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Fall 2009
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Volume 33,
No. 3
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by Diane C. Inverso, Mayor's Commission on Literacy, PAACE President
The heat of the summer has long passed and the coolness of fall is upon us. I wish I could gaze into my crystal ball and see where we will be in the next few months and what the future holds for adult education in Pennsylvania. I know that the PA State Budget impasse has created havoc on the lives of the learners, the practitioners and agencies of adult education. I am determined to keep my eyes directed ahead of me and toward the end of the tunnel.
The PAACE Board continues to change and grow. We have many new members on the Board and they are actively involved with many plans and ideas. The Board has begun to explore ideas for a research project, develop potential new awards to be disseminated at the PAACE conference and look at various ways to advocate for the adult education community. The Board has been engaged and committed to spreading the news of adult education in the state. I now see a fully engaged Board, who is prepared to take initiative when they see something that needs to be done, and spend the necessary time and energy to see ideas to fruition.
The time approaches to nominate a second vice-president (leading to president), secretary, and treasurer. I’d like you to consider serving on the board. Working on the PAACE Board allows for professional growth, experience, and satisfaction. It is a leadership opportunity.
If this sounds interesting to you, I hope you’ll contact me at inversod@freelibrary.org to learn more as you consider serving on the PAACE board.
Meanwhile, there’s a Conference coming up! Lori Keefer brings you up to date on the plans for the 2010 conference in State College.
Chart a Course: Destination Adult Education
by Lori Keefer, Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council, 1st
Vice President PAACE
Change in conference dates:
The PAACE annual conference dates have been changed to June 1 – 3, 2010. These dates are the Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday immediately after Memorial Day.
The conference will be held at The Penn Stater Conference Center in State College.
Honorary Chair:
PAACE is pleased to announce that the Honorary Chair for this year’s conference is Verizon.
Keynote speaker:
I am also pleased to announce that the keynote speaker will be Byron Pitts.
Prior to being named to the 60 Minutes team, Mr. Pitts was the network’s national correspondent. In that capacity he covered many of the biggest stories of the past few years. He recently did a piece on illiteracy that ran on the CBS Sunday Morning show.
CBS News: Battling the Scourge of Illiteracy
Mr. Pitts recently published a book Step Out on Nothing.
From Amazon.com:
In Step Out on Nothing, Byron Pitts chronicles his astonishing story of overcoming a childhood filled with obstacles to achieve enormous success in life. Throughout Byron’s difficult youth—his parents separated when he was twelve and his mother worked two jobs to make ends meet—he suffered from a debilitating stutter. But Byron was keeping an even more embarrassing secret: He was also functionally illiterate. For a kid from inner-city Baltimore, it was a recipe for failure.
Pitts turned struggle into strength and overcame both of his impediments. Along the way, a few key people “stepped out on nothing” to make a difference for him—from his mother, who worked tirelessly to raise her kids right and delivered ample amounts of tough love, to his college roommate, who helped Byron practice his vocabulary and speech. Pitts even learns from those who didn’t believe in him, like the college professor who labeled him a failure and told him to drop out of college. Through it all, he persevered, following his steadfast passion. After fifteen years in local television, he landed a job as a correspondent for CBS News in 1998, and went on to become an Emmy Award–winning journalist and a contributing correspondent for 60 Minutes. Not bad for a kid who couldn’t read.
From a challenged youth to a reporting career that has covered 9/11 and Iraq, Pitts’s triumphant and uplifting story will resonate with anyone who has felt like giving up in the face of seemingly insurmountable hardships.
Reserve your room now:
You can reserve your hotel room now by calling (800) 233-7505 and requesting the PAACE block of rooms or mentioning the reservation code PAAB10A.
Become involved in conference planning:
The conference planning committee is being formed now. If you are interested in helping to plan this year’s conference, please contact Lori at 412.661.7323 ext. 131 or lkeefer@gplc.org. We will have our first conference planning conference call in late October. Committees include event sponsorship, marketplace, sessions, marketing, and special events. Please consider joining the conference planning committee and getting more involved with PAACE.
Please check the conference pages of www.paacesite.org often for conference updates.
Legistlative Report
by JoAnn Weinberger, Center for Literacy, PAACE Legislative Committee Chair
State News:
On the 101st day of the budget impasse for
Pennsylvania, the House and Senate reconciled their
differences, and the Governor signed the budget bill
into law. The line item for adult and family
literacy is $17,687,000, a 23.53% decrease compared
with 08-09. This represents $500,000 in additional
funding compared with the Three Caucus version
announced weeks before. Next steps include the
Bureau releasing allocations and the time it will
take (up to 90 days) for payment to be received.
Meanwhile, cash flow remains a problem throughout
the Commonwealth as programs are laying off staff,
cutting back classes and staff hours, not paying
vendors, borrowing on credit lines, and doing
everything they can to stay alive.
Thank you to all the adult educators throughout
Pennsylvania who contacted their legislators and
participated in rallies. Your voices were heard!
Federal News: Please see the announcement below of Adult Education and Family Literacy Week, to be celebrated October 18-23. Note that the U.S. House of Representatives has recognized this week.
Adult Education and Family Literacy Week
October 18-23, 2009
www.ncladvocacy.org/aefl.html
October 18-23, 2009 is Adult Education and Family Literacy Week! Recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives (http://clerk.house.gov/floorsummary/floor.html/thisweek.htm), this is a one-time only dedication to raise public awareness of adult education and family literacy, assist adult learners in need of literacy services, and support increased access to adult education and family literacy programs. Use this opportunity to elevate adult education and family literacy nationwide with policymakers, the media, and the community.
The National Coalition for Literacy has created a resource collection in the NCL Advocacy Clearinghouse and Toolkit (www.ncladvocacy.org/aefl.html), to support your efforts to raise awareness and celebrate the week.
Resources include the latest fact sheets, sample press releases, and commemoration ideas for raising awareness for program directors, instructors, and partners.
Join the U.S. House of Representatives and NCL in honoring adult learners nationwide. Show your support for increasing access to adult education and family literacy programs to ensure a literate society.
Put this button on your site! Copy and paste the code below:
<a href="http://www.ncladvocacy.org/aefl.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.ncladvocacy.org/aefl2009.jpg" alt="aefl 2009" width="170" height="227" border="0"></a>
Questions? Contact NCL policy co-chairs Jackie Taylor (jackie@jataylor.net) or Marsha Tait (mltait09@twcny.rr.com).
We’ve been busy developing a new “ESL Shareholders’ Network” that brings together ESL practitioners from all levels, K-12, Adult and Higher Ed- from Erie and the surrounding area. We had our first meeting in September, which was very successful, with seventeen attendees, including one K-12 parent! We are excited about the information sharing and networking possibilities of this group, and are currently planning an October 22nd follow-up meeting.
Last week, we attended a similar meeting in Buffalo, NY, which was sponsored by NYSTESOL. The group is interested in doing more regional ESL networking. In addition, we have been in contact with Ohio Adult ESL practitioners with the hope of developing a truly “regional” network.
We’ve also developed a LinkedIn website for the Shareholders’ Network (The ESL Shareholders’ Network of the Lake Erie Region), which allows us to test out how we could use something similar for PAACE. Please let us know if you would like to participate, and we’ll be happy to add you to the invite list!
Susan Adams of the Philadelphia YMCA, would like those of you in the Philadelphia area to know that ESL programs will be invited to attend Community College for a Day in the spring. A grant has been written by CCP to offset funding for the event. She will be working closely with the International Department from CCP and the ABLE Administrators Group to network and find students capable of participating in this day- long event.
The Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia has paired their cohort of International doctors with the YMCA to create a volunteer network. Their goal is to help the YMCA's Adult Education Program get through these difficult days of budgetary constraints by tutoring and partnering for social and cultural events.
Please feel free to contact us with questions about any of these exciting new projects!
Martin E. Senger – Msenger@GECAC.org
E. Cathie Whitmire – ecwhitmire@multiculturalcrc.org
Susan Adams – sadams@philaymca.org
Top Five ESL Links
If you search on the web for free ESL lessons, you’ll be inundated with millions of hits. That’s a lot of material to wade through. Doug Masiroff, ESL Specialist with Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council, has done the leg work for us! Below you’ll find his top five ESL links and why he chose them.
Extensive free content with student and teacher sections organized by level and skill area.
Interactive activities for English language learners to use in the computer lab or at home.
http://literacynet.org/cnnsf/home.html
Real stories taken from TV news. Includes audio, video, text and simplified versions.
http://www.esl-lab.com/index.htm
Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab is an old favorite that continues to get better with time. There’s a new video culture clip section, in addition to the listening sections.
One of the largest, reliable collections of ESL web links. Plenty of ready-to-use content.
Health Literacy Month
by Lori McMonigal and Katherine Vastine
October is Health Literacy Month. The attached flyer highlights resources developed through the Literacy Information and Communication System (LINCS) and the National Institute for Literacy (NIFL). We hope you find these resources valuable for staff and families as we prepare for flu season. NIFL has many helpful resources that are free to programs. Visit their website at http://www.nifl.gov/.
Health Literacy Resources Flyer
National Coalition for Literacy Online Advocacy Toolkit
The National Coalition for Literacy (NCL) has launched its new online Advocacy Clearinghouse and Toolkit (www.ncladvocacy.org). Developed with an aim to change the conversation about adult education in the U.S., the Toolkit provides adult education and literacy advocates with the tools and knowledge to raise awareness and speak for the needs of 30+ million Americans with limited literacy and the 11+ million who cannot communicate in English.
Containing dozens of resources, facts and reports provided by member organizations of the NCL, the Advocacy Clearinghouse and Toolkit is a “one-stop shop” for all advocates interested in improving adult education. This project has been generously supported by the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, which invests millions of dollars each year in literacy programs that help individuals reach their full potential.
The NCL is a national adult education leadership organization comprised of member organizations and adult education professionals, committed to promoting adult education and literacy, family literacy and English language development in the US. For more information about the Toolkit, contact Jennifer Maloney, NCL Director, at: jennifer.maloney@ncldc.net or Jackie Taylor, website developer at Jackie@jataylor.net.
AAACE 58th International Conference
November 3 – 6, 2009
Cleveland, OH
www.aaace.org
3rd National Conference on Effective Transition in Adult Education
November 16 - 17, 2009
Crowne Plaza Hotel
COABE ProLiteracy Joint Conference 2010
March 16 - 19, 2010
Chicago Hilton Hotel
Chicago, IL
http://www.coabeproliteracy2010.org
Extra Eyes Needed!
Would you like to be more involved with PAACE, but don’t think you have the time? Consider joining the PAACE News Editorial Board. The PAACE newsletter is published quarterly, and we’re always looking for people who can help us ensure the quality of the information we put forth! For more information, please contact Colleen Duran, PAACE News Editor, at cduran@gplc.org or 412-421-0525.
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:
Diane C. Inverso (Mayor's Commission on Literacy)
First Vice-President: Lori Keefer (Greater
Pittsburgh Literacy Council)
Second Vice-President: Cheryl Hiester
(Literacy Council of Lancaster-Lebanon)
Secretary: Anita Cola (Lackawanna College)
Treasurer: Alex Dow (Greater Pittsburgh
Literacy Council)
Immediate Past President: Tana Reiff (TIU 11
Community Education Services)
Remote Past President: Chuck Klinger (TIU 11
Community Education Services)
Western Regional Representative: Marcia
Anderson (Adult Literacy Lawrence County) Lynne
Watson (Adult Literacy Lawrence County)
Central Regional Representative: Mary Mingle
(Central Intermediate Unit 10)
Eastern Regional Representative: Shawn Barnum
(Center for Literacy)
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:
Kathy Pavel (IU1)
ESL Division: Susan Adams (YMCA of
Philadelphia), Martin Senger (GECAC), and Cathie
Whitmire (Multicultural Community Resource Center)
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: Tim Shenk
(Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13)
PDE Bureau of ABLE Representative: Susan
Mansuetti
Commonwealth Libraries: Eileen Kocher
Committee Chairs/Full Board list: See the PAACE website.
PAACE News Editorial Board
Colleen Duran, Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council, Editor
Destiny Long, TIU
11 Community Education Services
Lynette Hazelton, District 1199C Training and Upgrading Fund
Diane C. Inverso, Mayor's Commission on Literacy
Peggi Kelley, Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council
Chrissie Klinger, Bedford County Literacy Council/Chestnut Ridge School District
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 October 19, 2009.
To submit material for PAACE News, please e-mail the editor at cduran@gplc.org.