. Suggested length is 500-1,200 words. Final decisions are made by The Change Agent editorial board. A stipend of $50 will be paid to each adult education student whose work is accepted for publication in this issue. Please send material (preferably by email) to: Angela Orlando, Editor, New England Literacy Resource Center/World Education, 44 Farnsworth St., Boston, MA 02210, Phone: 617-482-9485 fax: 617-482-0617 email: aorlando@worlded.org The mission of The Change Agent is to provide news, issues, ideas, and other teaching resources that inspire and enable adult educators and learners to make civic participation and social justice part of their teaching and learning. It is published by the New England Literacy Resource Center. The summer issue of Field Notes offers a chance for teachers to write about their work in a personal way.  The topic teaching from the heart is open to interpretation. Write about your most heartening classroom stories, your heartbreaks and heart-healing tales about teaching.  Write about a book you've used that has plenty of heart, or even has heart in the title. Submit a lesson about Valentine's Day. Or even send in a lesson plan on keeping the heart healthy, in more ways than one.  We welcome book reviews, movie reviews (500-700 words), personal stories (c.1000 words or less), lesson plans,  heart-filled photos (with captions), an ESOL lesson on idioms related to the heart, or other ideas you may have. Deadline for submission is April 15. Go to http://www.sabes.org for complete submission guidelines, found under the Field Notes click. To talk to a real person about real ideas, call  Lenore Balliro, editor, at 617-482-9485, or email her at lballiro@worlded.org. New Literacy Journal The first issue of the Adult Basic Education and Literacy Journal, co-published by the Commission on Adult Basic Education (COABE) and ProLiteracy America, was launched in March. The journal’s predecessor, Adult Basic Education, was started by COABE in 1977. The new journal will continue to carry research articles that are peer reviewed using a double blind protocol that conceals reviewers’ identities from authors, and vice versa. The journal will also include the following shorter features written especially for practitioners: •   Practitioner Perspective offers first-person narratives by people who’ve solved problems that instructors or program directors often encounter. The emphasis is on learnings that can be used by other  practitioners. •   Web Scan, edited by David Rosen, offers a roundup of the most useful instructional and management resources found on the Internet. •   Research Digest, edited by Cristine Smith, offers a quick recap of published and ongoing research projects around the country, with contact information so interested readers can find out more. •   Resource Reviews, edited by Daphne Greenberg, help practitioners and researchers stay abreast of the latest offerings from educational publishers. •   Occasional essays, called Viewpoint, that analyze trends and forces at work in the field. The March issue carries an essay on health literacy by Rima Rudd. The July issue will carry an essay on the national research agenda by John Comings. The journal is published three times per year. To subscribe, or to view author guidelines, visit http://www.coabe.org. For more information, send an e-mail to journaleditor@literacyprogram.org.   Daphne Greenberg, Georgia State University learning opportunities Research Says! Family Literacy Practitioner On-Line Training Course Offered Free of Charge The Volunteer Florida Foundation, in partnership with the Florida Department of Education, Division of Community Colleges and Workforce Development, has launched Research Says!, a 12 hour, professional development training on-line course.  “Research Says!” is a virtual classroom designed to teach family literacy practitioners how to use a book as a bridge to existing curriculum. The course will be offered free of charge through June 30, 2007.  Please visit http://www.flafamilyliteracy.org/ and click on the “Research Says!” link to register, and learn more.  2007 Parent Workshop Series Brochure - (for full schedule, please contact lrri@brown.edu) Entrance to all workshops is $5.  Workshops will take place at the CVS-Highlander Charter School in Providence on designated evenings from 7 - 9 PM. The program includes 13 workshops for parents, including: Understanding Learning Styles, Organized for Learning, Orton-Gillingham for Parents, Transitions to Higher Education, The Journey of Parenting: Connections to the Evolving Brains of  Children Ages 4 - 14, Self-Esteem, Quirky Kids, Understanding the Impact of Early Reflexes on Sensory and Academic   Development., Parenting a Child with Learning Differences, Homework, Using Evaluation Data to Advocate for Your Child,  Cultivating Collaborations:  Creating a Team to Support Your Child Attention Pre-registration is required.  Seating is limited.   Feel free to contact me with any questions. -  Cathy Sanford, Director, Hasbro Center for Teaching Excellence c/o The Dunn Institute for  Learning Differences 401-831-7323 Providence Public Library events -  http://www.provlib.org/branchout/current.html funding opportunities - large and less large Grants to Support Job Skills & Education for Disadvantaged Youth -Staples Foundation for Learning Grants provide funding to programs that support or provide job skills and/or education for all people, with a special emphasis on disadvantaged youth. Maximum Award: varies. Eligibility: 501(c)3 organizations. Deadline: April 6.  http://www.staplesfoundation.org/foundapplication.html Funding opportunities from  PEN Weekly NewsBlast, (from Pen Weekly Newsblast; To view past issues of the PEN Weekly NewsBlast, visit:  http://www.publiceducation.org/newsblast_past.asp Grants for Community Improvement Programs - Hamburger Helper is looking to lend a helping hand to neighborhoods nationwide with its "My Hometown Helper" grant program. Individuals from communities and organizations across America can submit a written essay of 250 words or less describing how the "My Hometown Helper" grant would help improve their community project. Maximum Award: $15,000. Eligibility: Requests for funding must be sponsored by a municipal or civic organization or public school. Deadline: May 31, 2007.  http://www.myhometownhelper.com/ Hasbro Children Foundation grants to support the development and/or expansion of programs for children. Maximum Award: $500-$35,000. Eligibility: Programs must provide direct services to children under age 13. They must serve children and families who are economically disadvantaged. They must be innovative and provide a model from whichothers can learn. Deadline: N/A.  http://www.hasbro.org UPS Foundation Education Grants fund high impact philanthropic programs that raise the level of educational instruction, family learning opportunities, and school involvement projects. Maximum Award: varies. Eligibility: 501(c)(3) organizations. http://www.community.ups.com/philanthropy/grant.html - other grants from the Public Education Network: http://www.publiceducation.org/newsblast_grants.asp - The federal government's new one stop grant site: http://www.grants.gov/ The Poverty & Race Research Action Council (PRRAC) announces another round of education reform grants in areas of social science research.  PRACC is particularly interested in issues such as high classroom turnover/mobility and its disproportionate impact on low-income, minority, and farm worker students.  However, other issues will be considered as well.  To apply, send PRRAC a proposal outlining the planned research and methodology, the advocacy work it is designed to support, a budget, timeline, and qualifications of the researchers.  Maximum grant: $10,000.  No application deadline. http://www.prrac.org/grants.php Funding Solutions for Small Nonprofit Organizations A collection of resources to help small nonprofit organizations fundraise including ways to motivate your board, sample fundraising letters, phonathon advice, and tips to improve your direct mail solicitation. http://www.nonprofit-innovations.com/ employment opportunities Employment opportunity: English for Action seeks a passionate, energetic and creative full-time executive director to provide leadership to the organization as it seeks to increase sustainability and community impact. Full description: http://www.idealist.org/en/job/211090-138 Substitute teaching: The Genesis Center is interested in adding to its substitute list. If you are an ESOL instructor who is interested in occasional work as a substitute, either day, evening or Saturday hours, please call Nancy Fritz or Pat Clarkin at 781-6110. Jobs in Literacy – nation wide postings on the National Institute for Literacy’s LINCS site: http://www.nifl.gov/cgi-bin/lincs/jobs/jobs.cgi Substitute list: if you would like your name added to the general list, please see contact LR/RI.  The list needs to be updated so that it can function more usefully for teachers and programs hoping to work with them. (http://www.brown.edu/lrri/sub.html) Rhode Island Community Jobs (RICOMJOB) is a public e-mail announcement list that seeks to raise the profile of meaningful work in Rhode Island by helping non-profit and public interest employers publicize openings effectively. Anyone seeking a job that makes a difference in Rhode Island can join the list.  Any non-profit, government or private sector employer advertising a paid position related to the public interest or community concerns can post a free job listing.  Positions must be paid but may be part-time, full-time or temporary. To join the list as a job seeker or to post a job as an employer go to: http://www.ricommunityjobs.org Rhode Island Community Jobs is supported by the Swearer Center for Public Service at Brown University and the Rhode Island Campus Compact.  If you have questions about this service, please contact us at ricomjob@brown.edu  online / resources available more online discussions: Topic: The Washington State Learning Disabilities Project- Learning Disabilities Discussion List, April 24th- 26th. To participate/subscribe: http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Learningdisabilities  List Moderator: Rochelle Kenyon, RKenyon721@aol.com   Topic: Effective Research Dissemination: Lessons from NCSALL- Focus on Basics Discussion List, April 30 - May 4 To participate, subscribe: http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Focusonbasics List Moderator: Julie McKinney, julie_mcKinney@worlded. Topic: Planning Health Literacy Awareness Events  Health & Literacy Discussion List April 23-27, 2007 To participate, subscribe: www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/healthliteracy List Moderator: Julie McKinney, julie_mcKinney@worlded.org  <mailto:julie_mcKinney@worlded.org> Guest: Helen Osborne, founder of Health Literacy Month and author of the “Health Literacy Month Handbook: The Event Planning Guide for Health Literacy Advocates” October is Health Literacy Month, a time when health literacy advocates around the world promote the importance of making health information understandable. Now is the time to start making your plans for Health Literacy Month 2007. Helen will join us for an informative discussion about how you can help raise local awareness about health literacy this October. Helen has recently completed the “Health Literacy Month Handbook: The Event Planning Guide for Health Literacy Advocates” and will share some of her expertise in this type of event planning including creating a vision, building a team, running events, and measuring success. We hope that this discussion will be a forum for health literacy advocates everywhere to exchange ideas, share resources, and learn from one another. - Recognized as an expert in health literacy, Helen Osborne M.Ed., OTR/L helps health professionals communicate in ways patients and their families can understand. She is president of her own business, Health Literacy Consulting, based in Natick, Massachusetts. Helen is also the founder of Health Literacy Month – a worldwide campaign to raise awareness about the importance of understandable health information.  Helen speaks, consults, and writes about health literacy and is also the author of several other books including the award-winning Health Literacy from A to Z: Practical Ways to Communicate Your Health Message published by Jones & Bartlett. To learn more about Helen’s work,  http://www.healthliteracy.com. Recommended Reading: Health Literacy Month Website  http://www.healthliteracy.com/hl_month.asp - includes a searchable database of Health Literacy Month events as well as a form to submit how your organization is participating. The website has resources including a free downloadable Health Literacy Month logo.  In Other Words…It’s Time to Get Involved in Health Literacy Month http://www.healthliteracy.com/article.asp?PageID=3752 - Published as a column in “On Call Magazine”, this article by Helen Osborne outlines some basics of getting involved in Health Literacy Month. In Other Words…Why Health Literacy Matters http://www.healthliteracy.com/article.asp?PageID=3791 - includes accounts from patients, providers and policy makers of why we all need to address health literacy. In Other Words…Measuring the Effectiveness of Health Literacy Interventions http://www.healthliteracy.com/article.asp?PageID=3753 - focuses on why it is important to measure the effectiveness of your health communication efforts. Journal of Online Mathematics and its Applications offers articles, learning modules, "mathlets" (single-purpose learning tools), reviews of online resources, and a developers' area.  Search contents of the journal by type of resource (e.g., article), by subject (e.g., number concepts, data presentation, plane geometry), or both.  The journal makes extensive use of graphics, animations, video clips, and other media.  Articles and other materials are peer reviewed. (Mathematical Association of America, National ScienceFoundation) http://free.ed.gov/resource.cfm?resource_id=1875 The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announces that the The  U.S. Civics and Citizenship Online: Resource Center for Instructors is available online at: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=b36e663784bcd010VgnVCM100000d1f1d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=b36e663784bcd010VgnVCM100000d1f1d6a1RCRD The Verizon Foundation recently announced a $31 million investment to provide free online educational resources to teachers, students and community organizations through Thinkfinity.org <http://thinkfinity.org/> , Verizon's comprehensive online portal to 50,000 standards- based, K-12 lesson plans, resources for adult and family literacy providers, and other educational resources. Read more at http://www.pr-inside.com/verizon-foundation-announces-31-million-r77817.htm   This resource, provided at not cost to the public, is written and produce by some of the nation's leading educational organizations, such as the National Center for Family Literacy, ProLiteracy Worldwide, National Geographic Xpeditions, ArtsEdge, EconEdLink, EdSitement, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Read-Write-Think, Science NetLinks, and more. The $31 million commitment, which will be distributed over three years, will allow leading educational organizations to continue to produce and expand the number of interactives and other educational resources available at http://www.thinkfinity.org/.   Resources from EdChange family of Web sites: A new Classism and Poverty Awareness Quiz http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/quizzes.html ; Newly designed Social Justice News Service site http://mail.socialjusticenews.net/mailman/listinfo/news_socialjusticenews.net- email-based news service, periodic email digests of links to articles related to equity, social justice, and multiculturalism from sources all over the world.  New essays and links to essays http://www.edchange.org/publications.html New essays in the Multicultural Education Research Room  http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/papers.html CAELA's newest online resource collection,Working with Literacy-Level Adult English Language Learners. is now available at http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/collections/literacy.html    The collection includes links and annotations to many resources related to working with adult English language learners, who have had limited access to formal education. - Lynda Terrill, Center for Adult English Language Acquisition, Center for Applied Linguistics, 4646 40th St, NW, Washington, DC 20016  lterrill@cal.org As referenced during the December Leadership Institute, please be advised that all services on WordChamp are being made available to RIDE funded programs for the 2006-2007 program year. The program is designed to provide support to classroom language learning and can also function as an independent study tool for students at high intermediate to fairly advanced levels.  With guidance, this could also be a useful tool for more basic level learners. Find out more at http://www.wordchamp.com.  (Please note that this is not an endorsement of the site, but is being disseminated for information purposes only). from Daphne Greenberg: The UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on December 13, 2006.  This was a tremendous achievement for all who had worked over the past 5 years and even before that, to put disability on the human rights agenda.   It is expected that the U.S. disability movement will campaign for the United States to sign and ratify the Convention.  While the U.S. had announced at the beginning of the process that they would never sign, this appears to have changed and they are considering a signature.  See the Convention in its final form at   http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/rights/convtexte.htm Reflect 6, the magazine of the UK’s National Research and Development Centre is now on-line. http://www.nrdc.org.uk/publications_details.asp?ID=71  Articles of interest address numeracy, ESOL, work force learning and practitioner-research. from Thursday notes, April 12/07 Secretary Holds Higher Ed Summit Secretary Spellings continued the national dialogue on higher education by convening leaders and stakeholders from across the U.S. for a summit here March 22.  A Test of Leadership: Committing to Advance Postsecondary Education for All Americans focused on action items to advance five recommendations to improve college access, affordability, and accountability.  State Director representatives from Rhode Island and Kentucky were among participants who discussed action steps to align K-12 and higher education expectations; increase need-based aid for access and success; use accreditation to support and emphasize student-learning outcomes; serve adults and other non-traditional students; and enhance affordability, decreasing costs, and promoting productivity.  http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2007/03/03222007.html OVAE Selects  Six Standards-in- Action States Congratulations to LA, MD, MA, OK, RI, and TX, the six states OVAE recently selected for Standards in Action, a project designed to turn adult education standards into curriculum and instruction.  The states will test new professional development activities and resources to build teachers’ understanding of standards and how to translate them into curriculum and instruction.  Materials will be available nationally at the end of the 3-year project.  Applications will be taken next spring for a second pilot to engage more states in testing training materials to assess implementation of standards.  http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/sectech/factsheet/support.html CT Targets  Young Learners  in Adult Ed CT's Department of Education is implementing a new State grant to help young adults persist and succeed in adult education programs.  The young adult learner initiative incorporates enhanced academic programs, comprehensive support services, and workforce preparation in a model targeting 16-21 year-old learners who recently left the K-12 system.  Nine new grants helped create unique methods of educating young adults entering adult education this year.  State officials are seeking continued State support for fiscal year 2008.  For more information, contact paul.flinter@ct.gov GED Fast-Tracked On Missouri's DVD MO’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education just developed a 15-hour GED Fast-Track DVD course by investing WIA incentive grant funds awarded for 2005 performance data.  Materials focus on the problem areas in GED’s five major academic topics—as well as on how to prepare for the test.  The course also offers a compendium of other tools such as a CD and student workbook.  The State plans regional meetings over the coming months to train representatives of all adult education programs to use the materials.  Request a free copy from MO’s Ron Jewell at ron.jewell@dese.mo.gov from Thursday notes, April 18/07: Learn How To Build Statewide P-20 Systems If building a “seamless system” from pre-school to graduate school (P-20) is your State’s goal, Governing Change: Considerations  for Education Policymakers from MA’s Rennie Center may help.  Governing Change describes four States’ efforts to build P-20 systems—including specific policies that needed to be changed and how States addressed them.  Each State’s Key Lesson is identified to help others avoid pitfalls.  States having one Board and Commissioner for P-20 include New York, Florida, Montana, and Idaho, according to the report.  States with legislated P-16 (or 20) councils providing separate boards for each sector are Georgia, Maryland, Indiana, and Kentucky.  The report identifies Oregon as the only State using voluntary councils for each sector, and lists 20 States (including its own) that currently do not have P-20 governance initiatives.  Download at http://www.renniecenter.org/research_docs/RennieCenter-GoverningChange.pdf Radical Math is a resource for educators interested in integrating issues of social, political, and economic justice into math curriculum and classes… RadicalMath.org has the goals of raising mathematic literacy and simultaneously developing ways to address a range of community issues. The website supports educators to teach many different types of math within the context of studying social, political, and economic justice issues. RadicalMath.org also contains teaching materials on important financial topics for youth such as owning a credit card, paying for college, and avoiding subprime lenders, as well as materials on Ethnomathematics. Visit http://www.radicalmath.org/ for more or email info@radicalmath.org Google Scholar enables searches for scholarly literature, including peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, preprints, abstracts and technical reports from broad areas of research. Use Google Scholar to find articles from a variety of academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories and universities, as well as articles available across the web.  Google Scholar orders search results by how relevant they are to your query, so the most useful references should appear at the top of the page. This relevance ranking takes into account the full text of each article as well as the article's author, the publication in which the article appeared and how often it has been cited in scholarly literature. Google Scholar automatically analyzes and extracts citations and presents them as separate results, even if the documents they refer to are not online. This means your search results may include citations of older works and seminal articles that appear only in books or other offline publications. http://scholar.google.com/ Living in Poverty slideshow does the math: what does it take to live at the poverty level. http://www.nccbuscc.org/cchd/povertyusa/tour2.htm RI Foundation online scholarship directory - searchable by city/town, intended field of study, current high school, and more. http://scholarship.rifoundation.org/ YouthBuild USA Learning Network has links to Web sites and full-text documents, and  includes a section on "Authentic Materials/Engaged Learning/Constructivism/Contextual Learning/Project-based Learning." http://www.youthbuild.org/learningnetwork/professionaldev.html Providence Community Resource Network (PCRN) http://www.provplan.org/pcrn Spanish language version of PCRN is up and running.  You can access the site from the PCRN home page, http://www.provplan.org/pcrn, or go to http://www.provplan.org/pcrnespa. The Web pages, online instructions, and the content of the database have all been translated. conferences and workshops - conferences and workshops are listed chronologically and are updated with each bulletin Rhode Island - Training/events around employment issues for people with disabilities http://www.ric.edu/uap/training.html 6th Partnerships to Employment Conference , April 24 and 25th, Warwick RI Rekindle the Flame: Renewing Purpose and Passion in Work, presented by Denise Bissonnette This conference features 20 diverse breakout sessions and exhibit forum. Job seekers can take advantage of a resume critique service and work incentives screening available at the conference. For complete details: http://www.p2econference.com Creating Balance in an Unjust World Conference on Math Education and Social Justice Long Island University, Brooklyn, NY, April 27 - April 29 http://www.radicalmath.org/conference  We are looking for people to register as a participant, volunteer for planning or at the conference, table as an organization or vendor, donate financially or in-kind.  Registration - sliding scale $25-125 and free for session facilitators   To present/facilitate a session download the application at http://www.radicalmath.org/conference         Conference Overview:  Join educators, parents, students, activists, and community members from around the country to explore the connections between math education and social justice.  We invite you to share your thoughts, lesson plans, questions and be a facilitator for a workshop, interest group, or presentation. Facilitators may also choose to present on topics related to math and social justice i.e. equity in education, literacy and social justice, etc. Sessions need not be entirely polished presentations as we hope to share ideas in order to build together. Goals of the conference: Bring together educators, researchers, parents, activists, and students to collectively discuss social justice and math education;  Foster new and innovative partnerships and collaborations; Create a space to share resources, lesson plans, best practices, and other classroom materials; Develop structures for ongoing discussion and working groups about math and social justice; Organize a national voice in the ongoing debate over math education reform; Plan actions, advocacy, future meetings, etc. Session Formats - Workshops, Interest Group Gatherings, or Presentations.  All sessions will be one hour and 30 minutes in length. Workshops are interactive sessions intended for 15-40 participants that may utilize a variety of formats including small group work, open discussion, and break-out sessions.  Interest Group Gatherings are informal sessions bringing together 15-40 participants with similar interests for more casual conversations to engage in network building, and collective thinking around common issues, and do not require the facilitator to present information. They are brain-storming sessions where the facilitator helps guide a discussion around a common interest.  Presentations are lecture style sessions that may have one speaker or a panel of speakers.  Contact: Taeko Onishi ktaeko@gmail.com (646)259-5602 TESOL virtual seminar: Assessment and Learning: Balancing Program Performance and Instruction Wednesday, May 2, 2007 3:00 pm to 4:30 p.m.  Adult ESL programs must demonstrate that learners have met both national (NRS Educational Functioning Levels) and state proficiency levels. While meeting the required program performance benchmarks, these programs also must allow instructors’ to teach to their students needs. The presenter will discuss effective ways to manage and balance instruction to meet state and national performance standards. Who should attend? Adult ESL administrators and teachers Presenter Toni Borge directs the Adult Education and Transitions Program at Bunker Hill Community College in Boston. She has a master’s degree in educational administration. Toni is a member of the TESOL task force that is advising the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Citizenship, on redesigning the citizenship test that is being piloted in 2007. She received the 2002 National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development award for excellence in teaching and leadership. Register by Monday, April 30 to take part in the live event on May 2. The registration fee for this seminar is $25 for TESOL individual members. TESOL student and global electronic members can participate for free (but still must register online to access the program).  For complete program and registration information, visit TESOL's Web site at http://www.tesol.org/s_tesol/sec_document.asp?CID=1426&DID=7994  Contact at TESOL for this program:  edprograms@tesol.org - Federico Salas-Isnardi Chair, Adult Education Interest Section, TESOL Rhode Island Branch of the International Dyslexia Association (IDA) -Improving Reading Instruction in Schools: Bridging Reasearch and Practice...what all parents and teachers should know about reading instruction Dr. Susan Brady, Professor of Psychology at the University of Rhode Island and Senior Scientist at Haskins Laboratories will be presenting Reading Instruction in Schools.  Dr. Brady's focus in research projects has been on phonological factors in reading acquisition and reading failure. Dr. Brady has been an active member of the IDA, serving as a board member for eight years. She has been an Associate Editor for ANNALS OF DYSLEXIA for years and co-authored with Louisa Moats of the organization's Position Paper, INFORMED INSTRUCTION FOR READING SUCESS; FOUNDATIONS FOR TEACHER PREPARATION. Currently, she is directing post-doctoral training for individuals at Haskins Laboratories. Recommended audience: Parents, Teachers, Educators, Students Ray Conference Center: Butler Hospital, 345 Blackstone Blvd., Providence, Location tel: 401-521-0020 Time: 9:00 am --12:00 pm irections: North of Providence: Take Rt 95 S to exit 24, Branch Ave. Take a left at end of ext and follow to first traffic light at N. Main St. Take a hard left on to N. Main St. and follow to first light at Rochambeau Ave. Take a Right on Rochambeau Ave. and follow straight through 2 lights to Blackstone Blved. Entrance is diagonally across from Rochambeau Avenue. From South of Providence: Take Rt 95 S to exit 24, Branch Ave. Bear right at end of exit and follow above directions. Once you are on the Butler campus, continue on Butler Drive. Just past the Epoch Assisted Living Center, there will be a sign on right side of road directing traffic to the Ray Conference Center. Take a left at the sign and follow road to Parking lot B. Park in Parking Lot Ba nd walk directly across the street to the Ray Conference Center. Registration fee: $30 due by 4/23  Registration fee: $35 after 4/23  Special thanks to The Dunn Institute and The Hamilton School For information, contact: Melissa Chaffee at: 401-521-0020, e-mail: ribida@yahoo.com or Dawn Cronin Pigott : 401-849-4646 Ext. 215, e-mail: dpigott@pennfield.org Fostering ESL Writing Development for Writing Success  with Special Guest: Vivian Zamel May 5 The Rhode Island Special Interest Group (RISIG) of professionals in ESOL and Bilingual  Education is organized under the auspices of MATSOL. The purpose of RISIG is to  determine advocacy and professional development needs of ESOL and Bilingual Education  professionals in Adult ESOL, Higher Ed, Workplace Ed, Elementary, Secondary and Low- Incidence programs serving English Language Learners in Rhode Island. The governing  structure of this group is a coordinating council of volunteers from around the state who  share the job of organizing regular mini conferences, maintaining contact information for  all participants and maintaining a listserv to inform people of upcoming events. RISIG organizes two mini-conferences, each held at Rhode Island  College in the dining hall, on Saturday mornings from 8:30 to 12:30. There is a small fee of $3.00 for MATSOL  members and $5.00 for non-members. Rhode Island CEUs are available for participants.  For further information contact lrri@brown.edu  http://www.matsol.org/RIBilingualESL.asp 5th biennial National Adult Learner Leadership Institute, July 5-7, Hartford, CT.    Come meet and network with adult learner leaders and supporters from around the country; take part in leadership training workshops; and discuss what is going on in adult literacy nationally. Come early and spend Independence Day in Hartford! Register online  or send in the form by regular mail. http://www.valueusa.org/2007LeadershipInstitute.htm coming in May: How Community Colleges Contribute to Equity in Education and the Workforce (ETS-sponsored) May 21- May 22, 2007 Princeton, New Jersey Community colleges enroll almost half of the undergraduate students in America’s colleges and universities, and they are the postsecondary institutions of choice for a higher proportion of minority, immigrant, low-income, and first-generation students. For these students, the colleges serve as portals for entry to the workplace or to baccalaureate degree programs. Because community colleges are open admissions institutions that serve students who are highly diverse in age, race, ethnicity, and socio-economic status, they tend to be flexible and prepared to support students at all levels to succeed. As with all colleges and universities, students arrive with varied experiences and learning styles; many of them have either struggled in high school or have logged many years out of school before enrolling in a community college. The symposium will focus on research devoted to addressing the challenges and opportunities offered by community colleges. Scholars and practitioners will discuss the latest data, analyses, and innovative ideas for policies and practices for community colleges as they seek to close achievement gaps. Among the topics planned for the conference are:  Historical Perspectives on Community Colleges and Achievement Gaps, Enrollments and Attendance Patterns at Community Colleges, Closing Gaps in Mathematics, Literacy, English as a Second Language, How Do Two-Year Minority-Serving Institutions Fare in Closing Gaps? Community Colleges Preparing Students for the Workforce, Barriers to Transfer and Retention, Placement, Remediation Approaches,  Defending the Community College Equity Agenda Participants may include community college leaders, faculty, administrators, researchers from various institutions, the general public, and representatives of community college organizations.  To learn more: http://www.ets.org/portal/site/ets/menuitem.c988ba0e5dd572bada20bc47c3921509/?vgnextoid=1c10a7f45d410110VgnVCM10000022f95190RCRD&vgnextchannel=19e5be3a864f4010VgnVCM10000022f95190RCRD Join us for two days of workshops on Effective Transitions in Adult Education, November 8-9, 2007 in Providence, RI.  Our keynote speaker, Dr. JoAnn Crandall, will kick off the event with a discussion of transition for English language learners.  For more details, http://www.collegetransition.org/novconference.html Cynthia Zafft, Director, National College Transition Network at World Education nctn@worlded.org other events and conferences http://www.nifl.gov/cgi-bin/Calendar/calendar_world.cgi TESOL worldwide calendar of events http://www.tesol.org/isaffil/calendar/index.html from previous bulletins: REMINDERS, RESOURCES:  SABES Resource Lists Available.  From Carey Reid [full message here]: As you might know, Massachusetts now has a rigorous, stand-alone ABE teacher's license.  SABES, the System for Adult Basic Education Support, is a state-wide staff development system funded by MassDOE.  Ö[S]months ago I asked if NLA subscribers were interested in helping SABES build resource lists, by standard, in support of teachers seeking the new license here in Massachusetts.  Many of you helped out, thank you, and we've also worked with small groups of people locally to build these 29 lists, now with over 150 resources--books, articles, websites, and videos.  The lists are now available on SABES's  license support website at http://www.sabes.org/license.  You can get quickly to the lists by clicking on the "new resources added" link under What's New, or at any time by using the resources link on the bottom of every webpage.  When you arrive at the chart listing the 29 standards, click on any standard to go to the resource list we've compiled for it.   The lists are annotated; with the annotations, teachers who wish to improve their knowledge and skills in respect to a particular standard can be more assured they're getting the resource they want or need.  If the resource can be viewed or downloaded on the Net, we've provided a link.  Additionally, we want to improve these lists, so please email me if you'd like to suggest additions or changes.  BTW, the full list of resources is also collected in a ProCite bibliography file, so if you use that software and would like to have your own "instant" database, let me know and I'll email you the file. As stated earlier, SABES is funded by the Massachusetts Department of Education.  To avoid confusion, the website is not an official DOE site but rather one of SABES's means of supporting license-seeking teachers in our state.  Links to Massachusetts DOE webpages, however, are provided on the site. breathe - everyday yoga at your desk. http://www.mydailyyoga.com/yoga/everyday_yoga.html what do you think? LR/RI has had an online survey on its site forever.  Previously, those who may have come across the survey were asked to copy and paste it into an email message, or to print it and complete it.  Thanks to the brilliant technical support and inservice learning provided by Brown University, the survey can now be completed on line.  I'd be grateful if you could please take the time to complete it.  While occasional word comes back about the work LR/RI has done, this survey attempts to be somewhat more systematic in considering the work that's done and the work that needs to be accomplished.  Please complete the survey at http://www.brown.edu/lrri - scroll down and click on the link to the survey.  If you lack web access and wish to complete the survey, please contact LR/RI to receive one via snail mail or fax. please submit  Please contact LR/RI if you have information, questions or announcements to share with adult educators in Rhode Island. Bulletins go out at least twice a month; more frequently when there's more to share. To submit information for the next bulletin, please contact LR/RI by phone (401-863-2839), mail (PO Box 1974, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912) or email.  back to LR/RI home