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Fall 2008
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Volume 32, No. 3
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Getting inside the action
by Tana Reiff, TIU 11 Community Education Services, PAACE President
For several months now, PAACE has been opposing the Pennsylvania Economy League’s recommendation to move Adult Basic and Literacy Education (ABLE) from the Department of Education to the Department of Labor and Industry. In July we sent a detailed letter to Governor Rendell questioning the credibility of the PEL report itself and making the case for leaving adult education where it belongs, in Education. In August, we sent the Governor a petition bearing over 2,000 signatures supporting PAACE’s position, along with selected comments. (At this writing there are nearly 2,400 signatures.) We e-mailed copies of both correspondences to key players and e-mailed the petition to every state legislator. While we await a decision on the future of ABLE in Pennsylvania, we will stay active and keep members apprised.
Meanwhile, there’s a Midwinter Conference coming up! Diane Inverso brings you up to date on conference plans (below).
In the midst of all this, the board adopted a new mission statement and three-year strategic plan with attainable goals to drive the organization’s activities. I invite you to read the plan from the perspective of this question: How can I contribute? PAACE’s conference, advocacy, and other efforts happen only because dedicated individuals volunteer their energies. Each board member offers a unique perspective and skill set. What is yours?
As the time approaches to nominate a second vice-president (leading to president), secretary, treasurer, and central region representative, I’d like you to consider serving on the board. Appointed positions will come up as well.
Why serve on the board team? It truly is a leadership opportunity. It is a way to serve the broad field of adult education. It can bring you and your agency or institution statewide exposure. You will enjoy the collegiality and will really feel part of what makes PAACE tick. Your voice will be heard and your ideas will have a forum.
For elected board positions, you will run unopposed. You will take office at the conference in February. But before you jump in, consider what is involved. Besides your own willingness, you will need local support to:
- Attend board meetings in Harrisburg or State College, or conference calls, the second Tuesday of each month and participate in other conference calls to prepare for board meetings.
- Allow reasonable time to carry out your volunteer duties.
- Help cover expenses such as travel, postage, phone, and substitutes, if possible.
- Inform you of policies governing participation in a professional association.
To be fully engaged as a board member, you should be prepared to take initiative when you see something that needs to be done, and to spend the necessary time and energy to see your ideas to fruition. In exchange, you will gain professional growth, experience, and satisfaction. If you’re already experienced, you will at least derive the satisfaction part of the reward!
If this sounds interesting to you, I hope you’ll contact me at tana_reiff@comcast.net to learn more as you consider serving on the PAACE board.
Budget updates and new advocacy resources available
by JoAnn Weinberger, Center for Literacy, PAACE Legislative Committee Chair
Key Actions to Take Now:
Voter Registration – Deadline is October 6. Please encourage your students to register to vote. You can use the attached form. 
PA Economy League Report Recommendation– Between now and the middle of October is the time to write the Governor and your state legislators. See below for more information.
State Efforts: Your association has actively worked, and continues to work, to stop the Pennsylvania Economy League (PEL) recommendation to transfer the Bureau of ABLE to the Department of Labor and Industry. Through letters to the Governor, Secretaries of the Department of Education and Labor and Industry, State Workforce Investment Board Executive Director, Secretary of Policy, and members of the legislature, PAACE has provided a detailed letter refuting the analysis of the PEL and a petition with almost 2,400 signatures. Please go to the PAACE website (www.paacesite.org) for details on these actions.
Now it is time for you to take action: PAACE recommends that all members take the opportunity of legislators returning to Harrisburg to send letters regarding the importance of the Bureau of ABLE remaining in the Department of Education. The letters (see sample and tips below) should be sent to the Governor and to your State Representative and Senator. If you have any questions about this process, please email me at Weinberger@centerforliteracy.org. Please try to send these letters by October 10. Thank you, in advance.
Federal Efforts: Given the throes of the election and federal concern with the economy, no action is being taken on either appropriations or reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act. What we do know is that the Appropriations Committees in both the House and Senate have gone on record approving level funding for adult education. Whether this will be changed once there is a new Congress and President is unknown. Stay tuned………
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Sample Letters for Governor Rendell and State Legislators:
The Honorable Ed Rendell
225 Main Capitol Building
Harrisburg, PA 17120
or
Senator or Representative _______
Address
City, State ZIP
Dear Governor Rendell or Dear Senator ________ or Dear Representative _________
On behalf of the _____________________ [name or organization] and its service to ______________ of your constituents, I write to you with my concern about the PA Economy League (PEL) report to the State Workforce Investment Board recommending that the Bureau of Adult Basic and Literacy Education (ABLE) be moved from the Department of Education to the Department of Labor and Industry. Although workforce education is integral to what ABLE does, adult education is much more than workforce development and, as such, belongs in the domain of the Department of Education.
Since a move of this kind would require legislation and thus your role, I would like to share with you the purposes of adult basic education: Adult basic education programs funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Bureau of Adult Basic and Literacy Education, provide a full range of instructional services that address the basic educational needs of adults and families. These programs are EDUCATIONAL programs, not TRAINING programs. For specifics on these instructional services, please follow this link: www.able.state.pa.us/legislation.
To demonstrate the importance of this issue to the adult education community and its collaborators, nearly 2,400 signatures and comments have been collected on a petition. To see the signatures and read the comments, please go to gopetition.com and search for PAACE.
As you can see, this is an extremely important issue to the future of sound educational programming. I hope I can count on your support to maintain the Bureau of ABLE in the Department of Education.
Sincerely yours,
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- Use the sample letter above and cut and paste it on your letterhead. Fill in the blanks with your local information.
- Mail or fax this letter to Governor Rendell and your local Pennsylvania state senators and representatives.
- Find your state senator and representative contact information by going to: www.vote-smart.org.
- Send a copy of your letter to the legislative aid in your legislator's office if you have worked together before.
- Ask your co-workers, students, community partners, friends and family to also send letters.
The Family Literacy Division of PAACE is excited for this year’s Midwinter Conference! Planning for our division activities in the Marketplace and at the Division Luncheon is underway. Please consider submitting a proposal to share the great work that you are doing in the field. A proposal is being submitted for a Family Literacy SEQUAL-PAR Poster Session. If you would like to participate in this session by sharing your 2007-08 poster and findings, please contact Drucie Weirauch at dcw113@psu.edu.
Also, November 1 is National Family Literacy Day! We are looking forward to hearing about the celebrations you are having throughout the state! Look for updates on this as well as the Conference on the PA Family Literacy Listserv. Have a great fall!
English as a Second Language (ESL)
PAACE planning in full swing
by Martin Senger, GECAC, ESL Division Co-Chair
The ESL Division is asking all PAACE members to offer suggestions for both presenters or even possible presentations for the Midwinter Conference. If you are interested in something particular, but don’t know of anyone who would be willing to present, let your PAACE Board Division Chair(s) know. If we can't help you identify a presenter by the October 1 RFP deadline, we can start looking for 2010 Midwinter Conference.
We are looking into possible activities in the Hershey/Harrisburg area at conference time. We will be dispersing this information in January so you'll have time to network and plan ahead. You may contact me at msenger@gecac.org.
2009 PAACE Midwinter Conference RFP Open
by Diane Inverso, Mayor's Commission on Literacy, Second-Vice President
Get set. Go! The Pennsylvania Association for Adult Continuing Education (PAACE) invites you to submit a proposal for presentation at the 2009 Midwinter Conference. This year’s conference title is PAACE Yourself: Keeping Up with Adult Education. More information on how to submit a request for proposals (RFP) is available at the PAACE website. Go to the Presenter Information section of the conference web page. The deadline, October 1, is just a few days away. Quicken the pace and submit those ideas now!
The Midwinter Conference is the perfect place to share your ideas and your work with your colleagues from across the state. The conference committee is interested in outstanding and innovative practices in all aspects of adult education including basic literacy, basic numeracy, workforce development, family literacy, English as a Second Language, volunteer/community-based literacy, correctional education, and all other areas. The program committee is looking for presentations based on successful implementation, current research, and sound practice. You and your colleagues can submit a proposal for a concurrent session, an informal roundtable discussion or a poster presentation.
Pennsylvania supports the needs of adult basic education through a variety of providers such as school districts, community colleges, community-based and faith-based organizations, local workforce centers, and correctional facilities. Midwinter 2009 hopes to feature exemplary practices in these delivery systems and provide opportunities to discuss and exchange ideas with participants representing like agencies from around the state and country.
You want to be at the Midwinter conference this year and submitting a proposal is a way to get there. You will have a chance to hear the Keynote speaker, Dr. Ian Baptiste. Dr. Baptiste is an Associate Professor of Education and Professor-in-Charge of the Adult Education program at the Pennsylvania State University. Professor Baptiste writes, publishes, and teaches in the areas of adult and informal learning, community organizing and development, civic engagement and democratic participation, and qualitative and mixed-methods research. His current professional interest is to understand the processes that help to build and sustain life-enriching community organizations. Pursuant to this interest Dr. Baptiste has, since 2002, been working in two localities – the Caribbean island of Grenada, and Philadelphia, USA. Within both locales, Dr. Baptiste conducts ethnographic research with, and provides technical assistance to, mostly struggling community organizations.
This year’s Family Literacy author, Katherine Ayres, will be with us during the grand opening of the marketplace (to sign books) and is planning to do a session on writing. You do not want to miss this chance.
So step up to that starting line and begin your sprint for the premier professional development opportunity in Pennsylvania. Submit your proposal today!
PAACE establishes new membership year
by Suzanne Webster, Institute for the Study of Adult Literacy Penn State, Membership Chair
To make the membership process more efficient and to coincide with the PAACE Conference registration, the membership year has been changed. All memberships will now begin on December 1 and end on November 30 of the next year.
The current memberships will be affected as follows:
Memberships that expire September 1, 2008 - February 1, 2009 will now have an expiration date of November 30, 2008.
Memberships that expire on March 1, 2009, or later will have an expiration date of November 30, 2009.
Some people will gain a few months and some will lose a few months but it will make for a better system overall. No longer will members have to wonder whether they missed the membership e-mail reminder or have to search for their membership cards to see when they should renew.
See the PAACE membership page at www.paacesite.org for more information on joining or renewing PAACE memberships.
Making Sense of Climate Change: Educational Resources Available
The September 2008 issue of World Education's The Change Agent is 60 pages filled with pictures, illustrations, short articles, cartoons, math lessons, and quizzes to break down the science and economics of climate change for use with adult education learners. In addition, articles and student writings explore responses to global warming. Learn about greenhouse gases, energy-saving tricks that also save money, green jobs, and how adult learners are teaching their kids about conservation, saying no to junk mail, and lobbying their mayors to do more for the environment. There is a small cost for subscribing to The Change Agent. More information can be found at www.nelrc.org/changeagent.
COABE Award Applications Available
Commission on Adult Basic Education (COABE) provides incentive grants and scholarships provide financial support to members for small special projects or advanced study in adult education. There may be up to four recipients in each category. Recipients must be a member of or join COABE. Applications must be submitted by December 31, 2008. For more information, visit the Awards and Grants page on the COABE website at: www.coabe.org.
ProLiteracy 2008 Annual Conference
October 1 - 4, 2008
Peabody Little Rock
Little Rock, AR
www.proliteracy.org/conference
Health Literacy: What it is, Why it Matters, How You Can Help
October 3, 2008
Pennsylvania College of Technology
Williamsport, PA
www.pct.edu/wdce
AAACE 2008 Conference
November 10 - 14, 2008
Denver, Colorado
Registration now open
www.aaace.org
Effective Transitions in Adult Education
November 17 - 18, 2008
Adam's Mark Hotel
Providence, RI
Registration now open
collegetransition.org/conference08/registration.html
2009 PAACE Midwinter Conference
February 11 - 13, 2009
Hershey Lodge
Hershey, PA
www.paacesite.org
Comprehensive conference listing!
Whatever your interest in adult education may be, the LINCS conference calendar has something for you--actually, LOTS of things for you. Check out this thorough list of conferences and events related to adult education, technology, and affiliated topics at:
www.nifl.gov/cgi-bin/Calendar/calendar_world.cgi
PAACE News available in PDF
For those who like to print out PAACE News, you have the option of printing directly from your browser or downloading a PDF file of each issue.
Download the current issue of PAACE News as PDF file here.
Are you subscribed to the PAACE members e-mail list?
If you are a PAACE member and are not subscribed to the members e-mail list, you may use the simple sign-up process by going to www.paacesite.org, clicking on the link on the main page for the PAACE lists, and following the link for the members@paacesite.org list. Subscribers also may follow the link to change subscription information. Only subscribers may post to the list.
PAACE members are encouraged to be on the e-mail list in order to receive announcements and late-breaking legislative news, especially now!
President: Tana Reiff (TIU 11 Community Education Services)
First Vice-President: Diane Inverso (Mayor's Commission on Literacy)
Second Vice-President: Lori Keefer (Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council)
Secretary: Anita Cola (Lackawanna College)
Treasurer: William Schaffer (Northampton Community College)
Immediate Past President: Chuck Klinger (TIU 11 Community Education Services)
Remote Past President: Debbie Hrach
Western Region Representative: Alex Dow (Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council)
Central Region Representative: Ginger McCool (Central Intermediate Unit 10)
Eastern Region Representative: Rebecca Wagner (Community Learning Center)
Adult Basic and Secondary Education Division Director: Bootsie Barbour (Stairways Behavioral Health)
Continuing Higher Education Division Director: Mary Anne Varacalli (Delaware County Community College, retired)
Corrections Education Division Director: Randy Bacon (Allegheny County Prison)
ESL Division: Susan Adams (YMCA of Philadelphia), Martin Senger (GECAC), and Cathie Whitmire (Hispanic American Council)
Family Literacy Division: Lori McMonigal (TIU 11 Community Education Services) and Katherine Vastine (Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit 16)
Tutors of Literacy in the Commonwealth: Kim Rossman (Tutors of Literacy in the Commonwealth)
Workplace Education Division: Cheryl Hiester (Literacy Council of Lancaster-Lebanon)
PDE Bureau of ABLE Representative: Susan Mansuetti
Commonwealth Libraries: Eileen Kocher (ABLE Resource Center)
Organizational Director: Monica Shields
Committee Chairs/Full Board list: See the PAACE website.
PAACE News Editorial Board
Destiny Long, TIU 11 Community Education Services, Editor
Lynette Hazelton, District 1199C Training and Upgrading Fund
Peggi Kelley, Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council
Chrissie Klinger, Bedford County Literacy Council/Chestnut Ridge School District
Ruth Love-Schooley, Lycoming County Library System
Karen Mundie, Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council
Tana Reiff, TIU 11 Community Education Services
Mary Anne Varacalli, Delaware County Community College (ret.)
Drucie Weirauch, The Pennsylvania State University
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. The opinions expressed in this newsletter do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of PAACE and no official endorsement should be inferred.
This issue published September 24, 2008.
To submit material for PAACE News, please e-mail the editor at dlong@tiu11.org.