From sandy_strunk at iu13.org  Wed Mar  3 13:34:53 2004
From: sandy_strunk at iu13.org (Sandy Strunk)
Date: 03 Mar 2004 11:34:53 -0700
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] March Guest Speaker, etc.
Message-ID: <20040303162947.0BBC3470174@relay.iu13.org>

Good morning, PLI List Subscribers,
As you know, Cheryl Keenan, Director of the Division of Adult Education and Literacy at the U.S. Department of Education, has agreed to be our guest poster for the month of March. Cheryl's topic will be "A National Vision for Program Leadership and Improvement in Adult Basic and Literacy Education."  Since the list has just relaunched this week, Cheryl and I have agreed to run her posting the week of March 15th -- just to be sure folks have had time to subscribe and all the glitches are out of the technology :-). 
In anticipation of this discussion, it might be a good time to talk about questions you might like to have Cheryl address. For example, having worked a great deal with program improvement in Pennsylvania, when I was first asked to moderate the list, I was interested in the connection between Leadership and Program Improvement and how that was being viewed by NIFL and the Center for Literacy Studies (who runs the LINCs Special Collection). I was also interested in what folks meant by "program improvement" and how that was distinct from some of the other NIFL Discussion Lists.

Over the past few years, I've had the opportunity to collaborate with several states on "program improvement." One of the things that stood out for me early on, is that we don't all mean the same thing when we talk about program improvement. For some adult educators, program improvement means improved state performance on the National Reporting System. For other adult educators, program improvement means capacity building at the local level with a focus on meeting learner goals. Everyone seems to get the "improvement part" but there is generally not consensus on what it is we're trying to improve and how we'll know it's happening. It would be interesting to hear how some of you have approached "program improvement" in your state, local program, individual classroom, or tutoring relationship. 
Sandy Strunk
Lancaster Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13
Adult Basic and Family Literacy Education
1110 Enterprise Road
East Petersburg, PA 17520
(717) 519-1006

From david at collings.com  Wed Mar  3 13:28:24 2004
From: david at collings.com (David Collings)
Date: Wed, 3 Mar 2004 13:28:24 -0500
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] NIFL Director
Message-ID: <023101c4014d$50c5daf0$6401a8c0@DCollingsVAIO>

Dear Colleague, 

One of the most important decisions for the National Institute for
Literacy, hiring its permanent director, may be made as early as June,
2004. This decision will very likely affect the existence of, or at
least the guidelines for, this electronic list. You may have an opinion
about the qualities, experience and knowledge that the NIFL Advisory
Board is seeking in a new Director. You may wish to share your views
with NIFL's Advisory Board and Interagency Management Team. 

More information about this, including a quick and simple way that you
can make your views known, will be posted March 3rd on the AAACE-NLA
list.  If this is of interest to you, you can subscribe to the AAACE-NLA
list, sponsored by the American Association for Adult and Continuing
Education, by going to 

http://lists.literacytent.org/mailman/listinfo/aaace-nla (Scroll down
the page to subscribe.) 

If you want to lend your voice to this effort, please do not delay.
Subscribe today. A March 4th deadline approaches. 

Thank you. 

David Collings 

David J. Rosen 

From sandy_strunk at iu13.org  Fri Mar 12 20:23:58 2004
From: sandy_strunk at iu13.org (Sandy Strunk)
Date: 12 Mar 2004 18:23:58 -0700
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Program Leadership and Improvement Special Collection
Message-ID: <20040312231845.07A1E4701F9@relay.iu13.org>

Good afternoon, everyone,
Yesterday, the Core Knowledge Group for the Program Leadership and Improvement Special Collection had a lengthy conference call to discuss the way the special collection is organized and how the collection can be more useful for program leaders. I'm wondering if anyone would like to offer thoughts or suggestions about what you'd like to see in this collection, how it's currently (or should be) organized, etc.
If you haven't had an opportunity to visit the site, here's the URL:

http://pli.cls.utk.edu/

Sandy Strunk
Lancaster Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13
Adult Basic and Family Literacy Education
1110 Enterprise Road
East Petersburg, PA 17520
(717) 519-1006

From Linda.Hays at dese.mo.gov  Mon Mar 15 09:32:15 2004
From: Linda.Hays at dese.mo.gov (Hays, Linda)
Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 08:32:15 -0600
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] RE: NIFL-PLI Digest, Vol 2, Issue 1
Message-ID: <926ED06409F3074D83086BFFE128CA643F0CA5@AAEXCH-A.dese.state.mo.us>

We are working to align our professional development, teacher
competencies, and teacher evaluation.  Does anyone have samples you
would be willing to share of teacher competencies for adult education
teachers?  Teacher evaluation models?  Thanks.

*********************************************
Linda Hays, Supervisor
Adult Education and Literacy, DESE
P.O. Box 480, 205 Jefferson Street
Jefferson City, MO  65102
Phone:  573-751-1248
Fax:      573-526-5710
Linda.Hays at dese.mo.gov

-----Original Message-----
From: nifl-pli-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:nifl-pli-bounces at nifl.gov] On
Behalf Of nifl-pli-request at nifl.gov
Sent: Saturday, March 13, 2004 11:00 AM
To: nifl-pli at literacy.nifl.gov
Subject: NIFL-PLI Digest, Vol 2, Issue 1

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When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
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Today's Topics:

   1. Program Leadership and Improvement Special Collection
      (Sandy Strunk)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: 12 Mar 2004 18:23:58 -0700
From: Sandy Strunk <sandy_strunk at iu13.org>
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Program Leadership and Improvement Special
	Collection
To: "NIFL -PLI List" <nifl-pli at literacy.nifl.gov>
Message-ID: <20040312231845.07A1E4701F9 at relay.iu13.org>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-Ascii"

Good afternoon, everyone,
Yesterday, the Core Knowledge Group for the Program Leadership and
Improvement Special Collection had a lengthy conference call to discuss
the way the special collection is organized and how the collection can
be more useful for program leaders. I'm wondering if anyone would like
to offer thoughts or suggestions about what you'd like to see in this
collection, how it's currently (or should be) organized, etc.
If you haven't had an opportunity to visit the site, here's the URL:

http://pli.cls.utk.edu/

Sandy Strunk
Lancaster Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13
Adult Basic and Family Literacy Education
1110 Enterprise Road
East Petersburg, PA 17520
(717) 519-1006

------------------------------

_______________________________________________
NIFL-PLI mailing list
NIFL-PLI at literacy.nifl.gov
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/nifl-pli

End of NIFL-PLI Digest, Vol 2, Issue 1
**************************************

From sandy_strunk at iu13.org  Tue Mar 16 07:06:35 2004
From: sandy_strunk at iu13.org (Sandy Strunk)
Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2004 07:06:35 -0500
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] RE: NIFL-PLI Digest, Vol 2, Issue 1
In-Reply-To: <926ED06409F3074D83086BFFE128CA643F0CA5@AAEXCH-A.dese.state.mo.us>
References: <926ED06409F3074D83086BFFE128CA643F0CA5@AAEXCH-A.dese.state.mo.us>
Message-ID: <1079438795.4056edcbbf587@webmail.iu13.org>

Linda,
Pennsylvania developed Teacher Competencies a few years ago and you can find 
both the competencies and User's Guide at 

http://www.able.state.pa.us/able/cwp/view.asp?a=13&Q=39875&ableNav=|2842|2845|

Our agency took the competencies and meshed them with Charlotte Danielson's 
framework (the basis for our K-12 teacher evaluation) to come up with an adult 
educator teacher performance appraisal system. I'll send you a copy when I get 
back to the office (I'm on the road right now). 

The American Institutes for Research also published teacher competencies. 
They're in the PLI Special Collection (as are PA's competencies).

I hope this helps.

Sandy Strunk
Lancaster Lebanon IU 13

Quoting "Hays, Linda" <Linda.Hays at dese.mo.gov>:

> We are working to align our professional development, teacher
> competencies, and teacher evaluation.  Does anyone have samples you
> would be willing to share of teacher competencies for adult education
> teachers?  Teacher evaluation models?  Thanks.
> 
> 
> *********************************************
> Linda Hays, Supervisor
> Adult Education and Literacy, DESE
> P.O. Box 480, 205 Jefferson Street
> Jefferson City, MO  65102
> Phone:  573-751-1248
> Fax:      573-526-5710
> Linda.Hays at dese.mo.gov
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nifl-pli-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:nifl-pli-bounces at nifl.gov] On
> Behalf Of nifl-pli-request at nifl.gov
> Sent: Saturday, March 13, 2004 11:00 AM
> To: nifl-pli at literacy.nifl.gov
> Subject: NIFL-PLI Digest, Vol 2, Issue 1
> 
> Send NIFL-PLI mailing list submissions to
> 	nifl-pli at literacy.nifl.gov
> 
> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
> 	http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/nifl-pli
> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
> 	nifl-pli-request at literacy.nifl.gov
> 
> You can reach the person managing the list at
> 	nifl-pli-owner at literacy.nifl.gov
> 
> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
> than "Re: Contents of NIFL-PLI digest..."
> 
> 
> Today's Topics:
> 
>    1. Program Leadership and Improvement Special Collection
>       (Sandy Strunk)
> 
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Message: 1
> Date: 12 Mar 2004 18:23:58 -0700
> From: Sandy Strunk <sandy_strunk at iu13.org>
> Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Program Leadership and Improvement Special
> 	Collection
> To: "NIFL -PLI List" <nifl-pli at literacy.nifl.gov>
> Message-ID: <20040312231845.07A1E4701F9 at relay.iu13.org>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-Ascii"
> 
> Good afternoon, everyone,
> Yesterday, the Core Knowledge Group for the Program Leadership and
> Improvement Special Collection had a lengthy conference call to discuss
> the way the special collection is organized and how the collection can
> be more useful for program leaders. I'm wondering if anyone would like
> to offer thoughts or suggestions about what you'd like to see in this
> collection, how it's currently (or should be) organized, etc.
> If you haven't had an opportunity to visit the site, here's the URL:
> 
> http://pli.cls.utk.edu/
> 
> 
> Sandy Strunk
> Lancaster Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13
> Adult Basic and Family Literacy Education
> 1110 Enterprise Road
> East Petersburg, PA 17520
> (717) 519-1006
> 
> 
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> _______________________________________________
> NIFL-PLI mailing list
> NIFL-PLI at literacy.nifl.gov
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/nifl-pli
> 
> 
> End of NIFL-PLI Digest, Vol 2, Issue 1
> **************************************
> _______________________________________________
> NIFL-PLI mailing list
> NIFL-PLI at literacy.nifl.gov
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/nifl-pli
> 

From RSherman at air.org  Tue Mar 16 14:05:59 2004
From: RSherman at air.org (Sherman, Renee)
Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2004 14:05:59 -0500
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] RE: NIFL-PLI Digest, Vol 3, Issue 1
Message-ID: <88EAF3512A55DF46B06B1954AEF73F7401E74E87@dc1ex2.air.org>

PRO-NET, a professional development project funded by OVAE had developed a set of instructor competencies and sample indicators.  I can attach them in a file if you need it.  

Renee Sherman
-----Original Message-----
From: nifl-pli-request at nifl.gov [mailto:nifl-pli-request at nifl.gov]
Sent: Tuesday, March 16, 2004 12:00 PM
To: nifl-pli at literacy.nifl.gov
Subject: NIFL-PLI Digest, Vol 3, Issue 1

Send NIFL-PLI mailing list submissions to
	nifl-pli at literacy.nifl.gov

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When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
than "Re: Contents of NIFL-PLI digest..."

Today's Topics:

   1. RE: NIFL-PLI Digest, Vol 2, Issue 1 (Hays, Linda)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 08:32:15 -0600
From: "Hays, Linda" <Linda.Hays at dese.mo.gov>
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] RE: NIFL-PLI Digest, Vol 2, Issue 1
To: <nifl-pli at nifl.gov>
Message-ID:
	<926ED06409F3074D83086BFFE128CA643F0CA5 at AAEXCH-A.dese.state.mo.us>
Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="us-ascii"

We are working to align our professional development, teacher
competencies, and teacher evaluation.  Does anyone have samples you
would be willing to share of teacher competencies for adult education
teachers?  Teacher evaluation models?  Thanks.

*********************************************
Linda Hays, Supervisor
Adult Education and Literacy, DESE
P.O. Box 480, 205 Jefferson Street
Jefferson City, MO  65102
Phone:  573-751-1248
Fax:      573-526-5710
Linda.Hays at dese.mo.gov

-----Original Message-----
From: nifl-pli-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:nifl-pli-bounces at nifl.gov] On
Behalf Of nifl-pli-request at nifl.gov
Sent: Saturday, March 13, 2004 11:00 AM
To: nifl-pli at literacy.nifl.gov
Subject: NIFL-PLI Digest, Vol 2, Issue 1

Send NIFL-PLI mailing list submissions to
	nifl-pli at literacy.nifl.gov

To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
	http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/nifl-pli
or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
	nifl-pli-request at literacy.nifl.gov

You can reach the person managing the list at
	nifl-pli-owner at literacy.nifl.gov

When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
than "Re: Contents of NIFL-PLI digest..."

Today's Topics:

   1. Program Leadership and Improvement Special Collection
      (Sandy Strunk)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: 12 Mar 2004 18:23:58 -0700
From: Sandy Strunk <sandy_strunk at iu13.org>
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Program Leadership and Improvement Special
	Collection
To: "NIFL -PLI List" <nifl-pli at literacy.nifl.gov>
Message-ID: <20040312231845.07A1E4701F9 at relay.iu13.org>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-Ascii"

Good afternoon, everyone,
Yesterday, the Core Knowledge Group for the Program Leadership and
Improvement Special Collection had a lengthy conference call to discuss
the way the special collection is organized and how the collection can
be more useful for program leaders. I'm wondering if anyone would like
to offer thoughts or suggestions about what you'd like to see in this
collection, how it's currently (or should be) organized, etc.
If you haven't had an opportunity to visit the site, here's the URL:

http://pli.cls.utk.edu/

Sandy Strunk
Lancaster Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13
Adult Basic and Family Literacy Education
1110 Enterprise Road
East Petersburg, PA 17520
(717) 519-1006

------------------------------

_______________________________________________
NIFL-PLI mailing list
NIFL-PLI at literacy.nifl.gov
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/nifl-pli

End of NIFL-PLI Digest, Vol 2, Issue 1
**************************************

------------------------------

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NIFL-PLI at literacy.nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/nifl-pli

End of NIFL-PLI Digest, Vol 3, Issue 1
**************************************

From saylv2 at cox.net  Tue Mar 16 18:22:44 2004
From: saylv2 at cox.net (Sharyn Yanoshak)
Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2004 15:22:44 -0800
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] RE: Teacher evaluation models
In-Reply-To: <926ED06409F3074D83086BFFE128CA643F0CA5@AAEXCH-A.dese.state.mo.us>
Message-ID: <EFEDJCHILFOONGLBDPBOEEOJCIAA.saylv2@cox.net>

Two ABE programs in Nevada used the CASAS CIM (Continuous Improvement Model)
as a basis for developing an evaluative tool, the  "Professional Performance
Profile." Word and PDF versions can be found at
http://www.literacynet.org/nevada/sdocs/ppp_nnlc.doc and
http://www.literacynet.org/nevada/sdocs/ppp_nnlc.pdf

-----Original Message-----
From: nifl-pli-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:nifl-pli-bounces at nifl.gov]On
Behalf Of Hays, Linda
Sent: Monday, March 15, 2004 6:32 AM
To: nifl-pli at nifl.gov
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] RE: NIFL-PLI Digest, Vol 2, Issue 1

We are working to align our professional development, teacher
competencies, and teacher evaluation.  Does anyone have samples you
would be willing to share of teacher competencies for adult education
teachers?  Teacher evaluation models?  Thanks.

*********************************************
Linda Hays, Supervisor
Adult Education and Literacy, DESE
P.O. Box 480, 205 Jefferson Street
Jefferson City, MO  65102
Phone:  573-751-1248
Fax:      573-526-5710
Linda.Hays at dese.mo.gov

-----Original Message-----
From: nifl-pli-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:nifl-pli-bounces at nifl.gov] On
Behalf Of nifl-pli-request at nifl.gov
Sent: Saturday, March 13, 2004 11:00 AM
To: nifl-pli at literacy.nifl.gov
Subject: NIFL-PLI Digest, Vol 2, Issue 1

Send NIFL-PLI mailing list submissions to
	nifl-pli at literacy.nifl.gov

To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
	http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/nifl-pli
or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
	nifl-pli-request at literacy.nifl.gov

You can reach the person managing the list at
	nifl-pli-owner at literacy.nifl.gov

When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
than "Re: Contents of NIFL-PLI digest..."

Today's Topics:

   1. Program Leadership and Improvement Special Collection
      (Sandy Strunk)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: 12 Mar 2004 18:23:58 -0700
From: Sandy Strunk <sandy_strunk at iu13.org>
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Program Leadership and Improvement Special
	Collection
To: "NIFL -PLI List" <nifl-pli at literacy.nifl.gov>
Message-ID: <20040312231845.07A1E4701F9 at relay.iu13.org>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-Ascii"

Good afternoon, everyone,
Yesterday, the Core Knowledge Group for the Program Leadership and
Improvement Special Collection had a lengthy conference call to discuss
the way the special collection is organized and how the collection can
be more useful for program leaders. I'm wondering if anyone would like
to offer thoughts or suggestions about what you'd like to see in this
collection, how it's currently (or should be) organized, etc.
If you haven't had an opportunity to visit the site, here's the URL:

http://pli.cls.utk.edu/

Sandy Strunk
Lancaster Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13
Adult Basic and Family Literacy Education
1110 Enterprise Road
East Petersburg, PA 17520
(717) 519-1006

------------------------------

_______________________________________________
NIFL-PLI mailing list
NIFL-PLI at literacy.nifl.gov
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/nifl-pli

End of NIFL-PLI Digest, Vol 2, Issue 1
**************************************
_______________________________________________
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NIFL-PLI at literacy.nifl.gov
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/nifl-pli

From sandy_strunk at iu13.org  Wed Mar 17 11:59:02 2004
From: sandy_strunk at iu13.org (Sandy Strunk)
Date: 17 Mar 2004 09:59:02 -0700
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Teacher evaluations
Message-ID: <20040317145344.ED2F14701C7@relay.iu13.org>

Christina,
Welcome to the program leadership and improvement list and congratulations on your new position as a lead teacher :-). I've enclosed copies of the instrument we use in our agency in a separate email since list messages can't include enclosures. 
With our instrument, ratings are based on supervisor observations and teacher portfolios. The evaluation becomes the basis for individual professional development plans each year and, in fact, is tied to a teacher's annual salary increase (the same is true for administrators and support staff, though there are different instruments for other categories).

Teacher evaluations are a sensitive area but, in my opinion, they can also be wonderful tools for improving practice. When we implemented our adult education evaluation system, we did it over a two year period. In the first year, I got a group of teachers together to provide input into the DRAFT instrument, and then we piloted the instrument at several locations. I also did an extensive round of "meet and discuss" sessions with teachers in an effort to address questions and concerns. When there hasn't been a system in place, there can be lots of concerns about implementation of a new instrument can impact job security, change practice in ways that are not comfortable, increase the demands on teachers without increasing the support, etc. Also, our board of directors believes in performance-based salary increases, and that isn't an easy concept to move into an adult basic education arena.

The instrument isn't perfect, but it does create regular opportunities for teachers and administrators to talk about the specifics of instruction and to negotiate areas for improvement. It also helps new teachers understand what's expected of them in this world of adult basic education, and that's been very helpful. Our biggest challenge right now, as I see it, is rater reliability. We're a large program, so we have 4 different administrators using this instrument with our staff and we have work to do in reaching consensus on how to rate certain behaviors. Again, I think just having the conversation and working to do the right thing makes us better program leaders. 
I'd be very interested in knowing how other programs deal with teacher evaluation.

Sandy Strunk
Lancaster Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13
Adult Basic and Family Literacy Education
1110 Enterprise Road
East Petersburg, PA 17520
(717) 519-1006

Christina Mathew wrote:
>Hello Sandy,
>
>I'd love a copy of the performance appraisal system that you developed.  >I've looked at the Pennsylvania Teacher Competencies in the Special  >Collection. I am a new lead teacher in our county and am trying to find  >the best ways to do parts of my job that I don't have experience with.  >Teacher evaluations feel very important, but also like a sensitive  >area. Anything you have on that area would be appreciated.
>
>I'm so happy to have found this list! I immediately forwarded the  >invitation to another lead teacher in our county. Where else can you  >potentially talk about the NRS and have people know what you mean!
>
>Thanks,
>Christina L. Mathew (clmathew at earthlink.net
>Lead Teacher, Adult Basic Education Program
>DeKalb Technical College
>Atlanta, Georgia
>On Mar 16, 2004, at 7:06 AM, Sandy Strunk wrote:
>
>> Linda,
>> Pennsylvania developed Teacher Competencies a few years ago and you  >> can find
>> both the competencies and User's Guide at
>>
>> http://www.able.state.pa.us/able/cwp/view.asp? >> a=13&Q=39875&ableNav=|2842|2845|
>>
>> Our agency took the competencies and meshed them with Charlotte  >> Danielson's
>> framework (the basis for our K-12 teacher evaluation) to come up with  >> an adult
>> educator teacher performance appraisal system. I'll send you a copy  >> when I get
>> back to the office (I'm on the road right now).
>>
>> The American Institutes for Research also published teacher  >> competencies.
>> They're in the PLI Special Collection (as are PA's competencies).
>>
>> I hope this helps.
>>
>> Sandy Strunk
>> Lancaster Lebanon IU 13
>>
>
>
>RFC822 header
>-----------------------------------
>
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Sandy Strunk
Lancaster Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13
Adult Basic and Family Literacy Education
1110 Enterprise Road
East Petersburg, PA 17520
(717) 519-1006

From maryjo.maralit at ed.gov  Fri Mar 19 11:28:40 2004
From: maryjo.maralit at ed.gov (maryjo.maralit at ed.gov)
Date: Fri, 19 Mar 2004 11:28:40 -0500 (EST)
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Health & Literacy Weblog - Update and Request
Message-ID: <200403191628.i2JGSeb20452@literacy.nifl.gov>

>From Sabrina Kurtz-Rossi:
 
Health & Literacy Weblog
 
I want to let you know about a new feature we are piloting for the Health & Literacy Special Collection Website
www.worlded.org/us/health/lincs and invite you to participate. 
 
We want to establish a Health & Literacy Weblog.  The idea is to create an active space where teachers and health educators can share their health and literacy ideas and experiences. Unlike a listserve or bulletin board, Weblogs usually take the form of a running journal.  Over time we hope to invite many different teachers (and provide them with stipends) to reflect via the "blog."  

Steve Quann has volunteered to lead the pilot for us.  He will go through the process of developing a health lesson, implementing it in his ESL classroom, and with the input of others (and this is were you come in), reflecting on
the experience.  To help us with the pilot, we are looking for folks interested in health and literacy, and the Internet to log on and comment!  The more people, and the more comments the better!
 
If you're interested to seeing a Health & Literacy Weblog in action, and offering your comments and suggestions, go to the http://www.worlded.org/us/health/lincs and click on Health & Literacy Weblog.   
 
I hope you'll check it out!  
 
- Sabrina
 
-------------------------------------------------
Sabrina Kurtz-Rossi
World Education
44 Farnsworth Street
Boston, MA  02210
617-482-9485
skurtz at worlded.org

From sandy_strunk at iu13.org  Mon Mar 22 13:27:42 2004
From: sandy_strunk at iu13.org (Sandy Strunk)
Date: 22 Mar 2004 11:27:42 -0700
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Cheryl Keenan Posting
Message-ID: <20040322162221.0AC93470034@relay.iu13.org>

A national listserv devoted to adult education program quality fulfills a vision for me that started almost ten years ago! I began this journey in 1994 by asking myself how I, as a leader in adult basic education, could improve the quality of what we give the adult learners in our local programs. As a new state director, I wanted to create a culture of continuous improvement and I subsequently spent nine exciting years pursuing that vision at the state level. What began as a simple question about program quality evolved into an unexpected odyssey that taught me many lessons about change, quality, and leadership in adult basic education and literacy. It is my hope that I can now, with your help, use what I have learned about quality improvement at the state level in my role as the national director of adult education and literacy.

First and foremost, I learned that it's important for all of us, as practitioners, to ask focused questions about our practice, to look at meaningful data to solve problems, and to work together to find new solutions that make instruction more effective for our?learners. It's my belief that an effective quality improvement process must begin at a local level and that no first step is too small. I have witnessed significant changes in local programs that make a real difference in learner outcomes.

In my experience, there are several key factors that appeared to promote success at the local program level. Those factors include:

1) Strong leadership - Quality improvement will never get off the ground without program leaders who have a vision for student achievement and are willing to mobilize resources in support of quality programming.

2) A team approach - No one individual can improve program quality; it's a process that requires administrators, teachers, and support staff to bring their collective expertise to the table.

3) Questioning all aspects of our practice - We all have beliefs and assumptions that guide our work. The first, and often the hardest step, is questioning all aspects of our practice, even those we think we understand completely. This is where innovation begins.

4) Using data to make decisions and solve problems - Collecting and analyzing data is at the heart of program improvement. Data might confirm what we believe to be true or data might surprise us by pointing us in directions we never expected. Either way, valid and reliable data help us steer in the direction of quality.

5) Access to high quality resources - When it comes to quality, not all resources are equal. This list is connected to a LINC's Special Collection that contains resources for continual quality improvement. The resources in this collection meet basic criteria for quality and program leaders can use this collection with some confidence that the resources available meet basic standards.

The commitment to program improvement is a commitment to quality education. I am hoping that this list will be a place for instructional leaders to discuss what they are learning about their programs and students. Specifically, I hope teachers take this opportunity to share experiences and pose questions about teaching and learning. I hope program directors can enter into discussions about what role leadership has in the improvement process.

Finally, I hope that we will all use this forum to ask questions of each other and that these question will spark others to share information and pose new questions in response. My challenge to you is to get things started by sharing both your questions and findings related to strong leadership, a team approach, the questioning of our practice, using data for decision-making, and accessing high quality resources. Of course a word of warning: In my experience, even the simplest question can lead to an unexpected odyssey. That's what makes it all worthwhile.

Cheryl Keenan
Director, Division of Adult Education and Literacy
Office of Vocational and Adult Education
U.S. Department of Education

From dmiller at shoreline.edu  Mon Mar 22 14:00:21 2004
From: dmiller at shoreline.edu (Miller-Parker, Donna)
Date: Mon, 22 Mar 2004 11:00:21 -0800
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Expanding on Cheryl Keenan's comments
Message-ID: <2A80A2161D0E8F4E8627E8362D56029B012A4F1C@sccmail2.shore.ctc.edu>

I appreciate the positive message from Cheryl and the energy and commitment she shows to make our programs the best they can be, which is of course what our students deserve.

The points Cheryl made reminded me of a chart I have posted near my desk, where I can see it and refer to it often.  It gives five factors for bringing about change -- vision, skills, incentive, resources, and an action plan.  If any one of those factors is missing, the results can be confusion, anxiety, resistance, or frustration rather than change.

Cheryl has challenged us to provide vision, to assemble a team with the needed skills, to direct resources and provide incentives, and to have a clear action plan.  I work toward this on a daily basis.  As a field, however, we need to acknowledge and advocate for our critical need from the state and federal levels to provide leadership and RESOURCES beyond the scope of what can be accomplished at the local level. As the re-authorization process moves along, I am concerned that a decreased focus on adult education could mean that at the local level we are left trying to accomplish the huge task we have been given with even fewer resources.  (And when I mention resources, I'm not referring only to money -- also resources of coordination through DAEL and information/expertise through NIFL and NCSALL, for example.)

Donna Miller-Parker, Director
Essential Skills Programs
Shoreline Community College
16101 Greenwood Avenue North
Seattle, WA  98133
(206) 546-4788 

A national listserv devoted to adult education program quality fulfills a vision for me that started almost ten years ago! I began this journey in 1994 by asking myself how I, as a leader in adult basic education, could improve the quality of what we give the adult learners in our local programs. As a new state director, I wanted to create a culture of continuous improvement and I subsequently spent nine exciting years pursuing that vision at the state level. What began as a simple question about program quality evolved into an unexpected odyssey that taught me many lessons about change, quality, and leadership in adult basic education and literacy. It is my hope that I can now, with your help, use what I have learned about quality improvement at the state level in my role as the national director of adult education and literacy.

First and foremost, I learned that it's important for all of us, as practitioners, to ask focused questions about our practice, to look at meaningful data to solve problems, and to work together to find new solutions that make instruction more effective for our?learners. It's my belief that an effective quality improvement process must begin at a local level and that no first step is too small. I have witnessed significant changes in local programs that make a real difference in learner outcomes.

In my experience, there are several key factors that appeared to promote success at the local program level. Those factors include:

1) Strong leadership - Quality improvement will never get off the ground without program leaders who have a vision for student achievement and are willing to mobilize resources in support of quality programming.

2) A team approach - No one individual can improve program quality; it's a process that requires administrators, teachers, and support staff to bring their collective expertise to the table.

3) Questioning all aspects of our practice - We all have beliefs and assumptions that guide our work. The first, and often the hardest step, is questioning all aspects of our practice, even those we think we understand completely. This is where innovation begins.

4) Using data to make decisions and solve problems - Collecting and analyzing data is at the heart of program improvement. Data might confirm what we believe to be true or data might surprise us by pointing us in directions we never expected. Either way, valid and reliable data help us steer in the direction of quality.

5) Access to high quality resources - When it comes to quality, not all resources are equal. This list is connected to a LINC's Special Collection that contains resources for continual quality improvement. The resources in this collection meet basic criteria for quality and program leaders can use this collection with some confidence that the resources available meet basic standards.

The commitment to program improvement is a commitment to quality education. I am hoping that this list will be a place for instructional leaders to discuss what they are learning about their programs and students. Specifically, I hope teachers take this opportunity to share experiences and pose questions about teaching and learning. I hope program directors can enter into discussions about what role leadership has in the improvement process.

Finally, I hope that we will all use this forum to ask questions of each other and that these question will spark others to share information and pose new questions in response. My challenge to you is to get things started by sharing both your questions and findings related to strong leadership, a team approach, the questioning of our practice, using data for decision-making, and accessing high quality resources. Of course a word of warning: In my experience, even the simplest question can lead to an unexpected odyssey. That's what makes it all worthwhile.

Cheryl Keenan
Director, Division of Adult Education and Literacy
Office of Vocational and Adult Education
U.S. Department of Education

------------------------------

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To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
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End of NIFL-PLI Digest, Vol 4, Issue 1
**************************************

From KBelton at tetonliteracy.org  Mon Mar 22 18:10:10 2004
From: KBelton at tetonliteracy.org (Kari Belton)
Date: Mon, 22 Mar 2004 16:10:10 -0700
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] NIFL-PLI- Unlikely Tutors/Volunteers
Message-ID: <200403221610.AA301727966@tetonliteracy.org>

We are fortunate to be staffed with many wonderful volunteer tutors here at the Teton Literacy Program. While we remind potential volunteers to do a self-screening during the tutor training process, ocassionally there are folks who do not make suitable mentors/tutors. If they dismiss outreach jobs (hanging flyers, making phone calls) what is the best way to let them know we are not in need of their particular talents? In a small community, we'd like to as many folks positive about the program as possible.

Thank you for your time. Please contact me directly.

--
Kari Belton
Program Director
Teton Literacy Program
Jackson, WY 83001
(307) 733-9242

--

From ValleyPeters at tetonliteracy.org  Mon Mar 22 21:02:44 2004
From: ValleyPeters at tetonliteracy.org (Valley Peters)
Date: Mon, 22 Mar 2004 19:02:44 -0700
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] reflective teaching
Message-ID: <200403221902.AA174653626@tetonliteracy.org>

Hello fellow educators!

I recently joined this list.  I work as the Adult Program Coordinator at the Teton Literacy Program in Jackson, Wyoming. I am preparing to do a presentation on reflective teaching and how it can positively affect program change. I wanted to get a feeling for what other programs in adult education are doing in this area.  I welcome responses from as many of you as possible!

My questions are:
1. How many of you are familiar with reflective teaching and its practices?
2. Do you use it in your classes and programs, either yourself, other instructors or other program administrators?  If you're familiar with it, but don't practice reflective teaching is there any particular reason why not?
3.  If you do use it, how - what kind of activities have you instituted in your program? What outcomes or program changes have resulted?
4.  What do you believe are the benefits of reflective teaching?

Thank you in advance for taking the time to share your experiences!

Regards,
Valley Peters

From jang at lacnyc.org  Wed Mar 24 08:39:31 2004
From: jang at lacnyc.org (Jan Gallagher)
Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 08:39:31 -0500
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Policy follow-up for NIFL-PLI?
Message-ID: <200403241410.i2OEA7Df016472@monk.psnyc.com>

Cheryl Keenan's message notes that program improvement works both bottom-up 
and top-down and invites us to participate in the bottom-up side of the 
process. Do list members have hopes for the ways in which program leadership & 
improvement might influence policy at the federal or state level?

Jan Gallagher
Director of Communications
Literacy Assistance Center
www.lacnyc.org
voice 212.803.3332
fax 212.785.3685

From MaryJo.Maralit at ed.gov  Wed Mar 24 11:27:06 2004
From: MaryJo.Maralit at ed.gov (Maralit, Mary Jo)
Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 11:27:06 -0500
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] RE: Check out What's New on LINCS
Message-ID: <4062487BDB6029428A763CAEF4E1FE5B31B18B@wdcrobe2m03.ed.gov>

Here's What's New on LINCS
http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/whats_new/whats_new.html

Every day, national LINCS Staff and our regional, state, and content
development partners add new resources to LINCS sites. Updated twice weekly,
What's New on LINCS provides you with:

?	Updates on NIFL programs and activities
?	Job announcements in adult basic education and literacy 
?	Updates on new materials in the LINCS materials collections
?	Updates  on major additions to the LINCS special collections
?	Announcements of  guest speakers on LINCS and other electronic
discussion lists 
?	The latest grant announcements on LINCS 

Visit What's New on LINCS on a regular basis to keep abreast of the latest
in the literacy world.
http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/whats_new/whats_new.html

*** TELL US HOW YOU USE LINCS ***
Jo Maralit  =  National Institute for Literacy, LINCS =
http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/
Email: mmaralit at nifl.gov 

From djrosen at comcast.net  Wed Mar 24 12:24:43 2004
From: djrosen at comcast.net (David Rosen)
Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 12:24:43 -0500
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Program Improvement Models
In-Reply-To: <200403241410.i2OEA7Df016472@monk.psnyc.com>
Message-ID: <23B3CB4C-7DB8-11D8-9625-00039381D39E@comcast.net>

Jan and others,

I think program improvement works best -- and I believe Pennsylvania is 
a good example of this -- when it is both top down and bottom up.  A 
top down demand or requirement from the state adult education director 
that programs chose (a) program improvement goal(s) and use data to 
monitor progress is needed.  Bottom up (program level) decision-making 
about which goal(s), which data -- and once the data are clear -- what 
to do to improve, is also needed.

I would like to see more federal resources available for program 
improvement, and would like to see all state adult education directors 
working with program directors in their state to develop and implement 
a state program improvement model.

Perhaps our Pennsylvania colleagues would like to add to this 
discussion, to describe how their program improvement model works, what 
the opportunities and challenges have been in implementing it, and what 
the results have been from a program and State Education Department 
perspective.

David J. Rosen
djrosen at comcast.net

On Wednesday, March 24, 2004, at 08:39 AM, Jan Gallagher wrote:

> Cheryl Keenan's message notes that program improvement works both 
> bottom-up
> and top-down and invites us to participate in the bottom-up side of the
> process. Do list members have hopes for the ways in which program 
> leadership &
> improvement might influence policy at the federal or state level?
>
> Jan Gallagher
> Director of Communications
> Literacy Assistance Center
> www.lacnyc.org
> voice 212.803.3332
> fax 212.785.3685

From trish_link at iu13.org  Wed Mar 24 14:53:07 2004
From: trish_link at iu13.org (Trish Link)
Date: 24 Mar 04 14:53:07 -0500
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Program Improvement Models
Message-ID: <20040324195306.DB0B04701EA@relay.iu13.org>

         Reply to:   Re: [NIFL-PLI] Program Improvement Models
Hi David and Nifl participants,

I think Pennsylvania does have a good example of this program improvement model that is both top down and bottom up.  I have been working with Family Literacy programs in Pennsylvania doing program improvement in the SEQUAL Project (it was the sequel to the EQUAL program improvement project for adult education) and it stands for  Statewide Educational Quality for Family Literacy.  The programs send a small team (3 or 4 staff) that represent the various roles in a family literacy program (from administrators to early childhood and adult educators), to the SEQUAL training in the Fall and December.   This program improvement team is then asked to collect their data portfolio and examine it as a team for areas of improvement.  There is a five year cycle where  the programs begin by concentrating their program improvement efforts on the areas listed below:
Year 1:  Strengthening Collaboration and Partnerships
Year 2:  Program Performance Standards (with a focus on one family literacy component)
Year 3:  Increasing the Intensity and Duration of services
Year 4:  Improving the Parent and Child Assessment
Year 5:  An area identified through the Family Literacy Self-Assessment Guide. Whether a program is in Year 1 or Year 5, there is a continual effort for each program to examine their own data and make program improvement decisions based upon their data and to do this in a team setting with administrators, practitioners, and support staff, serving as members of this team.
As an activity, each program completes a Program Improvement Action Plan and no two programs have the same action plans. Below are  some action steps taken from a mixture of action plans;

Set up monthly meetings with the Early Head Start staff.
Implement an incentive program with specific emphasis on achievement of adult ed. goals.
Research the use of alternative assessment tools.
Write a mission statement with our partners.
Establish a referral process with our major partner.
Develop a workshop to help students identify their "official " sponsors and support structure. Invite guest speakers from various "official" sponsor agencies to address the group.   
I think the use of the program's data, the combined efforts of a team approach (including the top and bottom ), and the sharing of decisions, assignments, and action plans among other family literacy programs at the statewide meetings have all been benefits to their program improvement efforts.  Others in Pennsylvania can write about the program improvement efforts that began before SEQUAL as a result of Cheryl Keenan's leadership in this area. Thanks for asking.
Trish Link
Lancaster Lebanon IU 13
1110 Enterprise Road
East Petersburg, Pa. 17520
trish_link at iu13.org

David Rosen wrote:
>Jan and others,
>
>I think program improvement works best -- and I believe Pennsylvania is >a good example of this -- when it is both top down and bottom up.  A >top down demand or requirement from the state adult education director >that programs chose (a) program improvement goal(s) and use data to >monitor progress is needed.  Bottom up (program level) decision-making >about which goal(s), which data -- and once the data are clear -- what >to do to improve, is also needed.
>
>I would like to see more federal resources available for program >improvement, and would like to see all state adult education directors >working with program directors in their state to develop and implement >a state program improvement model.
>
>Perhaps our Pennsylvania colleagues would like to add to this >discussion, to describe how their program improvement model works, what >the opportunities and challenges have been in implementing it, and what >the results have been from a program and State Education Department >perspective.
>
>David J. Rosen
>djrosen at comcast.net
>
>On Wednesday, March 24, 2004, at 08:39 AM, Jan Gallagher wrote:
>
>> Cheryl Keenan's message notes that program improvement works both >> bottom-up
>> and top-down and invites us to participate in the bottom-up side of the
>> process. Do list members have hopes for the ways in which program >> leadership &
>> improvement might influence policy at the federal or state level?
>>
>> Jan Gallagher
>> Director of Communications
>> Literacy Assistance Center
>> www.lacnyc.org
>> voice 212.803.3332
>> fax 212.785.3685
>
>_______________________________________________
>NIFL-PLI mailing list
>NIFL-PLI at literacy.nifl.gov
>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/nifl-pli
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From jataylor at utk.edu  Thu Mar 25 10:26:08 2004
From: jataylor at utk.edu (jataylor)
Date: Thu, 25 Mar 2004 10:26:08 -0500
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Program Improvement Models
Message-ID: <406FEE76@webmail.utk.edu>

David, Jan, and all,
I'm noting us making a distinction between top down and bottom up program 
improvement approaches.  While I do see program improvement in these ways, I 
also see it a bit differently.  I like Jan's question, "Do list members have 
hopes for the ways in which program leadership & improvement might influence 
policy at the federal or state level?" because to me it suggests that program 
improvement isn't just about the top or the bottom but system change.  And 
when working towards that change, how do we involve the students in this 
process?

David writes, "Bottom up (program level) decision-making about which goal(s), 
which data -- and once the data are clear -- what to do to improve, is also 
needed."  In what ways can students can be involved in this process?  And 
would that involvement only be at the local level?

Best,

Jackie

Jackie Taylor
NIFL-AALPD List Moderator

From lmclendon at naepdc.org  Thu Mar 25 22:20:27 2004
From: lmclendon at naepdc.org (Lennox McLendon)
Date: Thu, 25 Mar 2004 22:20:27 -0500
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] RE: NIFL-PLI Digest, Vol 2, Issue 1
Message-ID: <s0635b34.034@naepdcmail.org>

Hey Linda,
 
The Pelavin Instructor Competencies are really good.
 
http://www.maepd.org/administrator/webresources/InstructorCompetency.doc
 
Ohio took the same competencies and put them in a self-assessment
format that folks really like.
 
http://www.maepd.org/administrator/webresources/Ohio.doc
 
I have been conducting training with the Michigan adult ed folks so the
web sites I gave you are for the Michigan adult ed professional
development web site.  The Pelavin document is not "live" on their web
site anymore.
 
You may have to copy the URL and paste it.
 
I hope those help.
Lennox
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Dr. Lennox L. McLendon, Executive Director
National Adult Education Professional Development Consortium, Inc
444 N. Capitol St., Suite 422
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 624-5250
(202) 624-1497 FAX
lmclendon at naepdc.org
www.naepdc.org

>>> "Hays, Linda" <Linda.Hays at dese.mo.gov> 03/15/04 09:32AM >>>
We are working to align our professional development, teacher
competencies, and teacher evaluation.  Does anyone have samples you
would be willing to share of teacher competencies for adult education
teachers?  Teacher evaluation models?  Thanks.

*********************************************
Linda Hays, Supervisor
Adult Education and Literacy, DESE
P.O. Box 480, 205 Jefferson Street
Jefferson City, MO  65102
Phone:  573-751-1248
Fax:      573-526-5710
Linda.Hays at dese.mo.gov 

-----Original Message-----
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Behalf Of nifl-pli-request at nifl.gov 
Sent: Saturday, March 13, 2004 11:00 AM
To: nifl-pli at literacy.nifl.gov 
Subject: NIFL-PLI Digest, Vol 2, Issue 1

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Today's Topics:

   1. Program Leadership and Improvement Special Collection
      (Sandy Strunk)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: 12 Mar 2004 18:23:58 -0700
From: Sandy Strunk <sandy_strunk at iu13.org>
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Program Leadership and Improvement Special
    Collection
To: "NIFL -PLI List" <nifl-pli at literacy.nifl.gov>
Message-ID: <20040312231845.07A1E4701F9 at relay.iu13.org>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-Ascii"

Good afternoon, everyone,
Yesterday, the Core Knowledge Group for the Program Leadership and
Improvement Special Collection had a lengthy conference call to
discuss
the way the special collection is organized and how the collection can
be more useful for program leaders. I'm wondering if anyone would like
to offer thoughts or suggestions about what you'd like to see in this
collection, how it's currently (or should be) organized, etc.
If you haven't had an opportunity to visit the site, here's the URL:

http://pli.cls.utk.edu/ 

Sandy Strunk
Lancaster Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13
Adult Basic and Family Literacy Education
1110 Enterprise Road
East Petersburg, PA 17520
(717) 519-1006

------------------------------

_______________________________________________
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End of NIFL-PLI Digest, Vol 2, Issue 1
**************************************
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From jswing at radford.edu  Fri Mar 26 11:50:13 2004
From: jswing at radford.edu (Jane Swing)
Date: Fri, 26 Mar 2004 11:50:13 -0500
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] VAACE conference
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20040326114931.05c87640@mail.radford.edu>

Don't miss out on this wonderful opportunity to learn and network!

The Virginia Association for Adult and Continuing Education will hold it's 
annual conference, May 5-7, 2004 at the Cavalier Hotel on the oceanfront in 
Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Conference Registration form and schedule is available at our website: 
www.vaace.org

Please share this information with your staff and peers.

Join in the fun of donning 1920's attire.  Come as your favorite silent 
screen star, flapper, gangster, etc.  For helpful ideas check out the 
following site:
http://www.dinnerandamurder.com/scripts/Themes/4Deuces.htm#art

Hope to see you at the beach!!!!

2004 Conference to be held at the Cavalier Hotel in Virginia Beach, VA

Don't delay-----call today!!!!!!!!       Room block will only be held until 
April 3, 2004

Reserve your room by calling The Cavalier at 800.446.8199 or 757.425.8555 
(ask for the Virginia Association for Adult and Continuing Education 
block). To get the special conference rate, reservations must be made by 
Saturday, April 3, 2004.

Conference Room Rates:

Single or double oceanview  $95/night
Single or double oceanfront  $115/night
Deluxe King oceanfront  $130/night
Jr. Suite oceanfront $215/night
Jr. Exec Suite oceanfront $245/night
Exec Parlor $180/night

These conference room rates are to be honored two nights prior to the 
conference beginning and two nights following so plan to come and stay 
through the weekend.

From jbehroozi at nifl.gov  Fri Mar 26 13:48:08 2004
From: jbehroozi at nifl.gov (jbehroozi at nifl.gov)
Date: Fri, 26 Mar 2004 13:48:08 -0500 (EST)
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Leaving NIFL- a message from Sondra Stein
Message-ID: <200403261848.i2QIm8I22522@literacy.nifl.gov>

Dear Friends and Colleagues:

I am writing this letter to let you know that March 31st will be my
last day at the National Institute for Literacy.  

It has been an extraordinary 12 years.  I was a strong advocate for
the creation of NIFL. When I was invited to join the staff early in
1992 as a special advisor to the first interim director, I felt
greatly honored to have the opportunity to help shape the direction of
an institution that represented so many hopes and dreams for the
literacy field.  During the startup period I worked closely with our
first Presidentially-appointed Advisory Board (made up of national
leaders from across the adult literacy field, including Sharon
Darling, Benita Somerfield, Jinx Crouch, and Jon Deveaux), with a
wonderful group of colleagues from labor, education, and health and
human services representing our Interagency Management Group, and with
my dear friend Susan Green, who joined the staff in early 1993.
Together we shaped the institute's first initiatives: the center for
learning disabilities, and two interagency initiatives, one focused on
professional development, the other on accountability and continuous
improvement.  Soon Jaleh Behroozi joined the staff, to coordinate the
design and development of what has become NIFL's LINCS system.  

We all took seriously the mandate from Congress to be an interagency
institution, and to work closely with partners in and out of
government to improve the quality and reach of adult and family
literacy programs all across the country.  This vision of the
Institute.s mission was shared by Andy Hartman, our first Director,
and the other new program staff who joined the Institute in 1994 --
Carolyn Staley and Alice Johnson.  All of us worked to build an
institution that could serve as a powerful voice for the literacy
field, inspiring and leading a national effort to assure that adults
in every part of the country had the opportunity to improve their
literacy skills and thus enhance their lives.

As part of our effort to strengthen the quality and accountability of
the adult literacy system NIFL launched Equipped for the Future - a
collaborative, standards-based system reform initiative.  And - for me
- the rest is history.  Working on EFF these past 10 years has been an
extraordinary gift and (as my family will tell you) a magnificent
obsession.  I have had the opportunity to work with a group of
dedicated, reflective, and creative educators, researchers, and
policymakers  - a true community of learners, in whose company I have
learned much and grown enormously as an educator and leader.  

Working together we have accomplished so much.  We have developed a
set of adult learning standards that define the full range of skills
and knowledge that adults need to be successful in their roles as
workers, citizens, parents and family members.  We have developed and
refined a standards-based approach to instruction and assessment that
helps teachers focus more sharply on student goals and the skills and
knowledge students need to achieve them.  We have developed a training
certification system that helps states integrate these new tools into
their own professional development and program improvement systems.
And we have created an assessment framework for the standards that
promises to lead to a new generation of assessments that really help
us measure what students know and can do.  In December, we produced a
work readiness profile that will be the basis for our new work
readiness assessment tool. And just last month we hosted a meeting of
EFF states and assessment publishers to encourage the development of
assessments aligned with EFF standards.  

In 1996 when we began the standards development process we estimated
that by 2004 the development work would be completed, and we would be
ready to turn our attention to implementation of system reform. Thanks
to the commitment and investment of time and resources of all our
partners we have actually achieved that ambitious goal.  We really do
have a set of field-developed, standards-based tools that programs and
states can use to improve the quality and results of our adult
learning system.  I am amazed and exhilarated at what we have
accomplished together, and the ways in which these accomplishments
have already helped us move forward.  I can.t wait to see what's next!

While I am leaving NIFL, I'm not quite ready to leave EFF. Next month
the states that are partners with NIFL in the creation of an EFF Work
Readiness Credential will take over management of the project from
NIFL, and they have asked me to continue to work with them until the
credential is completed in 2005.  I also expect to stay involved in an
advisory capacity with the EFF Center for Training and Technical
Assistance, which now has a very strong independent base at the Center
for Literacy Studies, University of Tennessee. 

Most of all, I hope to have a little more time to tend to my garden
and my husband, to travel for pleasure instead of work, and to take on
new projects.

I look forward to continuing to work with you.  Starting April 1, 2004
you can reach me at my home email sondragay at aol.com
<mailto:sondragay at aol.com>  or at 202-271-7163.

Sincerely,

Sondra 

Sondra Stein, PhD.
National Director, Equipped for the Future
Senior Research Associate, 
National Institute for Literacy
1775 I St NW, Suite 730
Washington, DC 20006
Ph: 202-233-2041
Fax: 202-233-2050
www.nifl.gov/lincs/collections/eff/eff.html

From sandy_strunk at iu13.org  Mon Mar 29 11:15:55 2004
From: sandy_strunk at iu13.org (Sandy Strunk)
Date: 29 Mar 2004 09:15:55 -0700
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] posting from David Rosen
Message-ID: <20040329141027.3ECEE4700A1@relay.iu13.org>

Sondra Stein's role in conceiving and developing Equipped for the  Future (EFF) has been vitally important to the adult literacy education field, and has been one of the major contributions of the National Institute for Literacy.  EFF and the Literacy Information and Communications System (LINCS) are the two long-term initiatives for
which the National Institute for Literacy is best known, and which have had the greatest national impact on moving our field forward towards excellence in practice.

I am glad to hear that Sondra will continue to work with EFF, and I hope that other national organizations will have the vision to support EFF's continued growth in staff development and assessment.  The investment which the NIFL has made in EFF has been sound. It has brought EFF to the point where several states have formally  adopted it, and other states and programs also are using EFF.  Several states are using the standards to invest in creating the EFF work readiness credential. Assessment instruments will be created which are aligned to EFF standards.  Although I am disappointed that the National Institute for Literacy will let Sondra leave, and apparently is not interested in continuing to support Equipped for the Future, I think the standards are so important to the field, and have a sufficiently strong foothold in the states, that Equipped For the Future can continue without the support of the NIFL.

I would like to thank Sondra for the extraordinary work she has done for our field, first in Massachusetts, and over more than a decade, nationally.

David J. Rosen
 djrosen at comcast.net

From sandy_strunk at iu13.org  Mon Mar 29 15:58:29 2004
From: sandy_strunk at iu13.org (Sandy Strunk)
Date: 29 Mar 2004 13:58:29 -0700
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Cheryl Keenan Posting
Message-ID: <20040329185301.9D846470013@relay.iu13.org>

Cheryl Keenan,
I was interested in learning if your office creates a comprehensive report from the various yearly state narrative reports?  This report or reports might analyze the state reports for trends, practices, and/or promising initiatives.  Such a report might be informative to states and program leaders focused on improvement.
Thanks,
Jim

Jim Ford
Training Specialist
Center for Literacy Studies
University of Tennessee
600 Henley Street, Suite 312
Knoxville, TN 37996-4135
(865) 974-8290

At 11:27 AM 3/22/04 -0700, you wrote:
>A national listserv devoted to adult education program quality fulfills a >vision for me that started almost ten years ago! I began this journey in >1994 by asking myself how I, as a leader in adult basic education, could >improve the quality of what we give the adult learners in our local >programs. As a new state director, I wanted to create a culture of >continuous improvement and I subsequently spent nine exciting years >pursuing that vision at the state level. What began as a simple question >about program quality evolved into an unexpected odyssey that taught me >many lessons about change, quality, and leadership in adult basic >education and literacy. It is my hope that I can now, with your help, use >what I have learned about quality improvement at the state level in my >role as the national director of adult education and literacy.
>
>First and foremost, I learned that it's important for all of us, as >practitioners, to ask focused questions about our practice, to look at >meaningful data to solve problems, and to work together to find new >solutions that make instruction more effective for our learners. It's my >belief that an effective quality improvement process must begin at a local >level and that no first step is too small. I have witnessed significant >changes in local programs that make a real difference in learner outcomes.
>
>In my experience, there are several key factors that appeared to promote >success at the local program level. Those factors include:
>
>1) Strong leadership - Quality improvement will never get off the ground >without program leaders who have a vision for student achievement and are >willing to mobilize resources in support of quality programming.
>
>2) A team approach - No one individual can improve program quality; it's a >process that requires administrators, teachers, and support staff to bring >their collective expertise to the table.
>
>3) Questioning all aspects of our practice - We all have beliefs and >assumptions that guide our work. The first, and often the hardest step, is >questioning all aspects of our practice, even those we think we understand >completely. This is where innovation begins.
>
>4) Using data to make decisions and solve problems - Collecting and >analyzing data is at the heart of program improvement. Data might confirm >what we believe to be true or data might surprise us by pointing us in >directions we never expected. Either way, valid and reliable data help us >steer in the direction of quality.
>
>5) Access to high quality resources - When it comes to quality, not all >resources are equal. This list is connected to a LINC's Special Collection >that contains resources for continual quality improvement. The resources >in this collection meet basic criteria for quality and program leaders can >use this collection with some confidence that the resources available meet >basic standards.
>
>The commitment to program improvement is a commitment to quality >education. I am hoping that this list will be a place for instructional >leaders to discuss what they are learning about their programs and >students. Specifically, I hope teachers take this opportunity to share >experiences and pose questions about teaching and learning. I hope program >directors can enter into discussions about what role leadership has in the >improvement process.
>
>Finally, I hope that we will all use this forum to ask questions of each >other and that these question will spark others to share information and >pose new questions in response. My challenge to you is to get things >started by sharing both your questions and findings related to strong >leadership, a team approach, the questioning of our practice, using data >for decision-making, and accessing high quality resources. Of course a >word of warning: In my experience, even the simplest question can lead to >an unexpected odyssey. That's what makes it all worthwhile.
>
>Cheryl Keenan
>Director, Division of Adult Education and Literacy
>Office of Vocational and Adult Education
>U.S. Department of Education
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>NIFL-PLI mailing list
>NIFL-PLI at literacy.nifl.gov
>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/nifl-pli

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From jataylor at utk.edu  Thu Apr  1 20:31:00 2004
From: jataylor at utk.edu (jataylor)
Date: Thu, 1 Apr 2004 20:31:00 -0500
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Position Available,
	Director of the National Institute for Literacy
Message-ID: <40761070@webmail.utk.edu>

Colleagues:
The announcement regarding NIFL's search for a new director has been posted on
www.nifl.gov web site. Please distribute this announcement; it would be good 
to have candidates with extensive adult literacy experience.

Thanks!

Jackie Taylor

...................................
Position Available
Director of the National Institute for Literacy

The National Institute for Literacy, a federal government education
agency that promotes literacy across the lifespan, seeks a Director to
lead the organization. The Director of the Institute is expected to
integrate research findings into the Institute's work and assure that
it makes exceptional contributions to the field of literacy; improve
accountability; manage daily operations; work closely with the
Institute's Presidentially appointed Advisory Board and other
government agencies; and represent the agency in Congress.

Qualifications include extensive knowledge of literacy and education
issues and research methods; experience with national policy activities;
project management; and the federal budgeting process. An earned
doctorate is highly desirable. All applicants are considered without
regard to race, religion, color, National origin, sex, political
affiliation, age, or any other nonmerit factor.

Visit the Institute's website at www.nifl.gov for additional
information on the Institute and to review application materials. A
resume and two-page letter describing the contributions the Institute
could make to improving literacy should be sent by April 26, 2004 to
director_search at nifl.gov.

From sandy_strunk at iu13.org  Mon Apr 26 11:29:32 2004
From: sandy_strunk at iu13.org (Sandy Strunk)
Date: 26 Apr 2004 08:29:32 -0700
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Special Announcement
Message-ID: <20040426122655.7A56847017C@relay.iu13.org>

Special Announcement

The National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL) and Fairfield Language
Technologies invite you to apply for a special grant to support your family
literacy program's efforts to serve low-income, at-risk Hispanic families.

NCFL and Fairfield Language Technologies will grant 75 licenses providing
FREE access via the internet to Levels I & II of the Rosetta Stone English
language learning software. The 75 qualified family literacy and family
education programs will receive access for 15 users each, at no cost, for a
period of 1 year (12 months).

The National Center for Family Literacy was founded by current president
Sharon Darling in 1989. NCFL began with a simple but ambitious mission: To
help parents and children achieve their greatest potential together through
quality literacy programs.

Fairfield Language Technologies was founded in 1991 with two core beliefs.
The natural way we learn native languages as children remains, for everyone,
the most successful method for learning new languages. And interactive
technology can replicate and activate that method powerfully for learners of
any age.

The software can be used for adding a new Adult Education resource to an
already existing Adult Education component or parent and child together time
(PACT Time) component to an existing family literacy or family education
program. A 15 user, one-year Online Language Learning Center for US English
retails for $4,485.00. The application period ends May 14, 2004.

Please log on to NCFL's web site www.famlit.org and read under announcements
for more details on eligibly and how programs can apply. 
Noemi Aguilar
National Center for Family Literacy
325 West Main Street, Suite 300
Louisville, KY 40202
Phone: 502-584-1133 x168

Sandy Strunk
Lancaster Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13
Adult Basic and Family Literacy Education
1110 Enterprise Road
East Petersburg, PA 17520
(717) 519-1006

From djrosen at comcast.net  Thu Apr 29 17:52:41 2004
From: djrosen at comcast.net (David Rosen)
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 2004 17:52:41 -0400
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Literacy President
Message-ID: <8A2B6AD3-9A27-11D8-97A5-00039381D39E@comcast.net>

Dear Colleague,

The election of the next President of the United States is important to 
adult literacy education.  It is a time to get critical questions from 
the field to the campaigns, to ask the candidates these questions at 
every opportunity, and -- we hope --  to get increasing commitment to 
support adult literacy education.

The organizers of SAVE NIFL  have launched another effort, called 
Literacy President.  Its goal is to increase Presidential commitment 
regardless of which candidate is elected.  Its initial activities 
include:

1) Over the next two weeks we would like you to post your questions for 
the Presidential candidates to the AAACE-NLA list.  To subscribe to 
AAACE-NLA  go to

	http://lists.literacytent.org/mailman/listinfo/aaace-nla

scroll to the bottom of the page, and follow the simple directions.

2) In Mid-May we will take your questions and create an online survey 
where you and other adult literacy practitioners and adult learners 
across the country can vote on them.

3) We will take the top 5-10 questions and get them to the Presidential 
campaigns in May or June.

There will be other activities, but we'll begin with these.

Please post your questions -- to AAACE-NLA  --  now.  You can send as 
many as you like, but please try to make them as clear as you can, 
write in plain English, and keep them short if you can.

If you want to discuss the campaign, please respect the focus of this 
list, and instead of discussing it here, let your views be known on the 
AAACE-NLA list.  Thanks.

David J. Rosen
djrosen at comcast.net

From djrosen at comcast.net  Mon May  3 06:34:23 2004
From: djrosen at comcast.net (David Rosen)
Date: Mon, 3 May 2004 06:34:23 -0400
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Report on NIFL from COABE
Message-ID: <71675C00-9CED-11D8-BEAF-00039381D39E@comcast.net>

Dear NIFL-PLI Colleague:

At this year?s Commission on Adult Basic Education (COABE) conference, 
Dr. Susan Sclafani, Assistant Secretary U.S. Department of Education, 
Office of Vocational and Adult Education, addressed practitioners in 
the Opening Session.  She spoke about several issues, including the 
future of the National Institute for Literacy (NIFL).  She recognized 
that many in the field of adult and family literacy are concerned about 
NIFL losing its focus on adults, and assured us that this would not 
happen, but that NIFL will also concentrate on literacy across the 
lifespan.

Further, Dr. Sclafani discussed the importance of finding a person who 
knows and understands adult literacy for the position of Director of 
the Institute.  She said that there is no better way to have NIFL 
preserve its focus on adults than to hire a director who is an adult 
literacy practitioner.  She shared that we need someone that knows the 
field of adult literacy to apply for this position, and encouraged 
qualified adult literacy practitioners to apply.

We look forward to her continued support for retaining NIFL's focus on 
adults in its concentration on lifespan literacy, and hope that she 
will continue to be supportive of finding a NIFL Director applicant 
from the field of adult literacy. As she requested, please encourage 
experienced adult literacy practitioners to apply for the NIFL Director 
position.  Forward this message to anyone whom you think may qualify.

Deadline to apply: May 10, 2004
Submit the following materials to director_search at nifl.gov.
? A resume
? A letter of no more than two pages explaining your interest in the 
position, your qualifications, and your views on contributions the 
Institute could make to improving literacy across the lifespan.
Vacancy announcement: http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/vacancy_announce.doc

On behalf of the Save NIFL Campaign organizers,

David J. Rosen
djrosen at comcast.net

From sandy_strunk at iu13.org  Mon May 10 10:59:03 2004
From: sandy_strunk at iu13.org (Sandy Strunk)
Date: 10 May 2004 07:59:03 -0700
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Using NRS Data for Program Improvement
Message-ID: <20040510115616.D0950470023@relay.iu13.org>

The following posting is from Larry Condelli, Managing Director in the Education and Human Development Division of the American Institues for Research. Larry leads the adult education team and is project director for the National Reporting System. He has been involved in projects on ESL research, the professional development of adult educators and the development of content standards for adult education. He has worked in adult education since 1990.

At the end of his posting, Larry poses several questions he hopes you'll respond to. I, too, hope you will take this opportunity to discuss the National Reporting System and how NRS data can be used for program improvement.

Sandy Strunk, PLI List Moderator

********************************************************

	Several years ago, I started a new job and my first assignment was a very small project to help the Division of Adult Education and Literacy (DAEL) assist states to improve their ability to evaluate the quality of local adult education programs.  Little did I suspect that this work would eventually evolve into developing the national accountability system for the adult education program, and what we now know as the National Reporting System (NRS).  Before this, I had little knowledge of adult education and accountability, but life has a way of bringing about the unexpected. 
	Most people probably don?t know that the NRS had its origin in 1996, when a group of state directors of adult education were the first to move forward the idea for a national accountability system.  At that time there were proposals in Congress to roll adult education into a national work force development block grant system.  It was widely feared that block grants, giving governors discretion on how to set up the system in their states, would mean the end of the adult education program.  At the same time, demands for accountability increased for all programs, at both the federal and state levels.  To preserve meet these demands and adult education, state directors and others realized we needed a way to collect valid and reliable data to show what adult education is, the type of students who enrolled and the outcomes students achieved ? and that these outcomes went beyond employment.  DAEL responded in 1997 with a two-year project, which I directed, to develop an outcome-based accountability system in collaboration with state education directors and other adult educators.  
	One goal in developing this system was to produce a set of valid and reliable data that could demonstrate to legislators and other policymakers the value of adult education.  But we also wanted the system to do more than that.  We recognized the value of data as a program improvement tool and wanted the system to be a source of information for states and local programs to use for program management and improvement. Therefore, we tried to build state flexibility into the data requirements.

Based on the system we developed though this project in 1997-1998, the NRS was born and eventually incorporated into the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) in 1998.  WIA made the system mandatory (we had considered it voluntary until then) and added a requirement for states to set performance standards for outcome measures and an incentive award program to motivate performance.  Our focus then shifted from system development to implementation.

Since 1998, we have engaged in a series of training and technical assistance activities that we hoped would build on each other to meet our dual goals of having an effective accountability system and a source of data for local and state program improvement efforts.  We planned these activities in three phases.  First, we needed to get the NRS understood and working in each state, which we accomplished through national and regional training, development of policy and procedural documents, web sites and individual technical assistance. 
In the second phase we focused on improving the quality of data and improving the uniformity of how states and programs collected the date.  In 2002, we produced a data quality guide for local programs that described ways to collect data in valid and reliable ways and reinforced this information with regional trainings of state staff.  As these data quality improvement efforts continue we moved into the third phase of assistance, promoting data use for program management and improvement among states and local programs.  We again developed a ?how-to? guide, accompanied by regional state trainings in 2003.  Most recently, we are just now completing a third series of workshops on using data for program monitoring to assess local program performance and identify areas for change.

Promoting NRS data use for program improvement continues to be one of our top priorities.  We see using data as the key to improving the quality of local programs and as a way to get state and local staff to understand the value of data ? to see data not as an administrative burden, but a valuable tool.  I think we are beginning to see some successes in this area.  We used to have to spend some time at our trainings to answer questions about the NRS and defend its purpose and value.  Now we not only hear more acceptances, but a genuine desire to learn to use data and really improve program quality?our original goal all along.  For example, programs are using data to make recruitment and enrollment decisions and schedule class times and instructional approaches.  States are using data to identify high performing and low performing programs, to target technical assistance for program improvement and make funding decisions.   Many states NRS data systems now have reports built in that help local programs understand their student attendance, enrollment and outcomes and make informed decisions on program improvement efforts.

While this is heartening to know, we also know there is a lot more work to do, which brings us to our topic, using NRS data for program improvement.   In traveling the country and doing training and technical assistance on this topic I recognize some of the issues involved in using data and have heard several of the questions that can serve as a basis for our discussion here.

What kinds of decisions do you make using data?  What kinds of data do you use to steer local improvement?

How accessible are these data to you?

What successes have you had in using data?

What data do you need that NRS does not collect?

What are barriers to using data?  What other systems and structures do states and local programs need to put into place to supplement NRS data?

Larry Condelli
American Institutes for Research

From Ssocha at southbaltimorelearns.org  Mon May 10 15:27:15 2004
From: Ssocha at southbaltimorelearns.org (Sonia Socha)
Date: Mon, 10 May 2004 15:27:15 -0400
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Re: NIFL-PLI Digest, Vol 8, Issue 1
Message-ID: <s09f9f5c.024@NW51_1>

This overview from Larry was excellent information for a provider in the field to pass on to staff who are trying to implement the NRS.

The questions at the end will yake along time to answer and I prefer not to write.  Would much rather have a personal conversation with Mr. Condelli.

In many ways, our program was way ahead of NRS intitially with collecting data and making program improvements based on our collections--but what we collect and what we look for is slightly different than what the feds are looking for.  And , of course, there are those items that are the same--but we anaylze them differently.

Do not have the time to answer these questions now--too much on the plate in the month of May--especially completing grants for adult literacy funding!  We are also preparing for a visit from USDE in June--I know our staff will have much to say about data collection during that monitoring visit.

Happy to talk sometime over the summer--I am sure our program will have much to contribute to the questions outlined below.

Thank you for the opportunity.   

>>> nifl-pli-request at nifl.gov 05/10/04 12:00PM >>>
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Today's Topics:

   1. Using NRS Data for Program Improvement (Sandy Strunk)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: 10 May 2004 07:59:03 -0700
From: Sandy Strunk <sandy_strunk at iu13.org>
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Using NRS Data for Program Improvement
To: "NIFL -PLI List" <nifl-pli at literacy.nifl.gov>
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Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

The following posting is from Larry Condelli, Managing Director in the Education and Human Development Division of the American Institues for Research. Larry leads the adult education team and is project director for the National Reporting System. He has been involved in projects on ESL research, the professional development of adult educators and the development of content standards for adult education. He has worked in adult education since 1990.

At the end of his posting, Larry poses several questions he hopes you'll respond to. I, too, hope you will take this opportunity to discuss the National Reporting System and how NRS data can be used for program improvement.

Sandy Strunk, PLI List Moderator

********************************************************

	Several years ago, I started a new job and my first assignment was a very small project to help the Division of Adult Education and Literacy (DAEL) assist states to improve their ability to evaluate the quality of local adult education programs.  Little did I suspect that this work would eventually evolve into developing the national accountability system for the adult education program, and what we now know as the National Reporting System (NRS).  Before this, I had little knowledge of adult education and accountability, but life has a way of bringing about the unexpected. 
	Most people probably don't know that the NRS had its origin in 1996, when a group of state directors of adult education were the first to move forward the idea for a national accountability system.  At that time there were proposals in Congress to roll adult education into a national work force development block grant system.  It was widely feared that block grants, giving governors discretion on how to set up the system in their states, would mean the end of the adult education program.  At the same time, demands for accountability increased for all programs, at both the federal and state levels.  To preserve meet these demands and adult education, state directors and others realized we needed a way to collect valid and reliable data to show what adult education is, the type of students who enrolled and the outcomes students achieved * and that these outcomes went beyond employment.  DAEL responded in 1997 with a two-year project, which I directed, to develop an outcome-based accountability system in collaboration with state education directors and other adult educators.  
	One goal in developing this system was to produce a set of valid and reliable data that could demonstrate to legislators and other policymakers the value of adult education.  But we also wanted the system to do more than that.  We recognized the value of data as a program improvement tool and wanted the system to be a source of information for states and local programs to use for program management and improvement. Therefore, we tried to build state flexibility into the data requirements.

Based on the system we developed though this project in 1997-1998, the NRS was born and eventually incorporated into the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) in 1998.  WIA made the system mandatory (we had considered it voluntary until then) and added a requirement for states to set performance standards for outcome measures and an incentive award program to motivate performance.  Our focus then shifted from system development to implementation.

Since 1998, we have engaged in a series of training and technical assistance activities that we hoped would build on each other to meet our dual goals of having an effective accountability system and a source of data for local and state program improvement efforts.  We planned these activities in three phases.  First, we needed to get the NRS understood and working in each state, which we accomplished through national and regional training, development of policy and procedural documents, web sites and individual technical assistance. 
In the second phase we focused on improving the quality of data and improving the uniformity of how states and programs collected the date.  In 2002, we produced a data quality guide for local programs that described ways to collect data in valid and reliable ways and reinforced this information with regional trainings of state staff.  As these data quality improvement efforts continue we moved into the third phase of assistance, promoting data use for program management and improvement among states and local programs.  We again developed a "how-to" guide, accompanied by regional state trainings in 2003.  Most recently, we are just now completing a third series of workshops on using data for program monitoring to assess local program performance and identify areas for change.

Promoting NRS data use for program improvement continues to be one of our top priorities.  We see using data as the key to improving the quality of local programs and as a way to get state and local staff to understand the value of data * to see data not as an administrative burden, but a valuable tool.  I think we are beginning to see some successes in this area.  We used to have to spend some time at our trainings to answer questions about the NRS and defend its purpose and value.  Now we not only hear more acceptances, but a genuine desire to learn to use data and really improve program quality?our original goal all along.  For example, programs are using data to make recruitment and enrollment decisions and schedule class times and instructional approaches.  States are using data to identify high performing and low performing programs, to target technical assistance for program improvement and make funding decisions.   Many states NRS data systems now have reports built in that help local programs understand their student attendance, enrollment and outcomes and make informed decisions on program improvement efforts.

While this is heartening to know, we also know there is a lot more work to do, which brings us to our topic, using NRS data for program improvement.   In traveling the country and doing training and technical assistance on this topic I recognize some of the issues involved in using data and have heard several of the questions that can serve as a basis for our discussion here.

What kinds of decisions do you make using data?  What kinds of data do you use to steer local improvement?

How accessible are these data to you?

What successes have you had in using data?

What data do you need that NRS does not collect?

What are barriers to using data?  What other systems and structures do states and local programs need to put into place to supplement NRS data?

Larry Condelli
American Institutes for Research

------------------------------

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To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
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End of NIFL-PLI Digest, Vol 8, Issue 1
**************************************

From sandy_strunk at iu13.org  Tue May 11 13:06:30 2004
From: sandy_strunk at iu13.org (Sandy Strunk)
Date: 11 May 2004 10:06:30 -0700
Subject: FWD: Re: [NIFL-PLI] Special Announcement
Message-ID: <20040511140342.5AFAC47006C@relay.iu13.org>

Date: 5/11/04 6:41 AM
From: ELLEN CONROY
Candie, This looks good! I'm not quite sure how it would work but I'm interested enough to find out. What do you need me to do?  Ellen   (by the way, welcome back!)

>>> Sandy Strunk <sandy_strunk at iu13.org> 04/26/04 10:29AM >>>
Special Announcement

The National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL) and Fairfield Language
Technologies invite you to apply for a special grant to support your family
literacy program's efforts to serve low-income, at-risk Hispanic families.

NCFL and Fairfield Language Technologies will grant 75 licenses providing
FREE access via the internet to Levels I & II of the Rosetta Stone English
language learning software. The 75 qualified family literacy and family
education programs will receive access for 15 users each, at no cost, for a
period of 1 year (12 months).

The National Center for Family Literacy was founded by current president
Sharon Darling in 1989. NCFL began with a simple but ambitious mission: To
help parents and children achieve their greatest potential together through
quality literacy programs.

Fairfield Language Technologies was founded in 1991 with two core beliefs.
The natural way we learn native languages as children remains, for everyone,
the most successful method for learning new languages. And interactive
technology can replicate and activate that method powerfully for learners of
any age.

The software can be used for adding a new Adult Education resource to an
already existing Adult Education component or parent and child together time
(PACT Time) component to an existing family literacy or family education
program. A 15 user, one-year Online Language Learning Center for US English
retails for $4,485.00. The application period ends May 14, 2004.

Please log on to NCFL's web site www.famlit.org and read under announcements
for more details on eligibly and how programs can apply. Noemi Aguilar
National Center for Family Literacy
325 West Main Street, Suite 300
Louisville, KY 40202
Phone: 502-584-1133 x168

Sandy Strunk
Lancaster Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13
Adult Basic and Family Literacy Education
1110 Enterprise Road
East Petersburg, PA 17520
(717) 519-1006

_______________________________________________
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From sandy_strunk at iu13.org  Tue May 11 14:10:45 2004
From: sandy_strunk at iu13.org (Sandy Strunk)
Date: 11 May 2004 11:10:45 -0700
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Re: NIFL-PLI Digest, Vol 8, Issue 1
Message-ID: <20040511150758.2268B470118@relay.iu13.org>

         Reply to:   RE: [NIFL-PLI] Re: NIFL-PLI Digest, Vol 8, Issue 1
Sonia makes some interesting points that I'd like to turn back to the group for discussion. I've been doing this work for almost twenty years now, but it's hard for me to remember the days before program accountability was a primary focus for those of us who are leaders in our field. None-the-less, there was such a time and it wasn't as if we all sat around waiting for something to do or for someone to invent an adult education accountability system. 
Before the advent of the NRS, which data, if any, WERE programs actually collecting and analyzing data as a basis for program improvement? We often talk about data for decision-making as if it were a no-brainer, but in my experience, not every program buys into ongoing data collection and analysis as a basis for continuous improvement.

Last night, I was reading a dissertation by Priscilla Sissem, one of my PA colleagues, titled, "Leaders of Adult Basic and Literacy Education Programs in Pennsylvania: A Typology of Leadership Styles and Organizational Issues in Context."  Her premise is that leaders in our field can be broken into three typologies:  Founders, Mainstreamers, and Prospectors -- with each type approaching this work somewhat differently. She notes that whereas some program leaders believe that increased accountability has set a higher standard for our field, has brought us credibility and a new professionalism, others suggest that increased accountability has undermined one of our most deeply held commitments - the commitment to learners as individuals and to each learner's need for individualized instruction. This tension is fascinating and certainly underscores the diversity of the leadership in our field.

Larry's questions about how we use data for program improvement are based on the assumption that program leaders actually find value in collecting and analyzing data as a basis for decision-making. Clearly, some do and others do not.  I'm wondering if any discussion related to using the NRS for program improvement might need to start with an exploration of state and federal accountability systems in general and the impact they have had, and continue to have, on our field.

Any thoughts?

Sandy Strunk
Lancaster Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13
Adult Basic and Family Literacy Education
1110 Enterprise Road
East Petersburg, PA 17520
(717) 519-1006

Sonia Socha wrote:
>This overview from Larry was excellent information for a provider in the >field to pass on to staff who are trying to implement the NRS.
>
>The questions at the end will yake along time to answer and I prefer not to >write.  Would much rather have a personal conversation with Mr. Condelli.
>
>In many ways, our program was way ahead of NRS intitially with collecting >data and making program improvements based on our collections--but what we collect >and what we look for is slightly different than what the feds are looking for.  >And , of course, there are those items that are the same--but we anaylze them >differently.
>
>Do not have the time to answer these questions now--too much on the plate >in the month of May--especially completing grants for adult literacy funding!  We >are also preparing for a visit from USDE in June--I know our staff will have much >to say about data collection during that monitoring visit.
>
>Happy to talk sometime over the summer--I am sure our program will have >much to contribute to the questions outlined below.
>
>Thank you for the opportunity.   >
>>>> nifl-pli-request at nifl.gov 05/10/04 12:00PM >>>
>Send NIFL-PLI mailing list submissions to
>	nifl-pli at literacy.nifl.gov >
>To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
>	http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/nifl-pli >or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
>	nifl-pli-request at literacy.nifl.gov >
>You can reach the person managing the list at
>	nifl-pli-owner at literacy.nifl.gov >
>When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
>than "Re: Contents of NIFL-PLI digest..."
>
>
>Today's Topics:
>
>   1. Using NRS Data for Program Improvement (Sandy Strunk)
>
>
>----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>Message: 1
>Date: 10 May 2004 07:59:03 -0700
>From: Sandy Strunk <sandy_strunk at iu13.org>
>Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Using NRS Data for Program Improvement
>To: "NIFL -PLI List" <nifl-pli at literacy.nifl.gov>
>Message-ID: <20040510115616.D0950470023 at relay.iu13.org>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
>The following posting is from Larry Condelli, Managing Director in the >Education and Human Development Division of the American Institues for Research. >Larry leads the adult education team and is project director for the National >Reporting System. He has been involved in projects on ESL research, the professional >development of adult educators and the development of content standards for adult >education. He has worked in adult education since 1990.
>
>At the end of his posting, Larry poses several questions he hopes you'll >respond to. I, too, hope you will take this opportunity to discuss the National >Reporting System and how NRS data can be used for program improvement.
>
>Sandy Strunk, PLI List Moderator
>
>********************************************************
>
>
>	Several years ago, I started a new job and my first assignment was a very >small project to help the Division of Adult Education and Literacy (DAEL) assist >states to improve their ability to evaluate the quality of local adult education >programs.  Little did I suspect that this work would eventually evolve into >developing the national accountability system for the adult education program, and >what we now know as the National Reporting System (NRS).  Before this, I had little >knowledge of adult education and accountability, but life has a way of bringing >about the unexpected. >	Most people probably don't know that the NRS had its origin in 1996, when >a group of state directors of adult education were the first to move forward the >idea for a national accountability system.  At that time there were proposals in >Congress to roll adult education into a national work force development block >grant system.  It was widely feared that block grants, giving governors discretion >on how to set up the system in their states, would mean the end of the adult >education program.  At the same time, demands for accountability increased for all >programs, at both the federal and state levels.  To preserve meet these demands and >adult education, state directors and others realized we needed a way to collect >valid and reliable data to show what adult education is, the type of students who >enrolled and the outcomes students achieved * and that these outcomes went beyond >employment.  DAEL responded in 1997 with a two-year project, which I directed, >to develop an outcome-ba!
>sed accountability system in collaboration with state education directors >and other adult educators.  >	One goal in developing this system was to produce a set of valid and >reliable data that could demonstrate to legislators and other policymakers the value >of adult education.  But we also wanted the system to do more than that.  We >recognized the value of data as a program improvement tool and wanted the system to be >a source of information for states and local programs to use for program >management and improvement. Therefore, we tried to build state flexibility into the data >requirements.
>
>Based on the system we developed though this project in 1997-1998, the NRS >was born and eventually incorporated into the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) in >1998.  WIA made the system mandatory (we had considered it voluntary until then) >and added a requirement for states to set performance standards for outcome >measures and an incentive award program to motivate performance.  Our focus then >shifted from system development to implementation.
>
>Since 1998, we have engaged in a series of training and technical >assistance activities that we hoped would build on each other to meet our dual goals of >having an effective accountability system and a source of data for local and state >program improvement efforts.  We planned these activities in three phases.  >First, we needed to get the NRS understood and working in each state, which we >accomplished through national and regional training, development of policy and >procedural documents, web sites and individual technical assistance. >In the second phase we focused on improving the quality of data and >improving the uniformity of how states and programs collected the date.  In 2002, we >produced a data quality guide for local programs that described ways to collect data >in valid and reliable ways and reinforced this information with regional >trainings of state staff.  As these data quality improvement efforts continue we moved >into the third phase of assistance, promoting data use for program management and >improvement among states and local programs.  We again developed a "how-to" >guide, accompanied by regional state trainings in 2003.  Most recently, we are just >now completing a third series of workshops on using data for program monitoring to >assess local program performance and identify areas for change.
>
>Promoting NRS data use for program improvement continues to be one of our >top priorities.  We see using data as the key to improving the quality of local >programs and as a way to get state and local staff to understand the value of data >* to see data not as an administrative burden, but a valuable tool.  I think we >are beginning to see some successes in this area.  We used to have to spend some >time at our trainings to answer questions about the NRS and defend its purpose and >value.  Now we not only hear more acceptances, but a genuine desire to learn to >use data and really improve program quality?our original goal all along.  For >example, programs are using data to make recruitment and enrollment decisions and >schedule class times and instructional approaches.  States are using data to >identify high performing and low performing programs, to target technical assistance >for program improvement and make funding decisions.   Many states NRS data systems >now have reports built !
>in that help local programs understand their student attendance, enrollment >and outcomes and make informed decisions on program improvement efforts.
>
>While this is heartening to know, we also know there is a lot more work to >do, which brings us to our topic, using NRS data for program improvement.   In >traveling the country and doing training and technical assistance on this topic I >recognize some of the issues involved in using data and have heard several of the >questions that can serve as a basis for our discussion here.
>
>What kinds of decisions do you make using data?  What kinds of data do you >use to steer local improvement?
>
>How accessible are these data to you?
>
>What successes have you had in using data?
>
>What data do you need that NRS does not collect?
>
>What are barriers to using data?  What other systems and structures do >states and local programs need to put into place to supplement NRS data?
>
>Larry Condelli
>American Institutes for Research
>
>
>
>------------------------------
>
>_______________________________________________
>NIFL-PLI mailing list
>NIFL-PLI at literacy.nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/nifl-pli >
>
>End of NIFL-PLI Digest, Vol 8, Issue 1
>**************************************
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From mariecora at hotmail.com  Wed May 12 11:31:54 2004
From: mariecora at hotmail.com (Marie Cora)
Date: Wed, 12 May 2004 11:31:54 -0400
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Re: NIFL-PLI Digest, Vol 8, Issue 1
Message-ID: <BAY17-F3331DPrZjuy00003f682@hotmail.com>

Hi everyone,

Here in Massachusetts, the state has made an effort to provide opportuntiies 
for managers and pracitioenrs to learn and understand how to use data to 
improve their practices.  A handful of folks from the DOE here, the 
professional development system, and program pracitioners have attended NRS 
trainings on this topic, and have then worked on materials that can be 
shared with other programs to help them also understand and use this 
mechanism.

I definitely believe it's useful but there are a lot of complex things going 
on:

-as already noted:  what's needed/useful for one stakeholder might not be 
for the next, so multiple ways of collecting and interpreting data are 
necessary
-this is not a simple thing and it requires pretty extensive Pro D (so time, 
money, etc. are involved)
-collecting data from, say, the TABE, is a way different thing than 
collecting data from, say, the performance assessments in writing (so you 
need to know how to collect from different sources, use different processes, 
know what's the right thing to collect; and then how do you combine that 
data?  do you?  can you? should you?)

Larry's questions at the end help get at some of these things.  But for all 
this, a lot of extra time and money are needed for the Pro D.

For a couple of articles from programs on this topic, go to:

http://literacy.kent.edu/Midwest/assessment/adventures_vol13.html
or click on Adventures in Assessment at the NIFL Assessment Collection and 
look for Volume 13.

There are two articles at the end of that volume that discuss this.  And 
Volume Sixteen, which is hot off the press, has an article about using 
attendance and other data to stengthen a program in Mass.

marie cora
NIFL Assessment List Moderator

>From: Sandy Strunk <sandy_strunk at iu13.org>
>Reply-To: Sandy Strunk <sandy_strunk at iu13.org>,   Program Leadership and 
>Improvement Discussion List<nifl-pli at nifl.gov>
>To: Leadership and Improvement Dis <nifl-pli at nifl.gov>
>Subject: RE: [NIFL-PLI] Re: NIFL-PLI Digest, Vol 8, Issue 1
>Date: 11 May 2004 11:10:45 -0700
>
>          Reply to:   RE: [NIFL-PLI] Re: NIFL-PLI Digest, Vol 8, Issue 1
>Sonia makes some interesting points that I'd like to turn back to the group 
>for discussion. I've been doing this work for almost twenty years now, but 
>it's hard for me to remember the days before program accountability was a 
>primary focus for those of us who are leaders in our field. None-the-less, 
>there was such a time and it wasn't as if we all sat around waiting for 
>something to do or for someone to invent an adult education accountability 
>system.
>Before the advent of the NRS, which data, if any, WERE programs actually 
>collecting and analyzing data as a basis for program improvement? We often 
>talk about data for decision-making as if it were a no-brainer, but in my 
>experience, not every program buys into ongoing data collection and 
>analysis as a basis for continuous improvement.
>
>Last night, I was reading a dissertation by Priscilla Sissem, one of my PA 
>colleagues, titled, "Leaders of Adult Basic and Literacy Education Programs 
>in Pennsylvania: A Typology of Leadership Styles and Organizational Issues 
>in Context."  Her premise is that leaders in our field can be broken into 
>three typologies:  Founders, Mainstreamers, and Prospectors -- with each 
>type approaching this work somewhat differently. She notes that whereas 
>some program leaders believe that increased accountability has set a higher 
>standard for our field, has brought us credibility and a new 
>professionalism, others suggest that increased accountability has 
>undermined one of our most deeply held commitments - the commitment to 
>learners as individuals and to each learner's need for individualized 
>instruction. This tension is fascinating and certainly underscores the 
>diversity of the leadership in our field.
>
>Larry's questions about how we use data for program improvement are based 
>on the assumption that program leaders actually find value in collecting 
>and analyzing data as a basis for decision-making. Clearly, some do and 
>others do not.  I'm wondering if any discussion related to using the NRS 
>for program improvement might need to start with an exploration of state 
>and federal accountability systems in general and the impact they have had, 
>and continue to have, on our field.
>
>Any thoughts?
>
>
>Sandy Strunk
>Lancaster Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13
>Adult Basic and Family Literacy Education
>1110 Enterprise Road
>East Petersburg, PA 17520
>(717) 519-1006
>
>Sonia Socha wrote:
> >This overview from Larry was excellent information for a provider in the 
> >field to pass on to staff who are trying to implement the NRS.
> >
> >The questions at the end will yake along time to answer and I prefer not 
>to >write.  Would much rather have a personal conversation with Mr. 
>Condelli.
> >
> >In many ways, our program was way ahead of NRS intitially with collecting 
> >data and making program improvements based on our collections--but what 
>we collect >and what we look for is slightly different than what the feds 
>are looking for.  >And , of course, there are those items that are the 
>same--but we anaylze them >differently.
> >
> >Do not have the time to answer these questions now--too much on the plate 
> >in the month of May--especially completing grants for adult literacy 
>funding!  We >are also preparing for a visit from USDE in June--I know our 
>staff will have much >to say about data collection during that monitoring 
>visit.
> >
> >Happy to talk sometime over the summer--I am sure our program will have 
> >much to contribute to the questions outlined below.
> >
> >Thank you for the opportunity.   >
> >>>> nifl-pli-request at nifl.gov 05/10/04 12:00PM >>>
> >Send NIFL-PLI mailing list submissions to
> >	nifl-pli at literacy.nifl.gov >
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> >
> >
> >Today's Topics:
> >
> >   1. Using NRS Data for Program Improvement (Sandy Strunk)
> >
> >
> >----------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> >Message: 1
> >Date: 10 May 2004 07:59:03 -0700
> >From: Sandy Strunk <sandy_strunk at iu13.org>
> >Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Using NRS Data for Program Improvement
> >To: "NIFL -PLI List" <nifl-pli at literacy.nifl.gov>
> >Message-ID: <20040510115616.D0950470023 at relay.iu13.org>
> >Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
> >
> >The following posting is from Larry Condelli, Managing Director in the 
> >Education and Human Development Division of the American Institues for 
>Research. >Larry leads the adult education team and is project director for 
>the National >Reporting System. He has been involved in projects on ESL 
>research, the professional >development of adult educators and the 
>development of content standards for adult >education. He has worked in 
>adult education since 1990.
> >
> >At the end of his posting, Larry poses several questions he hopes you'll 
> >respond to. I, too, hope you will take this opportunity to discuss the 
>National >Reporting System and how NRS data can be used for program 
>improvement.
> >
> >Sandy Strunk, PLI List Moderator
> >
> >********************************************************
> >
> >
> >	Several years ago, I started a new job and my first assignment was a 
>very >small project to help the Division of Adult Education and Literacy 
>(DAEL) assist >states to improve their ability to evaluate the quality of 
>local adult education >programs.  Little did I suspect that this work would 
>eventually evolve into >developing the national accountability system for 
>the adult education program, and >what we now know as the National 
>Reporting System (NRS).  Before this, I had little >knowledge of adult 
>education and accountability, but life has a way of bringing >about the 
>unexpected. >	Most people probably don't know that the NRS had its origin 
>in 1996, when >a group of state directors of adult education were the first 
>to move forward the >idea for a national accountability system.  At that 
>time there were proposals in >Congress to roll adult education into a 
>national work force development block >grant system.  It was widely feared 
>that block grants, giving governors discret!
>ion >on how to set up the system in their states, would mean the end of the 
>adult >education program.  At the same time, demands for accountability 
>increased for all >programs, at both the federal and state levels.  To 
>preserve meet these demands and >adult education, state directors and 
>others realized we needed a way to collect >valid and reliable data to show 
>what adult education is, the type of students who >enrolled and the 
>outcomes students achieved * and that these outcomes went beyond 
> >employment.  DAEL responded in 1997 with a two-year project, which I 
>directed, >to develop an outcome-ba!
> >sed accountability system in collaboration with state education directors 
> >and other adult educators.  >	One goal in developing this system was to 
>produce a set of valid and >reliable data that could demonstrate to 
>legislators and other policymakers the value >of adult education.  But we 
>also wanted the system to do more than that.  We >recognized the value of 
>data as a program improvement tool and wanted the system to be >a source of 
>information for states and local programs to use for program >management 
>and improvement. Therefore, we tried to build state flexibility into the 
>data >requirements.
> >
> >Based on the system we developed though this project in 1997-1998, the 
>NRS >was born and eventually incorporated into the Workforce Investment Act 
>(WIA) in >1998.  WIA made the system mandatory (we had considered it 
>voluntary until then) >and added a requirement for states to set 
>performance standards for outcome >measures and an incentive award program 
>to motivate performance.  Our focus then >shifted from system development 
>to implementation.
> >
> >Since 1998, we have engaged in a series of training and technical 
> >assistance activities that we hoped would build on each other to meet our 
>dual goals of >having an effective accountability system and a source of 
>data for local and state >program improvement efforts.  We planned these 
>activities in three phases.  >First, we needed to get the NRS understood 
>and working in each state, which we >accomplished through national and 
>regional training, development of policy and >procedural documents, web 
>sites and individual technical assistance. >In the second phase we focused 
>on improving the quality of data and >improving the uniformity of how 
>states and programs collected the date.  In 2002, we >produced a data 
>quality guide for local programs that described ways to collect data >in 
>valid and reliable ways and reinforced this information with regional 
> >trainings of state staff.  As these data quality improvement efforts 
>continue we moved >into the third phase of assistance, pr!
>omoting data use for program management and >improvement among states and 
>local programs.  We again developed a "how-to" >guide, accompanied by 
>regional state trainings in 2003.  Most recently, we are just >now 
>completing a third series of workshops on using data for program monitoring 
>to >assess local program performance and identify areas for change.
> >
> >Promoting NRS data use for program improvement continues to be one of our 
> >top priorities.  We see using data as the key to improving the quality of 
>local >programs and as a way to get state and local staff to understand the 
>value of data >* to see data not as an administrative burden, but a 
>valuable tool.  I think we >are beginning to see some successes in this 
>area.  We used to have to spend some >time at our trainings to answer 
>questions about the NRS and defend its purpose and >value.  Now we not only 
>hear more acceptances, but a genuine desire to learn to >use data and 
>really improve program quality?our original goal all along.  For >example, 
>programs are using data to make recruitment and enrollment decisions and 
> >schedule class times and instructional approaches.  States are using data 
>to >identify high performing and low performing programs, to target 
>technical assistance >for program improvement and make funding decisions.   
>Many states NRS data systems >now have r!
>eports built !
> >in that help local programs understand their student attendance, 
>enrollment >and outcomes and make informed decisions on program improvement 
>efforts.
> >
> >While this is heartening to know, we also know there is a lot more work 
>to >do, which brings us to our topic, using NRS data for program 
>improvement.   In >traveling the country and doing training and technical 
>assistance on this topic I >recognize some of the issues involved in using 
>data and have heard several of the >questions that can serve as a basis for 
>our discussion here.
> >
> >What kinds of decisions do you make using data?  What kinds of data do 
>you >use to steer local improvement?
> >
> >How accessible are these data to you?
> >
> >What successes have you had in using data?
> >
> >What data do you need that NRS does not collect?
> >
> >What are barriers to using data?  What other systems and structures do 
> >states and local programs need to put into place to supplement NRS data?
> >
> >Larry Condelli
> >American Institutes for Research
> >
> >
> >
> >------------------------------
> >
> >_______________________________________________
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> >
> >End of NIFL-PLI Digest, Vol 8, Issue 1
> >**************************************
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From jataylor at utk.edu  Fri May 14 09:37:23 2004
From: jataylor at utk.edu (jataylor)
Date: Fri, 14 May 2004 09:37:23 -0400
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Literacy President
Message-ID: <40BEC390@webmail.utk.edu>

NIFL-PLI Subscribers, you may wish to share the following with teachers in
your state:

=============================================
Literacy President
=============================================

Teachers,

An exciting new project is coming your way! In approximately one week, you
will have the opportunity to voice key adult basic education, literacy, and
ESOL concerns with Presidential candidates by answering a quick and easy
online survey and using classroom activities on how we -  as an adult literacy
community - can encourage our leaders to support adult literacy.

This effort, called Literacy President, is a non-partisan, collaborative
initiative among grass roots organizers, The Change Agent, and other key
organizations to increase Presidential commitment to adult literacy regardless
of which candidate is elected.

Next week:
1) We will send out information on how to complete an online survey containing
questions from adult learners and practitioners. Everyone will be asked to
identify the 5 most important questions, and those questions will be submitted
to Presidential candidates.

2) We will include information on how to access civic education teaching
activities for the classroom, designed to assist you in addressing national
adult literacy issues using the Equipped for the Future (EFF) Citizen Role Map
and EFF Content Standards.

To learn more about incorporating elections issues into instruction, visit The
Change Agent's most recent issue "Voting in the 2004 Elections" aimed at the
adult literacy field at:  http://www.nelrc.org/changeagent. In addition to
finding lots of classroom-friendly material on voting and specific national
election issues, you can also register to vote through this web site.

Please take the next few days to identify how you might share the survey with
adult learners, adult learner leaders and adult learner program volunteers,
and prepare your class for an opportunity to engage the Presidential 
candidates.

Regards,

Jackie Taylor
Professional Developer

David Rosen
Adult Literacy Advocate

David Collings
Adult Literacy and Technology Network

Silja Kallenbach
New England Literacy Resource Center, publisher of The Change Agent

From sandy_strunk at iu13.org  Fri May 14 19:20:36 2004
From: sandy_strunk at iu13.org (Sandy Strunk)
Date: 14 May 2004 16:20:36 -0700
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] State Director's Meeting in Columbus
Message-ID: <20040514201746.0012E470179@relay.iu13.org>

Good afternoon, everyone,
I thought some of you might be interested in this excerpt from the OVAE Review that talks about the April State Director's meeting in Columbus. I was particularly interested in the four national goals articulated below and would be intersted your thoughts about what these goals mean to states, local programs, teachers and learners. 	NEWSLETTERS & JOURNALS

OVAE Review: April 30, 2004
 04/30/2004

Adult Education and Literacy State Directors of Adult Education Work on Preparing America's Future

Over one hundred state directors of adult education and staff convened for the 2004 National Meeting of Adult Education State Directors in Columbus, Ohio, on April 21-24th to work on implementing the vision of adult education conveyed in the Administration's Blueprint for Preparing America's Future. National meeting goals supported the principles of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and included: 
*	Assisting states in planning for improving adult education under new legislation; *	Demonstrating the four pillars of NCLB as they relate to adult education;
*	Providing information to states about pending new requirements under reauthorization; and
*	Giving states information about resources to provide quality adult education and improve adult education systems.

In her remarks, Assistant Secretary Susan Sclafani reinforced the major priorities established by OVAE for adult education, including accountability for higher expectations for learners, continuous improvement of services and instruction, and the importance of partnerships.

The meeting offered substantial technical assistance opportunities. These helped states establish and advance the strategic direction of their adult education systems in four priority areas: planning high quality instructional services; improving program accountability; evaluating local program performance; and linking partnerships to improve adult learner outcomes.

States were given the opportunity to do hands-on exercises in groups related to the major features of their delivery systems on topics that support the principles of No Child Left Behind, such as using evaluation data for continuous improvement. Examples of groupings include states administered by community college or postsecondary agencies, rural states, large states, states administered by workforce-type agencies, and those closely aligned with the states K-12 system.

Staff from the Office of Vocational and Adult Education also laid out plans to implement the Office of Management and Budget's Common Performance Measures as well as other changes that will be made in the adult education reporting system. States showcased their new products and initiatives in the "Heartland Gateway" - a forum established for sharing and networking among states.

Sandy Strunk
Lancaster Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13
Adult Basic and Family Literacy Education
1110 Enterprise Road
East Petersburg, PA 17520
(717) 519-1006

From Ssocha at southbaltimorelearns.org  Sat May 15 13:54:36 2004
From: Ssocha at southbaltimorelearns.org (Sonia Socha)
Date: Sat, 15 May 2004 13:54:36 -0400
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] State Director's Meeting
Message-ID: <s0a62129.043@NW51_1>

The key to ensuring that all of the four goals move forward is more money:  from the feds, from the states and from private sources.  The job that exists in Maryland alone is huge, and the available resources are very limited.  Those programs serving rban areas (where the challenges are even greater) are attempting to achieve outcomes, while at the same time, trying to raise money to deliver the services.  We need more full-time teachers and cannot afford them.  We need more counselors and data support staff, and cannot afford them.  

I have been raising money and running a literacy CBO for ten years.  We have made much progress--growing from 60 learners to 600 annually and from a budget of $60,000 to over $600,000.   Accountalbility is great--we should have it--and we did have our own internal accountability before the federal NRS model evolved.  But, results will be even more dramatic, if the funding for adult literacy is made a clear priority of both the federal government and State governments as well.   And until it is, all the important goals and plans of NCLB will be challenged. 

   

>>> nifl-pli-request at nifl.gov 05/15/04 12:00PM >>>
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Today's Topics:

   1. State Director's Meeting in Columbus (Sandy Strunk)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: 14 May 2004 16:20:36 -0700
From: Sandy Strunk <sandy_strunk at iu13.org>
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] State Director's Meeting in Columbus
To: "NIFL -PLI List" <nifl-pli at literacy.nifl.gov>
Message-ID: <20040514201746.0012E470179 at relay.iu13.org>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-Ascii"

Good afternoon, everyone,
I thought some of you might be interested in this excerpt from the OVAE Review that talks about the April State Director's meeting in Columbus. I was particularly interested in the four national goals articulated below and would be intersted your thoughts about what these goals mean to states, local programs, teachers and learners. 	NEWSLETTERS & JOURNALS

OVAE Review: April 30, 2004
 04/30/2004

Adult Education and Literacy State Directors of Adult Education Work on Preparing America's Future

Over one hundred state directors of adult education and staff convened for the 2004 National Meeting of Adult Education State Directors in Columbus, Ohio, on April 21-24th to work on implementing the vision of adult education conveyed in the Administration's Blueprint for Preparing America's Future. National meeting goals supported the principles of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and included: 
*	Assisting states in planning for improving adult education under new legislation; *	Demonstrating the four pillars of NCLB as they relate to adult education;
*	Providing information to states about pending new requirements under reauthorization; and
*	Giving states information about resources to provide quality adult education and improve adult education systems.

In her remarks, Assistant Secretary Susan Sclafani reinforced the major priorities established by OVAE for adult education, including accountability for higher expectations for learners, continuous improvement of services and instruction, and the importance of partnerships.

The meeting offered substantial technical assistance opportunities. These helped states establish and advance the strategic direction of their adult education systems in four priority areas: planning high quality instructional services; improving program accountability; evaluating local program performance; and linking partnerships to improve adult learner outcomes.

States were given the opportunity to do hands-on exercises in groups related to the major features of their delivery systems on topics that support the principles of No Child Left Behind, such as using evaluation data for continuous improvement. Examples of groupings include states administered by community college or postsecondary agencies, rural states, large states, states administered by workforce-type agencies, and those closely aligned with the states K-12 system.

Staff from the Office of Vocational and Adult Education also laid out plans to implement the Office of Management and Budget's Common Performance Measures as well as other changes that will be made in the adult education reporting system. States showcased their new products and initiatives in the "Heartland Gateway" - a forum established for sharing and networking among states.

Sandy Strunk
Lancaster Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13
Adult Basic and Family Literacy Education
1110 Enterprise Road
East Petersburg, PA 17520
(717) 519-1006

------------------------------

_______________________________________________
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End of NIFL-PLI Digest, Vol 8, Issue 5
**************************************

From Janet_Isserlis at Brown.edu  Tue May 18 10:49:27 2004
From: Janet_Isserlis at Brown.edu (Janet Isserlis)
Date: Tue, 18 May 2004 10:49:27 -0400
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Re: NIFL-PLI Digest, Vol 8, Issue 1
In-Reply-To: <BAY17-F3331DPrZjuy00003f682@hotmail.com>
References: <BAY17-F3331DPrZjuy00003f682@hotmail.com>
Message-ID: <p05100307bccfd0b22e9f@[128.148.147.35]>

In response to Sandy's comments:

>... Priscilla Sissem,  .... notes that whereas some program leaders 
>believe that increased accountability has set a higher standard for 
>our field, has brought us credibility and a new professionalism, 
>others suggest that increased accountability has undermined one of 
>our most deeply held commitments - the commitment to learners as 
>individuals and to each learner's need for individualized 
>instruction. This tension is fascinating and certainly underscores 
>the diversity of the leadership in our field.

>>Larry's questions about how we use data for program improvement are 
>>based on the assumption that program leaders actually find value in 
>>collecting and analyzing data as a basis for decision-making. 
>>Clearly, some do and others do not.  I'm wondering if any 
>>discussion related to using the NRS for program improvement might 
>>need to start with an exploration of state and federal 
>>accountability systems in general and the impact they have had, and 
>>continue to have, on our field.

I would add that while yes, we are accountable, first and foremost to 
learners and then to those who fund the work we do with learners, 
what is maddening are the ways in which this actual work can get 
lost, manipulated, translated and otherwise described as data -- 
sometimes usefully, sometimes not.  When does this data gives us 
helpful information, and when is it merely data that shows, yes, 
people came on average for 27 hours and made a gain of [x] on [x] 
test?  How *do* we use this data without losing the critically 
important details of how learners' lives change (incrementally, 
maybe, or  in bigger ways, too) - and also recognize that sometimes 
numbers help inform us and sometimes they just complete data reports 
that tell us little about learning and the conditions necessary to 
support it.

How can we work to incorporate accountability into our ongoing work 
in ways that productively inform what we do?  There's a growing body 
of work and literature around ways in which  ongoing classroom 
assessment includes and informs learners and practitioners; is it 
possible to see some sort of continuum  that includes our 
understandings of ways to measure and acknowledge those kinds of 
learning/skills/knowledge gains as part of a larger process of 
understanding the relationship of those gains to program improvement, 
change and growth?

  I'm hoping that Larry might join this discussion and respond to our 
responses, if he's not already subscribed to this list.

Janet Isserlis

From kgianninoto at msde.state.md.us  Thu May 20 14:31:32 2004
From: kgianninoto at msde.state.md.us (Karen Gianninoto)
Date: Thu, 20 May 2004 14:31:32 -0400
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Using NRS Data for Program Improvement
Message-ID: <2EBB429706A48248992DF0FFB09FD73A099540E9@dino.msde.net>

Data collection is an important aspect of any kind of program because it
allows us to focus our attention on improving the quality of service to our
students and provides a mechanism to acknowledge accomplishments and set
goals.  In Maryland, we have a very accessible data system.  All programs
have access to their data and to the statewide data anytime they need it.
The data helps decision making at local and state levels.  Some of those
decisions center around the accuracy of the data collected.  Other decisions
involve local program improvement plans and setting state targets for
performance.  The data also holds the local and state programs accountable
for meeting the outcomes addressed in the grant application.  At a state and
local level, the data can help programs determine the types of state
leadership activities that need to be developed and implemented to improve
program quality. In addition, the data can be used to inform the state
legislators about the needs in our state for additional funding.  An example
of success in using the data was in analyzing the diploma success rate. It
was determined that goal setting was an area that needed to be addressed at
the local areas and that a data quality plan needed to be completed by some
programs.  Those targeted programs received technical assistance on these
issues and the diploma retention rate has improved.  There are weaknesses to
the data collection process.  The NRS system does not collect all the data
on a student who is enrolled in more than one class.  Therefore, learner
gains are missed.  Teachers complain about the extra time it takes to
collect the information and that the information does not capture all the
accomplishments a student may make through the year.  So there are some
financial and logistical barriers to collecting the NRS information.

Karen Gianninoto   

-----Original Message-----
From: Sandy Strunk [mailto:sandy_strunk at iu13.org]
Sent: Monday, May 10, 2004 10:59 AM
To: NIFL -PLI List
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Using NRS Data for Program Improvement

The following posting is from Larry Condelli, Managing Director in the
Education and Human Development Division of the American Institues for
Research. Larry leads the adult education team and is project director for
the National Reporting System. He has been involved in projects on ESL
research, the professional development of adult educators and the
development of content standards for adult education. He has worked in adult
education since 1990.

At the end of his posting, Larry poses several questions he hopes you'll
respond to. I, too, hope you will take this opportunity to discuss the
National Reporting System and how NRS data can be used for program
improvement.

Sandy Strunk, PLI List Moderator

********************************************************

	Several years ago, I started a new job and my first assignment was a
very small project to help the Division of Adult Education and Literacy
(DAEL) assist states to improve their ability to evaluate the quality of
local adult education programs.  Little did I suspect that this work would
eventually evolve into developing the national accountability system for the
adult education program, and what we now know as the National Reporting
System (NRS).  Before this, I had little knowledge of adult education and
accountability, but life has a way of bringing about the unexpected. 
	Most people probably don't know that the NRS had its origin in 1996,
when a group of state directors of adult education were the first to move
forward the idea for a national accountability system.  At that time there
were proposals in Congress to roll adult education into a national work
force development block grant system.  It was widely feared that block
grants, giving governors discretion on how to set up the system in their
states, would mean the end of the adult education program.  At the same
time, demands for accountability increased for all programs, at both the
federal and state levels.  To preserve meet these demands and adult
education, state directors and others realized we needed a way to collect
valid and reliable data to show what adult education is, the type of
students who enrolled and the outcomes students achieved - and that these
outcomes went beyond employment.  DAEL responded in 1997 with a two-year
project, which I directed, to develop an outcome-based accountability system
in collaboration with state education directors and other adult educators.  
	One goal in developing this system was to produce a set of valid and
reliable data that could demonstrate to legislators and other policymakers
the value of adult education.  But we also wanted the system to do more than
that.  We recognized the value of data as a program improvement tool and
wanted the system to be a source of information for states and local
programs to use for program management and improvement. Therefore, we tried
to build state flexibility into the data requirements.

Based on the system we developed though this project in 1997-1998, the NRS
was born and eventually incorporated into the Workforce Investment Act (WIA)
in 1998.  WIA made the system mandatory (we had considered it voluntary
until then) and added a requirement for states to set performance standards
for outcome measures and an incentive award program to motivate performance.
Our focus then shifted from system development to implementation.

Since 1998, we have engaged in a series of training and technical assistance
activities that we hoped would build on each other to meet our dual goals of
having an effective accountability system and a source of data for local and
state program improvement efforts.  We planned these activities in three
phases.  First, we needed to get the NRS understood and working in each
state, which we accomplished through national and regional training,
development of policy and procedural documents, web sites and individual
technical assistance. 
In the second phase we focused on improving the quality of data and
improving the uniformity of how states and programs collected the date.  In
2002, we produced a data quality guide for local programs that described
ways to collect data in valid and reliable ways and reinforced this
information with regional trainings of state staff.  As these data quality
improvement efforts continue we moved into the third phase of assistance,
promoting data use for program management and improvement among states and
local programs.  We again developed a "how-to" guide, accompanied by
regional state trainings in 2003.  Most recently, we are just now completing
a third series of workshops on using data for program monitoring to assess
local program performance and identify areas for change.

Promoting NRS data use for program improvement continues to be one of our
top priorities.  We see using data as the key to improving the quality of
local programs and as a way to get state and local staff to understand the
value of data - to see data not as an administrative burden, but a valuable
tool.  I think we are beginning to see some successes in this area.  We used
to have to spend some time at our trainings to answer questions about the
NRS and defend its purpose and value.  Now we not only hear more
acceptances, but a genuine desire to learn to use data and really improve
program quality-our original goal all along.  For example, programs are
using data to make recruitment and enrollment decisions and schedule class
times and instructional approaches.  States are using data to identify high
performing and low performing programs, to target technical assistance for
program improvement and make funding decisions.   Many states NRS data
systems now have reports built in that help local programs understand their
student attendance, enrollment and outcomes and make informed decisions on
program improvement efforts.

While this is heartening to know, we also know there is a lot more work to
do, which brings us to our topic, using NRS data for program improvement.
In traveling the country and doing training and technical assistance on this
topic I recognize some of the issues involved in using data and have heard
several of the questions that can serve as a basis for our discussion here.

What kinds of decisions do you make using data?  What kinds of data do you
use to steer local improvement?

How accessible are these data to you?

What successes have you had in using data?

What data do you need that NRS does not collect?

What are barriers to using data?  What other systems and structures do
states and local programs need to put into place to supplement NRS data?

Larry Condelli
American Institutes for Research

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From sandy_strunk at iu13.org  Thu May 20 17:30:42 2004
From: sandy_strunk at iu13.org (Sandy Strunk)
Date: Thu, 20 May 2004 17:30:42 -0400
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] RE: Using NRS Data for Program Improvement
Message-ID: <1085088642.40ad2382919ba@webmail.iu13.org>

It is certainly difficult to use data in a meaningful way and the process 
requires some (but not a lot of) technical skill, but more importantly, it 
requires a changed way to think about what data are.  This is what we are 
trying to move toward now in our trainings related to using data for program 
improvement. We focus on two main ideas: looking at data more broadly as a type 
of information of which accountability data are just one type and (2) to go 
beyond accountability data and use other information available to gain a deeper 
understanding. 

These two goals, I think, get a bit closer to what Janet is saying about seeing 
accountability data as part of a continuum of information available to 
programs.  NRS data are a certain type of information collected for specific 
purposes.  As such they also provide some information as well for program 
management, but NRS data are often far too narrow for teachers and others who 
need to know more about their learners.  But accountability provides a 
structure and approach for organizing and collecting the information that that 
I think teachers and program directors can fill with additional information -- 
classroom assessments, qualitative measures, learner goals and classroom 
practices.  With a more integrated approach, you can use data in ways that are 
meaningful, and not feel that data are just using you.

Larry Condelli

-----Original Message-----

--------------------------------------
Date: 5/18/04 7:49 AM
From: Janet Isserlis
In response to Sandy's comments:

>>Larry's questions about how we use data for program improvement are >>based 
on the assumption that program leaders actually find value in >>collecting and 
analyzing data as a basis for decision-making. >>Clearly, some do and others do 
not.  I'm wondering if any >>discussion related to using the NRS for program 
improvement might >>need to start with an exploration of state and federal >>
accountability systems in general and the impact they have had, and >>continue 
to have, on our field.

I would add that while yes, we are accountable, first and foremost to learners 
and then to those who fund the work we do with learners, what is maddening are 
the ways in which this actual work can get lost, manipulated, translated and 
otherwise described as data -- sometimes usefully, sometimes not.  When does 
this data gives us helpful information, and when is it merely data that shows, 
yes, people came on average for 27 hours and made a gain of [x] on [x] test?  
How *do* we use this data without losing the critically important details of 
how learners' lives change (incrementally, maybe, or  in bigger ways, too) - 
and also recognize that sometimes numbers help inform us and sometimes they 
just complete data reports that tell us little about learning and the 
conditions necessary to support it.

How can we work to incorporate accountability into our ongoing work in ways 
that productively inform what we do?  There's a growing body of work and 
literature around ways in which  ongoing classroom assessment includes and 
informs learners and practitioners; is it possible to see some sort of 
continuum  that includes our understandings of ways to measure and acknowledge 
those kinds of learning/skills/knowledge gains as part of a larger process of 
understanding the relationship of those gains to program improvement, change 
and growth?

  I'm hoping that Larry might join this discussion and respond to our 
responses, if he's not already subscribed to this list.

Janet Isserlis
_______________________________________________
NIFL-PLI mailing list
NIFL-PLI at literacy.nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://
www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/nifl-pli

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From djrosen at comcast.net  Fri May 21 21:53:03 2004
From: djrosen at comcast.net (David Rosen)
Date: Fri, 21 May 2004 21:53:03 -0400
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Literacy President
Message-ID: <C34F90BA-AB92-11D8-8A1F-00039381D39E@comcast.net>

Dear NIFL-PLI Colleague,

As a promised follow-up to our May 14th message, those who may be 
interested in the Literacy President survey or teaching materials can 
subscribe to the AAACE National Literacy Advocacy (AAACE-NLA) list by 
going to:

	http://lists.literacytent.org/mailman/listinfo/aaace-nla

Those who do not wish to subscribe to that list, but would like 
information about  the Literacy President initiative, may go to the 
AAACE-NLA list archives at:

	
	http://lists.literacytent.org/pipermail/aaace-nla/2004/date.html??

and scroll to the bottom of the page.

David Collings
Adult Literacy and Technology Network

David Rosen
Adult Literacy Advocate

From djrosen at comcast.net  Sun May 23 13:31:45 2004
From: djrosen at comcast.net (David Rosen)
Date: Sun, 23 May 2004 13:31:45 -0400
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Using NRS Data for Program Improvement
In-Reply-To: <20040510115616.D0950470023@relay.iu13.org>
Message-ID: <101ED067-ACDF-11D8-BB14-00039381D39E@comcast.net>

To Larry Condelli:

Sandy Strunk posted a message to the NIFL-PLI list  on May 10, 2004 
from Larry Condelli, Managing Director in the Education and Human 
Development Division of the American Institues for Research, leader of 
the adult education team, and project director for the National 
Reporting System,  in which Larry  asks:

	"What data do you need that NRS does not collect?"

The context of this and other questions in that message was using data 
for program improvement.

I have recently been asked by a practitioner -- and not for the first 
time -- if there are valid and reliable assessments for measuring 
computer literacy -- that is,  basic computer competence and comfort.  
These are skills needed to use computer-assisted instruction, to word 
process writing and to search for information on a CD or on the Web.

My understanding -- Larry please correct me I am wrong -- is that 
computer literacy is not an area which is ow measured through the NRS.  
If it were, I am not sure we have valid, reliable, standardized 
assessments.  Do we?

Yet, I would argue that these skills are now as important to adult 
learners as reading, writing and numeracy.  They are required for many 
jobs, and for participation in computer-based distance learning. Many 
programs offer these skills because students have asked to learn them.  
Programs, students, and employers wonder how programs are doing in 
helping students learn these skills.

Can the NRS include these skills?

David J. Rosen
djrosen at comcast.net

On Monday, May 10, 2004, at 10:59  AM, Sandy Strunk wrote:

>
> What data do you need that NRS does not collect?

From kmundie at gplc.org  Mon May 24 09:48:58 2004
From: kmundie at gplc.org (Karen Mundie)
Date: Mon, 24 May 2004 09:48:58 -0400
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Using NRS Data/ computer literacy
In-Reply-To: <101ED067-ACDF-11D8-BB14-00039381D39E@comcast.net>
Message-ID: <1B679A46-AD89-11D8-B79F-0050E445A204@gplc.org>

What about the ICDL (International Computer Drivers License) which 
describes itself as "the world wide standard for computer literacy"? 
Our WIB has funding to offer training for it locally, and our Computer 
Learning Center which is administered in partnership with the 
CareerLink offers free classes to prepare for it.

To learn more about the ICDL, just google it.

Karen Mundie
Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council

On Sunday, May 23, 2004, at 01:31 PM, David Rosen wrote:

> To Larry Condelli:
>
> Sandy Strunk posted a message to the NIFL-PLI list  on May 10, 2004 
> from Larry Condelli, Managing Director in the Education and Human 
> Development Division of the American Institues for Research, leader of 
> the adult education team, and project director for the National 
> Reporting System,  in which Larry  asks:
>
> 	"What data do you need that NRS does not collect?"
>
> The context of this and other questions in that message was using data 
> for program improvement.
>
> I have recently been asked by a practitioner -- and not for the first 
> time -- if there are valid and reliable assessments for measuring 
> computer literacy -- that is,  basic computer competence and comfort.  
> These are skills needed to use computer-assisted instruction, to word 
> process writing and to search for information on a CD or on the Web.
>
> My understanding -- Larry please correct me I am wrong -- is that 
> computer literacy is not an area which is ow measured through the NRS. 
>  If it were, I am not sure we have valid, reliable, standardized 
> assessments.  Do we?
>
> Yet, I would argue that these skills are now as important to adult 
> learners as reading, writing and numeracy.  They are required for many 
> jobs, and for participation in computer-based distance learning. Many 
> programs offer these skills because students have asked to learn them. 
>  Programs, students, and employers wonder how programs are doing in 
> helping students learn these skills.
>
> Can the NRS include these skills?
>
> David J. Rosen
> djrosen at comcast.net
>
>
> On Monday, May 10, 2004, at 10:59  AM, Sandy Strunk wrote:
>
>>
>> What data do you need that NRS does not collect?
>
> _______________________________________________
> NIFL-PLI mailing list
> NIFL-PLI at literacy.nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/nifl-pli
>

From sandy_strunk at iu13.org  Mon May 24 20:14:00 2004
From: sandy_strunk at iu13.org (Sandy Strunk)
Date: 24 May 2004 17:14:00 -0700
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] RE: Using NRS Data for Program Improvement
Message-ID: <20040524211102.E3F444701C2@relay.iu13.org>

Date: 5/24/04 1:06 PM
From: Condelli, Larry
Hi David -

Computer literacy is an important skill and recognized as such by most people in the field, including the Division of Adult Education and Literacy staff at the Department of Education.  We have struggled for several years (and continue to do so) about ways to incorporate these skills into the NRS at the national level.  
To add them to the NRS we need three components: (1) a recognized, accepted hierarchy of computer or technology skills appropriate for ABE students, (2) a way to assess these skills, and (3) a policy for tying the assessments into the NRS educational levels to define advancement. When the NRS was first planned in 1996-97, the department did not think that any  of these components existed in a strong enough way to allow the inclusion of the skills into the NRS. However, since that time there has been a lot of work on defining the skill set related to technology and computer use at different levels of proficiency and some assessments have been developed.  We have currently begun reviewing some of these skill sets and approaches toward assessment for the NRS and there are other Department of education-funded projects that are looking at these issues. The Department is also planning to refine and broaden the educational functioning level descriptors in the future and the incorporation of technology skills into the descriptors will be considered.  So at some point there may well be some inclusion of these skills in the educational levels.

Of course, states may include technology-related skills into their local and state accountability systems and several have already done so.

Larry Condelli

-----Original Message-----
From: David Rosen [mailto:djrosen at comcast.net]
Sent: Sunday, May 23, 2004 1:49 PM
To: Condelli, Larry
Subject: Re: [NIFL-PLI] Using NRS Data for Program Improvement

From: David Rosen <djrosen at comcast.net>
Date: Sun May 23, 2004  1:39:29  PM US/Eastern
To: nifl-pli at literacy.nifl.gov
Subject: Re: [NIFL-PLI] Using NRS Data for Program Improvement

To Larry Condelli:

Sandy Strunk posted a message to the NIFL-PLI list  on May 10, 2004 from Larry Condelli, Managing Director in the Education and Human Development Division of the American Institues for Research, leader of the adult education team, and project director for the National Reporting System,  in which Larry  asks:

"What data do you need that NRS does not collect?"

The context of this and other questions in that message was using data for program improvement.

I have recently been asked by a practitioner -- and not for the first time -- if there are valid and reliable assessments for measuring computer literacy -- that is,  basic computer competence and comfort.  These are skills needed to use computer-assisted instruction, to word process writing and to search for information on a CD or on the Web.

My understanding -- Larry please correct me I am wrong -- is that computer literacy is not an area which is now measured through the NRS.   If it were, I am not sure we have valid, reliable, standardized assessments.  Do we?

Yet, I would argue that these skills are now as important to adult learners as reading, writing and numeracy.  They are required for many jobs, and for participation in computer-based distance learning. Many programs offer these skills because students have asked to learn them.  Programs, students, and employers wonder how programs are doing in helping students learn these skills.

Can the NRS include these skills?

David J. Rosen
djrosen at comcast.net

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From rachel.kimboko.87 at Alum.Dartmouth.ORG  Mon May 24 23:01:56 2004
From: rachel.kimboko.87 at Alum.Dartmouth.ORG (Rachel Kimboko)
Date: Mon, 24 May 2004 23:01:56 -0400
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] RE: Using NRS Data for Program Improvement
In-Reply-To: <20040524211102.E3F444701C2@relay.iu13.org>
Message-ID: <200405250301.i4P1x83R026662@grinch.dartmouth.org>

Larry (and others):

I think part of the answer to this call can be found in your own backyard
(smile). I know that there has been years of work and investment by the
Department (and by US Dept of Labor) which is very much what you've
described below. 

At Education Development Center (in Newton, MA) there is a team of
researchers, led by Dr. Joyce Malyn-Smith, that has been working to develop
an "IT Career Cluster Initiative" (http://www2.edc.org/ewit/itcci.asp).
Their work began by developing a national model and framework for the "IT
Career Cluster," working with an industry advisory groups and pilot sites to
validate the skills and knowledge. They've been working with states and
districts across the country to align their high-school into post-secondary
education ladders to this IT Career Development Model
(http://www2.edc.org/ewit/materials/CareerDevModel.pdf). While exciting,
this work is focused on the IT industry.

In addition, there was broad recognition that at the "core level" of all
"career clusters" there is an "information technology" component. The EDC
team was asked to focus on that. Over the past two years, they have worked
over to define and deepen an understanding of these core IT skills. The
result is a set of clearly defined skills and knowledge, validated across a
number of non-IT career clusters. They have also developed sets of
evaluation rubrics (on a four-point performance scale). Finally, last year
they piloted a series of performance assessments that incorporated the same
rubrics.

Again, these are not for IT professionals...this is "IT for living,
learning, and working."  I believe that these tools are a really great
launching point for a discussion about "standardized" test for core IT
skills in an educational context!

A review of the early report, IT Pathway Pipeline Model: Rethinking
Information Technology Learning in Schools (
http://www2.edc.org/ewit/materials/pipeline.pdf), will give you a sense of
the strong research base for the work. You may be also able to convince Dr.
Malyn-Smith to share more on this list or off-list... 

I would be curious to hear what folks think might be the possibilities for
translating this work for a community-based, and largely adult, learning
population. 

Regards, 

Rachel Kimboko
Director of Community Services
Jubilee Enterprise of Greater Washington

PS: In the interest of full disclosure, I should mention that I worked on
some pieces of this project during my four years at EDC (smile).

-----Original Message-----
From: nifl-pli-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:nifl-pli-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf
Of Sandy Strunk
Sent: Monday, May 24, 2004 8:14 PM
To: NIFL -PLI List
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] RE: Using NRS Data for Program Improvement

Date: 5/24/04 1:06 PM
From: Condelli, Larry
Hi David -

Computer literacy is an important skill and recognized as such by most
people in the field, including the Division of Adult Education and Literacy
staff at the Department of Education.  We have struggled for several years
(and continue to do so) about ways to incorporate these skills into the NRS
at the national level.  
To add them to the NRS we need three components: (1) a recognized, accepted
hierarchy of computer or technology skills appropriate for ABE students, (2)
a way to assess these skills, and (3) a policy for tying the assessments
into the NRS educational levels to define advancement. When the NRS was
first planned in 1996-97, the department did not think that any  of these
components existed in a strong enough way to allow the inclusion of the
skills into the NRS. However, since that time there has been a lot of work
on defining the skill set related to technology and computer use at
different levels of proficiency and some assessments have been developed.
We have currently begun reviewing some of these skill sets and approaches
toward assessment for the NRS and there are other Department of
education-funded projects that are looking at these issues. The Department
is also planning to refine and broaden the educational functioning level
descriptors in the future and the incorpo!
ration of technology skills into the descriptors will be considered.  So at
some point there may well be some inclusion of these skills in the
educational levels.

Of course, states may include technology-related skills into their local and
state accountability systems and several have already done so.

Larry Condelli

-----Original Message-----
From: David Rosen [mailto:djrosen at comcast.net]
Sent: Sunday, May 23, 2004 1:49 PM
To: Condelli, Larry
Subject: Re: [NIFL-PLI] Using NRS Data for Program Improvement

From: David Rosen <djrosen at comcast.net>
Date: Sun May 23, 2004  1:39:29  PM US/Eastern
To: nifl-pli at literacy.nifl.gov
Subject: Re: [NIFL-PLI] Using NRS Data for Program Improvement

To Larry Condelli:

Sandy Strunk posted a message to the NIFL-PLI list  on May 10, 2004 from
Larry Condelli, Managing Director in the Education and Human Development
Division of the American Institues for Research, leader of the adult
education team, and project director for the National Reporting System,  in
which Larry  asks:

"What data do you need that NRS does not collect?"

The context of this and other questions in that message was using data for
program improvement.

I have recently been asked by a practitioner -- and not for the first time
-- if there are valid and reliable assessments for measuring computer
literacy -- that is,  basic computer competence and comfort.  These are
skills needed to use computer-assisted instruction, to word process writing
and to search for information on a CD or on the Web.

My understanding -- Larry please correct me I am wrong -- is that computer
literacy is not an area which is now measured through the NRS.   If it were,
I am not sure we have valid, reliable, standardized assessments.  Do we?

Yet, I would argue that these skills are now as important to adult learners
as reading, writing and numeracy.  They are required for many jobs, and for
participation in computer-based distance learning. Many programs offer these
skills because students have asked to learn them.  Programs, students, and
employers wonder how programs are doing in helping students learn these
skills.

Can the NRS include these skills?

David J. Rosen
djrosen at comcast.net

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_______________________________________________
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From rachel.kimboko.87 at Alum.Dartmouth.ORG  Mon May 24 23:10:29 2004
From: rachel.kimboko.87 at Alum.Dartmouth.ORG (Rachel Kimboko)
Date: Mon, 24 May 2004 23:10:29 -0400
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] RE: Using NRS Data for Program Improvement
In-Reply-To: <20040524211102.E3F444701C2@relay.iu13.org>
Message-ID: <200405250309.i4P1x84m026662@grinch.dartmouth.org>

FYI: The name of the newer project at EDC was "IT Across Careers" and you
can find information at www.edc.org/itacrosscareers/

Rachel Kimboko

From MMingle at lhup.edu  Tue May 25 09:01:03 2004
From: MMingle at lhup.edu (Mingle, Mary E. H.)
Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 09:01:03 -0400
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] RE: Using NRS Data for Program Improvement
Message-ID: <22C0723BCCD018409DD4321C15EE7B9702FBA492@cardinal.lhup.edu>

Larry,

Could you tell us more about the projects that are looking at the issues
you've described?

-----Original Message-----
From: nifl-pli-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:nifl-pli-bounces at nifl.gov] On
Behalf Of Sandy Strunk
Sent: Monday, May 24, 2004 8:14 PM
To: NIFL -PLI List
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] RE: Using NRS Data for Program Improvement

Date: 5/24/04 1:06 PM
From: Condelli, Larry
Hi David -

Computer literacy is an important skill and recognized as such by most
people in the field, including the Division of Adult Education and
Literacy staff at the Department of Education.  We have struggled for
several years (and continue to do so) about ways to incorporate these
skills into the NRS at the national level.  
To add them to the NRS we need three components: (1) a recognized,
accepted hierarchy of computer or technology skills appropriate for ABE
students, (2) a way to assess these skills, and (3) a policy for tying
the assessments into the NRS educational levels to define advancement.
When the NRS was first planned in 1996-97, the department did not think
that any  of these components existed in a strong enough way to allow
the inclusion of the skills into the NRS. However, since that time there
has been a lot of work on defining the skill set related to technology
and computer use at different levels of proficiency and some assessments
have been developed.  We have currently begun reviewing some of these
skill sets and approaches toward assessment for the NRS and there are
other Department of education-funded projects that are looking at these
issues. The Department is also planning to refine and broaden the
educational functioning level descriptors in the future and the incorpo!
ration of technology skills into the descriptors will be considered.  So
at some point there may well be some inclusion of these skills in the
educational levels.

Of course, states may include technology-related skills into their local
and state accountability systems and several have already done so.

Larry Condelli

-----Original Message-----
From: David Rosen [mailto:djrosen at comcast.net]
Sent: Sunday, May 23, 2004 1:49 PM
To: Condelli, Larry
Subject: Re: [NIFL-PLI] Using NRS Data for Program Improvement

From: David Rosen <djrosen at comcast.net>
Date: Sun May 23, 2004  1:39:29  PM US/Eastern
To: nifl-pli at literacy.nifl.gov
Subject: Re: [NIFL-PLI] Using NRS Data for Program Improvement

To Larry Condelli:

Sandy Strunk posted a message to the NIFL-PLI list  on May 10, 2004 from
Larry Condelli, Managing Director in the Education and Human Development
Division of the American Institues for Research, leader of the adult
education team, and project director for the National Reporting System,
in which Larry  asks:

"What data do you need that NRS does not collect?"

The context of this and other questions in that message was using data
for program improvement.

I have recently been asked by a practitioner -- and not for the first
time -- if there are valid and reliable assessments for measuring
computer literacy -- that is,  basic computer competence and comfort.
These are skills needed to use computer-assisted instruction, to word
process writing and to search for information on a CD or on the Web.

My understanding -- Larry please correct me I am wrong -- is that
computer literacy is not an area which is now measured through the NRS.
If it were, I am not sure we have valid, reliable, standardized
assessments.  Do we?

Yet, I would argue that these skills are now as important to adult
learners as reading, writing and numeracy.  They are required for many
jobs, and for participation in computer-based distance learning. Many
programs offer these skills because students have asked to learn them.
Programs, students, and employers wonder how programs are doing in
helping students learn these skills.

Can the NRS include these skills?

David J. Rosen
djrosen at comcast.net

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From ylerew at lsssd.org  Tue May 25 11:10:05 2004
From: ylerew at lsssd.org (Yvonne Lerew)
Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 10:10:05 -0500
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] RE: Using NRS Data for Program Improvement
In-Reply-To: <20040524211102.E3F444701C2@relay.iu13.org>
Message-ID: <4.2.0.58.20040525095547.014b8e40@lsssd.org>

Dear Larry,
I applaud the fact that DAEL recognizes that computer literacy is an 
important skill and should be incorporated into NRS.  I struggle however 
with the idea that, as you say,

"The Department is also planning to refine and broaden the educational 
functioning level descriptors in the future and the incorporation of 
technology skills into the descriptors will be considered.  So at some 
point there may well be some inclusion of these skills in the educational 
levels."

One of the problems I find with the NRS system is that it forces programs 
to identify and track students as a whole and does not allow for one person 
to be at different levels in different skill areas.  For example, a student 
may be at one level in reading and a different level in math, but according 
to NRS the student must have a label of a single educational functioning 
level.  Or an ESL student may have very different levels of oral skill vs. 
written skill but again must be given a single ESL level for NRS.

I think that adding computer skills to the mix further complicates the 
issue.  One student could be High Intermediate ESL, for example, and never 
have touched a computer previously.  Another student could be also High 
Intermediate ESL and be a computer programmer in their native country.

People are much more complicated than a single educational functioning 
level.  One student may have multiple levels of skills in a variety of 
areas.  In addition, adults may choose which skills are important to their 
lives at a particular time and focus on improving that skill.  I believe 
that, by separating technology related skills, oral English skills, written 
English skills, math skills, etc.; progress in each area could be accounted 
for and more accurate reports could be generated.

I appreciate any comments you may have about this issue.
Thank you,
Yvonne Lerew
At 05:14 PM 5/24/2004 -0700, you wrote:

>Date: 5/24/04 1:06 PM
>From: Condelli, Larry
>Hi David -
>
>Computer literacy is an important skill and recognized as such by most 
>people in the field, including the Division of Adult Education and 
>Literacy staff at the Department of Education.  We have struggled for 
>several years (and continue to do so) about ways to incorporate these 
>skills into the NRS at the national level.
>To add them to the NRS we need three components: (1) a recognized, 
>accepted hierarchy of computer or technology skills appropriate for ABE 
>students, (2) a way to assess these skills, and (3) a policy for tying the 
>assessments into the NRS educational levels to define advancement. When 
>the NRS was first planned in 1996-97, the department did not think that 
>any  of these components existed in a strong enough way to allow the 
>inclusion of the skills into the NRS. However, since that time there has 
>been a lot of work on defining the skill set related to technology and 
>computer use at different levels of proficiency and some assessments have 
>been developed.  We have currently begun reviewing some of these skill 
>sets and approaches toward assessment for the NRS and there are other 
>Department of education-funded projects that are looking at these issues. 
>The Department is also planning to refine and broaden the educational 
>functioning level descriptors in the future and the incorpo!
>ration of technology skills into the descriptors will be considered.  So 
>at some point there may well be some inclusion of these skills in the 
>educational levels.
>
>Of course, states may include technology-related skills into their local 
>and state accountability systems and several have already done so.
>
>Larry Condelli
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: David Rosen [mailto:djrosen at comcast.net]
>Sent: Sunday, May 23, 2004 1:49 PM
>To: Condelli, Larry
>Subject: Re: [NIFL-PLI] Using NRS Data for Program Improvement
>
>
>From: David Rosen <djrosen at comcast.net>
>Date: Sun May 23, 2004  1:39:29  PM US/Eastern
>To: nifl-pli at literacy.nifl.gov
>Subject: Re: [NIFL-PLI] Using NRS Data for Program Improvement
>
>To Larry Condelli:
>
>Sandy Strunk posted a message to the NIFL-PLI list  on May 10, 2004 from 
>Larry Condelli, Managing Director in the Education and Human Development 
>Division of the American Institues for Research, leader of the adult 
>education team, and project director for the National Reporting 
>System,  in which Larry  asks:
>
>"What data do you need that NRS does not collect?"
>
>The context of this and other questions in that message was using data for 
>program improvement.
>
>I have recently been asked by a practitioner -- and not for the first time 
>-- if there are valid and reliable assessments for measuring computer 
>literacy -- that is,  basic computer competence and comfort.  These are 
>skills needed to use computer-assisted instruction, to word process 
>writing and to search for information on a CD or on the Web.
>
>My understanding -- Larry please correct me I am wrong -- is that computer 
>literacy is not an area which is now measured through the NRS.   If it 
>were, I am not sure we have valid, reliable, standardized assessments.  Do we?
>
>Yet, I would argue that these skills are now as important to adult 
>learners as reading, writing and numeracy.  They are required for many 
>jobs, and for participation in computer-based distance learning. Many 
>programs offer these skills because students have asked to learn 
>them.  Programs, students, and employers wonder how programs are doing in 
>helping students learn these skills.
>
>Can the NRS include these skills?
>
>David J. Rosen
>djrosen at comcast.net
>
>
>RFC822 header
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>  Subject: RE: [NIFL-PLI] Using NRS Data for Program Improvement
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>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/nifl-pli

From sandy_strunk at iu13.org  Tue May 25 16:07:27 2004
From: sandy_strunk at iu13.org (Sandy Strunk)
Date: 25 May 2004 13:07:27 -0700
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] RE: Using NRS Data for Program Improvement
Message-ID: <20040525170428.4443347005A@relay.iu13.org>

Date: 5/25/04 10:01 AM
From: Condelli, Larry
Hi Mary -

The two states that I know of that are doing a lot of work in this area are Kansas and Ohio.  These states have been developing technology competencies and performance-based assessments, checklists and/or self-report measures.  They don't use these measures for NRS reporting, but use them for their own purposes.  For example in Kansas, programs can get "quality points" if they have a certain percentage of learners that have mastered technology competencies through instruction. I think at one time Washington and Orgeon were doing work in this area, although I'm not certain, and I'm sure there are others.  If you want more information, I suggest you contact these states directly, and they'll be able to give you more complete information that I can.

Larry Condelli

--------------------------------------
Date: 5/25/04 6:01 AM
From: Mingle, Mary E. H.
Larry,

Could you tell us more about the projects that are looking at the issues
you've described?

-----Original Message-----
From: nifl-pli-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:nifl-pli-bounces at nifl.gov] On
Behalf Of Sandy Strunk
Sent: Monday, May 24, 2004 8:14 PM
To: NIFL -PLI List
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] RE: Using NRS Data for Program Improvement

Date: 5/24/04 1:06 PM
From: Condelli, Larry
Hi David -

Computer literacy is an important skill and recognized as such by most
people in the field, including the Division of Adult Education and
Literacy staff at the Department of Education.  We have struggled for
several years (and continue to do so) about ways to incorporate these
skills into the NRS at the national level.  To add them to the NRS we need three components: (1) a recognized,
accepted hierarchy of computer or technology skills appropriate for ABE
students, (2) a way to assess these skills, and (3) a policy for tying
the assessments into the NRS educational levels to define advancement.
When the NRS was first planned in 1996-97, the department did not think
that any  of these components existed in a strong enough way to allow
the inclusion of the skills into the NRS. However, since that time there
has been a lot of work on defining the skill set related to technology
and computer use at different levels of proficiency and some assessments
have been developed.  We have currently begun reviewing some of these
skill sets and approaches toward assessment for the NRS and there are
other Department of education-funded projects that are looking at these
issues. The Department is also planning to refine and broaden the
educational functioning level descriptors in the future and the incorpo!
ration of technology skills into the descriptors will be considered.  So
at some point there may well be some inclusion of these skills in the
educational levels.

Of course, states may include technology-related skills into their local
and state accountability systems and several have already done so.

Larry Condelli

-----Original Message-----
From: David Rosen [mailto:djrosen at comcast.net]
Sent: Sunday, May 23, 2004 1:49 PM
To: Condelli, Larry
Subject: Re: [NIFL-PLI] Using NRS Data for Program Improvement

From: David Rosen <djrosen at comcast.net>
Date: Sun May 23, 2004  1:39:29  PM US/Eastern
To: nifl-pli at literacy.nifl.gov
Subject: Re: [NIFL-PLI] Using NRS Data for Program Improvement

To Larry Condelli:

Sandy Strunk posted a message to the NIFL-PLI list  on May 10, 2004 from
Larry Condelli, Managing Director in the Education and Human Development
Division of the American Institues for Research, leader of the adult
education team, and project director for the National Reporting System,
in which Larry  asks:

"What data do you need that NRS does not collect?"

The context of this and other questions in that message was using data
for program improvement.

I have recently been asked by a practitioner -- and not for the first
time -- if there are valid and reliable assessments for measuring
computer literacy -- that is,  basic computer competence and comfort.
These are skills needed to use computer-assisted instruction, to word
process writing and to search for information on a CD or on the Web.

My understanding -- Larry please correct me I am wrong -- is that
computer literacy is not an area which is now measured through the NRS.
If it were, I am not sure we have valid, reliable, standardized
assessments.  Do we?

Yet, I would argue that these skills are now as important to adult
learners as reading, writing and numeracy.  They are required for many
jobs, and for participation in computer-based distance learning. Many
programs offer these skills because students have asked to learn them.
Programs, students, and employers wonder how programs are doing in
helping students learn these skills.

Can the NRS include these skills?

David J. Rosen
djrosen at comcast.net

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From kgianninoto at msde.state.md.us  Tue May 25 13:51:50 2004
From: kgianninoto at msde.state.md.us (Karen Gianninoto)
Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 13:51:50 -0400
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] RE: Using NRS Data for Program Improvement
Message-ID: <2EBB429706A48248992DF0FFB09FD73A09954117@dino.msde.net>

Hi,

Maryland also has technology standards.  Click on this link:
http://www.research.umbc.edu/~ira/TechnologyStandards.pdf  

-----Original Message-----
From: Sandy Strunk [mailto:sandy_strunk at iu13.org]
Sent: Tuesday, May 25, 2004 4:07 PM
To: NIFL -PLI List
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] RE: Using NRS Data for Program Improvement

Date: 5/25/04 10:01 AM
From: Condelli, Larry
Hi Mary -

The two states that I know of that are doing a lot of work in this area are
Kansas and Ohio.  These states have been developing technology competencies
and performance-based assessments, checklists and/or self-report measures.
They don't use these measures for NRS reporting, but use them for their own
purposes.  For example in Kansas, programs can get "quality points" if they
have a certain percentage of learners that have mastered technology
competencies through instruction. I think at one time Washington and Orgeon
were doing work in this area, although I'm not certain, and I'm sure there
are others.  If you want more information, I suggest you contact these
states directly, and they'll be able to give you more complete information
that I can.

Larry Condelli

--------------------------------------
Date: 5/25/04 6:01 AM
From: Mingle, Mary E. H.
Larry,

Could you tell us more about the projects that are looking at the issues
you've described?

-----Original Message-----
From: nifl-pli-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:nifl-pli-bounces at nifl.gov] On
Behalf Of Sandy Strunk
Sent: Monday, May 24, 2004 8:14 PM
To: NIFL -PLI List
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] RE: Using NRS Data for Program Improvement

Date: 5/24/04 1:06 PM
From: Condelli, Larry
Hi David -

Computer literacy is an important skill and recognized as such by most
people in the field, including the Division of Adult Education and
Literacy staff at the Department of Education.  We have struggled for
several years (and continue to do so) about ways to incorporate these
skills into the NRS at the national level.  To add them to the NRS we need
three components: (1) a recognized,
accepted hierarchy of computer or technology skills appropriate for ABE
students, (2) a way to assess these skills, and (3) a policy for tying
the assessments into the NRS educational levels to define advancement.
When the NRS was first planned in 1996-97, the department did not think
that any  of these components existed in a strong enough way to allow
the inclusion of the skills into the NRS. However, since that time there
has been a lot of work on defining the skill set related to technology
and computer use at different levels of proficiency and some assessments
have been developed.  We have currently begun reviewing some of these
skill sets and approaches toward assessment for the NRS and there are
other Department of education-funded projects that are looking at these
issues. The Department is also planning to refine and broaden the
educational functioning level descriptors in the future and the incorpo!
ration of technology skills into the descriptors will be considered.  So
at some point there may well be some inclusion of these skills in the
educational levels.

Of course, states may include technology-related skills into their local
and state accountability systems and several have already done so.

Larry Condelli

-----Original Message-----
From: David Rosen [mailto:djrosen at comcast.net]
Sent: Sunday, May 23, 2004 1:49 PM
To: Condelli, Larry
Subject: Re: [NIFL-PLI] Using NRS Data for Program Improvement

From: David Rosen <djrosen at comcast.net>
Date: Sun May 23, 2004  1:39:29  PM US/Eastern
To: nifl-pli at literacy.nifl.gov
Subject: Re: [NIFL-PLI] Using NRS Data for Program Improvement

To Larry Condelli:

Sandy Strunk posted a message to the NIFL-PLI list  on May 10, 2004 from
Larry Condelli, Managing Director in the Education and Human Development
Division of the American Institues for Research, leader of the adult
education team, and project director for the National Reporting System,
in which Larry  asks:

"What data do you need that NRS does not collect?"

The context of this and other questions in that message was using data
for program improvement.

I have recently been asked by a practitioner -- and not for the first
time -- if there are valid and reliable assessments for measuring
computer literacy -- that is,  basic computer competence and comfort.
These are skills needed to use computer-assisted instruction, to word
process writing and to search for information on a CD or on the Web.

My understanding -- Larry please correct me I am wrong -- is that
computer literacy is not an area which is now measured through the NRS.
If it were, I am not sure we have valid, reliable, standardized
assessments.  Do we?

Yet, I would argue that these skills are now as important to adult
learners as reading, writing and numeracy.  They are required for many
jobs, and for participation in computer-based distance learning. Many
programs offer these skills because students have asked to learn them.
Programs, students, and employers wonder how programs are doing in
helping students learn these skills.

Can the NRS include these skills?

David J. Rosen
djrosen at comcast.net

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From sylvan at cccchs.org  Tue May 25 15:13:05 2004
From: sylvan at cccchs.org (Sylvan Rainwater)
Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 12:13:05 -0700
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] RE: Using NRS Data for Program Improvement
In-Reply-To: <4.2.0.58.20040525095547.014b8e40@lsssd.org>
Message-ID: <000c01c4428c$4eb42520$1a01a8c0@cccchs.org>

This is so true. One thing I struggle with in my program is that we work
with both native language literacy and ESL. We find that people with a low
level of literacy in their first language have a lot more trouble learning
English, and especially reading and writing in English. If they are somewhat
fluent in English, they eventually hit a wall with the literacy skills,
unless they get some background in their home language. So we try to assess
people's levels, and sometimes come up against that same issue -- what if
they are high on one scale and low on the other (say, a person with some
college in their home language but who is brand new to the country and has
little or no English yet, or a person who knows a lot of English but still
can't fill out a job application without their children's help). 

Even in ESL there are differences in ability, typically the reading/writing
scale vs the speaking/listening scale. If you have to come up with a single
level to describe their ability in English, it is often bogus.

This year, for the first time, I'm finding that I have students with some
experience and skill in computer use, and even a scattering of some with
computers in their home. It's fun to teach those students, because I'm not
just starting at the basic beginning (parts of the computer, how to turn it
on and off, loading a program, etc.), but able to go beyond that to setting
up e-mail accounts and working with the Internet.

Oregon has done some work to try to pinpoint what skills go with what level,
and I believe another state other than those mentioned here has as well. But
nothing has been adopted formally as far as I know.

-------
Sylvan Rainwater  mailto:sylvan at cccchs.org
Program Manager Family Literacy
Clackamas Co. Children's Commission /  Head Start
Oregon City, OR  USA
 

-----Original Message-----
From: nifl-pli-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:nifl-pli-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf
Of Yvonne Lerew
Sent: Tuesday, May 25, 2004 8:10 AM
To: Sandy Strunk; Program Leadership and Improvement Discussion List
Subject: Re: [NIFL-PLI] RE: Using NRS Data for Program Improvement

Dear Larry,
I applaud the fact that DAEL recognizes that computer literacy is an 
important skill and should be incorporated into NRS.  I struggle however 
with the idea that, as you say,

"The Department is also planning to refine and broaden the educational 
functioning level descriptors in the future and the incorporation of 
technology skills into the descriptors will be considered.  So at some 
point there may well be some inclusion of these skills in the educational 
levels."

One of the problems I find with the NRS system is that it forces programs 
to identify and track students as a whole and does not allow for one person 
to be at different levels in different skill areas.  For example, a student 
may be at one level in reading and a different level in math, but according 
to NRS the student must have a label of a single educational functioning 
level.  Or an ESL student may have very different levels of oral skill vs. 
written skill but again must be given a single ESL level for NRS.

I think that adding computer skills to the mix further complicates the 
issue.  One student could be High Intermediate ESL, for example, and never 
have touched a computer previously.  Another student could be also High 
Intermediate ESL and be a computer programmer in their native country.

People are much more complicated than a single educational functioning 
level.  One student may have multiple levels of skills in a variety of 
areas.  In addition, adults may choose which skills are important to their 
lives at a particular time and focus on improving that skill.  I believe 
that, by separating technology related skills, oral English skills, written 
English skills, math skills, etc.; progress in each area could be accounted 
for and more accurate reports could be generated.

I appreciate any comments you may have about this issue.
Thank you,
Yvonne Lerew
At 05:14 PM 5/24/2004 -0700, you wrote:

>Date: 5/24/04 1:06 PM
>From: Condelli, Larry
>Hi David -
>
>Computer literacy is an important skill and recognized as such by most 
>people in the field, including the Division of Adult Education and 
>Literacy staff at the Department of Education.  We have struggled for 
>several years (and continue to do so) about ways to incorporate these 
>skills into the NRS at the national level.
>To add them to the NRS we need three components: (1) a recognized, 
>accepted hierarchy of computer or technology skills appropriate for ABE 
>students, (2) a way to assess these skills, and (3) a policy for tying the 
>assessments into the NRS educational levels to define advancement. When 
>the NRS was first planned in 1996-97, the department did not think that 
>any  of these components existed in a strong enough way to allow the 
>inclusion of the skills into the NRS. However, since that time there has 
>been a lot of work on defining the skill set related to technology and 
>computer use at different levels of proficiency and some assessments have 
>been developed.  We have currently begun reviewing some of these skill 
>sets and approaches toward assessment for the NRS and there are other 
>Department of education-funded projects that are looking at these issues. 
>The Department is also planning to refine and broaden the educational 
>functioning level descriptors in the future and the incorpo!
>ration of technology skills into the descriptors will be considered.  So 
>at some point there may well be some inclusion of these skills in the 
>educational levels.
>
>Of course, states may include technology-related skills into their local 
>and state accountability systems and several have already done so.
>
>Larry Condelli
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: David Rosen [mailto:djrosen at comcast.net]
>Sent: Sunday, May 23, 2004 1:49 PM
>To: Condelli, Larry
>Subject: Re: [NIFL-PLI] Using NRS Data for Program Improvement
>
>
>From: David Rosen <djrosen at comcast.net>
>Date: Sun May 23, 2004  1:39:29  PM US/Eastern
>To: nifl-pli at literacy.nifl.gov
>Subject: Re: [NIFL-PLI] Using NRS Data for Program Improvement
>
>To Larry Condelli:
>
>Sandy Strunk posted a message to the NIFL-PLI list  on May 10, 2004 from 
>Larry Condelli, Managing Director in the Education and Human Development 
>Division of the American Institues for Research, leader of the adult 
>education team, and project director for the National Reporting 
>System,  in which Larry  asks:
>
>"What data do you need that NRS does not collect?"
>
>The context of this and other questions in that message was using data for 
>program improvement.
>
>I have recently been asked by a practitioner -- and not for the first time 
>-- if there are valid and reliable assessments for measuring computer 
>literacy -- that is,  basic computer competence and comfort.  These are 
>skills needed to use computer-assisted instruction, to word process 
>writing and to search for information on a CD or on the Web.
>
>My understanding -- Larry please correct me I am wrong -- is that computer 
>literacy is not an area which is now measured through the NRS.   If it 
>were, I am not sure we have valid, reliable, standardized assessments.  Do
we?
>
>Yet, I would argue that these skills are now as important to adult 
>learners as reading, writing and numeracy.  They are required for many 
>jobs, and for participation in computer-based distance learning. Many 
>programs offer these skills because students have asked to learn 
>them.  Programs, students, and employers wonder how programs are doing in 
>helping students learn these skills.
>
>Can the NRS include these skills?
>
>David J. Rosen
>djrosen at comcast.net
>
>
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From S.Oconnor at BrooklynPublicLibrary.org  Tue May 25 15:18:39 2004
From: S.Oconnor at BrooklynPublicLibrary.org (O'Connor, Susan)
Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 15:18:39 -0400
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] RE: Using NRS Data for Program Improvement
Message-ID: <7C952CC727B6A94BA342634037F1F93599715A@bplwired2>

 Good Afternoon:  At the Brooklyn Public Library Literacy Program we have
been using technology with ABE students (non-readers up to a fifth grade
level) for 12 years.  What is important is how technology is used, thus
technology is integrated into the educational experience.  Students use
email, search the net, etc.  There is not a separate "technology" curriculum
or component.  We have met with much success.
      Today's younger generation uses technology very naturally.  There will
be no need for a curriculum or charted set of lessons to be imposed on them.
Technology is a tool.  If we separate it out, we take away its power and
deny how much it has been intertwined with our lives.
Susan O'Connor
-----Original Message-----
From: Karen Gianninoto
To: 'Sandy Strunk'; 'Program Leadership and Improvement Discussion List'
Sent: 5/25/04 1:51 PM
Subject: RE: [NIFL-PLI] RE: Using NRS Data for Program Improvement

Hi,

Maryland also has technology standards.  Click on this link:
http://www.research.umbc.edu/~ira/TechnologyStandards.pdf  

-----Original Message-----
From: Sandy Strunk [mailto:sandy_strunk at iu13.org]
Sent: Tuesday, May 25, 2004 4:07 PM
To: NIFL -PLI List
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] RE: Using NRS Data for Program Improvement

Date: 5/25/04 10:01 AM
From: Condelli, Larry
Hi Mary -

The two states that I know of that are doing a lot of work in this area
are
Kansas and Ohio.  These states have been developing technology
competencies
and performance-based assessments, checklists and/or self-report
measures.
They don't use these measures for NRS reporting, but use them for their
own
purposes.  For example in Kansas, programs can get "quality points" if
they
have a certain percentage of learners that have mastered technology
competencies through instruction. I think at one time Washington and
Orgeon
were doing work in this area, although I'm not certain, and I'm sure
there
are others.  If you want more information, I suggest you contact these
states directly, and they'll be able to give you more complete
information
that I can.

Larry Condelli

--------------------------------------
Date: 5/25/04 6:01 AM
From: Mingle, Mary E. H.
Larry,

Could you tell us more about the projects that are looking at the issues
you've described?

-----Original Message-----
From: nifl-pli-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:nifl-pli-bounces at nifl.gov] On
Behalf Of Sandy Strunk
Sent: Monday, May 24, 2004 8:14 PM
To: NIFL -PLI List
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] RE: Using NRS Data for Program Improvement

Date: 5/24/04 1:06 PM
From: Condelli, Larry
Hi David -

Computer literacy is an important skill and recognized as such by most
people in the field, including the Division of Adult Education and
Literacy staff at the Department of Education.  We have struggled for
several years (and continue to do so) about ways to incorporate these
skills into the NRS at the national level.  To add them to the NRS we
need
three components: (1) a recognized,
accepted hierarchy of computer or technology skills appropriate for ABE
students, (2) a way to assess these skills, and (3) a policy for tying
the assessments into the NRS educational levels to define advancement.
When the NRS was first planned in 1996-97, the department did not think
that any  of these components existed in a strong enough way to allow
the inclusion of the skills into the NRS. However, since that time there
has been a lot of work on defining the skill set related to technology
and computer use at different levels of proficiency and some assessments
have been developed.  We have currently begun reviewing some of these
skill sets and approaches toward assessment for the NRS and there are
other Department of education-funded projects that are looking at these
issues. The Department is also planning to refine and broaden the
educational functioning level descriptors in the future and the incorpo!
ration of technology skills into the descriptors will be considered.  So
at some point there may well be some inclusion of these skills in the
educational levels.

Of course, states may include technology-related skills into their local
and state accountability systems and several have already done so.

Larry Condelli

-----Original Message-----
From: David Rosen [mailto:djrosen at comcast.net]
Sent: Sunday, May 23, 2004 1:49 PM
To: Condelli, Larry
Subject: Re: [NIFL-PLI] Using NRS Data for Program Improvement

From: David Rosen <djrosen at comcast.net>
Date: Sun May 23, 2004  1:39:29  PM US/Eastern
To: nifl-pli at literacy.nifl.gov
Subject: Re: [NIFL-PLI] Using NRS Data for Program Improvement

To Larry Condelli:

Sandy Strunk posted a message to the NIFL-PLI list  on May 10, 2004 from
Larry Condelli, Managing Director in the Education and Human Development
Division of the American Institues for Research, leader of the adult
education team, and project director for the National Reporting System,
in which Larry  asks:

"What data do you need that NRS does not collect?"

The context of this and other questions in that message was using data
for program improvement.

I have recently been asked by a practitioner -- and not for the first
time -- if there are valid and reliable assessments for measuring
computer literacy -- that is,  basic computer competence and comfort.
These are skills needed to use computer-assisted instruction, to word
process writing and to search for information on a CD or on the Web.

My understanding -- Larry please correct me I am wrong -- is that
computer literacy is not an area which is now measured through the NRS.
If it were, I am not sure we have valid, reliable, standardized
assessments.  Do we?

Yet, I would argue that these skills are now as important to adult
learners as reading, writing and numeracy.  They are required for many
jobs, and for participation in computer-based distance learning. Many
programs offer these skills because students have asked to learn them.
Programs, students, and employers wonder how programs are doing in
helping students learn these skills.

Can the NRS include these skills?

David J. Rosen
djrosen at comcast.net

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From sylvan at cccchs.org  Tue May 25 16:17:16 2004
From: sylvan at cccchs.org (Sylvan Rainwater)
Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 13:17:16 -0700
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] RE: Using NRS Data for Program Improvement
In-Reply-To: <7C952CC727B6A94BA342634037F1F93599715A@bplwired2>
Message-ID: <000a01c44295$46598a10$1a01a8c0@cccchs.org>

In the case of younger students, I'm sure this is true. And of course the
goal is to integrate technology into the curriculum as soon as possible. But
for older students from another country who has never used a computer, and
who struggles with issues around print literacy, it can be very
intimidating. For those students, it's important to address basic concepts
of computer use separately, and gradually incorporate other subjects into
it.

-------
Sylvan Rainwater  mailto:sylvan at cccchs.org
Program Manager Family Literacy
Clackamas Co. Children's Commission /  Head Start
Oregon City, OR  USA
 

-----Original Message-----
From: nifl-pli-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:nifl-pli-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf
Of O'Connor, Susan
Sent: Tuesday, May 25, 2004 12:19 PM
 
 Good Afternoon:  At the Brooklyn Public Library Literacy Program we have
been using technology with ABE students (non-readers up to a fifth grade
level) for 12 years.  What is important is how technology is used, thus
technology is integrated into the educational experience.  Students use
email, search the net, etc.  There is not a separate "technology" curriculum
or component.  We have met with much success.
      Today's younger generation uses technology very naturally.  There will
be no need for a curriculum or charted set of lessons to be imposed on them.
Technology is a tool.  If we separate it out, we take away its power and
deny how much it has been intertwined with our lives.
Susan O'Connor

From jataylor at utk.edu  Tue May 25 16:40:10 2004
From: jataylor at utk.edu (jataylor)
Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 16:40:10 -0400
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] How Teachers Change, NIFL-AALPD discussion
Message-ID: <40C745FF@webmail.utk.edu>

NIFL-PLI Colleagues:
Join the NIFL-AALPD discussion list for a discussion June 1 ? 14th with the 
researchers of the recent NCSALL professional development study, ?How Teachers 
Change: A Study of Professional Development in Adult Education? (Smith et al, 
2003).  We will discuss this study's findings, the implications for 
professional development and program improvement practices, as well as 
strategies for supporting teacher change.
====================================================
To join the discussion, subscribe to NIFL-AALPD by May 31st :
http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/discussions/nifl-aalpd/subscribe_aalpd.html
====================================================
We hope to gain insights from a wide range of perspectives! Participating 
authors and links to the publications associated with this research are listed 
below.  Please forward this invitation to your colleagues who are interested 
in discussing this research and practices that support teacher change.

Jackie Taylor, jataylor at utk.edu
List Moderator, NIFL-AALPD
====================================================
Researchers/Guests:

- Cristine Smith, Deputy Director of the National Center for the Study of 
Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL)
- Judy Hofer, ABE Professional Development Coordinator, New Mexico Coalition 
for Literacy
- Marilyn Gillespie, Education Researcher, SRI International
- Marla Solomon, Associate Dean and Program Director for Intercultural 
Service, Leadership, and Management at the School for International Training
- Karen Rowe, Director of Dissemination for the National Center for the Study 
of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL)

How Teachers Change: A Study of Professional Development in Adult Education
Research Brief: http://www.gse.harvard.edu/~ncsall/research/brief25.pdf

Summary Report: http://www.gse.harvard.edu/~ncsall/research/report25a.pdf
 Full Report: http://www.gse.harvard.edu/~ncsall/research/report25.pdf

Other publications from the Professional Development Study include:

The Characteristics and Concerns of Adult Basic Education Teachers
Research Brief: http://www.gse.harvard.edu/~ncsall/research/brief26.pdf
Full Report: http://www.gse.harvard.edu/~ncsall/research/report26.pdf

Survey and Methodology for Assessing Adult Basic Education Teachers'
Characteristics and Concerns
http://www.gse.harvard.edu/~ncsall/research/report26_survey.pdf
======================================================

From sandy_strunk at iu13.org  Tue May 25 21:06:40 2004
From: sandy_strunk at iu13.org (Sandy Strunk)
Date: 25 May 2004 18:06:40 -0700
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Adult Education and Family Litreacy Act Performance
Message-ID: <20040525220341.7A55947005A@relay.iu13.org>

Good evening, everyone,
I thought you might be interested in knowing the 2001-2002 Adult Education and Family Literacy Act: Report to Congress on State Performance is now on the web at http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/resource/index.html#research

There are lots of things in this report that could be interesting topics for discussion, but there are two things jumped out at me:

1) Nationwide, in ABE/ASE classes, 40% of students are enrolled in the lowest 3 NRS levels and 60% are enrolled in the top 3 NRS levels. In comparison, 74% of ESL students are enrolled at the lowest 3 NRS levels and 26% at the highest three NRS levels. What do you think this means? Do you think that there are fewer ABE/ASE students who need instruction at the lowest literacy levels? Or, do you think we're not doing a good enough job of recruiting and serving students at the lowest ABE levels?

2) In the narrative portion of the report, it says that programs are increasingly moving away from open/entry - open/exit and toward managed enrollment. Is this true in your state? In Pennsylvania, cost per student is still an issue and that is problematic when you're trying to increase intensity and duration. I'd be interested in hearing how other states approach this.

Over all, the report is a meaty document, but I will say it's always fascinating to see the differences in state performance numbers. Also, it's interesting to think that for some of our policy makers, this is their entire experience of adult and family literacy education. As I was looking at the numbers, graphs and charts, I couldn't help but wonder what they might mean to someone who hasn't been immersed in this work for a very long time. 
Sandy Strunk
Lancaster Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13
Adult Basic and Family Literacy Education
1110 Enterprise Road
East Petersburg, PA 17520
(717) 519-1006

From sandy_strunk at iu13.org  Wed May 26 18:59:29 2004
From: sandy_strunk at iu13.org (Sandy Strunk)
Date: 26 May 2004 15:59:29 -0700
Subject: FWD: RE: Re: [NIFL-PLI] RE: Using NRS Data for Program Improveme
Message-ID: <20040526195630.5A80F470247@relay.iu13.org>

--------------------------------------
Date: 5/26/04 12:37 PM
From: Condelli, Larry
Hi Yvonne,

Your comment touches on many of the key issues related to accountbailty and using data.  
I think we all agree that people are much more complicated than captured an an educational functioning level, and programs and instruction are more complicated too.  With accountability systems like the NRS, the goal is to be able to say something about the quality of programs and what students achieve to those who hold the system accountable.  Since we can't (and wouldn't want to) report on every aspect of students and programs -- think how burdensome and diffcult that would be -- some choices have to be made on what to report and to collect the information.  This is where most of the controversies about accountability are. Accountability requirements narrow the choices, but teachers and programs do not need to be limited just to this purpose.  You can capture many dimensions of student abilties and use them to guide currciulum, instruction and other choices.

In the NRS, if students are assessed on multiple dimensions the rule is to assign the student to the lowest functioning level and then to track progress (through assessment) on that dimension.  (Incidentally, this rule pre-dates the NRS by many years and has been ED policy for quite some time.)  However, the decisions on the specifc areas and skills on which to assess students is left to the state to decide. 
Adding another set of skills, like computer literacy, will complicate this issue even more, but if states and providers in that state believe these skills are important, adding them to the NRS descriptors provides a framework on which to teach/assess these skills. 
Larry
--------------------------------------
Date: 5/25/04 8:10 AM
From: Yvonne Lerew
Dear Larry,
I applaud the fact that DAEL recognizes that computer literacy is an important skill and should be incorporated into NRS.  I struggle however with the idea that, as you say,

"The Department is also planning to refine and broaden the educational functioning level descriptors in the future and the incorporation of technology skills into the descriptors will be considered.  So at some point there may well be some inclusion of these skills in the educational levels."

One of the problems I find with the NRS system is that it forces programs to identify and track students as a whole and does not allow for one person to be at different levels in different skill areas.  For example, a student may be at one level in reading and a different level in math, but according to NRS the student must have a label of a single educational functioning level.  Or an ESL student may have very different levels of oral skill vs. written skill but again must be given a single ESL level for NRS.

I think that adding computer skills to the mix further complicates the issue.  One student could be High Intermediate ESL, for example, and never have touched a computer previously.  Another student could be also High Intermediate ESL and be a computer programmer in their native country.

People are much more complicated than a single educational functioning level.  One student may have multiple levels of skills in a variety of areas.  In addition, adults may choose which skills are important to their lives at a particular time and focus on improving that skill.  I believe that, by separating technology related skills, oral English skills, written English skills, math skills, etc.; progress in each area could be accounted for and more accurate reports could be generated.

I appreciate any comments you may have about this issue.
Thank you,
Yvonne Lerew
At 05:14 PM 5/24/2004 -0700, you wrote:

>Date: 5/24/04 1:06 PM
>From: Condelli, Larry
>Hi David -
>
>Computer literacy is an important skill and recognized as such by most >people in the field, including the Division of Adult Education and >Literacy staff at the Department of Education.  We have struggled for >several years (and continue to do so) about ways to incorporate these >skills into the NRS at the national level.
>To add them to the NRS we need three components: (1) a recognized, >accepted hierarchy of computer or technology skills appropriate for ABE >students, (2) a way to assess these skills, and (3) a policy for tying the >assessments into the NRS educational levels to define advancement. When >the NRS was first planned in 1996-97, the department did not think that >any  of these components existed in a strong enough way to allow the >inclusion of the skills into the NRS. However, since that time there has >been a lot of work on defining the skill set related to technology and >computer use at different levels of proficiency and some assessments have >been developed.  We have currently begun reviewing some of these skill >sets and approaches toward assessment for the NRS and there are other >Department of education-funded projects that are looking at these issues. >The Department is also planning to refine and broaden the educational >functioning level descriptors in the future and the incorpo!
>ration of technology skills into the descriptors will be considered.  So >at some point there may well be some inclusion of these skills in the >educational levels.
>
>Of course, states may include technology-related skills into their local >and state accountability systems and several have already done so.
>
>Larry Condelli
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: David Rosen [mailto:djrosen at comcast.net]
>Sent: Sunday, May 23, 2004 1:49 PM
>To: Condelli, Larry
>Subject: Re: [NIFL-PLI] Using NRS Data for Program Improvement
>
>
>From: David Rosen <djrosen at comcast.net>
>Date: Sun May 23, 2004  1:39:29  PM US/Eastern
>To: nifl-pli at literacy.nifl.gov
>Subject: Re: [NIFL-PLI] Using NRS Data for Program Improvement
>
>To Larry Condelli:
>
>Sandy Strunk posted a message to the NIFL-PLI list  on May 10, 2004 from >Larry Condelli, Managing Director in the Education and Human Development >Division of the American Institues for Research, leader of the adult >education team, and project director for the National Reporting >System,  in which Larry  asks:
>
>"What data do you need that NRS does not collect?"
>
>The context of this and other questions in that message was using data for >program improvement.
>
>I have recently been asked by a practitioner -- and not for the first time >-- if there are valid and reliable assessments for measuring computer >literacy -- that is,  basic computer competence and comfort.  These are >skills needed to use computer-assisted instruction, to word process >writing and to search for information on a CD or on the Web.
>
>My understanding -- Larry please correct me I am wrong -- is that computer >literacy is not an area which is now measured through the NRS.   If it >were, I am not sure we have valid, reliable, standardized assessments.  Do we?
>
>Yet, I would argue that these skills are now as important to adult >learners as reading, writing and numeracy.  They are required for many >jobs, and for participation in computer-based distance learning. Many >programs offer these skills because students have asked to learn >them.  Programs, students, and employers wonder how programs are doing in >helping students learn these skills.
>
>Can the NRS include these skills?
>
>David J. Rosen
>djrosen at comcast.net
>
>
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From rogerss at apsd.k12.ar.us  Fri May 28 11:01:08 2004
From: rogerss at apsd.k12.ar.us (Sheri Rogers)
Date: Fri, 28 May 2004 10:01:08 -0500
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] RE: Using NRS Data for Program Improvement
Message-ID: <s0b70e0a.023@apsd.k12.ar.us>

In reading the discussion thread on the decline of reported adult
learners, taxpayers and the National Reporting System, let me put in my
.02 worth (where did that "cents" sign on my keyboard go, anyway?)

The software used to capture data for our state is difficult to use. I
say that because I can't come right out and say *it doesn't work*. When
we put in data, the reports generated do not reflect the real deal-
often because I haven't gone to some buried screen and clicked OK. I ran
three different reports on enrolled students and came up with three
different totals on number of enrolled learners-a range from 161 to 254.
Not just a couple of learners. Many programs in our state are using
additional methods of capturing local data for program improvement with
much better success. But those numbers don't "count" because our
management system numbers aren't generating the same counts. We are not
a large state, but could this account for a decline in national numbers?
Maybe another small way the learners are being "lost"

SR

From Marcia.Hess at state.sd.us  Thu Jun  3 17:39:26 2004
From: Marcia.Hess at state.sd.us (Marcia.Hess at state.sd.us)
Date: Thu, 3 Jun 2004 16:39:26 -0500 
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] RE: RE: Using NRS Data for Program Improvement 
Message-ID: <AD2764A1B681B146916501E41F56DBB703B63F51@espr1exc7.state.sd.local>

 
RE: Sheri Rogers response to declining numbers

In our state, when I came to my position 3 years ago, the numbers reported
as served came from unclean data.  We often had programs who reported anyone
that walked through the door not just the ones with 12 hours, they may have
taken only computer classes (as we heard some other places were counting),
and often there was no standard testing.

I came to this conclusion when, after two years of data collection on a new
data system. We have the same number coming through the door but far fewer
are counting.  

Sometimes teachers don't feel prepared to teach the full spectrum of reading
skills from literacy levels to advanced/critical thinking.  Adult Education
teachers come from such a varied background that we cannot expect everyone
to be a reading expert.  We can, however, offer training to assist.

Often, students are not greeted with instant success and shy aware before
they get engaged with the right person/tutor/teacher that may help them
along.  Hopelessness fills their heart so quickly.  There is a delicate
balance we walk in helping our students gain skills and confidence.  

If the NRS data tells you that your Intermediate ABE and Literacy level
students are not sticking in your program, then it is up to each program to
find out why and create what is needed.  I have met excellent teachers in
ABE over the years but some of them I would not have returned to when I was
a non-reader or slow reader.  Their "attitude" was what I would read first.
It was always body language and the silent cues that let me know if I was
really welcome.  

I don't think we have fewer students in our state.  I think we are not
retaining them for a variety of reasons.  I also don't think it is because
of testing that they don't return.
Marcia
 
Message: 1
Date: Fri, 28 May 2004 10:01:08 -0500
From: "Sheri Rogers" <rogerss at apsd.k12.ar.us>
Subject: RE: [NIFL-PLI] RE: Using NRS Data for Program Improvement
To: <nifl-pli at nifl.gov>
Message-ID: <s0b70e0a.023 at apsd.k12.ar.us>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII

In reading the discussion thread on the decline of reported adult
learners, taxpayers and the National Reporting System, let me put in my
.02 worth (where did that "cents" sign on my keyboard go, anyway?)

The software used to capture data for our state is difficult to use. I
say that because I can't come right out and say *it doesn't work*. When
we put in data, the reports generated do not reflect the real deal-
often because I haven't gone to some buried screen and clicked OK. I ran
three different reports on enrolled students and came up with three
different totals on number of enrolled learners-a range from 161 to 254.
Not just a couple of learners. Many programs in our state are using
additional methods of capturing local data for program improvement with
much better success. But those numbers don't "count" because our
management system numbers aren't generating the same counts. We are not
a large state, but could this account for a decline in national numbers?
Maybe another small way the learners are being "lost"

SR

------------------------------

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***************************************

From bonniesophia at adelphia.net  Fri Jun  4 08:23:28 2004
From: bonniesophia at adelphia.net (Bonnie Odiorne)
Date: Fri, 4 Jun 2004 08:23:28 -0400
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] RE: RE: Using NRS Data for Program Improvement 
In-Reply-To: <AD2764A1B681B146916501E41F56DBB703B63F51@espr1exc7.state.sd.local>
Message-ID: <000901c44a2e$be7b01e0$0302a8c0@albyny.adelphia.net>

This comment about students "counting" might just be a factor. In CT, we're
told that we have a "numerator" and a "denominator", the denominator being
the total number of students, and the numerator being those who start a
program, are pre- post- /tested. Obviously, the more students in the
denominator who don't do these things, the "worse" the outcomes. In LVA we
used to give hours to students just for testing, then realized as waiting
lists became longer and placement less certain, let alone the student
follow-through, that this practice was hurting our data.
Warmest Regards,
Bonnie Odiorne Ph.D
ESL Instructor, Teikyo Post University

-----Original Message-----
From: nifl-pli-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:nifl-pli-bounces at nifl.gov]On
Behalf Of Marcia.Hess at state.sd.us
Sent: Thursday, June 03, 2004 5:39 PM
To: nifl-pli at nifl.gov
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] RE: RE: Using NRS Data for Program Improvement

RE: Sheri Rogers response to declining numbers

In our state, when I came to my position 3 years ago, the numbers reported
as served came from unclean data.  We often had programs who reported anyone
that walked through the door not just the ones with 12 hours, they may have
taken only computer classes (as we heard some other places were counting),
and often there was no standard testing.

I came to this conclusion when, after two years of data collection on a new
data system. We have the same number coming through the door but far fewer
are counting.

Sometimes teachers don't feel prepared to teach the full spectrum of reading
skills from literacy levels to advanced/critical thinking.  Adult Education
teachers come from such a varied background that we cannot expect everyone
to be a reading expert.  We can, however, offer training to assist.

Often, students are not greeted with instant success and shy aware before
they get engaged with the right person/tutor/teacher that may help them
along.  Hopelessness fills their heart so quickly.  There is a delicate
balance we walk in helping our students gain skills and confidence.

If the NRS data tells you that your Intermediate ABE and Literacy level
students are not sticking in your program, then it is up to each program to
find out why and create what is needed.  I have met excellent teachers in
ABE over the years but some of them I would not have returned to when I was
a non-reader or slow reader.  Their "attitude" was what I would read first.
It was always body language and the silent cues that let me know if I was
really welcome.

I don't think we have fewer students in our state.  I think we are not
retaining them for a variety of reasons.  I also don't think it is because
of testing that they don't return.
Marcia

Message: 1
Date: Fri, 28 May 2004 10:01:08 -0500
From: "Sheri Rogers" <rogerss at apsd.k12.ar.us>
Subject: RE: [NIFL-PLI] RE: Using NRS Data for Program Improvement
To: <nifl-pli at nifl.gov>
Message-ID: <s0b70e0a.023 at apsd.k12.ar.us>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII

In reading the discussion thread on the decline of reported adult
learners, taxpayers and the National Reporting System, let me put in my
.02 worth (where did that "cents" sign on my keyboard go, anyway?)

The software used to capture data for our state is difficult to use. I
say that because I can't come right out and say *it doesn't work*. When
we put in data, the reports generated do not reflect the real deal-
often because I haven't gone to some buried screen and clicked OK. I ran
three different reports on enrolled students and came up with three
different totals on number of enrolled learners-a range from 161 to 254.
Not just a couple of learners. Many programs in our state are using
additional methods of capturing local data for program improvement with
much better success. But those numbers don't "count" because our
management system numbers aren't generating the same counts. We are not
a large state, but could this account for a decline in national numbers?
Maybe another small way the learners are being "lost"

SR

------------------------------

_______________________________________________
NIFL-PLI mailing list
NIFL-PLI at literacy.nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/nifl-pli

End of NIFL-PLI Digest, Vol 11, Issue 1
***************************************
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To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
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From sandy_strunk at iu13.org  Fri Jun  4 13:33:09 2004
From: sandy_strunk at iu13.org (Sandy Strunk)
Date: 04 Jun 2004 10:33:09 -0700
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Practitioner involvement in policy formation
Message-ID: <20040604143004.E2778470130@relay.iu13.org>

The following posting is from Alisa Belzer, Assistant Professor of Adult Literacy Education at Rutgers University in New Jersey. Prior to her appointment there in 1999, Alisa directed the Pennsylvania Adult Literacy Practitioner Inquiry Network (PALPIN), a statewide professional development initiative. She began working in the field in 1987 at the Center for Literacy in Philadelphia and has been a program coordinator, tutor trainer, classroom teacher and tutor. Her current research interests are in professional development, learner beliefs, tutor-based instruction, and adult reading development. I have had the pleasure of working with Alisa in her former role of directing PALPIN in Pennsylvania, and I think her posting (below) is an excellent follow-up to the discussion we have been having about using National Reporting System data to inform program improvement. At the end of her posting, Alisa poses several provocative questions that I think could help us explore a new facet of program leadership and improvement. I hope you will take the initiative to join this important discussion.

Sandy Strunk, List Moderator

********************************************************

In a report that I recently authored for the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) entitled ?Living with it:  Federal policy implementation in adult basic education?  (available at http://gseweb.harvard.edu/~ncsall/research/report24.pdf), I suggest that policies are always in a state of revision and adaptation as they travel down the road from an abstract statute to classroom practice.  In adult basic education this involves stops along the way at the Office of Vocational and Adult Education in the US Department of Education, at the state education agency, possibly at a professional development entity, and finally at the local program.  At each stop along the way, key players shape what the abstraction will actually look like by the time it reaches individual classrooms. This could, ultimately, help or hinder the quality of instruction at the local level. Much depends on the policy and the shaping that occurs along the way. What's important is that practitioners not allow the ?policy journey? to be one way down this road. Practitioners not only have the power to change policies by the way they act on them in their own particular contexts, but they can also take an important shaping step by sending policy feedback back up the road in an effort to actively inform future efforts at reform.

We are in the middle of a policy shift in adult basic education (literacy, pre-GED, GED, adult secondary education, family and workplace literacy, ESL) that has had enormous implications for all of us. With the passage of the Workforce Investment Act in 1998, we entered an era of significantly increased accountability. This has meant dramatic changes in assessment and documentation of learner outcomes. Meanwhile, a concerted effort has been made by the US Department of Education to encourage best practice based on scientific research. This has given warrant to research syntheses such as John Kruidenier?s ?Research-based principles for adult basic education reading instruction? and instructional tool kits such as the forthcoming Student Achievement in Reading (STAR) Project. These changes have occurred against the backdrop of welfare reform, a changing economy in which high wage/low skill jobs are disappearing at an alarming rate, ever-increasing globalization accompanied by a more and more diverse population of learners, and violence at home and abroad.

While one can analyze the pros and cons of these changes at length, the reality is that for now they are here to stay. As the ground beneath us shifts, it becomes increasingly important to focus our mission as adult educators and how to maintain our core values and beliefs about teaching, learning, and literacy. Additionally, we need to take a hard look at how our own advocacy efforts can be deployed to move the field in the direction that we feel is most responsive to learners? goals and needs. Practitioners are positioned to know a lot about the spectrum of teaching, learning and literacy whereas many policy makers have only viewed our field though the lens of NRS data. If policy is to be responsive to learners' goals and needs, it is incumbent upon practitioners to step into the policy arena. 
I suggest that practitioners should get involved in policy formation in several meaningful ways.  Rather than feeling passively relegated to implementing government policies, it is important to take every opportunity to participate in shaping and reforming policies in ways that are most constructive for learners. The first step is to take an active stance by being well informed about the policies and by getting involved in the political process by working to educate lawmakers and an expanded network of potential advocates about the realities of the field. To participate actively in policy conversations about what works and why, practitioners should themselves be building new knowledge about teaching and learning by participating in action research and practitioner inquiry projects. Through systematic investigations of problems in practice, these efforts can provide practitioners with data that can contribute to policymakers? understanding of problems faced by the field, as well as appropriate solutions.

With this said, I'm interested in your perspectives on the following questions:
? In what ways do you feel the current policy climate is in line with or in contradiction to your core values as a practitioner?  What impact does this have on your practice?
? How do you deal with the contradictions?  ? What are the roles you see yourself taking in advocating for policies that fit with your mission as an adult educator, yet are responsive to demands for accountability?  ? How will you advocate for policy changes in teaching, learning and literacy?

Alisa Belzer
Assistant Professor of Adult Literacy Education, Rutgers University

From ttweeton at comcast.net  Fri Jun  4 11:37:17 2004
From: ttweeton at comcast.net (ttweeton at comcast.net)
Date: Fri, 04 Jun 2004 15:37:17 +0000
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] RE: RE: Using NRS Data for Program Improvement 
Message-ID: <060420041537.2786.40C0972C000A300300000AE2220073544602019B0A0A999B9B@comcast.net>

Maybe the reasons  boil down to  just simple economics.  Life is tough for poor people . The reason my students come and go, they tell me, is that they MUST work. Often they come to my program when they are unemployed and have time on their hands. But the moment they get a job they are gone. I call and ask why they have stopped coming. This is  invariably the reason they give. True, they could be lying and really "hate " me but I take them at their word. They do thank me for the phone call and the concern.

Tanya Tweeton
ESOl and GED Programs
Fort Lauderdale,Florida

>  
> RE: Sheri Rogers response to declining numbers
> 
> In our state, when I came to my position 3 years ago, the numbers reported
> as served came from unclean data.  We often had programs who reported anyone
> that walked through the door not just the ones with 12 hours, they may have
> taken only computer classes (as we heard some other places were counting),
> and often there was no standard testing.
> 
> I came to this conclusion when, after two years of data collection on a new
> data system. We have the same number coming through the door but far fewer
> are counting.  
> 
> Sometimes teachers don't feel prepared to teach the full spectrum of reading
> skills from literacy levels to advanced/critical thinking.  Adult Education
> teachers come from such a varied background that we cannot expect everyone
> to be a reading expert.  We can, however, offer training to assist.
> 
> Often, students are not greeted with instant success and shy aware before
> they get engaged with the right person/tutor/teacher that may help them
> along.  Hopelessness fills their heart so quickly.  There is a delicate
> balance we walk in helping our students gain skills and confidence.  
> 
> If the NRS data tells you that your Intermediate ABE and Literacy level
> students are not sticking in your program, then it is up to each program to
> find out why and create what is needed.  I have met excellent teachers in
> ABE over the years but some of them I would not have returned to when I was
> a non-reader or slow reader.  Their "attitude" was what I would read first.
> It was always body language and the silent cues that let me know if I was
> really welcome.  
> 
> I don't think we have fewer students in our state.  I think we are not
> retaining them for a variety of reasons.  I also don't think it is because
> of testing that they don't return.
> Marcia
>  
> Message: 1
> Date: Fri, 28 May 2004 10:01:08 -0500
> From: "Sheri Rogers" <rogerss at apsd.k12.ar.us>
> Subject: RE: [NIFL-PLI] RE: Using NRS Data for Program Improvement
> To: <nifl-pli at nifl.gov>
> Message-ID: <s0b70e0a.023 at apsd.k12.ar.us>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
> 
> In reading the discussion thread on the decline of reported adult
> learners, taxpayers and the National Reporting System, let me put in my
> .02 worth (where did that "cents" sign on my keyboard go, anyway?)
> 
> The software used to capture data for our state is difficult to use. I
> say that because I can't come right out and say *it doesn't work*. When
> we put in data, the reports generated do not reflect the real deal-
> often because I haven't gone to some buried screen and clicked OK. I ran
> three different reports on enrolled students and came up with three
> different totals on number of enrolled learners-a range from 161 to 254.
> Not just a couple of learners. Many programs in our state are using
> additional methods of capturing local data for program improvement with
> much better success. But those numbers don't "count" because our
> management system numbers aren't generating the same counts. We are not
> a large state, but could this account for a decline in national numbers?
> Maybe another small way the learners are being "lost"
> 
> SR
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> _______________________________________________
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> NIFL-PLI at literacy.nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
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> 
> 
> End of NIFL-PLI Digest, Vol 11, Issue 1
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From sylvan at cccchs.org  Mon Jun  7 12:10:51 2004
From: sylvan at cccchs.org (Sylvan Rainwater)
Date: Mon, 7 Jun 2004 09:10:51 -0700
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] RE: RE: Using NRS Data for Program Improvement 
In-Reply-To: <060420041537.2786.40C0972C000A300300000AE2220073544602019B0A0A999B9B@comcast.net>
Message-ID: <000801c44caa$00f0aa20$1a01a8c0@cccchs.org>

This happens for several of my students. It often happens that they get a
new job and are on call and can't have any control over their hours. We try
to work with them to work a few weeks and then approach the manager asking
them whether they can have class hours guaranteed to them. It's in the
manager's interest to make a better employee to have them learn English,
etc.

The other reason we lost a couple of people this last year was domestic
violence and general chaos in the family. Again we try to work with people,
but this is often more difficult. A woman in the extreme crisis of being
beaten, moving out (or having husband move out and getting a restraining
order), trying to figure out finances/agencies/jobs, etc., simply has no
energy left to make it to class. One woman moved out of state for a while,
intending to return to us when she returned to the state, but was then
unable to. The other dropped out of the program for a couple of months but
then returned.

We've also lost people because they've moved. The other characteristic of
this population is that they are move around a lot. If they move out of the
county (and many of them don't have a concept of counties -- we're not all
that far from a county line), we have to figure out whether we can still
serve them or whether they can transfer to another program.

In any case, once they are actually enrolled in our program, we do
everything we can to help them stay with it for long enough to do them some
good. Conversely, once they've been with us for five years (as one family
has been) and/or they really achieve their goals and are ready to move on
(whether they recognize that or not), we encourage them to leave. This is
sometimes even more difficult. But that's another story.

-------
Sylvan Rainwater  mailto:sylvan at cccchs.org
Program Manager Family Literacy
Clackamas Co. Children's Commission /  Head Start
Oregon City, OR  USA
 

-----Original Message-----
From: nifl-pli-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:nifl-pli-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf
Of ttweeton at comcast.net
Sent: Friday, June 04, 2004 8:37 AM
 
Maybe the reasons  boil down to  just simple economics.  Life is tough for
poor people . The reason my students come and go, they tell me, is that they
MUST work. <SNIP>

From sandy_strunk at iu13.org  Tue Jun  8 13:02:07 2004
From: sandy_strunk at iu13.org (Sandy Strunk)
Date: 08 Jun 2004 10:02:07 -0700
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] RE: Practitioner involvement in policy formation
Message-ID: <20040608135859.7CED6470139@relay.iu13.org>

         Reply to:   RE: Practitioner involvement in policy formation
I've been thinking about the questions Alisa posed in her June 4th posting to the list and, wearing my local program director hat, I'd like to share some of my own thinking on this issue and hope that this will inspire some of you to join the discussion. This is, indeed, one of the most difficult topics we have tackled. As a program director, I constantly struggle with policy to practice issues, and I would be grateful for any insights list participants may want to share. 
Alisa asked,
In what ways do you feel the current policy climate is in line with or in contradiction to your core values as a practitioner?  What impact does this have on your practice?

One of the difficulties in answering this question is dealing with the "policy journey" Alisa describes. It isn't easy to tease apart legislation, regulation,  what I need to do to as a program leader to ensure that we continue to get funds to provide adult literacy instruction locally, and what I choose to do as a private citizen to participate fully in our democratic form of government. 
Quite honestly, I struggle with how my core values as a practitioner fit into the larger picture of shaping state and federal policy.  As a past president of PAACE (PA Association for Adult Continuing Education), I did what I could to strengthen the advocacy arm of our professional organization. I believe all adult educators have an obligation to participate in shaping policy through participation in  organizations such as PAACE or COABE. I pay for my professional memberships from my own pocket and I participate in professional organizations on my own time. As a private citizen, I communicate with my legislators on issues I believe are important. Right or wrong, I try to keep that aspect of my work separate from my role as an adult education program director. It isn't always easy to do, but I work at it because one of my core beliefs about public service is that our laws are determined by our elected officials and I have no right, as a public employee, to put my own agenda ahead of the legislative process that is at the heart of our democracy. That, in no way, limits my perspectives or activities as a private citizen. It does, however, mean that when I advocate for legislative changes, I do it as Sandy Strunk, or a member of PAACE, or a member of another professional organization. I bring my knowledge of our field to those advocacy efforts, but I don't bring my title as a public employee.

When it comes to regulation, on the other hand, I do believe I have a role as a public employee in offering input into how state and federal legislation is operationalized. I routinely communicate with my state education agency (more so than they like, I'd venture to guess :-) on policies and procedures they have put in place to shape local practice. Sometimes my input changes things; other times it has no impact. I'm grateful that my state office continues to listen to what I have to say regardless of whether it results in the changes I suggest. I have a strong vision of what I want practice to look like locally, and I believe that vision is consistent with state and federal legislation. However,  I do recognize that my funders have the ability to control the dollars available locally for literacy. I try very hard to remember that, even when I feel strongly about a particular issue (most of the time), it makes no sense to win a battle and lose the war. If I am to protect local literacy dollars, I not only need to share my opinions, but also build relationships with and support the efforts of my state education agency. I see this as an aspect of instructional leadership.

Finally, by far, the most difficult policy discussions I participate in are local discussions with the private sector and my WIA partners. As a member of our local Workforce Investment Board, I routinely struggle to find ways to help the private sector and our public partners understand the role of adult basic and family literacy education in the larger goals of WIA. Private employers have a difficult time understanding the complexities of public funding. For example, what many consider "healthy competition" in the private sector, we call "duplication of services" in the public sector. It's also difficult for our private sector partners to understand that supply and demand economics don't translate well to adult basic and family literacy education funding. When economic times are good, we tend to have more money and fewer clients. When economic times are bad, we tend to have more clients and fewer dollars. Recently, I met with my WIB Executive Committee to get their input into local programming for next year. For the second year in a row, our funding has been significantly decreased due to a census adjustment federally and level funding at the state level. Needless to say, our classrooms are overflowing. I brought my spreadsheets, enrollment data and performance figures to the WIB and asked for  input into which components of our program I should eliminate. One individual said, "Are you telling me your enrollment is up, you have won statewide performance awards, and you need to close down classes at our One Stop?" The meeting ended with WIB members agreeing they need to do more to help our legislators understand the importance of adult basic and family literacy education within the larger context of achieving the goals of WIA. I'm still trying to figure out which classes to close.

How we, as practitioners, participate in shaping state and federal policy seems to me to be a critical question in program leadership and program improvement. I'm very interested in how other adult education leaders think about these issues.

Sandy Strunk
Lancaster Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13
Adult Basic and Family Literacy Education
1110 Enterprise Road
East Petersburg, PA 17520
(717) 519-1006

Sandy Strunk wrote:
>The following posting is from Alisa Belzer, Assistant Professor of Adult >Literacy Education at Rutgers University in New Jersey. Prior to her appointment >there in 1999, Alisa directed the Pennsylvania Adult Literacy Practitioner Inquiry >Network (PALPIN), a statewide professional development initiative. She began >working in the field in 1987 at the Center for Literacy in Philadelphia and has been >a program coordinator, tutor trainer, classroom teacher and tutor. Her current >research interests are in professional development, learner beliefs, tutor-based >instruction, and adult reading development. I have had the pleasure of working with >Alisa in her former role of directing PALPIN in Pennsylvania, and I think her >posting (below) is an excellent follow-up to the discussion we have been having >about using National Reporting System data to inform program improvement. At the end >of her posting, Alisa poses several provocative questions that I think could >help us explore a new face!
>t of program leadership and improvement. I hope you will take the >initiative to join this important discussion.
>
>Sandy Strunk, List Moderator
>
>********************************************************
>
>In a report that I recently authored for the National Center for the Study >of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) entitled ?Living with it:  Federal policy >implementation in adult basic education?  (available at >http://gseweb.harvard.edu/~ncsall/research/report24.pdf), I suggest that >policies are always in a state of revision and adaptation as they travel down the >road from an abstract statute to classroom practice.  In adult basic education >this involves stops along the way at the Office of Vocational and Adult Education in >the US Department of Education, at the state education agency, possibly at a >professional development entity, and finally at the local program.  At each stop >along the way, key players shape what the abstraction will actually look like by the >time it reaches individual classrooms. This could, ultimately, help or hinder >the quality of instruction at the local level. Much depends on the policy and the >shaping that occurs along the way. What's important is!
> that practitioners not allow the ?policy journey? to be one way down this >road. Practitioners not only have the power to change policies by the way they >act on them in their own particular contexts, but they can also take an important >shaping step by sending policy feedback back up the road in an effort to actively >inform future efforts at reform.
>
>We are in the middle of a policy shift in adult basic education (literacy, >pre-GED, GED, adult secondary education, family and workplace literacy, ESL) that >has had enormous implications for all of us. With the passage of the Workforce >Investment Act in 1998, we entered an era of significantly increased >accountability. This has meant dramatic changes in assessment and documentation of learner >outcomes. Meanwhile, a concerted effort has been made by the US Department >of Education to encourage best practice based on scientific research. This has >given warrant to research syntheses such as John Kruidenier?s ?Research-based >principles for adult basic education reading instruction? and instructional tool kits >such as the forthcoming Student Achievement in Reading (STAR) Project. These >changes have occurred against the backdrop of welfare reform, a changing economy in >which high wage/low skill jobs are disappearing at an alarming rate, >ever-increasing globalization accompanied by !
>a more and more diverse population of learners, and violence at home and abroad.
>
>While one can analyze the pros and cons of these changes at length, the >reality is that for now they are here to stay. As the ground beneath us shifts, it >becomes increasingly important to focus our mission as adult educators and how to >maintain our core values and beliefs about teaching, learning, and literacy. >Additionally, we need to take a hard look at how our own advocacy efforts can be >deployed to move the field in the direction that we feel is most responsive to >learners? goals and needs. Practitioners are positioned to know a lot about the >spectrum of teaching, learning and literacy whereas many policy makers have only viewed >our field though the lens of NRS data. If policy is to be responsive to learners' >goals and needs, it is incumbent upon practitioners to step into the policy arena. >I suggest that practitioners should get involved in policy formation in >several meaningful ways.  Rather than feeling passively relegated to implementing >government policies, it is important to take every opportunity to participate in >shaping and reforming policies in ways that are most constructive for learners. The >first step is to take an active stance by being well informed about the policies >and by getting involved in the political process by working to educate lawmakers >and an expanded network of potential advocates about the realities of the field. >To participate actively in policy conversations about what works and why, >practitioners should themselves be building new knowledge about teaching and learning by >participating in action research and practitioner inquiry projects. Through >systematic investigations of problems in practice, these efforts can provide >practitioners with data that can contribute to policymakers? understanding of >problems faced by the field, as w!
>ell as appropriate solutions.
>
>With this said, I'm interested in your perspectives on the following questions:
>? In what ways do you feel the current policy climate is in line with or in >contradiction to your core values as a practitioner?  What impact does this have >on your practice?
>? How do you deal with the contradictions?  ? What are the roles you see >yourself taking in advocating for policies that fit with your mission as an adult >educator, yet are responsive to demands for accountability?  ? How will you >advocate for policy changes in teaching, learning and literacy?
>
>Alisa Belzer
>Assistant Professor of Adult Literacy Education, Rutgers University
>
>_______________________________________________
>NIFL-PLI mailing list
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From george.demetrion at lvgh.org  Tue Jun  8 12:29:49 2004
From: george.demetrion at lvgh.org (George Demetrion)
Date: Tue, 8 Jun 2004 12:29:49 -0400
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] RE: Practitioner involvement in policy formation
Message-ID: <681A95205B5ACB4AAD697401486AE712BA5E@hal9000.lvgh.prv>

Hi Sandy,

I don't have any global answers either.  However, I do believe part of
the solution is the capacity of the field to mediate creative
educational and public space. For example, at the level of direct policy
application, I believe the conundrums of which Alisa'a policy report
speaks as cogently points to the dilemmas the field faces as anything
that I've come across.

What I do think needs more attention is for the field leadership and
agencies to provide an alternative vision of adult literacy education,
accompanied by the field's own research on its own terms, best practices
as articulated on its own terms, curriculum focus on its own terms, and
assessment modalities on its own terms.  Not that there's unanimity on
all this even in the household of literacy itself, but let the
differences be among those who speak within the house.

One approach then is to take on a more minimalist posture with regards
to compliance with federal mandates.  That is, do what has to be done
and draw on whatever it is of value from the USDOE, but do not let the
government define the universe of what we do.  This means identifying
avenues where alternative visions can be articulated, where substantive
work emerging from them being housed in locations of significant
visibility (one thinks of NALD in Canada) and our core agencies (our
literacy resource centers, bureaus of adult ed, national and regional
adult literacy organizations) spend quality energy in building up the
field's work, however variously defined on its own terms.  And, even
where appropriate, to directly challenge governmental policies that the
field views as inappropriate from those venues.

Among other things, this would require the field not to look to the
federal government as the sole prime benefactor of their work, but
rather, one of the nodes of support (and a large one), but not so large
that its value system color, however subtly so, everything of
significance about adult literacy education.

This is obviously, highly incomplete, and I'm sure I can't answer many
of the questions or criticisms that folks may have of this viewpoint.
Still, I think there's something there in terms of the field adopting a
much more strategically-focused bi-cultural focus and take on as much
control as possible in defining the field's work and value from its own
varied premises.

George Demetrion

From gdemetrion at msn.com  Wed Jun  9 08:04:12 2004
From: gdemetrion at msn.com (gdemetrion at msn.com)
Date: Wed, 9 Jun 2004 08:04:12 -0400
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Fw: TCRecord This Week: Assessment as Inquiry
Message-ID: <BAY4-DAV86qVvPdLFYx0001a6c0@hotmail.com>

 Perhaps this article from Teachers College record by Ginette Delanshere, "Assessment as Inquiry" can help inform our discussion.  The article can be downloaded, but requires a TC subscription.

Following the brief TC description, I include the authors introduction.  The article is 24 pages.
  
George Demetrion
  
  
  
TCRecord for the Week of June 7th, 2004 -- http://www.tcrecord.org

This Week's Featured Article:

If what we know cannot be separated from how we know and
from the experiences and activities that shape it, then
the assessment questions have to be framed in such a way
as to be consistent with this theoretical perspective and
include social, cultural, and ethnical issues that have not
been typically addressed.  The questions asked would
therefore be different.  For example, accountability questions
could not be answered merely by measuring predetermined
learning outcomes of individual students.  Instead of
measuring what students do not know with regard to a fixed
domain, students' educational experiences and the activities
in which they engage would need to be considered to
understand what and how they know and learn.

Ginette Delandshere considers this and other issues regarding
current approaches to assessment in:

Assessment as Inquiry

** This article is featured on TCRecord's home page:

http://www.tcrecord.org
Introduction

Assessment as Inquiry  
  
 Ginette Delandshere
Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
Author Bio | E-mail Author

For more than 10 years now, arguments have been constructed regarding the need for new forms of educational assessment, and for a paradigm shift with a focus on supporting learning rather than on sorting and selecting students. The call for change in assessment follows an almost unanimous recognition of the limitations of current measurement theory and practice. The conceptions of learning represented by theories of learning and cognition appear strikingly different from those implied in current educational assessment and measurement practices. Indeed, most educational measurement specialists are still working from century-old understandings and behaviorist perspectives. Although the call for change is clear, the proposals and recommendations being put forward have limitations of their own and are unlikely to yield the kinds of fundamental changes envisioned by researchers. These limitations lie either in the focus of the work, in the lack of a clear articulation of the theories and concepts, in the nature of the assumptions made about learning (many of which remain implicit and unchanged), in the exclusion of certain conceptions of learning, or in some combination of these problems. This article explores the possibility of using inquiry as a way to understand, and hence to assess, learning. After an initial review of the assessment literature in which the need for change has been asserted and analysis of the theoretical and epistemological foundations that seem to undergird these writings, the focus shifts to the meaning of learning, knowing, and teaching implied in this literature and to the limitations of its recommendations. Later sections consider notions of learning that seem to be excluded from current assessment practices and begin to uncover similarities between learning, knowing, and inquiring that could make inquiry an appropriate metaphor for what we currently know as educational assessment. Finally, there is discussion of important issues that would need to be considered in an inquiry framework for assessment.  
  

===================================================================

Plus two new book reviews:

Connie J.S. Monroe reviews:
Teaching as Community Property:  Essays on Higher Education
by Lee S. Shulman

Thomas V. O'Brien reviews
Seeking Common Ground:  Public Schools in a Diverse Society
by David Tyack

** These reviews are featured on TCRecord's home page:

http://www.tcrecord.org

===================================================================

Plus don't forget to return to TCR this weekend for the

TCR Weekend Edition on Assessment - Papers from the TCR Collection

===================================================================

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From lketzenberg at resolutionpictures.com  Mon Jun 14 09:37:26 2004
From: lketzenberg at resolutionpictures.com (Laurie Ketzenberg)
Date: Mon, 14 Jun 2004 09:37:26 -0400
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Survey on Collaborative Practices in
	Vocational/Workplace ESL
Message-ID: <BCF32256.B158%lketzenberg@resolutionpictures.com>

Dear Colleagues,

To address the employment needs of the growing language minority population
in the US, educators implement initiatives that link service providers from
a variety of fields (i.e. basic education, Vocational ESL and technical
skill training).  Such collaborative efforts combine basic skills upgrading,
vocational/workplace training and other pre-employment skill enhancement.

It would be helpful to learn from and build upon promising practices. To
that end, I am inviting you to participate in a survey that attempts to get
at the nature of interagency and interdisciplinary collaboration.  Kindly
take a moment to reflect on ways you may have worked with others as well as
encountered challenges and/or obstacles with regard serving adult immigrants
seeking skill training.

My hope is that those on this listserv would be especially interested in
sharing their practices w/regard to serving language minority adults seeking
better jobs.  The survey focuses on ways in which educators collaborate with
others (or not) and urges you to elaborate on specific practices,
limitations, strategies to overcome obstacles.

The purpose of this survey is to synthesize the quantitative and qualitative
data gleaned from those "in the field" and share it with those who are
dedicated to improving their agencies' response to the growing need to train
language minority adults in family sustaining jobs.  Those on this listserv
are in positions of educational leadership and thus could speak and respond
to these complicated issues and, hopefully be interested in what others
report.  I'm collecting the data to include in a paper (w/the working title:
"How much English do I need to paint fingernails?") and to analyze for my
doctoral coursework in TESOL at Temple University.

To complete the brief, 15-item survey, please go to the following link:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=36945513908.

Thank you in advance for your participation.  I look forward to sharing the
results to assist educators who prepare immigrants for the labor market.

Sincerely,
Laurie Ketzenberg
Temple University

From sandy_strunk at iu13.org  Mon Jun 14 13:14:40 2004
From: sandy_strunk at iu13.org (Sandy Strunk)
Date: 14 Jun 2004 10:14:40 -0700
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Visions for Program Leadership and Improvement
Message-ID: <20040614141127.2474B470150@relay.iu13.org>

Good morning,
Kudos to Jan Gallagher and the staff of the Literacy Assistance Center in New York for featuring the Program Leadership and Improvement List in their May 04 Literacy Update.  If you would like to see what they wrote :-), this publication is available at

http://www.lacnyc.org/publications/Update2003-04/Update04May.pdf

Sandy Strunk
Lancaster Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13
Adult Basic and Family Literacy Education
1110 Enterprise Road
East Petersburg, PA 17520
(717) 519-1006

From lketzenberg at resolutionpictures.com  Tue Jun 15 13:04:43 2004
From: lketzenberg at resolutionpictures.com (Laurie Ketzenberg)
Date: Tue, 15 Jun 2004 13:04:43 -0400
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Survey on Collaboration ends Friday 6/18
Message-ID: <BCF4A46A.B18A%lketzenberg@resolutionpictures.com>

Dear Colleagues,

To follow-up from the invitation to participate in my survey on
collaborative practices in serving language minority adults seeking job
skills training, I wanted to clarify that I will be using the data for a
paper I'm hoping to publish as well as for a course I'm taking in the TESOL
program at Temple University.  The survey will close on Friday, June 18.

As a reminder, the link to take the survey is:
(http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=36945513908).

Thank you for your interest and participation.

Laurie Ketzenberg
Temple University 

From kchernus at mprinc.com  Wed Jun 16 15:56:36 2004
From: kchernus at mprinc.com (Kathy Chernus)
Date: 16 Jun 2004 15:56:36 -0400
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Community Partnerships Discussion Forums
Message-ID: <1022762546kchernus@mprinc.com>

We recently added a series of discussion forums to the Community Partnerships for Adult Learning (C-PAL) website (http://www.c-pal.net/forum/default.asp) to facilitate the conversation about building and sustaining community-based adult education partnerships. So far there has been very little response. I'm writing to encourage you to visit the forums as well as let us know how we could make them more inviting to adult education providers and their community partners. The initial forums include: engaging partners, coordinating/sharing resources, and collecting and using partnership data. Users can respond to specific questions under each of these or add other topics. Any suggestions on how to engage the field would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks. 

Kathy Chernus

Senior Associate
MPR Associates, Inc.
2401 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Suite 410
Washington, DC 20037
202-478-1027 X 102

From djrosen at comcast.net  Thu Jun 17 16:14:35 2004
From: djrosen at comcast.net (David Rosen)
Date: Thu, 17 Jun 2004 16:14:35 -0400
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Consolidation of federal funding on the state level
Message-ID: <F3AA2D1F-C09A-11D8-ABB1-00039381D39E@comcast.net>

Colleagues,

States (Governors), it is said, have more ability now to consolidate 
federal funding streams for adult education and literacy.  When people 
say this they often have in mind waivers, and perhaps other things.

I would be interested to learn about states that are trying to do this: 
to consolidate all adult education and literacy resources, and manage 
them out of one state agency : State K-12 Education, State Higher 
Education, State Labor, or State Workforce Development.

  Is there a state that has succeeded in doing this?  If so, which 
one(S) ?

Is this CONSOLIDATION a good idea or a bad idea? Why?

Are there other effective models of collaboration at the state level 
(e.g. a lead agency among several partner agencies setting standards, 
but no consolidation of funds)

What are the issues that states struggle with in trying to do this? For 
example, how do states that consolidate federal funding from different 
streams handle the complicated federal funding source reporting issues?

Although I think this would be an interesting online discussion, if you 
wish to respond privately, that would be fine, too.

David J. Rosen
djrosen at comcast.net

From sandy_strunk at iu13.org  Fri Jun 18 11:36:01 2004
From: sandy_strunk at iu13.org (Sandy Strunk)
Date: 18 Jun 2004 08:36:01 -0700
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Focus on Basics
Message-ID: <20040618123244.D4D3147001C@relay.iu13.org>

Youth in ABE. It's a constant topic of conversation. Now you can read
about it, too, in the newest issue of "Focus on Basics," available
on the NCSALL web site at http://ncsall.gse.harvard.edu (Scroll down on
the home page and click on the Newest FOB box)

How do you serve youth well without sacrificing the quality of service
to older students? Missouri literacy program director Janet Geary
participated in a professional development program to learn an approach
to educating youth called youth cultural competence. Janet writes
candidly about the trials of implementation from her perspective as a
program director. The changes her GED program made have resulted in
increased retention and positive outcomes. Read about the professional
development model and the theory behind Youth Cultural Competence as
well.

Young dropouts need to improve their basic skills because skills matter
to their economic futures, writes NCSALL researcher John Tyler. He
shares findings from his study that examined the impact of literacy
skills on earnings.  Jennifer Roloff Welch and Kathrynn Di Tommaso
examine how many youth are in the ABE system and why. It's a
substantial number and may well grow over the next few years.

Oregon's Virginia Tardaewether sees no reason to separate younger and
older students. What better place to learn to live together, she
suggests, than in the ABE classroom? Students of all ages mix
successfully in a high school for beginning English for speakers of
other languages in Fairfax, Virginia. Originally established for young
immigrants, the program now enrolls students of all ages. 
In South Dakota, Lara Ann Frey and Yvonne Lerew found it necessary to
create a special class for young immigrants who had age-specific
psychosocial as well as language learning needs. Separating students by
age works for a community college in New Mexico as well. Teachers
Lilia-Rosa Salmon and Anastasia Cotton find that both the younger and
older students now feel freer to address age-specific concerns within
their classrooms and their academics have benefited as well.
To read all of these stories and more, click on
http://ncsall.gse.harvard.edu/fob/ 
Barb Garner
Editor, Focus on Basics

Barbara Garner
Senior Program Officer         email bgarner at worlded.org      World Education                   phone (617) 482-9485 44 Farnsworth Street             fax  (617) 482-0617   Boston, MA  02210

From sandy_strunk at iu13.org  Mon Jun 28 14:41:36 2004
From: sandy_strunk at iu13.org (Sandy Strunk)
Date: 28 Jun 2004 11:41:36 -0700
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Student involvement in adult education leadership
Message-ID: <20040628153811.156484701A0@relay.iu13.org>

A little over a week ago, Marty Finsterbusch, Executive Director of VALUE (Voice of Adult Literacy United for Education) met with me to talk about students as adult education leaders. At the end of the following interview with Marty, he posed the questions for list participants: -Tell me from your own perspective, what is student involvement? -What have you seen? -What have you heard? -What are you doing to involve students in your work?

It is our hope that you will respond to these questions from your perspective and/or comment on the many points Marty makes in his posting. Many thanks to Marty for the time and effort he took to share his thoughts with us. Marty has also agreed to actively participate in the list for the next two weeks as we explore this topic.

Sandy Strunk
PLI List Moderator
******************************

Interview for the NIFL Program Leadership and Improvement List
June 2004

SS:  Could you talk a little bit about who you are, how you got involved in student leadership and what your role is now?

MF: Well, my name is Marty Finsterbusch and I am the Executive Director of VALUE. VALUE stands for Voice of Adult Literacy United for Education. It?s the only national adult learner organization in the United States. Basically, we are the alumni of adult Ed. What happened is the adult learners from across the United States got together and said, ?We need our own organization; we?re part of this field." So, about 45 adult learners got together at a place called Highlander in Tennessee in the middle of nowhere and said, ?We?re going to do this.? It took us a couple of years to figure out our mission and by 2001 we opened up our own national office. They asked me to become its first executive director. Since then, we?ve been developing training for our peers so they can go back and work in their programs on improvement. We have a national training system we?re getting ready to launch across the states this fall. We?re also turning ourselves into a national resource center on student leadership and involvement. We?ve been working with NIFL on this. And then we have our own national leadership institute that we do every other year. This year, on March 8, 9, and 10th we?ll be in Washington, D.C. We expect approximately 200 adult learner leaders from across the United States to be there. 
As far as how I got started, you would have to go back now about 18 years. I got involved as a student in adult education. I had a learning disability and as a child I got put in a special education program where I sat for 12 years. I came out with a 4th grade reading level. With that, I wanted to go to college but I was told, ?you can?t go to college; it?s for normal people.? No one could really help me because I had a high school diploma. But, the local literacy program had external money and they were able to take me. My reading ability jumped six levels in little over a year and I became one of Pennsylvania?s Outstanding Adult Education students. That?s how I got exposed to adult education leadership.

I went to my first national conference and 1986 and it was the first time they actually had adult learners at a conference. They had a workshop for the students and they had feet cut out on the ground to show us where our room was. And, they had it down in the basement and I swear the ceiling leaked on us the entire time. 
Anyway, I got involved at a conference workshop. There were a group of students in the front of the room who were introduced as national student leaders. Locally, I was starting to organize student support groups in our local program area, so I kept asking questions like, ?How do you run a support group?? They didn?t seem to know anything. One person sat there with his hands crossed the whole time and didn?t say anything. Finally a practitioner got up and shut me down and turned the questions away from me. So, that?s how I got involved ? out of anger. If you?re going to be a student leader, I don?t care what you know, but you need to know something. And that?s been my philosophy ever since. I don?t care what you know as long as you?ve able to speak up, and share some kind of knowledge or information with someone else.  That makes you a leader.  That philosophy has carried me through 18 years of student involvement.

What is student involvement? Over the years, people saw student involvement as support groups where students get together and talk to each other. Today, some people are seeing it as advocacy. It?s much more than that. The reality is -- anything your organization does, students can be involved in it, (Anything). If you?re looking at fund-raising, student involvement can be part of that. If you?re looking at your retention rate, student involvement can be part of that. I don?t want to get into all of the specifics since it is part of our training, but you can involve students in anything.

SS:  What unique perspective do you think student bring to leadership and program improvement?

MF: Look at any company. Any company would be foolish to run their business without customer input. Look at higher education. They have alumni groups. K-12 has alumni groups. What does adult education have?  No alumni. Why is that? 
Why aren?t we asking the people we have helped to be part of our organization and be involved in what we are doing? We get them up to a point and say, "bye," -- so there is a vast resource in our field that has not been tapped. This could help us a great deal, but our field is broken into smaller pieces and is very rarely looked at as a whole. We don?t think about how to keep students involved. Thus, our field is missing important allies -- our students. We?re not bringing the students back in to the program and this is the most important part of student involvement.

SS: I hear you saying two things. First, students are an untapped resource, as we look at all of the shrinking resources in adult education we are over looking the people resources. Secondly, from a customer perspective, maybe students know ways we can improve our programs.

MF: Yes, you are dealing with adults. They may be lacking in reading, writing, or English skills, but they also have life experiences that a child does not. They know what has worked and what has not worked for them in the past. We need to get rid of the image of adult learners as the poor minority adults on welfare with 20 kids. 
Our society?s rules are changing and pushing people out of the mainstream.

SS: Who are we pushing out?

MF: Take my father for instance; he worked in the meat cutting business when we were young. We always had everything we needed but not everything we wanted. Now the meat cutting business is gone. Large factories process and package the meat. Another example may be someone who is widowed. Once their spouse has died they are forced to assume another role. 
Our society is changing, and we are all being placed in ?less than? categories. In our society there is discrimination against adult learners. Yes, there is discrimination on the basis of wealth, race and gender, but we also discriminate based on knowledge and skills. Just because you can't read and write well, you are seen as ?less than."  Our reading and writing skills may be less than [that of others], but as a human being we are not less than anyone else. 
Even in our field a lot of people see their students as less than themselves. They don't see what students could do for them because they believe they are less than. They don?t realize that student there just happens to be the cousin of your town?s commissioner or that student just happens to be the CEO of that company over there. So we are not seeing our students as a whole, we're seeing them, as ?my class with a lack of basic skills.?  Students could bring a lot of empowerment to programs, but we don?t ask.

SS: So what you are saying is students are not just people who have a learning need, but the also have a lot to offer in many other areas.

MF: We are dealing with tradition in our field. When people come into our programs, what do we normally say to them? We say, "Don?t worry, we'll keep it a secret." What our field is doing is reinforcing that there is something wrong with adult learners. So then, why would they tell other people about the program in the community? Why would they speak up about the program when we ask them to speak? We've told them that there is something wrong with them. 
When we involve students in the VALUE core training what we are doing is inviting them to be involved in something, a project. What are students getting out of that? Are they coming just for the sake of it? No, they are coming for the skills. They?re learning how to manage a project, they?re learning how to work in an office, and they?re learning how to work in a team. All of that translates into job skills. If you only picture Adult Ed as teaching reading and writing, it doesn?t work. 
SS: As you were talking, I was thinking about the name of the organization, VALUE. Was the name selected to underscore the VALUE adult learners bring to our field?

MF: Well you had 45 adult learners at Highlander. Highlander has all of their meetings in rocking chairs and you sit in a circle. So, you have 45 people in a circle trying to come up with a name for the organization. That?s where VALUE came from, a lot of compromises on the acronym and what it would represent. Our name is a voice, not voices, but a voice for adult literacy because we already have so many people speaking for our field. We are speaking as one voice, the adult learner and we are united when it come to education. We all come from different backgrounds but we all care about this field.  
SS: And the other difference is you are speaking for yourselves. Someone?s not speaking for you.

MF: There?s always someone saying? they need this, they should be doing that.?  I say, ?HELLO, were right here in the room! This is what we need.? We?ve never spoken as a group. This is the first time in the history of the United States that you actually have a group that is totally run by the students. We?re not a puppet under any other national organization. We?re not a division or a little sub-committee that has no power what so ever. My board or trustees are all individuals that learned to read as adults. And they are the owners of VALUE. We have a 501c (3), so we are the first of its kind. That gives us a really unique perspective on this entire field. Now we are looking at the whole field from the customer?s viewpoint.

SS: What can programs and states and administrators and other program leaders do to help VALUE and to help students have a greater voice in our field?

MF: One, acknowledge the present situation and help to get the word out to students. Let's be honest, we have a few of gatekeepers, meaning VALUE cannot not get to the students in your program. To deal with the state we have to get through the state director or the state group and get them to understand student involvement. Then, once they understand, you can get through to the next level of gatekeeper, program directors. Do they understand student involvement or are they set in their ways and saying, ?This is the way we have always done it and this is they way we are going to continue to do it.? Are they accepting of power sharing and seeing things differently? Then, once you get through that, you have to get through the program manager. After the program manager you have to get through the teachers. Some teachers say,? Well, students aren?t ready for it.? Sometimes, if you send out student meeting letters to tutors, the tutor might say, ?my students aren?t ready for that.? They made the decision before even talking to the students. Do you see all of the different levels before we get to the student? That?s our problem.

SS: So, you want students to know they don?t have to ask anyone?s permission to join VALUE.  They can just do it.

MF: We have to convince so many people of the value of having students participate in their own program. At the same time, they?re getting skills that they can use for the rest of their lives. Those same skills can help run an organization. I constantly hear organizations say,? We don?t have the staff to do a newsletter.?  Why don?t they ask students to be some of the reporters? They can do it with their teachers or they can do it with their tutors. They can interview you and your other staff as a writing assignment. You could proof it and invite them into your office to produce it and pop it in the mailing. Now they are getting office skills. They are learning how to use a copier and how bulk mailing works. And what did it really cost you? It gave your students the chance to come into your organization and be exposed to what you are going through. They are hearing things and seeing things that help them understand how the program works. In the future, if a situation comes up for your program, they are more willing to speak up and defend your program because they feel like they are part of it. Many programs are missing students willing to stand up for them.

SS: If someone is a member of the list and they want to get more information on VALUE, what should they do?

MF: Go to our website www.valueusa.org. It?s still being updated, but you can get the most current information there.

SS: Earlier when we talked, you had a good idea about an initial question you want to pose to list participants. 
MF: That?s right. The question I want to start off with is ?Tell me from your own perspective, what is student involvement? What have you seen? What have you heard? What are you doing to involve students in your work??

SS: Thank you, Marty, for sharing your thoughts on student leadership with list participants. I?m hoping many of them will respond to the question you posed and I appreciate your willingness to be an active participant in the discussion over the next two weeks.

From MaryJo.Maralit at ed.gov  Thu Jul  1 09:01:21 2004
From: MaryJo.Maralit at ed.gov (Maralit, Mary Jo)
Date: Thu, 1 Jul 2004 09:01:21 -0400
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Discussion about Adult Learners on NIFL-PLI list
Message-ID: <4062487BDB6029428A763CAEF4E1FE5B0337275F@wdcrobe2m03.ed.gov>

Talk to Marty Finsterbusch, Executive Director of VALUE, on the NIFL Program Leadership and Improvement List.  Marty's focus for the discussion is on The Role of the Adult Learner in Program Leadership and Improvement.  Formed in 1998, VALUE (Voice of Adult Literacy United for Education) is the national organization of adult learners in the United States.  For more information about VALUE: http://www.valueusa.org/index.html

Marty would like you to share your experiences in getting adult learners involved in your programs.  
Go to: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/nifl-pli/2004/000069.html to read Sandy Strunk's interview with Marty.  

To subscribe to the PLI list: http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/nifl-pli

Thanks!

***** TELL US HOW YOU USE LINCS *****

Jo Maralit
mmaralit at nifl.gov  
http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/ 

From susanfinn_miller at iu13.org  Thu Jul 29 07:59:17 2004
From: susanfinn_miller at iu13.org (Susan Finn Miller)
Date: 29 Jul 2004 07:59:17 -0400
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Practitioners as Co-learners
Message-ID: <20040729115913.16079470006@relay.iu13.org>

         Reply to:   Practitioners as Co-learners
Hello colleagues, 
July is quickly coming to an end, and the lazy, hazy days of summer are upon us.  Perhaps between taking some well deserved time off, you may have a few minutes to contribute to our discussion on Practitioners as Co-learners.  Sandy Strunk suggested that rather than writing a lengthy posting on the topic of Program Improvement through Collaborative Learning, that I, instead, pose a few questions.

What does the concept 'practitioner as co-learner' mean to you? I've often heard that teachers tend to teach the way they were taught. Does this ring true in your experience? Have you ever been taught by a teacher who assumed the role of a co-learner?  What was that experience like?  What assumptions about teaching and learning do we practitioners carry into our classrooms?  How do our previous experiences shape our approach to our work?

As I've thought about the concept 'practitioners as co-learners,' I've concluded that our work as adult literacy practitioners entails a kind of artful balance.  Learners come to us with expectations based on a lifetime of experiences, including experiences with schooling.  If I, as a teacher, embrace my role as a co-learner, how might I organize my class so that the adult learners I am working with can understand and benefit from my approach?  Since teachers and learners bring clear ideas about teaching and learning, it is my view that it is important to create spaces in the classroom for conversations about our assumptions and beliefs.

As someone who provides professional development to adult literacy practitioners, I would also like to take a stance as a co-learner with the practitioners I work with.  What should such professional development look like to assist practitioners to grapple with these ideas about our roles?  What would it mean, in a program improvement context, to strike such an artful balance?

All the best,   
Susan Finn Miller
SEPDC and Lancaster Lebanon IU 13
Adult Basic and Family Literacy Education
1110 Enterprise Road
East Petersburg, PA  17520
(717) 519-1007
fax: 717-560-6150
susanfinn_miller at iu13.org

From sandy_strunk at iu13.org  Thu Jul 29 16:22:24 2004
From: sandy_strunk at iu13.org (Sandy Strunk)
Date: 29 Jul 2004 13:22:24 -0700
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Reading at Risk
Message-ID: <20040729171833.4EC164701DF@relay.iu13.org>

Good afternoon, everyone,
Reading at Risk, a recent report published by the National Endowment for the Arts, tells us that for the first time in modern history, less than half of the adult population reads literature. Further, reading of all sorts is down, particularly for adults aged 18 to 24. This study, which was based on an enormous sample size of more than 17,000 adults, asks some very disturbing questions related to the loss of print culture and the impact that might have on volunteerism, philantropy, and political engagement. You may want to read the complete report at:  http://www.arts.gov:591/pub/index.html

I found it incredibly disturbing. 
Sandy Strunk
Lancaster Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13
Program Director for Community Education
1110 Enterprise Road
East Petersburg, PA 17520
(717) 519-1006

From EJacobson at air.org  Fri Jul 30 13:45:41 2004
From: EJacobson at air.org (Jacobson, Erik)
Date: Fri, 30 Jul 2004 10:45:41 -0700
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] RE: Reading at Risk
Message-ID: <DC59DD324318E44AA0C054AC1D7806BE01FF7C15@ca1ex1.air.org>

Hi. I just read the Reading at Risk paper, and found it quite disturbing, but not for the reasons that were previously suggested. 

First and foremost, the report equates reading literature with literacy. This overlooks all of the other uses we have literacy (reading your medicine bottle, for example). Reading literature is one aspect of literacy practice, and one that has varied over time. I am not sure we can say that "for the first time in modern history, less than half of the adult population reads literature" given that for much of modern history, it has been religious books (rather than fiction) that have been placed at the center of reading communities. 
I would guess that given the rapid increases in overall rates of literacy and affordable access to literature in the last century, having more than 50% of adults reading literature is a recent development. 

Second, while it notes that 56.6% of respondents read some sort of book in the previous year (down slightly from 60.9% in 1992)and that the percentage of total recreational spending that went to books did not really change (5.7% of the total in 1990, 5.6% in 2002)it presents its findings as if it is the end of reading.  Even while they suggest that people may have spent more time in 2002 reading newspapers and magazines about post-9/11 life, because those types of reading were not accounted for in their analysis, the use of literary reading as a barometer of America's "literacy" is misleading. Indeed, the report speaks of an "imminent cultural crisis" and "a culture at risk."  It does not explain what the nature of the cultural crisis is, nor to which culture they are referring to by "a culture."  

Third, the report states that there are strong correlations between literary reading and volunteerism and participation in the arts. The suggestion is that if we can get people reading literature, they will become more engaged civically and artistically. This despite their own findings that show literary reading is strongly correlated with income levels. Nowhere does the report suggest that the reasons people who make $20,000 a year don't read literature in their leisure time or go to the ballet are mostly economic in nature. No mention of the real life of people with two or three jobs (like many of our adult students) 

Don't get me wrong, I like literature, and I would love for adult students to be reading it, but I think we have to be careful about reports that equate literature with literacy, and talk about a crisis in an undefined (but presumably shared) culture. 

Erik Jacobson

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Message: 1
Date: 29 Jul 2004 13:22:24 -0700
From: Sandy Strunk <sandy_strunk at iu13.org>
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Reading at Risk
To: "NIFL -PLI List" <nifl-pli at literacy.nifl.gov>
Message-ID: <20040729171833.4EC164701DF at relay.iu13.org>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-Ascii"

Good afternoon, everyone,
Reading at Risk, a recent report published by the National Endowment for the Arts, tells us that for the first time in modern history, less than half of the adult population reads literature. Further, reading of all sorts is down, particularly for adults aged 18 to 24. This study, which was based on an enormous sample size of more than 17,000 adults, asks some very disturbing questions related to the loss of print culture and the impact that might have on volunteerism, philantropy, and political engagement. You may want to read the complete report at:  http://www.arts.gov:591/pub/index.html

I found it incredibly disturbing. 
Sandy Strunk
Lancaster Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13
Program Director for Community Education
1110 Enterprise Road
East Petersburg, PA 17520
(717) 519-1006

------------------------------

_______________________________________________
NIFL-PLI mailing list
NIFL-PLI at literacy.nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/nifl-pli

End of NIFL-PLI Digest, Vol 15, Issue 2
***************************************

From SColeman at air.org  Fri Jul 30 17:24:01 2004
From: SColeman at air.org (Coleman, Stephen)
Date: Fri, 30 Jul 2004 17:24:01 -0400
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] desk review instruments
Message-ID: <88EAF3512A55DF46B06B1954AEF73F74047BF5D1@dc1ex2.air.org>

Staff at the American Institutes for Research are assembling desk
reviews or desk audits instruments related to program quality and
program improvement, so that we can create a model for states to use and
adapt for monitoring programs without going "on-site".  

 

If you know of any examples, please send a copy or direct me toward a
website where I could get them.   

 

In advance thanks.  We will post information about the "model" to the
list later this year.

 

Thanks,

Steve

 

Stephen Coleman, Ph.D.

Research Analyst

American Institutes for Research

1000 Thomas Jefferson Street, NW

Washington, DC 20007

(202) 403 -6933

 

From sylvan at cccchs.org  Mon Aug  9 13:51:46 2004
From: sylvan at cccchs.org (Sylvan Rainwater)
Date: Mon, 9 Aug 2004 10:51:46 -0700
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] RE: Reading at Risk
In-Reply-To: <DC59DD324318E44AA0C054AC1D7806BE01FF7C15@ca1ex1.air.org>
Message-ID: <002601c47e39$8a36cf60$1a01a8c0@cccchs.org>

Thank you to Erik Jacobson for pointing out what could be considered a
classist (at least) bias in this report. I was also a little surprised that
literacy was equated with literary reading, since that barely figures in to
the kind of literacy I teach, because it's not really the kind of literacy
my students need every day. The literature we do teach tends to be
children's books, partly because we are teaching parents of young children,
and partly because good children's books are excellent in terms of
developing language skills.

The report makes the assumption that if people aren't reading literature
then they aren't thinking and they aren't involved in the culture. I agree
that we need to question which culture we are talking about here. Part of
what we do in our program is to help Hispanic immigrants to find their way
in to the society, which involves all sorts of negotiation. We need to
realize that they have a lot to offer us in terms of cultural richness, and
accept that along with offering what we have, and not get too narrow-minded
about what constitutes valid culture.

That said, I do believe the report is chronicling a very large shift in how
we teach and learn, and in culture in general. The shift to electronic
communication is at least as revolutionary as the introduction of printing,
changing our ways of thinking and how we do things, to an extent that we're
still discovering.

-------
Sylvan Rainwater  mailto:sylvan at cccchs.org
Program Manager Family Literacy
Clackamas Co. Children's Commission /  Head Start
Oregon City, OR  USA
 

From sandy_strunk at iu13.org  Mon Aug 16 11:06:35 2004
From: sandy_strunk at iu13.org (Sandy Strunk)
Date: 16 Aug 2004 08:06:35 -0700
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] VALUE and voter registration
Message-ID: <20040816120230.041DC470002@relay.iu13.org>

VALUE, Inc.
Voice for Adult Literacy United for Education
2217 Providence Ave., 2nd Floor
Chester, PA 19013
610-876-7625 (tel.)  610-876-1996 (fax)
http://www.valueusa.org
office at valueusa.org

August 12, 2004

Dear Colleague,

VALUE, the national adult learner leadership organization, urges adult  education programs across the country to set aside September 8th  through October 8th for civics and voter registration activities in  preparation for the November election. This is a non-partisan effort to  show that adult learners have a desire and a need to vote and do vote.

We are asking administrators and teachers to include in their lesson  plans, topics on election education from September 8th to October 8th.  This is to help adult learners to understand why voting is important in  a democracy, and to gain information on how to register to vote and the  voting procedures in their area. We, at VALUE, Inc are not experts on  the voting procedures, but we can guide you to a source that can  provide you with all the information you need.

Please read the March 2004 issue of ?The Change Agent? at

					http://www.nelrc.org/Vera/index.htm

It will provide you with important information about how to register to  vote. Learners and practitioners who are U.S. citizens can print a form  to register to vote or request one to be mailed to them by clicking on  the blue box near the bottom of the web page reading, ?Your vote  matters?. They will need to mail in the completed registration form 2-4  weeks before the election, but this varies depending on your state. You  will also find in ?The Change Agent? web links to useful resources and  helpful voter education activities.

In addition, the National Council of Nonprofit Associations (NCNA) has  developed a toolkit on election activities for 501(c)(3) organizations.  It describes the types of election-related activities in which  nonprofit charities can engage. In addition to describing the do?s and  don?ts, it provides samples and other materials to help charities  engage in permissible activities during this election cycle. The  website is

					http://www.ncna.org

If you click on Election 2004 Information, this will take you to the  NCNA election toolkit.

Please help us with this effort! It?s very important to adult learners  to show that we care about what happens to our families, to our  neighborhoods, and to our country. If your program plans to  participate, and we hope you will, please e-mail our colleague, David  Rosen, at djrosen at comcast.net. Let him know your name, the name of your  program, your town/state,  briefly  describe what voter education or  registration activities you plan. David has agreed to provide updates  on program activities to the AAACE-NLA electronic list.

Thanks for your help and support!

Marty Finsterbusch
Executive Director
VALUE, Inc.

From Ronna.Spacone at ed.gov  Mon Aug 23 15:46:34 2004
From: Ronna.Spacone at ed.gov (Spacone, Ronna)
Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2004 15:46:34 -0400
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Seeking Special Projects 
Message-ID: <0C05326017A779439EB52BFBCEA008DE02F12EDE@wdcrobe2m03.ed.gov>

The other day, I remembered something a former colleague told me, shortly after I began working in the field of adult education and literacy: "One of the best ways for any program manager to promote/facilitate the process of education reform and improvement on the local level is to have your program participate in special state and national projects." That's why her region's program was always (and still is) applying to be in special projects. Although I didn't know it then, now I think her appraisal is accurate. Does this match your experience?

Are any NIFL-PLI subscribers working with a special project designed to advance some reform or improvement (teacher, program, curriculum, instruction, etc.) that you could share here? Or have you applied to be part of one? Could you share some information about it here? Thanks. And what do you expect/hope to happen as a result of your program/region/state's participation? 

Are any PLI subscribers participating in Project STAR or the Adult Education State Content Standards Consortia, both of which are being supported by the Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education, through its National Leadership Activities program. Project STAR is a reading improvement initiative that's supporting six pilot states committed to improving reading instruction for intermediate-level adults (CA, IL, OH, CN, SD and ME). The Adult Education State Content Standards Consortia Project is supporting 15 states' participation in two consortia for the development and alignment of ABE/ASE and ESL standards (GA, ID, IN, KY, LA, MI, WY, FLA, IL, MA, MO, PA, TX, VA, and WA). Both of these projects are just getting underway.

I am looking forward to our sharing information, excitement, questions, and concerns on this discussion list as everyone's program improvement efforts progress. 

Ronna

Ronna Spacone
Education Program Specialist
U.S. Department of Education
Office of Vocational and Adult Education
Division of Adult Education and Literacy
(202) 245-7755

http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/pi/AdultEd/index.html

From principal at ahs-diploma.com  Tue Aug 24 19:00:43 2004
From: principal at ahs-diploma.com (principal at ahs-diploma.com)
Date: Tue, 24 Aug 2004 16:00:43 -0700
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Finding Special Projects  (Spacone,
	Ronna) : AMERICAN HISPANIC SCHOOL 
In-Reply-To: <200408241600.i7OG0ec09755@literacy.nifl.gov>
Message-ID: <000001c48a2e$311cb470$6d01a8c0@AHSPRINCIPAL>

Hi, everybody:

Anybody in the Adult Education area knows, enjoys, uses and loves NIFL
concepts and materials. I am 1 of your fans.

I direct in California an Independent Adult High School - THE AMERICAN
HISPANIC SCHOOL - delivering the Adult High School, Secondary Diploma an
instructional program categorized by NCES (53.0105)for the  completion
of and graduation from a secondary school program of academic subject
matter offered for adult learners outside of the regular secondary
school.

We accept students with at least 8th. Grade, assess them to identify
their academic level after their studies and living experiences and
skills before entering the program with 180 minutes weekly classes( in
English or Spanish) trough one semester in length.

As an strategy to complement this class time, Adult Student develop an
Independent Study contract and do their weekly assignments  handwritten
which allow the School and Students  to have evidence of their work and
knowledge.

Before graduating, Adult Student present a Graduation Project as a
culmination of their research, reading, comprehension, writing, spelling
and speech experience.

AMERICAN HISPANIC SCHOOL is a Non-profit  Corporation in California:
doesn't receive public fund: Adult Student pay their own Tuition and
fees.

We see this program as an effort from non-public educators to complement
the public school system.

We believe that Education is one basic Human Right that has been denied
to millions of Adult students who never finished their High School or
who did it in their country or in the United States but never got the
High School Diploma.

But WE, EVERYBODY IN ADULT EDUCATION KNOW, there is no support or even
regulation from the Sates Departments of Education for this kind of
service: a Private High School accepting only ADULT  High School
students in a program below the postsecondary level.

WE will appreciate your feedback.
PEDRO A. CONTRERAS
13552 Golden West St.
Westminster, CA.
www.ahs-diploma.com / info at ahs-diploma.com 

-----Original Message-----
From: nifl-pli-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:nifl-pli-bounces at nifl.gov] On
Behalf Of 
Sent: Tuesday, August 24, 2004 9:01 AM
To: nifl-pli at literacy.nifl.gov
Subject: NIFL-PLI Digest, Vol 19, Issue 1

Send NIFL-PLI mailing list submissions to
	nifl-pli at literacy.nifl.gov

To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
	http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/nifl-pli
or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
	nifl-pli-request at literacy.nifl.gov

You can reach the person managing the list at
	nifl-pli-owner at literacy.nifl.gov

When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
than "Re: Contents of NIFL-PLI digest..."

Hi, everybody:
Everybody in the Adult Education area, knows, uses, understands and
loves NIFL

Today's Topics:

   1. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2004 15:46:34 -0400
From: "Spacone, Ronna" <Ronna.Spacone at ed.gov>
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Seeking Special Projects 
To: <nifl-pli at literacy.nifl.gov>
Message-ID:
	<0C05326017A779439EB52BFBCEA008DE02F12EDE at wdcrobe2m03.ed.gov>
Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="iso-8859-1"

The other day, I remembered something a former colleague told me,
shortly after I began working in the field of adult education and
literacy: "One of the best ways for any program manager to
promote/facilitate the process of education reform and improvement on
the local level is to have your program participate in special state and
national projects." That's why her region's program was always (and
still is) applying to be in special projects. Although I didn't know it
then, now I think her appraisal is accurate. Does this match your
experience?

Are any NIFL-PLI subscribers working with a special project designed to
advance some reform or improvement (teacher, program, curriculum,
instruction, etc.) that you could share here? Or have you applied to be
part of one? Could you share some information about it here? Thanks. And
what do you expect/hope to happen as a result of your
program/region/state's participation? 

Are any PLI subscribers participating in Project STAR or the Adult
Education State Content Standards Consortia, both of which are being
supported by the Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult
Education, through its National Leadership Activities program. Project
STAR is a reading improvement initiative that's supporting six pilot
states committed to improving reading instruction for intermediate-level
adults (CA, IL, OH, CN, SD and ME). The Adult Education State Content
Standards Consortia Project is supporting 15 states' participation in
two consortia for the development and alignment of ABE/ASE and ESL
standards (GA, ID, IN, KY, LA, MI, WY, FLA, IL, MA, MO, PA, TX, VA, and
WA). Both of these projects are just getting underway.

I am looking forward to our sharing information, excitement, questions,
and concerns on this discussion list as everyone's program improvement
efforts progress. 

Ronna

Ronna Spacone
Education Program Specialist
U.S. Department of Education
Office of Vocational and Adult Education
Division of Adult Education and Literacy
(202) 245-7755

http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/pi/AdultEd/index.html

------------------------------

_______________________________________________
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NIFL-PLI at literacy.nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/nifl-pli

End of NIFL-PLI Digest, Vol 19, Issue 1
***************************************

From MCorley at air.org  Tue Sep  7 13:07:10 2004
From: MCorley at air.org (Corley, Mary Ann)
Date: Tue, 7 Sep 2004 13:07:10 -0400
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] National Adult Education Practitioner-Reearcher Symposium
Message-ID: <88EAF3512A55DF46B06B1954AEF73F7404060E1F@dc1ex2.air.org>

SAVE the DATES:  December 9-11, 2004!

ANNOUNCING: A MEETING OF THE MINDS SYMPOSIUM!

The National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy
(NCSALL), the California
Department of Education (CDE) Adult Education Office, and the California
Adult Literacy
Professional Development Project (CALPRO) of the American Institutes for
Research
are pleased to announce A Meeting of the Minds: A National Adult
Education Practitioner-Researcher Symposium. 

Scheduled for December 9-11, 2004, in Sacramento, California, the
symposium is designed
to provide opportunities for adult education practitioners and
researchers to share
and discuss the most current research findings and practitioner wisdom.
It will 
engage practitioners and researchers with questions related to goals,
accountability,
and efficacy and efficiency in policy, practice, and research. The
ultimate goals
of the symposium are to enhance literacy practice and increase student
learning 
gains. The theme of the symposium is Supporting Student Success: What
Does Research
Tell Us? 

Each session will be structured so that the research presentation will
be followed
by a panel of practitioners who will discuss implications for practice
or policy.
In addition, conference attendees will have opportunities for small
group interaction
and networking with researcher-presenters to discuss not only how
research can inform
practice and policy, but also how practice and policy can inform and
suggest a research
agenda.      

For more information about the Meeting of the Minds symposium, visit the
symposium
Web site at www.researchtopractice.org. You can register for the
Symposium online.
The Web site also contains information about hotel registration
(Sheraton Grand 
Hotel, Sacramento). 

Plan to join us in December in Sacramento!

-Mary Ann Corley, Ph.D.
Symposium Coordinator and
CALPRO Director, American Institutes for Research

From harveywm at earthlink.net  Tue Sep  7 15:08:37 2004
From: harveywm at earthlink.net (harveywm at earthlink.net)
Date: Tue, 7 Sep 2004 15:08:37 -0400 (GMT-04:00)
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] (no subject)
Message-ID: <33438982.1094584124971.JavaMail.root@bert.psp.pas.earthlink.net>

____________________________________________

             Technology Grant News
             Technology Resource News
____________________________________________

The latest edition of Technology Grant News and Technology Resource News ??? Electronic Bulletin is available.  For nonprofits, towns & cities, libraries & museums, and K-20 schools, colleges & universities. For information on subscriptions and obtaining the Fall 2004 issue: http://www.technologygrantnews.com/technology-funding.html  
 
Technology Grant News ??? Vol. 6, No. 4, Fall  2004
 
Featured in this issue:
1. Major Funding: Health-Related Information Technology & Informatics Grants; Best Buy Teach Grants; Christopher Columbus Foundation Grants

2. City Grants; Library & Museum Grants: Assoc. American Museums, Council on Library & Information Resources, Health Information Sciences Scholarship; IMLS, Museums for America; SIRSI Corporation Technology Grant

3. Innovative Use of Technology by Nonprofits: AAUW; Bronx Cash Register Grants; Christina; Dell;  Google; Jim Mullen Foundation; NEH; RealNetworks; SalesForce; Webb Foundation

4. Special Supplement: Health-Related Information Technology & Informatics Grants for Libraries, Nonprofits, Colleges & Universities; Government Agencies: Internet Access to Digital Libraries; Informatics for Disaster Management; Information Systems Grants; Integrated Advanced Information Management; Biomedical Information Science & Technology Initiative; Biomedical Informatics Research Grants & Scholarships and more??? 

5. For K-20 ??? Schools, Colleges & Universities, Post-Graduate: Advanced Technological Education; Centers for Teaching; Digital Archiving; Embedded Hybrids; Highly Dependable Computing; Interagency Education Research Initiative; Nanoscale Science & Engineering Education; Universal Access
 
6. For K-12: Disneyhand; Inspiration Software; Kids in Need; MET & NCTM Grants; Financial Education Grants; Explorer Schools; Delta Education; Toyota Tapestry; Vernier Software; Texas Instruments; YES Competition
Applications are currently available for funding announced in this issue.  Application Deadlines run from mid-September ??? February for funding featured in this issue. Fall 2004, Vol 6, Number 4, 12-pages, published 4 times a year, ISSN 1534-5785.

Technology Resource News - Electronic Bulletin
Fall 2004   Volume 6, Number 4
Published & distributed along with each issue of Technology Grant News

This Issue???s Topics:
 
1. Towns, Cities & States ??? E-Government Resources
CTG Survey Results on Digital Government - Report
Electronic Government - Call for Papers
Harvard Releases New e-Rulemaking Report ??? Report
Mapping Entrepreneurial Activity Across Rural America ??? Report
 
2. Library & Museum Resources
How is the Health of Our Heritage - Library Call for Information
Information Technologies for Libraries - Call for Papers
IMLS Technology and Digitization Survey  Report - Report
Library Tools ??? New Free Software
Museums and the  Web 2005 ??? Call for Papers
 
3. Nonprofit Resources 
Community Technology Review ??? Electronic Journal
Computer Refurbishers Listserv - Listserv
e-Health Awards ??? Award Recognition
 ???Guide to Community Multimedia Centres??? - Handbook
Health Information Communication Technologies  ??? Internet Resource
Innnovation Networkt Organizational Assessment Tool (OAT) ??? Internet Resource
 ???The Map of Creativity???  - Internet Resource
???The Mental Health Professional and the New Technologies??? ???  Review Copy
"Network-Centric Thinking: The Internet's Challenge to Ego-Centric Institutions" ??? Online article 
Nonprofit Cultural Funding: Federal Opportunities
NPower NY  Technology Service Corps ??? Review
OpenOffice Suite ??? Free software
Psychology WWW Virtual Library  - Internet Resource
SustainIT Newsletter ??? Electronic Newsletter
Tele-medicine & Telehealth Resources
The Webby Awards ??? Award Recognition
WebHealthCentre.com ??? Internet Resource
 
4.    K-20 ???- Kindergarten - College & University Resources 
Advanced Placement Digital Library for Biology, Physics, Chemistry ??? Internet Resource 
 Carnegie Mellon University Open Learning Initiative ??? Teacher Resource
Community Technology Center ???  Teaching Resource
Cool Cosmos - California Institute of Technology ??? Internet Resource 
Educause ??? Technology in Education E-Journal
EdVisions Schools - Educators Creating EdVisions Schools ??? Links to Resources
Engineering Design Challenges Program Available for Teachers
Eisenhower Mathematics & Science Consortia Report - Report
Gobal Educator Newsletter ??? Teacher Resource
iEARN Professional Development Global Teaching ??? Learning ??? Teaching Resource
Keeboo E-Book 
NSF  ???Best  Practice Science, Mathematics, Engineering and Technology??? ??? Report 
Nanodot: Nanotechnology  Discussion of Emerging Technologies ??? Journal ??? Website
Nobel e-Museum: Conflict Map [Macromedia Shockwave] ??? Teaching Resource
Smithsonian: Spotlight on Science ??? Electronic Newsletter
STELLA Dynamic Modeling Systems ??? Teaching Resource
Technology Software & Websites for Pre-Schoolers 
TechYES ??? Student Technology Literacy Certification ??? AfterSchool Program Resource
WUN eLearning Portal ??? Resources for Distributed Learning
 
5.    Conferences
American Society for Information Science & Technology (ASIST), 
Association for Library & Information Science Education
Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education
E-Health Conference
Global Learning Conference 2004
Information Resources Management Association (IRMA) International Conference
International Conference on Computers in Education 
Internet Librarian 2004
Library & Information Technology Association: LITA Nation Forum
Museums and the Web 2005
NAWeb 2004
Netspeed 2004 Library Technology Conference
N-TEN Conferences
Online Education 
Social Enterprise Alliance 6th Gathering
Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education International Conference
TechMission Technology & Ministry National Conference
Technology Affinity Group Conference
University of South Carolina Technology Conference
Annual Program Meeting of the Council on Social Work Education
Virtual Reference Desk Conference
Winter Institute for Learning Assistance Professionals

Questions? Comments. Contact us at service at technologygrantnews.com 
 
 

From Connie.Harich at ed.gov  Thu Sep  9 10:28:57 2004
From: Connie.Harich at ed.gov (Harich, Connie (Contractor))
Date: Thu, 9 Sep 2004 10:28:57 -0400
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] FW: NIFL Launched Re-designed ALD
Message-ID: <4062487BDB6029428A763CAEF4E1FE5B05B6D60F@wdcrobe2m03.ed.gov>

> Washington, DC; September 8, 2004 - The National Institute for Literacy (NIFL) announced yesterday the launch of the newly redesigned America's Literacy Directory (ALD) website <http://www.literacydirectory.org> offering end-users an upgraded experience to quickly find reading, writing, math, English as a Second Language, skills assessment, basic technology skills, learning disability contacts, volunteer opportunities and much, much more. 
> 
> America's Literacy Directory (ALD) is a national directory of literacy service providers available via the Internet and the National Institute for Literacy's toll-free number. The ALD connects employers, learners, volunteers, social service agencies, and others to current information about literacy service providers in all 50 states and the U.S. territories. 
> 
> For more information on the new features and how ALD can work for you, go to:  http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/ald_update.html
> 
> ____________________________________________________________________
> 			NEW FEATURES
> 
> FOR GENERAL USERS
> -	Learners of all ages will have increased access to information about 	literacy and after school programs 
> 		-  To get help for: Reading, Writing, Math, Homework. 
> 		-  To get information about GED programs and test centers. 
> 		-  To get information about Learning Disabilities and English as a 			second Language programs.
> -	Employers will have the capability to locate basic skills program for 	their employees. 
> -	Access to more volunteer opportunity types.
> 
> FOR LOCAL LITERACY PROVIDERS
> -	Ability to update, change or add program information. 
> -	New section that includes Programs for Employers.
> 
> FOR STATES AND ORGANIZATIONS
> -	Ability to control and manage service providers within state, including: 
> -	Ability to approve new programs and update program information. 
> -	Capability to retrieve data as an Excel report for targeted mail merges 	or for use with multiple program levels or 	print service provider 	directory. 
> -	Ability to add State-defined customized fields. 
> -	Sophisticated user management tool to delegate tasks to multiple 	administrator levels or other types of administrators, as needed. 
> -	Automated address validation to verify data.
> 
> ALD users can access a more powerful and functionally enhanced website at www.literacydirectory.org <http://www.literacydirectory.org> immediately to begin searching for a literacy program near you.
> 
> For more information, contact Jaleh Behroozi: mailto:jbehroozi at nifl.gov or Mary Jo Maralit mmaralit at nifl.gov, or call 202-233-2025.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Jaleh Behroozi Soroui
> National LINCS Director
> National Institute for Literacy
> 1775 I street, Suite 730
> Washington DC, 20006
> Phone: 202/233-2039
> FAX:   202/233-2050
> 
> www.nifl.gov/lincs
>  
> 
> 
> 

From principal at ahs-diploma.com  Fri Sep 10 13:54:06 2004
From: principal at ahs-diploma.com (principal at ahs-diploma.com)
Date: Fri, 10 Sep 2004 10:54:06 -0700
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] RE: NIFL-PLI Digest, Vol 20, Issue 2
In-Reply-To: <200409101600.i8AG0OR29540@literacy.nifl.gov>
Message-ID: <000001c4975f$2c71cf80$6d01a8c0@AHSPRINCIPAL>

Your service is better every time. Thanks and congratulations.

I wonder why you don't include ADULT HIGH SCHOOL in some of the profile?
You mention GED which is ok. But Adult High School is a key component of
the literacy work that we, public and non public provider are doing.
Best regards

PEDRO A. CONTRERAS

-----Original Message-----
From: nifl-pli-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:nifl-pli-bounces at nifl.gov] On
Behalf Of nifl-pli-request at nifl.gov
Sent: Friday, September 10, 2004 9:00 AM
To: nifl-pli at literacy.nifl.gov
Subject: NIFL-PLI Digest, Vol 20, Issue 2

Send NIFL-PLI mailing list submissions to
	nifl-pli at literacy.nifl.gov

To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
	http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/nifl-pli
or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
	nifl-pli-request at literacy.nifl.gov

You can reach the person managing the list at
	nifl-pli-owner at literacy.nifl.gov

When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
than "Re: Contents of NIFL-PLI digest..."

Today's Topics:

   1. FW: NIFL Launched Re-designed ALD (Harich, Connie (Contractor))

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Thu, 9 Sep 2004 10:28:57 -0400
From: "Harich, Connie (Contractor)" <Connie.Harich at ed.gov>
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] FW: NIFL Launched Re-designed ALD
To: <nifl-pli at literacy.nifl.gov>
Message-ID:
	<4062487BDB6029428A763CAEF4E1FE5B05B6D60F at wdcrobe2m03.ed.gov>
Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="iso-8859-1"

> Washington, DC; September 8, 2004 - The National Institute for
Literacy (NIFL) announced yesterday the launch of the newly redesigned
America's Literacy Directory (ALD) website
<http://www.literacydirectory.org> offering end-users an upgraded
experience to quickly find reading, writing, math, English as a Second
Language, skills assessment, basic technology skills, learning
disability contacts, volunteer opportunities and much, much more. 
> 
> America's Literacy Directory (ALD) is a national directory of literacy
service providers available via the Internet and the National Institute
for Literacy's toll-free number. The ALD connects employers, learners,
volunteers, social service agencies, and others to current information
about literacy service providers in all 50 states and the U.S.
territories. 
> 
> For more information on the new features and how ALD can work for you,
go to:  http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/ald_update.html
> 
> ____________________________________________________________________
> 			NEW FEATURES
> 
> FOR GENERAL USERS
> -	Learners of all ages will have increased access to information
about 	literacy and after school programs 
> 		-  To get help for: Reading, Writing, Math, Homework. 
> 		-  To get information about GED programs and test
centers. 
> 		-  To get information about Learning Disabilities and
English as a 			second Language programs.
> -	Employers will have the capability to locate basic skills
program for 	their employees. 
> -	Access to more volunteer opportunity types.
> 
> FOR LOCAL LITERACY PROVIDERS
> -	Ability to update, change or add program information. 
> -	New section that includes Programs for Employers.
> 
> FOR STATES AND ORGANIZATIONS
> -	Ability to control and manage service providers within state,
including: 
> -	Ability to approve new programs and update program information. 
> -	Capability to retrieve data as an Excel report for targeted mail
merges 	or for use with multiple program levels or 	print service
provider 	directory. 
> -	Ability to add State-defined customized fields. 
> -	Sophisticated user management tool to delegate tasks to multiple
administrator levels or other types of administrators, as needed. 
> -	Automated address validation to verify data.
> 
> ALD users can access a more powerful and functionally enhanced website
at www.literacydirectory.org <http://www.literacydirectory.org>
immediately to begin searching for a literacy program near you.
> 
> For more information, contact Jaleh Behroozi:
mailto:jbehroozi at nifl.gov or Mary Jo Maralit mmaralit at nifl.gov, or call
202-233-2025.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Jaleh Behroozi Soroui
> National LINCS Director
> National Institute for Literacy
> 1775 I street, Suite 730
> Washington DC, 20006
> Phone: 202/233-2039
> FAX:   202/233-2050
> 
> www.nifl.gov/lincs
>  
> 
> 
> 

------------------------------

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To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
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End of NIFL-PLI Digest, Vol 20, Issue 2
***************************************

From glindop at utk.edu  Tue Sep 14 15:21:26 2004
From: glindop at utk.edu (Margaret Lindop)
Date: Tue, 14 Sep 2004 15:21:26 -0400
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] (no subject)
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20040914151711.01c34a10@pop.utk.edu>

Dear Colleagues / Friends:
We are pleased to announce that NIFL's Literacy and Learning Disabilities 
Special Collection web site has been revised, redesigned, and just launched 
at http://ldlink.coe.utk.edu   Changes were made with two improvements in 
mind: a more accessible site for all users and a richer collection of 
resources. Suggestions for these changes came from YOU, AE practitioners, 
some as recently as this summer's Academy. Thanks to each of you who 
commented on the site!

Accessibility.
We hope it will now be easier to find what you need. To make this possible, 
you will find pull down menus, a "Search the Site" feature, and alternate 
paths to the same information. For example, one person might click on 
"Planning" while another might need the direct question, "What helps me 
succeed if I have LD?" Both "ways in" lead to important factors for 
success: collecting information, making choices, finding out what works, 
and becoming a self advocate.

Another key step toward accessibility is soon to be placed on the Special 
collection site. Webspeakster is a user friendly browser that will make it 
possible for users to listen to anything on the site as well as the sites 
to which we link.

Richer Collection of Resources.
There are new resources throughout the site and some pages--Research, 
Teacher/Tutor, and Student/Learner have been completely redone.
* * The Research page provides access to current scientifically-based 
research in the fields of literacy and learning disabilities. Scroll down 
the Research page to find articles on the neurobiology of learning 
disabilities, current thinking on how to assess LD, results of a 20 year 
study on success attributes, and research in reading, thinking, and learning.
?** The Student/Learner page is for use by learners. Find independent 
learning activities, help with GED preparation, and true stories of other 
adults with LD.
** The Teacher/Tutor page is for use by teachers. Find teacher preparation 
for teaching basic skills and GED subjects to those with LD, learning 
activities to use with learners, stories of other teachers, and discussion 
groups related to LD.
?** A newly created page, LD and Work Issues, will be placed on the site 
before the end of September.

We hope you will explore the redesigned site and give us feedback!
We need to find out from you what works well, what can be improved, and 
what other resources you need. Because the discussion list does not accept 
attachments, please contact me personally at glindop at utk.edu to request a 
copy of the survey. I will e-mail it to you, and you can return it to us 
via email attachment or by regular mail. Please complete the user survey as 
you go through the site!

Thank you so much,
Margaret

Margaret Lindop
Coordinator, LINCS Literacy & Learning Disabilities Special Collection
http://ldlink.coe.utk.edu/

Center for Literacy Studies
The University of Tennessee
600 Henley St., Suite 312
Knoxville, TN 37996-4135

Phone  865-974-6659
FAX     865-974-3857
email    glindop at utk.edu

From glindop at utk.edu  Wed Sep 15 13:57:57 2004
From: glindop at utk.edu (Margaret Lindop)
Date: Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:57:57 -0400
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Announcing - New Literacy & LD Special Collection!
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20040915135400.00b865d8@pop.utk.edu>

Dear Colleagues:

We are pleased to announce that NIFL's Literacy and Learning Disabilities 
Special Collection web site has been revised, redesigned, and just launched 
at http://ldlink.coe.utk.edu Changes were made with two improvements in 
mind: a more accessible site for all users and a richer collection of 
resources.

ACCESSIBILITY
We hope it will now be easier to find what you need.  To make this 
possible, you will find pull down menus, a "Search the Collection" feature, 
and alternate paths to the same information.  For example, one person might 
click on "Planning" while another might need the direct question, "What 
helps me succeed if I have LD?"  Both "ways in" lead to important factors 
for success: collecting information, making choices, finding out what 
works, and becoming a self advocate.

Another key step toward accessibility is soon to be placed on the Special 
collection site.  "Webspeakster" is a user friendly browser that will make 
it possible for users to listen to anything on the site as well as the 
sites to which we link.

RICHER COLLECTION OF RESOURCES
There are new resources throughout the site and some pages--Research, 
Teacher/Tutor, and Student/Learner--have been completely redone.
**The Research page provides access to current scientifically-based 
research in the fields of literacy and learning disabilities.  Scroll down 
the Research page to find articles on the neurobiology of learning 
disabilities, current thinking on how to assess LD, results of a 20 year 
study on success attributes, and research in reading, thinking, and learning.
**The Student/Learner page is for use by learners.  Find independent 
learning activities, help with GED preparation, and true stories of other 
adults with LD.
**The Teacher/Tutor page is for use by teachers.  Find teacher preparation 
for teaching basic skills and GED subjects to those with LD, learning 
activities to use with learners, stories of other teachers, and discussion 
groups related to LD.
**A newly created page, LD and Work Issues, will be placed on the site 
before the end of summer.

We hope you will explore the redesigned site and give us feedback!
We need to find out from you what works well, what can be improved, and 
what other resources you need.
Because the discussion list does not accept attachments, please contact me 
personally at glindop at utk.edu to request a copy of the survey. I will 
e-mail it to you, and you can return it to us via email attachment or by 
regular mail. Please complete the user survey as you go through the site!

Thank you so much,

Margaret Lindop
Coordinator, LINCS Literacy & Learning Disabilities Special Collection
http://ldlink.coe.utk.edu/

Center for Literacy Studies
The University of Tennessee
600 Henley St., Suite 312
Knoxville, TN 37996-4135

Phone  865-974-6659
FAX     865-974-3857
email   glindop at utk.edu

From jataylor at utk.edu  Thu Sep 16 14:41:24 2004
From: jataylor at utk.edu (jataylor)
Date: Thu, 16 Sep 2004 14:41:24 -0400
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] From Jaleh, My last day at NIFL
Message-ID: <41542DF2@webmail.utk.edu>

Dear Colleagues and Friends;

My last day at NIFL will be October 1, 2004. I started working at NIFL eleven 
years ago with much enthusiasm and hope, and I end it with great pride in our 
many achievements and some anguish over the uncertainties and challenges that 
remain.
With Andy Hartman?s leadership and a dedicated team of professionals?my 
colleagues Sondra Stein, Alice Johnson, Carolyn Staley, and my very dear 
friend Susan Green, we enthusiastically embraced the literacy field?s vision 
reflected in Literacy Act of 1991 and created NIFL?s major projects?EFF, 
Bridges to Practice, NIFL policy efforts and LINCS?which we thought were 
fundamental for our field. In our effort, we had the backing and support of 
the adult literacy advocates and many practitioners. The outcomes indicated we 
were right in our assessments of the needs as well as our approach of 
involving practitioners in the field in developing these projects. LINCS was 
created with great input and support from practitioners nationwide, who took 
ownership in what needed to be done and made it an integral part of their 
work.
LINCS, as a national network of literacy practitioners, professional 
developers, and trainers, as well as a communication tool and an information 
retrieval teaching and learning resource on the Internet, has been serving the 
literacy community in numerous ways. One of my very dear colleagues, David 
Rosen, told me last week that he cannot imagine the literacy field without 
LINCS nor the direct impact LINCS has had on his own work. Today, LINCS 
includes over 200 people working in different capacities to make the system 
useful for the field. It includes more than 45 state agencies partnering with 
LINCS through Regional Technology Centers, 11 high-quality special collections 
with over 70 literacy field experts working to select high-quality resources 
for them, a national library team of catalogers who are using LINCS standards 
and criteria to populate the LINCS databases, 14 discussion lists with several 
thousand participants, and a technical team of qualified professionals who !
have been serving NIFL and LINCS for the past several years. Moreover, the 
newly relaunched America?s Literacy Directory (ALD), an addition to LINCS, is 
another foundational infrastructure that is the only comprehensive national 
ABE and literacy directory providing access to programs for learners, 
volunteers, and potential funders.
I know there is a lot more to be done to enrich the goal of a fully literate 
society, and we as a field still have a long way to go to ensure that we are 
providing quality services for our learners. However, over the past few years 
our achievements have been undermined and the direction and worth of adult 
education questioned. I strongly believe that despite these attempts, as 
educators and practitioners, we must take pride in the systems we have built 
and continue our work toward enhancing the quality of the literacy outcomes 
and practices.

Leaving NIFL was a very difficult choice, and I leave with wonderful memories 
of our work together. I am also very grateful for the opportunity that was 
given to me and thank you all for being a part of this great endeavor. LINCS 
belongs to the literacy community and all who have helped build it and the 
many who benefit by it.

Jaleh Behroozi Soroui National LINCS Director National Institute for Literacy 
1775 I street, Suite 730 Washington DC, 20006 Phone: 202/233-2039 FAX: 
202/233-2050
www.nifl.gov/lincs

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--

From sandy_strunk at iu13.org  Wed Sep 22 19:42:43 2004
From: sandy_strunk at iu13.org (Sandy Strunk)
Date: 22 Sep 2004 16:42:43 -0700
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] DAEL Job Postings
Message-ID: <20040922203811.9744A4701CD@relay.iu13.org>

The Department of Education has just posted two vacancies in OVAE's Division
of Adult Education and Literacy.  One, a Supervisory Education Program
Specialist position, will provide leadership in the formulation of policy
for the identification and dissemination of research based practice to
improve the adult education service delivery; the other, an Education
Program Specialist position, will serve as a regional coordinator in DAEL
and provide leadership in the planning and administration of the formula
grant program, including planning and implementation of on-site monitoring
and administrative technical assistance to states.

Both vacancies are posted on EdHIRES website at
https://jobs.quickhire.com/scripts/edu.exe/runjobinfo?aOrg=1&aJob=2576&Usern
ame=~BROWSE~&ORGIMG=edulogo.gif for the Grade 14 Supervisory Program
Specialist position and
https://jobs.quickhire.com/scripts/edu.exe/runjobinfo?aOrg=1&aJob=2584&Usern
ame=~BROWSE~&ORGIMG=edulogo.gif for the Grade 13/14 Program Specialist
Position.  Both vacancies will close on October 12, 2004. 
If you know of any individuals or organizations who should be aware of these
two postings, please feel free to forward this e-mail to them as soon as
possible.  Questions about either of these positions may be sent to
Christina Anzelmo at christina.anzelmo at ed.gov or 202-245-7800.

A brief description of each position follows:

GS-14, Supervisory Education Program Specialist. The position of Team Leader
for the Innovations and Improvement Team in the Division of Adult Education
and Literacy will be responsible for providing national leadership in
fostering innovation and quality improvement in adult education programs.
Day to day responsibilies will include, but not be limited to, providing
assistance and advisory services to States in the identification of
innovative strategies to improve services in Adult Basic and Adult Secondary
Education programs and in programs for adults of limited English-proficiency
and special population programs.  The team leader guides a team responsible
for projects and initiatives in a broad range of program areas,  including
English Language literacy, adults with disabilities, distance learning and
technology, and other emerging topics in adult learning, as well as
implementation of innovative strategies to promote wider dissemination of
effective practice and research for the improvement of services to adults
who can benefit from basic skills instruction. Selective Factor:  Applicant
must have experience in the administration of state and/or local adult
education programs.  Applicants who do not meet these selective factors will
be rated ineligible for this position.

GS-13, Education Program Specialist.  As an Educational Program Specialist
on the Monitoring and Administration Team, this position serves as Area
Coordinator with responsibility as liaison to states in the North Eastern
Region (Area I) providing oversight to grantees and leadership and support
for efficient and effective planning and administration of formula grant
programs, including the planning and implementation of on-site monitoring,
review of state plans, and administrative technical assistance to states.
Additionally, the position provides assistance and advisory services to
States on adult basic skills programs and adult secondary education programs
and in programs for adults of limited English-proficiency; provides
assistance to States in planning State adult education programs with special
emphasis on serving educationally disadvantaged adults; provides assistance
to States on dissemination and information-sharing activities; and promotes
adult education services through business and industry linkages.  Selective
Factor:  Experience at the state or local levels in monitoring and
developing program improvement plans in adult education.  Applicants who do
not meet this selective factor will be rated ineligible for this position.

Cheryl L. Keenan
Director, Division of Adult Education and Literacy

Sandy Strunk
Lancaster Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13
Program Director for Community Education
1110 Enterprise Road
East Petersburg, PA 17520
(717) 519-1006

From sandy_strunk at iu13.org  Wed Sep 22 20:08:24 2004
From: sandy_strunk at iu13.org (Sandy Strunk)
Date: 22 Sep 2004 17:08:24 -0700
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] AAACE Conference
Message-ID: <20040922210352.8D82B47000D@relay.iu13.org>

Colleagues:

The annual conference of the American Association for Adult and Continuing
Education (AAACE) will be held in Louisville, Kentucky, from November 2
through 6, 2004.  Go to the AAACE home page to register:

	http://aaace.org

You will also find a link to a complete copy of the registration brochure.

I hope to see in Louisville!

David

David Collings
Chair, Adult Literacy and Technology Network david at collings.com 

Sandy Strunk
Lancaster Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13
Program Director for Community Education
1110 Enterprise Road
East Petersburg, PA 17520
(717) 519-1006

From jjstephe at utk.edu  Tue Sep 28 16:37:36 2004
From: jjstephe at utk.edu (Jean J. Stephens)
Date: Tue, 28 Sep 2004 16:37:36 -0400
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Equipped for the Future Update
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20040928163638.030e79b0@pop.utk.edu>

I am pleased to share with you an update on the Equipped for the Future 
(EFF) Center for Training and Technical Assistance, located at the Center 
for Literacy Studies, University of Tennessee Knoxville, since 2002.

During the 04-05 program year, the Center will be offering many services 
and professional development opportunities to the adult education 
field.  We hope you will have the opportunity to participate in or explore 
one of the following:

-Teaching Adults to Read with Understanding, a research-based professional 
development program for adult education practitioners, developed by EFF and 
National Center for Family Literacy and funded through the Partnership for 
Reading.

-Preparing for Careers in Sales and Service, a curriculum developed in 
partnership with the National Retail Federation Foundation.  Versions are 
available for teachers of English speaking adults and of limited English 
proficient adults

-Online courses in standards-based instruction and assessment with EFF and 
in teaching math and reading with EFF standards and the EFF 
Teaching/Learning cycle.

-Professional development in standards-based instruction and assessment, 
customized to fit organizational needs.

-Publications, such as Hot Topics: Focus on Math (available late Fall 
2004); Research to Practice Note 4: Assessment (available online in 
October, 2004); and an EFF Handbook for Program Improvement: Using the EFF 
Approach to Quality (available at http://pli.cls.utk.edu/comp_models.htm).

-EFF Facilitator Network and certification process, through which state and 
national agencies and organizations build their own capacity to provide 
professional development in standards-based instruction and assessment.

-A redesigned EFF portal website, through which all EFF resources and 
services can be accessed (available in late October, 2004).

In addition, the EFF Center will continue to collaborate with SRI 
International and the state workforce development agencies for the states 
of New York, New Jersey, Florida, Washington, Rhode Island and the District 
of Columbia in developing and piloting the EFF Work Readiness Credential. 
And we'll be working with SRI, the Educational Testing Service, and ten 
state adult education agencies to explore the feasibility of developing new 
EFF assessments.

The Center's services and programs are managed by Diane Gardner, Acting 
Director of the EFF Center, with assistance from Ginny Bleazey, 
administrative assistant.  Aaron Kohring oversees the EFF 
websites.  Training and technical assistance is provided by a cadre of 
national consultants and by certified facilitators.

The Center for Literacy Studies is proud to continue to be the home of the 
EFF Center for Training and Technical Assistance.  Please let us know how 
we can work with you in the coming year.

Jean J. Stephens, Director
Center for Literacy Studies
600 Henley St., Suite 312
Knoxville, TN 37996-4135
865-974-6610
865-974-3857 Fax
jjstephe at utk.edu

From sandy_strunk at iu13.org  Mon Oct 18 15:21:54 2004
From: sandy_strunk at iu13.org (Sandy Strunk)
Date: 18 Oct 2004 12:21:54 -0700
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Welcome
Message-ID: <20041018161701.A3AFB470002@relay.iu13.org>

Good morning, everyone,
I am very pleased to announce that Kim Chaney-Bay has agreed to be the new moderator for NIFL's Program Leadership and Improvement Discussion List. Kim is currently the Content Developer / Coordinator of the Program Leadership and Improvement Special Collection at the Center for Literacy Studies, The University of Tennessee. I have had the pleasure of working with Kim for the past year, and I know she will be an outstanding moderator for this list. 
I want to say I've enjoyed serving as list moderator for the past nine months. Adult Basic and Literacy Education program leadership and improvement are topics near and dear to my heart :-); however, due to other professional commitments right now, I don't believe I can do justice to the discussion list. 
I am VERY MUCH looking forward to continuing as a discussion list participant :-) and, to that end, I would invite all of you to join me in welcoming Kim to her new role!

Sandy Strunk
Lancaster Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13
Program Director for Community Education
1110 Enterprise Road
East Petersburg, PA 17520
(717) 519-1006

From MCorley at air.org  Tue Oct 19 18:01:10 2004
From: MCorley at air.org (Corley, Mary Ann)
Date: Tue, 19 Oct 2004 18:01:10 -0400
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Meeting of the Minds Symposium, Dec. 9-11, 2004
Message-ID: <88EAF3512A55DF46B06B1954AEF73F740406100F@dc1ex2.air.org>

National Adult Education Researcher-Practitioner Symposium: A Meeting of
the Minds

The program schedule for the Meeting of the Minds Symposium is now
available on the Symposium Web site, www.researchtopractice.org. Join us
for this exciting dialogue among adult education researchers,
practitioners, and policy makers!

The Symposium, scheduled for December 9-11, 2004 at the Sheraton Grand
Hotel, Sacramento, California, is sponsored by the National Center for
the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL), the California
Department of Education (CDE), and the California Adult Literacy
Professional Development Project (CALPRO). Nationally recognized adult
education researchers will discuss their studies in such areas as
reading, learner persistence, instructional paradigms, technology,
authentic materials, health literacy, writing, standards-based reform,
adult multiple intelligences, and many more.  Presenters include Hal
Beder, Alisa Belzer, Beth Bingman, John Comings, Larry Condelli, Charles
Darrah, Ellie Drago-Severson, John Fleischman, Paul Gerber, Marilyn
Gillespie, Erik Jacobson, Silja Kallenbach, Rima Rudd, Cristine Smith,
Regie Stites, John Strucker, Heide Wrigley, and others.

The Thursday morning (December 9) opening session will address "How to
be a Wise Consumer of Research" and will provide participants with tools
to evaluate research findings. Throughout the symposium, each research
presentation will be followed by (1) a panel of practitioners who will
respond to the presentations, and (2) group discussions among
participants who will share their reactions and explore implications
from their perspectives as practitioners, researchers, and policy
makers. 

Don't miss this exciting opportunity to learn about current adult
education research and to explore implications for your work!
Registration is limited to the first 300 people. Visit the Symposium Web
site and register now!  

-Mary Ann Corley, Ph.D.
CALPRO Director and Symposium Coordinator

From kchaney at utk.edu  Mon Oct 25 17:21:41 2004
From: kchaney at utk.edu (Kim Chaney)
Date: Mon, 25 Oct 2004 17:21:41 -0400
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Greetings
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20041025171609.01576e80@pop.utk.edu>

Good afternoon and greetings to the subscribers of the Program Leadership 
and Improvement Discussion List.   I am pleased to be serving as the new 
Moderator of the list.  Thank you to Sandy Strunk for the earlier 
introduction and for all of the work she has put into getting this list off 
the ground.

In my new role as Moderator, I will continuously strive to meet the four 
stated goals of the list:

1.  To foster and support innovative leadership in adult education by 
creating a forum for participants to discuss issues related 
to            continuous program improvement.
2.  To create an online mechanism for the diffusion of the resources 
contained in the LINCS Program Leadership and Improvement          Special 
Collection.
3.  To inform the development of the Program Leadership and Improvement 
Special Collection through information sharing and in-          depth 
discussion of "what works" from the perspective of list participants.
         4.  To encourage open discussion and sharing among practitioners 
about program improvement issues.

Here's some of my background so that you'll know a bit about where I am 
coming from.  For the past 5 years I have been on the staff of the Center 
for Literacy Studies at the University of Tennessee where I currently serve 
as the Coordinator/Content Development Partner for the LINCS Program 
Leadership and Improvement Special Collection [http://pli.cls.coe.utk]; I 
previously worked on professional development projects for the 
state.  Prior to that, I worked in a public library setting, and was a 
volunteer tutor with my local ABE program.

In developing the Program Leadership and Improvement Special Collection, my 
understanding and awareness of program leadership and improvement have 
grown immensely.  My hope for the list is that it will provide a genuine 
opportunity to expand our thinking about this topic, as we work to serve 
the needs of adult learners and practitioners alike.  I hope we can tackle 
issues, such as "What is the definition of a leader?"  "What are the 
program improvement needs of community-based providers in comparison to the 
needs of state-funded ABE programs?"  "How are professional development and 
program improvement related?"  "How can learners be more involved in 
program leadership and improvement?"  "What does sound research look like 
in regards to program improvement?"

I also hope that the list will continue to inform the Program Leadership 
and Improvement Special Collection in a meaningful way.  One idea is to 
regularly examine resources from that collection and ask, "Has anyone tried 
this model/framework/tool?  If so, what has worked?  What has not?"

My earliest experience in the field was teaching young adult learners, many 
of whom were homeless. I strongly desired to improve my practice and better 
meet the needs of the students, but could not find the tools or resources 
to help me in my efforts.  Later, I was introduced to the concept of 
Quality Improvement and I decided to focus on program improvement in my 
graduate work.  I often thought about how helpful it would have been to 
have had just a few program improvement tools/resources when I was working 
with adult learners in the classroom.

Please consider sharing your own experiences with Program Leadership and 
Improvement within Adult Basic Literacy and Education.  And please let me 
know how this list and the special collection can best meet your needs.

Thank you,
Kim Chaney-Bay
Coordinator,
LINCS Program Leadership and Improvement Special Collection
[http://pli.cls.utk.edu]

From Janet_Isserlis at brown.edu  Tue Oct 26 12:36:47 2004
From: Janet_Isserlis at brown.edu (Isserlis, Janet)
Date: Tue, 26 Oct 2004 12:36:47 -0400
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Greetings
Message-ID: <A43C552CCAD3D34686401CF16C9E6032017A688D@MAIL1.AD.Brown.Edu>

Kim and all

I'm wondering, as people consider particular questions, if you'd want to address this piece of your role, in perhaps, pulling out one or two resources and giving us highlights about them.  I know that many times I'll scan a collection and think, hmm, this could be interesting - but rarely make the time to go back to "learn" the resrouce[s] in question.  Even with good annotation, it feels overwhelming to sort through so many things. 

Any particularly useful or engaging resources that you've found?

thanks

Janet Isserlis

> 2.  To create an online mechanism for the diffusion of the resources 
> contained in the LINCS Program Leadership and Improvement          Special 
> Collection.
> 

From kchaney at utk.edu  Tue Nov  2 16:28:56 2004
From: kchaney at utk.edu (Kim Chaney)
Date: Tue, 02 Nov 2004 16:28:56 -0500
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Greetings
In-Reply-To: <A43C552CCAD3D34686401CF16C9E6032017A688D@MAIL1.AD.Brown.Ed
 u>
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20041102160709.014a3fa0@pop.utk.edu>

Janet,

Thank you for your suggestion (below).

One of the questions I suggested we might ask is, "How can learners be more 
involved in program leadership and improvement?"  I asked this question in 
part from my perspective as the collection developer.  The special 
collection seeks to serve li "adult education  leaders" and learners are 
listed as part of that large group. In continuously searching for quality 
resources for the site, I have become aware that there is not a large body 
of resources that include learners in the program improvement process, 
although we have been able to identify a few so far.

Three of those that are included in the LINCS Program Leadership and 
Improvement Special Collection [http//:pli.cls.utk.edu] are fairly explicit 
in involving learners as part of the program improvement team and/or 
process.  These are the NALA Evolving Quality Framework User Guide 
(National Adult Literacy Agency/Ireland), the EFF Handbook for Program 
Improvement: Using the Equipped for the Future Approach to Quality 
(National Institute for Literacy and Urban League), and the Best Program 
Practices (Saskatchewan Literacy Network).  Others, such as the Baldrige 
National Quality Program Educational Criteria/Process (Baldrige National 
Quality Program) clearly value the learner ("customer" in the case of 
Baldrige) experience and goals.

Have any of you used (or adapted) one or more of these approaches in your 
program improvement work? Do you know of other models or frameworks that 
adult learners in the program improvement process?  What are your thoughts 
on involving learners as part of the program improvement team?

Thank you for your comments on this...

Best regards,
Kim

At 12:36 PM 10/26/2004 -0400, you wrote:
>Kim and all
>
>I'm wondering, as people consider particular questions, if you'd want to 
>address this piece of your role, in perhaps, pulling out one or two 
>resources and giving us highlights about them.  I know that many times 
>I'll scan a collection and think, hmm, this could be interesting - but 
>rarely make the time to go back to "learn" the resrouce[s] in 
>question.  Even with good annotation, it feels overwhelming to sort 
>through so many things.
>
>Any particularly useful or engaging resources that you've found?
>
>thanks
>
>Janet Isserlis
>
> > 2.  To create an online mechanism for the diffusion of the resources
> > contained in the LINCS Program Leadership and Improvement          Special
> > Collection.
> >
>_______________________________________________
>NIFL-PLI mailing list
>NIFL-PLI at literacy.nifl.gov
>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/nifl-pli

From MCorley at air.org  Mon Nov  8 23:24:41 2004
From: MCorley at air.org (Corley, Mary Ann)
Date: Mon, 8 Nov 2004 23:24:41 -0500
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Meeting of the Minds Symposium--Register Now!!
Message-ID: <88EAF3512A55DF46B06B1954AEF73F74039ED83C@dc1ex2.air.org>

Colleagues:
 
I'm writing to encourage you to register for the National Adult Education Practitioner-Researcher Symposium, A Meeting of the Minds,  scheduled for December 9-11, 2004, in Sacramento, CA. The theme of the Symposium is "Supporting Student Success: What Does Research Tell Us?" This is an opportunity to meet with adult literacy and basic education researchers, practitioners, and policy-makers and contribute to a national research agenda for adult literacy education.  
 
November 15 is the deadline for reserving a hotel room at the trendy Sheraton Grand Hotel in downtown Sacramento at the incredible rate of $84/night. After November 15, registrations will still be accepted on a space-available basis, but the special conference rate is not guaranteed. Room rates at this hotel generally run $179 and up, so this is a real bargain that we have been able to negotiate especially for Symposium attendees.
 
The Symposium program is rich and exciting. Featuring more than 30 well-known adult literacy education researchers, the program promises a genuine dialogue among practitioners, policy-makers, and researchers. The opening session on Thursday, December 9, is an interactive session on "How to be a Wise Consumer of Research." Concurrent sessions will consist of presentations on research, followed by a panel of practitioners who will discuss the presentations from their perspectives as teachers, administrators, and professional development specialists. Each session will then invite audience participation in identifying implications of the research for practice, policy, and further research. Special sessions include a panel of practitioners who have conducted their own field-based research as well as a session in which current adult learners discuss attributes of adult literacy programs that support student success.  
 
Come help us contribute to a research agenda for adult literacy education. Let your voice be heard. Participate in Symposium sessions as well as informal meetings with practitioners and researchers. To view the full program and to register, visit the Symposium Web site, www.researchtopractice.org.
 
We hope you will join us! 
See you in beautiful Sacramento in December!
 
-Mary Ann Corley, Ph.D.
CALPRO Director and Principal Research Analyst
American Institutes for Research     

From kchaney at utk.edu  Tue Nov  9 12:24:50 2004
From: kchaney at utk.edu (Kim Chaney)
Date: Tue, 09 Nov 2004 12:24:50 -0500
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Message from Jo Maralit, NIFL
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20041109121425.014a0a18@pop.utk.edu>

>
>Dear NIFL List subscribers,
>
>It has come to our attention that some NIFL list subscribers' email servers
>have software that scans the content of all incoming emails.  In some cases,
>an email is tagged as sensitive content and bounced the message back to the
>sender, as well as the list address, stating that the email was blocked.
>The NIFL list server catches the messages as a nonsubscriber, so it
>does not go out to the entire list.  These messages do not come from the
>NIFL list server.  If you receive a system adminstrator email message, after
>you send a message to the list, please forward the entire message to our Web
>Specialist, Connie Harich: mailto:charich at nifl.gov.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Mary Jo Maralit
>National Institute for Literacy
>mmaralit at nifl.gov
>http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/

From kchaney at utk.edu  Wed Nov 10 23:13:35 2004
From: kchaney at utk.edu (Kim Chaney-Bay)
Date: Wed, 10 Nov 2004 23:13:35 -0500
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Learner participation in program improvement 
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20041110225713.023148e0@pop.utk.edu>

Hi, folks.

Last week I asked you about your thoughts on involving learners as part of 
the program improvement team.  I've been talking about this over the last 
several days with co-workers and other colleagues interested in pi.  One 
co-worker noted that it's most important for the learner/customer 
experience to be valued as part of the whole program improvement 
process.  And that if the learner was to participate as part of a program 
improvement team, that the program supervisors/directors should first be 
very clear about the overall program issues and goals and make them 
transparent.

In thinking about this same issue, another colleague shared these thoughts: 
"Program improvement efforts might very well benefit from students' 
involvement and vice versa. I don't know. Until now, I've seen students as 
primary beneficiaries of program improvement efforts but not as 
participants in the process. I think a student's main responsibility is to 
learn.  If being involved as part of a program improvement team helps 
support that, then I think it's a good idea. (Whether it's practical or 
not.) However, I think it's a good idea only if the student's involvement 
is integral to their learning plans/goals. As a student or a teacher, with 
the motivation, I would see my work on the program improvement team and in 
the classroom as one, or as relative parts contributing to a coherent 
whole. It's critical for learners to be involved in their own learning 
processes but not in their program's improvement process."

I look forward to your thoughts on this...

Regards,
Kim

From kate.diggins at slc.k12.ut.us  Thu Nov 11 14:39:34 2004
From: kate.diggins at slc.k12.ut.us (kate.diggins)
Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 12:39:34 -0700
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Re: NIFL-PLI Digest, Vol 27, Issue 2
In-Reply-To: <200411111700.iABH08R03095@literacy.nifl.gov>
References: <200411111700.iABH08R03095@literacy.nifl.gov>
Message-ID: <20041111193535.M32640@slc.k12.ut.us>

From susanfinn_miller at iu13.org  Thu Nov 11 09:36:17 2004
From: susanfinn_miller at iu13.org (Susan Finn Miller)
Date: 11 Nov 2004 09:36:17 -0500
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Learner participation in program improvement 
Message-ID: <20041111143613.DC9AC47024D@relay.iu13.org>

         Reply to:   RE: [NIFL-PLI] Learner participation in program improvement Hello colleagues,

When it comes to learner involvement, I've heard practitioners in the field say, "We've tried to get our learners invovled, but most are not interested. Their lives are far too busy for that, and they are here to learn." It is true that adults have busy lives and that they come to us for the purpose of learning. I can relate to that as an adult learner myself.  For instance, during graduate school, while juggling a full time job and family, I felt that I did not have time to get involved in student organizations and such.  I was grateful for the other grad students who contributed their time on my behalf.

Regarding adult learner involvement in our programs, there are some other issues to consider. Since I believe I have much to learn from the adult learners I work with, as a teacher, my primary goal is to structure my classroom to listen so that I might learn.  What I learn from my students is central and allows me to more effectively address their learning needs and goals.  For me, this is no different for adult learners in an ABE/GED class that I might be teaching or a group of graduate students.  
I believe it is equally important for programs to be structured to enable purposeful listening.  Listening to the people we serve could be and should be a foundation of our work.  Building in structures that make critical listening possible, in my view, is vital to our work.  I can think of no more important area to seek learner input than program improvement.  How to most effectively structure this kind of learner involvement is worthy of serious discussion.  I'm pleased that we've begun such a conversation, and I look forward to hearing others' thoughts.

Best, Susan

Susan Finn Miller
SEPDC and Lancaster Lebanon IU 13
Adult Basic and Family Literacy Education
1110 Enterprise Road
East Petersburg, PA  17520
(717) 519-1007
fax: 717-560-6150
susanfinn_miller at iu13.org

Kim Chaney-Bay wrote:
>Hi, folks.
>
>Last week I asked you about your thoughts on involving learners as part of >the program improvement team.  I've been talking about this over the last >several days with co-workers and other colleagues interested in pi.  One >co-worker noted that it's most important for the learner/customer >experience to be valued as part of the whole program improvement >process.  And that if the learner was to participate as part of a program >improvement team, that the program supervisors/directors should first be >very clear about the overall program issues and goals and make them >transparent.
>
>In thinking about this same issue, another colleague shared these thoughts: >"Program improvement efforts might very well benefit from students' >involvement and vice versa. I don't know. Until now, I've seen students as >primary beneficiaries of program improvement efforts but not as >participants in the process. I think a student's main responsibility is to >learn.  If being involved as part of a program improvement team helps >support that, then I think it's a good idea. (Whether it's practical or >not.) However, I think it's a good idea only if the student's involvement >is integral to their learning plans/goals. As a student or a teacher, with >the motivation, I would see my work on the program improvement team and in >the classroom as one, or as relative parts contributing to a coherent >whole. It's critical for learners to be involved in their own learning >processes but not in their program's improvement process."
>
>I look forward to your thoughts on this...
>
>Regards,
>Kim
>_______________________________________________
>NIFL-PLI mailing list
>NIFL-PLI at literacy.nifl.gov
>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/nifl-pli
>
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Susan Finn Miller
SEPDC and Lancaster Lebanon IU 13
Adult Basic and Family Literacy Education
1110 Enterprise Road
East Petersburg, PA  17520
(717) 519-1007
fax: 717-560-6150
susanfinn_miller at iu13.org

From djrosen at comcast.net  Sun Nov 14 19:16:07 2004
From: djrosen at comcast.net (David Rosen)
Date: Sun, 14 Nov 2004 19:16:07 -0500
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Learner participation in program improvement
Message-ID: <8B5ECCEB-369B-11D9-94AE-00039381D39E@comcast.net>

Hello Kim,

On Wednesday, November 10, 2004, at 11:13  PM, you wrote:

> Last week I asked you about your thoughts on involving learners as 
> part of the program improvement team.  I've been talking about this 
> over the last several days with co-workers and other colleagues 
> interested in pi.  One co-worker noted that it's most important for 
> the learner/customer experience to be valued as part of the whole 
> program improvement process.  And that if the learner was to 
> participate as part of a program improvement team, that the program 
> supervisors/directors should first be very clear about the overall 
> program issues and goals and make them transparent.
>
> In thinking about this same issue, another colleague shared these 
> thoughts: "Program improvement efforts might very well benefit from 
> students' involvement and vice versa. I don't know. Until now, I've 
> seen students as primary beneficiaries of program improvement efforts 
> but not as participants in the process. I think a student's main 
> responsibility is to learn.  If being involved as part of a program 
> improvement team helps support that, then I think it's a good idea. 
> (Whether it's practical or not.) However, I think it's a good idea 
> only if the student's involvement is integral to their learning 
> plans/goals. As a student or a teacher, with the motivation, I would 
> see my work on the program improvement team and in the classroom as 
> one, or as relative parts contributing to a coherent whole. It's 
> critical for learners to be involved in their own learning processes 
> but not in their program's improvement process."

I agree that some adult learners are only interested in 
narrowly-defined education goals (learn English, get a GED, learn to 
read the Bible, improve the numeracy skills needed for work, etc.)  
Some, however, when offered the opportunity, do want to be involved in 
program improvement or other roles in their program (board membership, 
recruitment, serving on student councils, being involved in 
program-sponsored community projects et. al. ) and they benefit from 
this involvement as well as helping the program.  The sense of 
community with other learners and staff, for example, may be the reason 
some students persist in the program even when they have difficult 
obstacles to overcome.

Offer an opportunity to participate in program improvement for those 
students who want to try it. Those who aren't interested will decline.

David J. Rosen
djrosen at comcast.net

From sandy_strunk at iu13.org  Mon Nov 15 13:29:30 2004
From: sandy_strunk at iu13.org (Sandy Strunk)
Date: 15 Nov 2004 11:29:30 -0700
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Learner participation in program improvement 
Message-ID: <20041115163125.1A2D3470162@relay.iu13.org>

         Reply to:   RE: [NIFL-PLI] Learner participation in program improvement Our local adult education program has certainly struggled with student involvement in program improvement activities and has come at it from a variety of perspectives. Our intent is and has been to provide learners with input into program policy, but we haven't been as successful as we'd like. While I agree that a "student's main responsibility is to learn," I think that learning occurs in many contexts and that adults should have an opportunity to participate in major program decisions that impact their learning. 
This year, we opened a "class" for adults who would like to be more involved in program policy and operations and we've assigned a staff member to work with these learners to define specific leadership projects. We sent a team of two teachers and two learners to the VALUE training and they came back with ideas related to program improvement and things they'd like to work on. We also talked with them about areas where we'd like to have more student input such as intake/orientation of new students and the development of a periodic student newsletter. This class is still in the early stages, but we do have several learners who want to be a part of this group and a teacher who is willing to help them figure out how they can participate more fully in program leadership. This class isn't for everyone but, in my experience, there are always those student who want, and would benefit from, more involvement in program policy and operations. 
I've also had an opportunity this year to work with our local Head Start Policy Council and it strikes me that this is an interesting model for client leadership. The Head Start Policy Council consists of a group of parents and community members (mostly parents) who meet monthly with staff to participate in local program governance. Most Policy Council's have input into hiring, resource allocation, and major decisions that impact Head Start children and their families. Having attended several of our local meetings, I will say that the parent perspective is not always the same as the staff perspective. This has a plus and a minus. On the plus side, staff and families have an opportunity to engage in important discussions related to program operations. On the minus side, decisions take longer and significant time is spent each year helping new Policy Council members understand program operations.

My own bias as an adult educator is toward creating learning opportunities that allow adults to experience the power of literacy. This doesn't in any way negate, or take the place of, the nuts and bolts of good teaching and learning such as strong content, scope and sequence, and measuring learning outcomes. However, it does suggest that there is also a deeper exploration of how literacy can change an individual life. I have certainly experienced this in my own life and have grown both personally and professionally from talking explicitly with students about the many life changes they have experienced as a result of increased literacy.

Sandy Strunk
Lancaster Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13
Program Director for Community Education
1110 Enterprise Road
East Petersburg, PA 17520
(717) 519-1006

Kim Chaney-Bay wrote:
>Hi, folks.
>
>Last week I asked you about your thoughts on involving learners as part of >the program improvement team.  I've been talking about this over the last >several days with co-workers and other colleagues interested in pi.  One >co-worker noted that it's most important for the learner/customer >experience to be valued as part of the whole program improvement >process.  And that if the learner was to participate as part of a program >improvement team, that the program supervisors/directors should first be >very clear about the overall program issues and goals and make them >transparent.
>
>In thinking about this same issue, another colleague shared these thoughts: >"Program improvement efforts might very well benefit from students' >involvement and vice versa. I don't know. Until now, I've seen students as >primary beneficiaries of program improvement efforts but not as >participants in the process. I think a student's main responsibility is to >learn.  If being involved as part of a program improvement team helps >support that, then I think it's a good idea. (Whether it's practical or >not.) However, I think it's a good idea only if the student's involvement >is integral to their learning plans/goals. As a student or a teacher, with >the motivation, I would see my work on the program improvement team and in >the classroom as one, or as relative parts contributing to a coherent >whole. It's critical for learners to be involved in their own learning >processes but not in their program's improvement process."
>
>I look forward to your thoughts on this...
>
>Regards,
>Kim
>_______________________________________________
>NIFL-PLI mailing list
>NIFL-PLI at literacy.nifl.gov
>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/nifl-pli
>
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From iray at lacnyc.org  Thu Nov 11 16:50:39 2004
From: iray at lacnyc.org (Ira Yankwitt)
Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 16:50:39 -0500
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] GED Professional Development Materials
Message-ID: <3.0.6.32.20041111165039.01b42530@mail.psnyc.com>

Dear Colleagues:

Two years ago, the Literacy Assistance Center held a five-day GED
instructional planning institute, designed primarily for GED instructors
who work with older adolescents.  Among the topics we addressed were:
* pedagogy and andragogy
* SCANS Skills
* critical thinking and the GED
* interdisciplinary/theme-based instruction
* project-based learning
* multiple intelligence theory
* collaborative and cooperative learning
* instructional planning
* peer review

We have a limited number of bound copies of the institute that include all
of the handouts, materials, and readings that we used.  We are happy to
send a copy to any professional developer/practitioner who is interested.
To receive your binder, please email or call Reion Evans at
reione at lacnyc.org, or 212-803-3344.  To review the institute online, go to
http://www.lacnyc.org/resources/adult/GED/GEDInstitute/.

Ira Yankwitt, Director
Professional Development / 
NYC Regional Adult Education Network 
Literacy Assistance Center
32 Broadway, 10th Floor
NY, NY 10004
(212) 803-3356
iray at lacnyc.org

From mcass at proliteracy.org  Wed Nov 17 12:55:38 2004
From: mcass at proliteracy.org (mcass)
Date: Wed, 17 Nov 2004 12:55:38 -0500
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Learner participation in program improvement 
Message-ID: <221E918332E818488687199E5CBD74CE019A5B65@keats.proliteracy.org>

In response to Kim's, Sandy's and David's postings, I'd like to add my
thoughts.

ProLiteracy America's accreditation system has addressed this issue by
requiring that organizations provide opportunities to students to become
involved in their organizations beyond instruction. The specific standards
were developed with input from learner leaders from VALUE, ProLiteracy's
Student Advisory Council, and other groups.

"Provide Opportunities" is the key phrase. Echoing David's comments, I agree
that learners who are interested (and have the time) will participate; and
those who aren't interested (or don't have the time) will decline to do so.
Successful involvement can happen without attracting a large percentage of
learners in particular activities.

Organizations can meet these student involvement standards in a wide variety
of ways. Participating in program improvement, in my view, is a very
important and effective option. We've seen organizations do this in many
ways, including student surveys, participation on a program improvement
team, focus groups, student discussion groups, and serving on
boards/advisory boards.

Other involvement activities include volunteering for the organization (just
like any other adult), assisting with training/staff development, providing
orientation and support to new students, participating in public awareness
and advocacy activities, and more.

Frankly, I'm not sure how we can do effective program improvement without
learner input and involvement.

Thanks,

Mark F. Cass
Accreditation Coordinator & Staff liaison to the Student Advisory Council
ProLiteracy America
1320 Jamesville Ave.
Syracuse, NY  13210
Phone: 315 422-9121 Extension 313
Fax:     315 422-6369
mailto:mcass at proliteracy.org 

From EJacobson at air.org  Thu Nov 18 13:11:20 2004
From: EJacobson at air.org (Jacobson, Erik)
Date: Thu, 18 Nov 2004 10:11:20 -0800
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] New Discussion List
Message-ID: <DC59DD324318E44AA0C054AC1D7806BE03DE35C6@ca1ex1.air.org>

New - LPRPConnections Discussion List

Discussion list about literacy practice, research and policy

The California Adult Literacy Professional Development Project(CALPRO)
and the Outreach and Technical Assistance Network (OTAN) are 
co-sponsoring the new LPRPConnections discussion list. This discussion 
list is open to all adult educators interested in exploring the 
connection of literacy teaching practice, research and policy. This 
includes ESL, ABE, GED, and ASE teachers.

The LPRPConnections discussion list has four primary purposes:

1.	To give practitioners a chance to discuss the relationship
between adult literacy education practice and research. This includes
how (and what) practitioners can learn from researchers, and how (and
what)researchers can learn from practitioners;

2.	To provide a forum where practitioners can ask questions about 
different approaches to conducting research, and about how implications
for practice and policy are generated;

3.	To create a space where practitioners can identify and discuss
the kinds of research they would find helpful. When possible, list
members 	can share information about research that has already
been conducted, identify research needs, and discuss how the needed
research might be initiated, and;
 
4.	To help practitioners focus on the ways that policy decisions, 
including those about research, affect classroom practice.

The LPRPConnections discussion list is facilitated by Erik Jacobson, 
veteran practitioner and Research Analyst at CALPRO/American Institutes
for Research. 

To subscribe send an email message to 

LPRPConnections-request at listproc.otan.us 

and type "subscribe" in the body of the message.

You can also go to the webpage 

http://www.calpro-online.org/announce/lprp.asp

Find more information about CALPRO at 

 http://www.calpro-online.org/.

From melanie.daniels at sri.com  Thu Nov 18 13:22:11 2004
From: melanie.daniels at sri.com (Melanie Daniels)
Date: Thu, 18 Nov 2004 10:22:11 -0800
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Civic engagement survey
Message-ID: <419CE853.8020200@sri.com>

Colleagues,

The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning & Engagement 
(CIRCLE) reports that a research gap exists about the civic knowledge, 
attitudes, and behavior of young people who do not go to college.  In an 
effort to begin addressing this gap, SRI International, with funding 
from CIRCLE, is conducting a survey of civic learning opportunities 
available within adult literacy and ESL programs.  We are especially 
interested in how you are serving the civic learning needs of young 
people (16-24 years).  How does your program promote student civic 
engagement?  Is civic education a part of your curriculum?  Do you have 
successful practices you would like to share?

 

We invite you to participate in an online survey of civic learning 
opportunities available within adult literacy and ESL programs.  It will 
take 15 to 20 minutes to complete; you may respond anonymously.

 

The survey may be found at:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=3215669793

 

It will be available until Monday, December 20. 

 

The survey report will be made available on the web in February, 2005; 
the url will be announced on this listserv and emailed to those 
requesting it.

 

Please take a few moments now to help us learn how the adult literacy 
and education system is serving the civic engagement and civic education 
needs of out-of-school youth (16-24 years), as well as its older adult 
population.

 

You may help us further by distributing this email to your colleagues.

 

Thank you for standing up to be counted!

 

Melanie Daniels and Marilyn Gillespie

SRI International

-- 

Melanie Daniels

Education Researcher

Center for Education Policy

SRI International

333 Ravenswood Avenue  BS360

Menlo Park, CA 94025

650-859-5805 office

650-859-3375 fax

melanie.daniels at sri.com

From kchaney at utk.edu  Fri Nov 19 15:41:51 2004
From: kchaney at utk.edu (Kim Chaney)
Date: Fri, 19 Nov 2004 15:41:51 -0500
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] New resource in special collection
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20041119152934.014a70c0@pop.utk.edu>

Dear fellow subscribers:

A new resource, Volunteer Management Practices and Retention of Volunteers 
(The Urban Institute, 2004) has recently been added to the LINCS Program 
Leadership and Improvement Special Collection.

This resource is the second report in a series of briefs reporting on 
findings from a 2003 survey of 3000 charities. It describes the 
characteristics of volunteer management and how these relate to retention. 
Research results are clearly shown via graphs.

You may access this document at [http://pli.cls.utk.edu].  Go to the 
"Background, Perspectives, and Beliefs" category - it is located at the top 
in the "NEW" section.

Best regards,
Kim Chaney-Bay
Discussion List Moderator and Coordinator,
LINCS Program Leadership and Improvement Special Collection

From knightj261 at comcast.net  Sun Nov 28 11:16:02 2004
From: knightj261 at comcast.net (knightj261 at comcast.net)
Date: Sun, 28 Nov 2004 16:16:02 +0000
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Learner participation in program improvement 
Message-ID: <112820041616.28787.41A9F9C20005872C000070732200758942CEC0CD069B0809070205@comcast.net>

Hello Kim,
 
In response to the posting about learner participation in program improvement I?d like to share our experiences.  For the past eight years we?ve used the Baldrige Criteria as our framework for accountability and program improvement.  It is a very customer  (student) driven approach to program improvement.  We take a very practical approach to involving student participation in program improvement.  We want to satisfy our students and the best way to do that is to help them reach their goals in the shortest time possible.   In order to accomplish that goal we have to know what students need and require.  For us program improvement comes about as a result of knowing and understanding student needs and requirements. We have learned that providing students with multiple opportunities to give input to the program encourages and increases their participation.  This gathering of information keeps us focused on our purpose and the reason for delivering adult education services.
 
Building and maintaining a relationship with our students is the first step toward involving them in participation in program improvement.   We have developed several listening and learning methods which provides opportunities for students to give feedback to the program.  For example, System 7  Retention and Success is a student management system  designed to determine student requirements and expectations.  System 7 follows students from their first contact with the program until they complete their goals and leave the program.  Throughout this process all students are involved in feedback with teachers and senior leaders using several feedback mechanisms.  In the classrooms teachers and students use Plus/Delta  (quality tool to gather feedback-- It gives students the opportunity to share what went well (plus) about an activity and what they would change (Delta) to improve the activity).    On the program level students are involved in the student success and retention team which targets improvements within the program.  This team provides recommendations to the senior leadership team on what works and changes that could be made on services or potential services the program may offer.  We also survey students to determine their satisfaction with current services, provide opportunities for students to participate in focus groups that cover a variety of issues, have a complaint system in place that is easy for students to access, and all programs and services are evaluated by students.  
 
Our program?s ability to provide services that meet learner needs is directly related to the feedback that we get from students.  This approach has given us the knowledge to provide programs that meet our students? needs and kept us from developing services and programs that may have been useful, but did not directly meet our students? requirements. 

We teach our students to use quality tools within the classroom so that they learn to take responsibility for their own learning and learn how to plan to reach their goals, monitor their progress, and adjust their plan if needed.  This promotes learner involvement in their own learning process and provides them useful tools to use inside the classroom and outside the classroom.  It also empowers them to express their opinions and recognize that their opinions and ideas are useful in making change and in improving program services.  It is the student?s feedback that has directed our program?s improvement.  This can be seen through our increased retention, level gains, literacy students progressing through the program to achieve a GED, and the overall increase in GEDS.  
 
Jane Knight
--
AE Specialist 
Knox County Adult Education 
Knoxville, TN 37917 
(865)594-3673

-------------- Original message -------------- 

> Hi, folks. 
> 
> Last week I asked you about your thoughts on involving learners as part of 
> the program improvement team. I've been talking about this over the last 
> several days with co-workers and other colleagues interested in pi. One 
> co-worker noted that it's most important for the learner/customer 
> experience to be valued as part of the whole program improvement 
> process. And that if the learner was to participate as part of a program 
> improvement team, that the program supervisors/directors should first be 
> very clear about the overall program issues and goals and make them 
> transparent. 
> 
> In thinking about this same issue, another colleague shared these thoughts: 
> "Program improvement efforts might very well benefit from students' 
> involvement and vice versa. I don't know. Until now, I've seen students as 
> primary beneficiaries of program improvement efforts but not as 
> participants in the process. I think a student's main responsibility is to 
> learn. If being involved as part of a program improvement team helps 
> support that, then I think it's a good idea. (Whether it's practical or 
> not.) However, I think it's a good idea only if the student's involvement 
> is integral to their learning plans/goals. As a student or a teacher, with 
> the motivation, I would see my work on the program improvement team and in 
> the classroom as one, or as relative parts contributing to a coherent 
> whole. It's critical for learners to be involved in their own learning 
> processes but not in their program's improvement process." 
> 
> I look forward to your thoughts on this... 
> 
> Regards, 
> Kim 
> _______________________________________________ 
> NIFL-PLI mailing list 
> NIFL-PLI at literacy.nifl.gov 
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/nifl-pli 

From jataylor at utk.edu  Mon Nov 29 09:31:34 2004
From: jataylor at utk.edu (jataylor)
Date: Mon, 29 Nov 2004 09:31:34 -0500
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Join or renew AALPD membership, reminder
Message-ID: <41B2F663@webmail.utk.edu>

Dear Colleague,
If you have not had an opportunity to join or renew your membership with the 
Association of Adult Literacy Professional Developers (AALPD) this year or 
cast your vote regarding the current slate of officers, we hope you will 
please take a moment to do so by visiting:

http://www.aalpd.org/membership_form.cfm

If you were a member of AALPD in previous years, we ask that you renew your 
membership to AALPD yearly. This helps us to maintain accurate records of our 
membership, advocate effectively for professional development, and provide 
members the best possible services.

Please forward this message to those you think may be interested. For more 
information about AALPD, see below. Thanks to all who have joined or renewed 
membership with the Association of Adult Literacy Professional Developers 
(AALPD). We're glad to have you on board!

On behalf of the AALPD Executive Board,

Jackie Taylor
List Moderator
NIFL-AALPD
jataylor at utk.edu
=============================================================
New Membership/Prospective Members:
If you are not yet a member, are you interested in:
- getting more involved with adult literacy professional development?
- contributing your voice along with other advocates of adult literacy 
professional development?
- taking part in establishing (in the eyes of policy makers) the legitimacy of 
a national association of practitioners committed to adult literacy 
professional development?

We invite you to become a formal member of the Association of Adult Literacy 
Professional Developers (AALPD). Membership in AALPD is *free* and open to 
adult educators interested or working in professional development in adult 
literacy. Individuals join AALPD by completing and submitting the Membership 
Form:
http://www.aalpd.org/membership_form.cfm

=============================================================
**Members Vote for Slate of Officers by December 5, 2004**
On the membership page, you can also VOTE for the current slate of nominated 
AALPD officers (Chair, Vice-Chair and Secretary-Treasurer).
http://www.aalpd.org/membership_form.cfm
=============================================================
Why should you become a member of AALPD?

* It's free!

* You can vote for AALPD officers and on special issues that arise (Only AALPD 
members will be eligible to vote).

* We will send you the latest information about upcoming trainings, events and 
resources.

* You can have input into the design of the COABE pre-conference session next 
year (2005 in Anaheim).

* You can contribute your voice to our advocacy efforts.

* You can help to establish AALPD's legitimacy in the eyes of policy makers by 
demonstrating a strong membership of concerned practitioners committed to 
professional development.

======================================================================
The Association of Adult Literacy Professional Developers (AALPD) is a 
national group for professional developers in adult literacy. As a special 
interest group within COABE (Commission on Adult Basic Education), AALPD meets 
at COABE Conferences and other professional development events. AALPD is a 
member of the National Coalition for Literacy.
======================================================================

From gdemetrion at msn.com  Sun Nov 28 18:18:23 2004
From: gdemetrion at msn.com (George demetrion)
Date: Sun, 28 Nov 2004 18:18:23 -0500
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Conflicting Paradigms now available
In-Reply-To: <5.1.0.14.0.20041110225713.023148e0@pop.utk.edu>
Message-ID: <BAY4-F1007343FA1F729601E4ECCC5BC0@phx.gbl>

Conflicting Paradigms in Adult Literacy Education: In Quest of a U.S. 
Democratic Politics of Literacy is now available.

The easiest way to access the book is through the publisher, accessed here: 
https://www.erlbaum.com/shop/tek9.asp?pg=products&specific=0-8058-4624-7

I sought to examine a lot of issues that the field has been grappling with 
since the mid 1980s, and look forward to discussing the book with those who 
have an interest. What follows is the overview as written on the back cover.

Regards,

George Demetrion
___________________________________________________________________________

Conflicting Paradigms in Adult Literacy Education:  In Quest of a US 
Democratic Politics of Literacy

The book provides an historical overview of adult literacy theory, policy, 
practice, and research from the mid-1980s to the present.  The main focus is 
a descriptive analysis of three distinctive schools of literacy: the 
Freirean-based participatory literacy movement grounded in oppositional 
politics and grass-roots community activism; the British-based New Literacy 
Studies that focuses on the ways in which diverse students utilize various 
literacy practices in their daily lives; and the U.S. federal government?s 
focus on functional literacy linked to a 45-year policy emphasis on 
workforce readiness. These three schools of thought lead to substantially 
different implications over such critical areas as curriculum, assessment 
and accountability, the socio-cultural role of literacy, policy, and 
political culture, which are discussed throughout the chapters of the book.  
This discussion includes a chapter on research traditions that closely 
parallels these perspectives on literacy education.

George Demetrion concludes with the argument that unless a convincing set of 
values grounded ultimately in political culture emerge, it is exceedingly 
unlikely that the adult literacy field will be able to move from its current 
marginalized status toward that of achieving the level of public and policy 
legitimacy many believe it needs for its long-term institutional 
flourishing.   It is argued that any settlement of this issue must be 
accomplished in the field of practice rather than the ground of theory even 
as theoretical insight can help to frame the issues.

Conflicting Paradigms in Adult Literacy Education:  In Quest of a U.S. 
Democratic Politics of Literacy speaks to a wide audience, including not 
only the adult literacy community but anyone interested in educational 
theory, practice, policy, research traditions, or political culture, and 
more fundamentally, in their intersection.  Given the breadth of the topics 
covered as well as the broad scope of the argument, the book is also meant 
for those who would like to gain a useful perspective on contemporary U.S. 
culture, through the window of these conflicting tensions within the field 
of adult literacy education.

From kchaney at utk.edu  Fri Dec  3 17:07:51 2004
From: kchaney at utk.edu (Kim Chaney)
Date: Fri, 03 Dec 2004 17:07:51 -0500
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] learner involvement
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20041203165246.014a5438@pop.utk.edu>

Dear Colleagues:

Thank you to all who have contributed to the discussion on learner 
involvement in program improvement efforts.  It was interesting to read the 
postings about the different perspectives on learner involvement, as well 
as hear about some very specific experiences that some of you have had.

Please continue to post your comments on this topic as things come to 
mind.  Also, if you do come across a related resource that may be 
appropriate for the LINCS Program Leadership and Improvement Special 
Collection, please consider submitting the title for possible 
review.   Simply go to web site [http://pli.cls.utk.edu], click on 
"Materials Selection" in the right-hand menu bar, then click the "Submit 
Materials" button.

In the meantime, keep an eye out on the discussion list the week of 
December 6 as we try to tackle the *broad* question of "What is Program 
Leadership and Improvement in Adult Education?"   "What areas does it 
include - or not include - for purposes of research and discussion?"  It 
will be good to hear your thoughts on this.

Best regards,
Kim

From kchaney at utk.edu  Thu Dec  9 17:28:21 2004
From: kchaney at utk.edu (Kim Chaney)
Date: Thu, 09 Dec 2004 17:28:21 -0500
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] What *is* Program Leadership and Improvement?
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20041209164740.0155dc20@pop.utk.edu>

What *is* Program Leadership and Improvement?  What does it include - or 
not include - in the context of adult basic and literacy education?  Are 
some aspects of program leadership and improvement more important than others?

...For some of us, the answers may come quickly - we have very specific 
ideas when we see these terms.  For others of us, the list seems 
unending.  I struggle with these questions.  My formal education and 
training, as well as my work experience point to fairly defined ideas about 
quality and improvement and are for the most part, quantifiable. However, 
since so many parts of the day-to-day workings of adult education efforts 
are (hopefully) making the "program" better/improved, thereby ultimately 
serving the needs of the adult learner in the best way possible, then 
doesn't program leadership and improvement include almost every aspect of 
adult education?

When the Core Knowledge Group for the Program Leadership and Improvement 
Special Collection met for the first time to thrash out the beginnings of 
the collection, we brainstormed resources that  came to mind.  Later in the 
process, we worked to come up with a list of "categories" that those 
resources seemed to naturally fall under.  While the collection is 
continuously evolving, the list of topics we have up to this point, is I 
think, a solid start.

However, are there others areas of program leadership and improvement that 
are missing from this list?  Are some of these topics more important than 
others? ------- Your thoughts and comments are welcome.

Program Leadership and Improvement is...
Developing instructional capacity
Strategies and frameworks for managing program improvement
Volunteer retention
Using data for program improvement
State leadership in adult education
Capacity building for non-profits
Outcomes and impacts
Performance accountability
Program quality indicators (state)
Teacher competencies
Manager competencies
Professional development as program improvement
Assessment
Evaluation

From kchaney at utk.edu  Thu Dec 16 14:40:12 2004
From: kchaney at utk.edu (Kim Chaney)
Date: Thu, 16 Dec 2004 14:40:12 -0500
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] What *is* Program Leadership and Improvement?
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20041216143855.01572168@pop.utk.edu>

>
>Jim Ford, Research Assistant for Quality Adult Education in Tennessee, 
>responded to this posting (see below), based on his experience working 
>with ae programs in TN who are utilizing the Baldrige approach to program 
>improvement.
>
>Here are Jim's comments:
>
>In Tennessee, we [also] include "student, stakeholder, and market focus" 
>as a significant category based on the Baldrige Education Criteria.  The 
>stakeholders are the community, family, employer, and any other entity 
>that has a stake in the Adult Education program.  The market is the 
>potential number of students, specific locations, and population groups 
>that could receive program services.  This entire "students, stakeholder, 
>and market focus" includes the following items:
>
>- Student, stakeholder, and market knowledge, which are the requirements, 
>expectations, and preferences
>- Students and stakeholder relationships, which means building confidence, 
>trust, loyalty, etc. to attract, retain, and enhance student performance
>- Satisfaction determination, which means taking a hard look at external 
>and internal program elements for satisfaction and/or dissatisfaction
>
>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>>Date: Thu, 09 Dec 2004 17:28:21 -0500
>>From: Kim Chaney <kchaney at utk.edu>
>>Subject: [NIFL-PLI] What *is* Program Leadership and Improvement?
>>
>>
>>What *is* Program Leadership and Improvement?  What does it include - or 
>>not include - in the context of adult basic and literacy education?  Are 
>>some aspects of program leadership and improvement more important than others?
>>
>>...For some of us, the answers may come quickly - we have very specific 
>>ideas when we see these terms.  For others of us, the list seems 
>>unending.  I struggle with these questions.  My formal education and 
>>training, as well as my work experience point to fairly defined ideas 
>>about quality and improvement and are for the most part, quantifiable. 
>>However, since so many parts of the day-to-day workings of adult 
>>education efforts are (hopefully) making the "program" better/improved, 
>>thereby ultimately serving the needs of the adult learner in the best way 
>>possible, then doesn't program leadership and improvement include almost 
>>every aspect of adult education?
>>
>>When the Core Knowledge Group for the Program Leadership and Improvement 
>>Special Collection met for the first time to thrash out the beginnings of 
>>the collection, we brainstormed resources that  came to mind.  Later in 
>>the process, we worked to come up with a list of "categories" that those 
>>resources seemed to naturally fall under.  While the collection is 
>>continuously evolving, the list of topics we have up to this point, is I 
>>think, a solid start.
>>
>>However, are there others areas of program leadership and improvement 
>>that are missing from this list?  Are some of these topics more important 
>>than others? ------- Your thoughts and comments are welcome.
>>
>>Program Leadership and Improvement is...
>>Developing instructional capacity
>>Strategies and frameworks for managing program improvement
>>Volunteer retention
>>Using data for program improvement
>>State leadership in adult education
>>Capacity building for non-profits
>>Outcomes and impacts
>>Performance accountability
>>Program quality indicators (state)
>>Teacher competencies
>>Manager competencies
>>Professional development as program improvement
>>Assessment
>>Evaluation
>>_______________________________________________
>>NIFL-PLI mailing list
>>NIFL-PLI at literacy.nifl.gov
>>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
>>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/nifl-pli

From c.spencerack at morehead-st.edu  Thu Dec 16 16:38:36 2004
From: c.spencerack at morehead-st.edu (Connie Spencer-Ackerman)
Date: Thu, 16 Dec 2004 16:38:36 -0500
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] What *is* Program Leadership and Improvement?
In-Reply-To: <5.1.0.14.2.20041216143855.01572168@pop.utk.edu>
References: <5.1.0.14.2.20041216143855.01572168@pop.utk.edu>
Message-ID: <41C2005C.3090000@moreheadstate.edu>

Thanks to our good fortune in being a neighbor to Tennessee, Kentucky 
has been able to invite Jim Ford to present an overview of the Baldrige 
framework for program improvement and quality for two years now; and it 
is making a difference for those who have fully participated in the 
Leadership Institute.  I'd like to share some of their testimonies in 
response to the original question, "What is program leadership and 
improvement?"

One participant reflected on the distinction between being a manager and 
being a leader this way.  "A manager manages what is there on a 
day-to-day basis; a leader is visionary and takes a program somewhere.  
A manager uses the state report form as the only source of evaluation, 
which means he or she is concerned about a year.  A leader uses the 
report to build for the future and supplements it with other forms of 
evaluation, such as surveys of students, discussions with community 
leaders, and input from the team.  Asking for feedback/input from others 
is a sign of a strong, confident leader."  One interesting result of 
this kind of thinking is that participants now refer to themselves as 
program directors rather than program managers - an important 
distinction to them.  And we've learned to talk about the difference 
between performance goals, which the state sets, and improvement goals, 
which the staff sets.

 Another participant who moved from a teaching position into the 
director position, a common occurrence, said that even though she has 
been her program's director for many years now, it was only after 
participating that she realized that she needed to think of herself as a 
leader and that her staff expected her to act like a leader.

 Directors are establishing leadership teams and learning to delegate 
responsibility.  As one director said, "I no longer feel that I have to 
carry the entire burden for achieving program goals."  Instructors tell 
me that they appreciate being involved in decision-making and in knowing 
their roles in meeting goals.

 Part of my function is to help program leadership teams assess their 
needs as organizations (using Baldrige) and as ABE programs (borrowing 
from Judy Alamprese's work in the northwestern states).  I help them 
identify priorities and develop written improvement plans, and I remind 
them to pull out those plans at staff meetings to check progress.  The 
"checking" seems to be the hard part for busy program directors.  Plans 
are necessarily developed in a retreat-like situation, but collecting 
data and analyzing what it means must occur in the middle of daily 
work.  We are still working on that challenge.

Fortunately we have the full support of our state director, Dr. Cheryl 
King.  Because Kentucky does not have a Baldrige affiliated state 
quality council, programs cannot aspire to earn the state version of a 
Baldrige award.  So to recognize the efforts of Leadership Institute 
participants, our state director presents an award in her name to 
programs that can document progress toward meeting process goals.  As 
programs improve processes, they improve results, which is the one of 
the criteria for the highest level award.

Connie Spencer-Ackerman
Adult Education Academy for Professional Development
150 University Blvd., Box 968
Morehead State University
Morehead KY 40351
Ph: 606-783-9377  Fax: 606-783-9111

"In absence of clearly defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily acts of trivia." -- John Lubbock

Kim Chaney wrote:

>
>>
>> Jim Ford, Research Assistant for Quality Adult Education in 
>> Tennessee, responded to this posting (see below), based on his 
>> experience working with ae programs in TN who are utilizing the 
>> Baldrige approach to program improvement.
>>
>> Here are Jim's comments:
>>
>> In Tennessee, we [also] include "student, stakeholder, and market 
>> focus" as a significant category based on the Baldrige Education 
>> Criteria.  The stakeholders are the community, family, employer, and 
>> any other entity that has a stake in the Adult Education program.  
>> The market is the potential number of students, specific locations, 
>> and population groups that could receive program services.  This 
>> entire "students, stakeholder, and market focus" includes the 
>> following items:
>>
>> - Student, stakeholder, and market knowledge, which are the 
>> requirements, expectations, and preferences
>> - Students and stakeholder relationships, which means building 
>> confidence, trust, loyalty, etc. to attract, retain, and enhance 
>> student performance
>> - Satisfaction determination, which means taking a hard look at 
>> external and internal program elements for satisfaction and/or 
>> dissatisfaction
>>
>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
>>
>>
>>
>>> Date: Thu, 09 Dec 2004 17:28:21 -0500
>>> From: Kim Chaney <kchaney at utk.edu>
>>> Subject: [NIFL-PLI] What *is* Program Leadership and Improvement?
>>>
>>>
>>> What *is* Program Leadership and Improvement?  What does it include 
>>> - or not include - in the context of adult basic and literacy 
>>> education?  Are some aspects of program leadership and improvement 
>>> more important than others?
>>>
>>> ...For some of us, the answers may come quickly - we have very 
>>> specific ideas when we see these terms.  For others of us, the list 
>>> seems unending.  I struggle with these questions.  My formal 
>>> education and training, as well as my work experience point to 
>>> fairly defined ideas about quality and improvement and are for the 
>>> most part, quantifiable. However, since so many parts of the 
>>> day-to-day workings of adult education efforts are (hopefully) 
>>> making the "program" better/improved, thereby ultimately serving the 
>>> needs of the adult learner in the best way possible, then doesn't 
>>> program leadership and improvement include almost every aspect of 
>>> adult education?
>>>
>>> When the Core Knowledge Group for the Program Leadership and 
>>> Improvement Special Collection met for the first time to thrash out 
>>> the beginnings of the collection, we brainstormed resources that  
>>> came to mind.  Later in the process, we worked to come up with a 
>>> list of "categories" that those resources seemed to naturally fall 
>>> under.  While the collection is continuously evolving, the list of 
>>> topics we have up to this point, is I think, a solid start.
>>>
>>> However, are there others areas of program leadership and 
>>> improvement that are missing from this list?  Are some of these 
>>> topics more important than others? ------- Your thoughts and 
>>> comments are welcome.
>>>
>>> Program Leadership and Improvement is...
>>> Developing instructional capacity
>>> Strategies and frameworks for managing program improvement
>>> Volunteer retention
>>> Using data for program improvement
>>> State leadership in adult education
>>> Capacity building for non-profits
>>> Outcomes and impacts
>>> Performance accountability
>>> Program quality indicators (state)
>>> Teacher competencies
>>> Manager competencies
>>> Professional development as program improvement
>>> Assessment
>>> Evaluation
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> NIFL-PLI mailing list
>>> NIFL-PLI at literacy.nifl.gov
>>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
>>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/nifl-pli
>>
>
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> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
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-- 

From kchaney at utk.edu  Mon Dec 20 17:24:00 2004
From: kchaney at utk.edu (Kim Chaney)
Date: Mon, 20 Dec 2004 17:24:00 -0500
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Announcement
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20041220170739.014a8d20@pop.utk.edu>

From kchaney at utk.edu  Mon Dec 20 17:47:04 2004
From: kchaney at utk.edu (Kim Chaney)
Date: Mon, 20 Dec 2004 17:47:04 -0500
Subject: [NIFL-PLI] Announcement
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20041220174639.0157b7a8@pop.utk.edu>

>The following announcement is from Diane Gardner, with the EFF Center:
>
>"We are pleased to announce that the EFF Center received an award from the 
>UPS Foundation's Leadership for Community Literacy Initiative.  The goal 
>of this grant-making initiative is to ' help organizations meet demands 
>for literacy services through enhancements in leadership capacity and 
>organizational strength.'
>
>This work is to be guided by the EFF Program Quality Model.  During a 
>parallel, four-phase intensive course of study, planning and 
>implementation, the EFF Center and five local literacy agencies will be 
>engaged in program improvement processes for leadership enhancement and 
>capacity building to accomplish specific goals.  The EFF Handbook for 
>Program Improvement  will be the model used by the local partners, which 
>are the Urban Leagues of Hudson County (NJ) and Columbus, Ohio; READ 
>Chattanooga in Tennessee; Union City Adult Learning Center (NJ); and the 
>Bradley County Adult Education Program in Cleveland, Tennessee.  Each 
>program will form a Program Improvement Team comprised of individuals from 
>their respective volunteer boards or advisory groups, program 
>administrators, teachers, other staff members, and adult learners.
>
>The EFF Center, while refining and testing the EFF model for program 
>improvement and leadership development at the local level, will engage in 
>its own program improvement process during this time with the purpose of 
>strengthening its role as a national literacy leaders.  The goals include 
>establishing a volunteer advisory board, reviewing and revising the 
>business plan, and developing a multi-phased marketing strategy."