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| Fall 2000 Vol. 24, No. 3 | ||||
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‘Endorsed by PAACE’ – Or Not?
The PAACE endorsement is a very powerful stamp of approval. Just the fact the government, organizations, institutions, and, at times, individuals ask PAACE for its support is evidence enough that what we think as a group is respected, valued, and sought after. But endorsing legislative issues and offering proclamations is not the issue. Our obligation and willingness to take a stand on legislative issues is well documented. We seem to be comfortable about how that works and when it is appropriate. An established process is in place to have the legislative committee review issues that affect our various divisions. The legislative committee presents resolutions to the board for approval. This process has resulted in some very effective advocacy of legislation that has made a big difference in how we work with adult learners. But what about programs and processes? Should PAACE endorse delivery systems or programs? And by doing so, does that elevate these systems and programs above others in a way that creates a separation between those that have received endorsement and those that have not? These are questions that present challenges to how we are perceived and how we promote innovation in program delivery, offer support for research and new ideas, and encourage our membership to be on the cutting edge of adult learning. One thing on which I believe we all can agree is that PAACE should readily sanction opportunities for adult learners to achieve their academic goals using methods that have been proven effective and learner centered. As your PAACE directors, we are thoughtful and deliberate in how we represent the membership. Where do you stand on the issue of endorsement? Let us know. I’ve posted this question to the PAACE listserv for comments and feedback. As always, the input from the membership helps to set policies and direction for the organization. Let us know what you think. (Click here to e-mail your thoughts to Jeff Woodyard.) Midwinter is Around the Corner! The Call for Presentations deadline has been extended to October 27. PAACE Welcomes New Legislative Rapid Response Team PAACE leaders from across the Commonwealth are adding a new tool to our advocacy toolbox. A "rapid response team" has been created for all of Pennsylvania’s federal representatives. In addition to our powerful capacity to generate thousands of staff and student letters and phone calls, PAACE will now be able to rapidly contact all of the Pennsylvania congressional delegation when needed. PAACE members on this team will form or strengthen personal relationships with a lawmaker and his or her education staff in Washington, DC. The formidable power in numbers that PAACE already deploys once or twice a year will be substantially augmented with quick personal contacts three or four times a year. As issues arise in the next year, the rapid response team may be expanded to include key state legislators as well as national reps. Do you have personal contacts with a PA legislator (or would you like to start a relationship)? Join the PAACE rapid response advocacy team! Contact Paul Davis to sign up: 215.474.6886, pdavis@critpath.org Where Bush and Gore Stand on Adult Literacy Presidential candidates George Bush and Al Gore have submitted position statements on adult literacy to LVA. The statements have been published in the fall edition of LVA's newsletter, The Reader. The statements appear below in alphabetical order, unedited by LVA. (Photos: cnn.com) George W. Bush
Family literacy programs work to break the parent-to-child cycle of illiteracy. Through intensive education of more than one generation, family literacy programs build on families’ strengths. Families come to school together. While their children learn in nearby classrooms, parents work on their own reading skills. And parents practice teaching their children under the guidance of professional teachers. Parents learn that the most important thing they can do to prepare their children for success in school is to read to them early and often. In 1996, with the financial support of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, Laura and I established the First Lady's Family Literacy Initiative for Texas. The initiative is a grant program which awards seed money to Texas family literacy programs. Thus far, the initiative has granted almost $800,000 to 40 family literacy programs. I strongly believe that families are the backbone of our society and as Governor of Texas, I have supported efforts that help families either through increasing child care funding for low-income families, transitional assistance from those families on welfare who find employment, and offering affordable children=92s health insurance available statewide. Family Literacy programs are another powerful example how our nation can offer support to our families in today’s society. Al Gore
I believe we must work together to provide opportunities for every adult American to have access to high quality literacy services wherever they live. Not everyone masters the basic skills they need for life in the traditional K-12 educational system, so learning opportunities must never end. We all must play a role: families, educators, policymakers, businesses, civic organizations and congregations. Anyone who knows someone who might be limited because of low basic skills should encourage them to enroll in adult literacy education services. The National Literacy Hotline at 1-800-228-8813 can help locate a program in any community. We all share the responsibility for making adult and family literacy a national priority. As President, I will make adult and family literacy and lifelong learning a priority for increased support, and continue the budget increases that the administration has recommended for the past eight years. An educated America is a strong America. Contact information:
Family Literacy With more than 20 new family literacy programs in Pennsylvania this year, it was not surprising to see all the new faces at the Family Literacy Administrator’s Training in August and Implementation Training in September. It became evident that there was interest in joining PAACE at the Administrator’s Training because I ran out of membership applications! Welcome to you all to our PAACE family. The Commonwealth Library is preparing to offer training for the Mother Goose Asks Why? parenting program in the Williamsport, Harrisburg, and Pittsburgh areas in the coming months. This is a wonderful program that makes science fun through the use of children’s books and activities. If you are interested, contact Betty Ann Funk (efunk@state.pa.us) for more information about the training location and times. Not too late to get your proposal in to present at the Midwinter Conference. The past few years we have seen a gradual increase in the number of sessions on family literacy but we need more from our "veterans" in the field. This is a great opportunity to share the techniques and strategies you have used in your program. If you are like me, you are always looking for "freebies" to give to your families. Here is one for you: Bounty SCA Worldwide supplies free Building Blocks Gift packs of product samples (detergent, paper towels, etc.) and useful parenting and family information twice a year to day care centers and pre-school programs. We just missed the fall release but you can still get on their list for future deliveries by calling 1-800-878-8322 and asking for customer service As you know, November 1 is Family Literacy Day. I’m confident Governor Ridge will again issue a proclamation recognizing the day. As soon as I get the proclamation, I’ll have it posted on the PAACE Web site so you can download your own copy. Let me know of any special events you have and I’ll make sure they are included in the next newsletter. Free Children’s Books - Tip # 5: Contact the PTO/PTA or Student Council at your public or parochial school to see if they would be interested in conducting a book drive for your program. The idea of "kids helping kids" has worked well for our program. Adult Basic and Secondary Education (AB/SE) Calling all members!!!! Hear ye! Hear ye! This is your chance to be a participant in the decision-making and discussion about issues of YOUR professional organization, PAACE. There are two activities in the works and they are explained briefly below. But the first thing you need to do is get on the PAACE listserv so you will be part of what’s going. Please take a moment to read and participate. First, do you support the Alternative Diploma Program? What is the Alternative Diploma Program, you ask? It is a way for those who want to earn and need to earn a high school diploma to do so through a process that is an alternative to the GED. The short explanation is that learners complete a variety of competencies. PAACE was approached about looking at and endorsing this initiative. There has been some discussion on the PAACE listserv on both sides of the issue but more discussion is welcome and needed. These issues may impact how your program is run and what opportunities your students will have for earning a diploma. If you have not been able to view the responses or participate in the discussion, that means you are probably not on the listserv. You can get on the list very easily. Just go to the PAACEsite home page, enter your e-mail address, and click on the Join eGroups button. Second, we are working on arranging some informal get-togethers for members according to regions, to stay connected and talk about what we are doing, what’s working, and what isn’t. There is no training involved, just peer discussion and camaraderie. We will start in one area and eventually work our way around the state. If you are interested in helping to organize one of these events or can offer support in your area, then please contact Mary Kay Peterson at mkpeterson@chesco.com. She will most likely start the organizing in the Philadelphia area first. Here’s wishing you all a fabulous year! We’ve got our work cut out for us as anyone who went to the EQUAL Kickoff knows, so let’s stick together and help each other out. We can do it together! Continuing Higher Education (CHE) What's Happening This Fall Among the continuing/higher ed constituency of PAACE, some position changes: Bob Yapsuga has been promoted to Dean of Enrollment Management at Delaware Valley College. Bob McNeill has been promoted to replace Dr. Yapsuga as Director of Continuing Education. Julie Rutledge has recently been appointed as the Associate Dean of Admissions at Kutztown University. Look for the Higher Education award nomination letters in both your e-mailbox and regular mailbox soon. Nomination Deadline is November 30. Time to start thinking of your exemplary continuing higher education student who deserves statewide recognition. Awards are presented at the Midwinter Conference Legislative Luncheon. Attention all Higher Education Professionals: Do you have a particular expertise that you would like to share with your colleagues? If so, why not consider putting together a workshop for the upcoming Midwinter conference? Please take the time to share you secrets with us. You may forward your completed proposal form to me at mcneillr@devalcol.edu by October 31. If you do it, they will come. Make this conference a true odyssey for your Pennsylvania colleagues. The CEA/PA and PAACE is sponsoring a Western Pennsylvania Regional Conference entitled "Developing Academic Success Strategies for Adult Students" to be held on October 12-13 at the University of Pittsburgh's College of General Studies. There is still some space available for attendees, and information is available by calling 412-624-6600. The keynote speaker is Susan Kinsey, Dean of the College of General Studies at the University of Pittsburgh. TLC News from TLC Some very exciting things are taking place at TLC this year. We have hired a new training coordinator, Mike Alba. Mike is new to the field of adult literacy, but comes to TLC with a lot of enthusiasm and a strong interest in training. He and Amy Wilson will share the responsibilities of providing training for both literacy and family literacy programs as well as other office and training requirements. TLC is planning its next Northeast Regional Adult Literacy Conference. This conference will be held at York College of Pennsylvania on June 14-16. Pre-conferences will be held on the 13th. Anyone who is interested in assisting with the planning and implementation of this conference is asked to contact the TLC office (literacy@penn.com). The structure of the membership meetings has undergone a change. The first hour will be devoted to the business part of the meeting, and the second hour will be used as a time for discussions around topics relevant to adult literacy. Raiana Mearns led a discussion on Distance Education at the September meeting, and Cheryl Keenan will talk with the membership at the November meeting. The afternoon part of the TLC meeting will be devoted to planning sessions or trainings on specific topics. TLC welcomes any suggestions for topics that members would like to see addressed. There are some new faces on the Board of Directors of TLC. Mary Hohensee (Literacy Council of Lancaster-Lebanon) is the Second Vice Chairman, Carole Holes (Blair County Literacy Council) is the Treasurer, and Joan Breisch (Literacy Council of Reading-Berks) is the Secretary. Gail Dennis (York County Literacy Council), First Vice-Chairman, and Debbie Thompson (Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council), Chairman, welcome these new board members and look forward to a very productive year with TLC. ESL We are looking forward to another good Midwinter Conference this February. We have been actively recruiting presenters and expect to have a good lineup of sessions for ESL practitioners. Last year, our "What Works" session, which featured several practitioners sharing effective teaching ideas, was so popular that we've decided to present two sessions this year. We are recruiting teachers to present "What Works for Teaching Listening and Speaking" and "What Works for Teaching Reading and Writing." If you have never presented at a conference before and would like to give it a try, participating in a "What Works" session is a good way to get started. Each mini presentation will take only 10 minutes. Anyone interested in sharing a teaching idea in one of these "What Works" sessions, please contact Karen Bergey at kbergey@aol.com or 610-286-7102. Other topics we expect to offer at Midwinter this year include teaching grammar, writing for intermediate and advanced, using EFF in goal setting for ESL learners, teaching pronunciation, handling errors, and using dialogue journals. We are happy that Sue Boehret of Northampton Community College has agreed to coordinate our Lesson Plan Swap Shop in the Marketplace. If you would like to contribute a lesson plan to distribute to your ESL colleagues, please contact Sue at sboehret@northampton.edu or 610-861-5427. If you have questions, ideas, suggestions, or concerns, please contact one of the co-directors of the ESL program division, Carol Klauss at crklauss@bellatlantic.net or 610-640-4699 or Susan Finn Miller at finnmiller@aol.com or 717-519-1007.
Act 48: What Adult Educators Need to Know
The law states that for the purpose of calculating hours and credits of continuing professional education, one credit of collegiate studies or continuing professional education courses is equivalent to 30 hours of continuing professional education programs, activities, or learning experiences. So where do adult educators stand with regard to Act 48? Adult basic and literacy educators may take college courses or accumulate in-service time related to their area of certification or their area of assignment. Say you are certified in math but are teaching reading. You may take credits in either math or reading, or general adult education. However, all of these credits or hours must be obtained through PDE-"approved providers." ABLE’s professional development system is approved to offer CPEs, so that adult educators—even those working in community-based organizations—may take advantage of the many professional development opportunities provided by the Bureau of Adult Basic and Literacy Education and gain Act 48 hours while doing so. CPEs may be earned through participation in Module training, ABLE Net training, or EQUAL/program improvement training. In addition, actual hours spent in activities such as Learning from Practice, workshops, and conferences may be applied to the 180 required hours. The PAACE Midwinter Conference, as well as the Administrators and ESL Preconferences, have applied for certification as approved providers authorized for Act 48 hours. As noted in the Act 48 teleconference on September 21, 2000, only actual hours of participation in such activities count; get-acquainted time, lunch, and breaks do not count. All of your credits and hours are reported by the provider (possibly only at your request) to PDE, which is maintaining an online certification record for each individual. (Check it now; if you’re certified, you’re there.) What if you hold a teaching certificate but are not teaching in a "school entity"? And what about adult education, which does not require certification? Anyone holding certification, whether currently teaching or not, may work toward keeping their teaching certificate active or opt to suspend the certificate by submitting PDE form 338R, Request for Voluntary Inactive Certification. If you ever need your teaching certification again in the future, you’ll need to "reactivate" your certificate by completing one college credit or its equivalent, 30 actual hours of professional development, within 12 months prior to assuming a position requiring certification. Meantime, if you’re unsure of the future, you might want to keep your certificate active by meeting the requirements of Act 48 over the next five years. Confused? There is much more information, including the full text of Act 48 and answers to frequently asked questions, at http://www.pde.psu.edu. ABLE educators, watch for more information from the Bureau of ABLE regarding CPE credits and hours for participation in professional development offerings.  Christina Jagger’s Passing Spawns Memorial Funds Christina Jagger, Director of Acquisitions and Development for New Readers Press, the publishing division of Laubach Literacy International, and a PAACE member for a decade, died on August 18, 2000 of ovarian cancer. She had been with New Readers Press for 15 years. As the Director of Acquisitions and Development, she was the chief architect of product development strategy and was in charge of the development of all instructional materials published by New Readers Press. She was instrumental in the creation of NRP's latest reading series, Voyager: Reading and Writing for Today's Adults. She discussed balanced instruction, using the new series as an example, in her presentation at the PAACE 2000 Midwinter conference. Prior to coming to New Readers Press, Ms. Jagger taught both older teens and adults in a variety of settings. She has worked with a wide range of adults from new readers through GED students to master's degree candidates. THE CHRISTINA M. JAGGER MEMORIAL FUND With seed funding of $5,000 contributed by a Laubach employee, The Christina M. Jagger Endowment Fund has been established to provide ongoing financial support to The Learning Place in Chris's memory. Additional gifts of $300 have already been added to this fund. Chris's endowment fund will be managed by Laubach Literacy along with many other named endowments and trust funds in Laubach's care. Every January, in perpetuity, The Learning Place will receive a grant from Chris's fund equal to 5% of the fund's fair market value as of January 1. In this way, Chris's legacy of compassion for adult learners will live on year after year. Gifts can be added to The Christina M. Jagger Endowment Fund at any time. Gifts of cash or securities are welcome and are tax deductible. Checks should be made payable to Laubach Literacy designating The Christina M. Jagger Endowment Fund. Questions should be directed to Dawn Brisson or Kirk Shisler in Laubach's Fund Development Office, Laubach Literacy, 1320 Jamesville Ave., Syracuse, NY 13210, 315-422-9121. For donors who prefer to support national literacy efforts in memory of Chris, Laubach's National Book Scholarship Fund offers another option. Many of the books that are awarded to tutors and students through the National Book Scholarship Fund are books that Chris either had a hand in developing, or books she approved for acquisition for New Readers Press. The primary focus of the National Book Scholarship Fund (NBSF) is to support local literacy groups working with parents who read poorly or not at all. The NBSF also targets assistance to benefit English as a Second Language and Adult Basic Literacy programs. Since 1995, the National Book Scholarship Fund has awarded more than $1 million in book awards to 547 local literacy programs across the U.S. Gifts in Chris's memory can be made to Laubach Literacy designating The National Book Scholarship Fund. Gifts will go directly to provide book awards, in Chris's memory, to local literacy programs to be identified during Laubach's 2000-01 fiscal year. For more information contact Dawn Brisson or Kirk Shisler in Laubach's Fund Development Office, Laubach Literacy, 1320 Jamesville Ave., Syracuse, NY 13210 315-422-9121. Additional details on the NBSF Web site at www.laubach.org/NBSF/indexnbs.html. Over the past year, hundreds of individuals and a coalition of 31 literacy organizations from across the country have contributed to creating the National Literacy Summit's consensus document, "From the Margins to the Mainstream: An Action Agenda for Literacy." On September 7, the National Coalition for Literacy released the document at an event on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Coalition members, lawmakers, and other partners participated in the launch and panel discussion. The event was seen live on the Web. The webcast is archived and available at the National Institute for Literacy's website at http://www.nifl.gov/coalition/. In summary, the report recommends ways to strengthen the national system of adult education. (The system currently serves only 4 million of the 40 million adults in the U.S. who have low literacy skills.) Recommendations include:
The report is available as a PDF file at http://www.nifl.gov/Coalition/margins_to_mainstream.pdf PA's ABLE Net is the Eastern Grantee NIFL has awarded five new LINCS (Literacy Information aNd Communication System) Regional Technology Center grants. The grants are awarded for a three-year period, which began on October 1, 2000. Pennsylvania's ABLENet, lead site for Eastern LINCS, is among the grantees. LINCS Regional Technology Centers will work with the NIFL to: 1. Expand the LINCS network to include the broadest possible range of national, state, and local partners. 2. Extend the knowledge and use of LINCS web sites, infrastructure, resources, and services throughout the state and local adult education and adult and family literacy community in each region. 3. Assist the adult education and adult and family literacy community in integrating LINCS resources and new technology into teaching and staff development. 4. Enhance the literacy field's electronic knowledge base by creating, collecting, and organizing new high quality literacy information resources on-line, especially locally developed materials. In addition to ABLE Net, the other four new Regional Technology Centers are:
Each Regional Technology Center will be expected to build on the achievements of the previous regional hub and to work in cooperation with a consortium of partners and affiliates to: 1. Build new partnerships at the regional, state, and local level. Regional Technology Centers will work with each other and NIFL to coordinate their activities and, when possible, carry out joint activities, in order to maximize the total mount of resources available to LINCS and allow them to have the greatest impact possible. For more information on LINCS, contact Jaleh Behroozi at jbehroozi@nifl.gov or 202/233-2039.
Midwinter Conference Call for Presentations Extended PAACE Web Site Now Easier to Find The PAACEsite contains lots of useful information. It can be used to obtain membership information, board meeting minutes, and even photos from various conferences. Remember, this site is for its members, so if you feel something should be made available on the PAACEsite, let us know. Send your material to me at aparrett@lhup.edu, and I will get any needed approvals to post it. Research Conference Call for Proposals Publication on TANF Reauthorization Call for Presentations: COABE Call for Papers: Sixth International Conference on Teaching Statistics Topic 1. Statistics Literacy Full rules and guidelines are available at the ICOTS-6 IPC Web site at http://www.beeri.org.il/icots6. Tana Reiff, Lancaster-Lebanon I.U. 13 / PAACE News Editor The purpose of PAACE News is to inform members of PAACE about the activities and plans of the Association and how they can participate in them. Remaining consistent with the mission of the organization, the newsletter connects a diverse audience of adult education practitioners, researchers, and students throughout Pennsylvania. This issue published October 11, 2000 To submit material for PAACE News, please e-mail the editor at reifft@aol.com. | ||||
Where does PAACE stand when it comes to placing its endorsement on policies, programs, and processes? An interesting topic of discussion at recent PAACE meetings has been about how PAACE, as an organization, should decide when it is appropriate and right to offer its endorsement on issues important and relevant to our membership? And how do we decide which issues to endorse? Several times the board has been asked to support, through endorsement, organizations or processes. PAACE regularly offers its endorsement of legislative issues.
It’s time to mark your calendars for the 2001 Midwinter Conference! Circle the days from February 7 through 9 and begin to look forward to three days of learning, networking, and having a good time. Our honorary chair for the conference is Kathleen Pavelko, president and CEO of WITF, the public television station in Harrisburg. Ms. Pavelko will be representing all of Pennsylvania’s public television stations, the Pennsylvania Public Television Network (PPTN), and in honoring her we will be extending our respect and appreciation to all seven of our PBS stations.
Improving education has been my number one priority as Governor, both in focus and in funding. As President, I will make education my number one domestic policy priority. And I will operate from a very simple premise: I believe all children can learn and no child should be left behind. Success in school is strongly influenced by how much parents expose a child to language and reading before starting school. Children who have been read to for hundreds of hours are much more likely to start school ready to learn. Family literacy is an excellent way to increase vitally important parental involvement.
Today, education is the key to success in life, starting with literacy skills: the ability to read, write, and solve problems. Yet 40% of adults lack the literacy skills needed to compete in today’s workforce, to raise a family, and to participate fully in their community. Everyone must be literate so families can succeed in the new economy and help children do well in school. Research has shown that the educational level of the parent is the best predictor of how well a child will do in school. We know that low literacy impacts the ability of adults and families to access and benefit from healthcare information. And limited literacy impacts a wide range of community and social concerns across the nation.
