by Debbie Hrach, PAACE President

Dear Fellow PAACE Members:

The PAACE board has had a very busy spring, and first on its agenda has been a revision of the Executive Director job description. The executive board, along with Bob McNeill and Jeff Woodyard, has worked diligently at developing a listing of responsibilities and duties that meet the needs of the organization as it has evolved over the past several years. Added responsibilities include managing the online membership database, creating reports from this database, and working with the legislative committee on advocacy issues. Please watch for a posting of the “Agreement of Responsibilities and Duties” in August.

In February, Elaine Greene resigned as ESL Division chair due to increased responsibilities at her agency. Elaine did a great job organizing many of the ESL events such as the poster sessions at Midwinter Conference. PAACE is very appreciative of the time she was able to devote to the board and wish her well. Taking Elaine’s place is Monica Teles Carr from the Mount Pleasant Hispanic American Center located in Harrisburg. Monica has been an active member of the EL/Civics content standards committee and is excited about her new role on the PAACE board.

Eileen Kocher, librarian for ABLE Resource Center (AdvancE), is the new PDE Libraries representative to the board. Eileen’s major emphasis as librarian is to provide services to adult educators. She comes into this role with a wealth of experience, which will certainly be well utilized in her position on the PAACE board.

The PAACE regional representatives, the legislative committee, and second vice president were all busy this spring in setting up and conducting regional advocacy workshops entitled “Educating Your Legislators.” Each region (central, east, and west) held two workshops scheduled throughout the state between May 26 and June 9. JoAnn Weinberger and John Weidman prepared the agenda and handouts, and post cards were sent to all PAACE members to inform them of these sessions. Forty-two participants were in attendance, and many reported that the information provided will be useful to them in their future efforts around advocacy.

The bylaws committee, led by Barb Van Horn, has been diligently working on a revision of the Operations Manual. The committee’s goal is to align this manual with the bylaws and the strategic plan in order to have a seamless system in place. This is an arduous process, and the board is extremely appreciative that Barb and her committee have agreed to tackle this job.

Chuck Klinger has been very busy leading Pennsylvania’s COABE committees in their organization of the 2007 COABE conference. The hospitality committee is looking for tours that conference participants can enjoy while visiting Philadelphia. They have already secured the Franklin Institute for the Monday evening reception and hope to have some family oriented tours available for the weekend prior to the conference, which begins on Monday, March 25. Mark your calendars and be prepared for an outstanding event.

The board has set its 06-07 meeting schedule, which can be found on the PAACE website. You will notice that in an attempt to save time and money (particularly as gas prices continue to rise), face to face meetings will be held every other month in either Harrisburg or State College. Conference calls will be used in those alternating months. The board began using conference calls in a limited fashion last year, and it proved to be method that allowed for increased participation, particularly during winter months or times when program activity tends to increase.

Executive Director Search
by Debbie Hrach, PAACE President

As many of you know, the PAACE board has been operating without an executive director since shortly before our Midwinter Conference. The search committee has been diligently working on a revised “Agreement of Responsibilities and Duties” for this position and will be posting this description in early August. Among the responsibilities listed are a full range of conference duties, which comprises a good portion of the job, management of the new online membership database, and additional work around advocacy. Among the skills required are an understanding of organizational management, excellent written and oral skills, proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, and an ability to manage and analyze data. Please watch for this posting and assist the board by spreading the word to any colleagues who many be interested in working with our organization.

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Summertime Legislative Actions
by JoAnn Weinberger, Center for Literacy, PAACE Legislative Committee Chair

Federal appropriations
The U.S. House Appropriations Sub-Committee for Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies voted out their bill that includes level funding for adult education ($579 million) and $70 million for Even Start for FY07. The Even Start figure is $70 million over the President's request but $29 million less than current funding. It is assumed that the full Appropriations Committee will approve these figures along with the entire House of Representatives.

The Senate has yet to take action. Therefore, the appropriations process has a long way to go. The federal budget year begins October 1--adult education funds appropriated will be for the 07-08 fiscal year.

State Appropriations
The PA legislature appropriated a hold even budget for adult education and family literacy. This bill has been signed into law and went into effect July 1. This appropriation is $18,634,000.

TANF Regulations
On June 29, the Federal Health and Human Services Department (HHS) issued the TANF Reauthorization Regulations. The link below will take you to the HHS site where you can find the 139-page regulations and several shorter documents that give some of the highlights from the regulations.

These regulations are "interim" in that they won't be final for 60 days, and you can provide comments on them to HHS during those 60 days. The regulations and the site will explain how to make comments:
http://peerta.acf.hhs.gov/reauthorization/index.htm

Here is a link that you can cut and paste in order to see a brief article by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities interpreting the policy ramifications for states of the HHS Regulations.
www.cbpp.org/6-28-06tanf-stmt.htm

Workforce Investment Act
The U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate have passed different versions of the reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act. Next, a Conference Committee of representatives and senators will be named to meet and determine what provisions should be in a bill that would then get sent back to the floor of the House and the Senate and then to the President for signature. As a side-by-side comparison is created for the issues in each bill for Title II (adult education), PAACE membership will be informed through the listserve.

Actions You Can Take Over the Summer
Now is an excellent time to contact your legislators, both state and federal--arrange a meeting, either in their offices or at one of your sites. Include learners in your discussion so that the legislators or their aides learn first hand what you do and the impact you make.

Continue sending the federal postcards (neon pink) to your U.S. representative and the two senators (Specter and Santorum). If there is a public forum in your area, go, prepared with a question regarding support for adult education and Even Start Family Literacy.

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Advocacy Works!
by Joe Morales, Lancaster-Lebanon IU 13, PAACE Eastern Regional Representative

Have you ever been inspired by the actions of people on the front lines of civil rights struggles, environmental issues, a neighborhood effort to influence property tax reform or the proposed construction of a “Big Box” store? Many of us have watched the evening news and cheered or chided the passion fueled exploits of protesters and proponents of every kind from the relative safety of our comfortable sofas. It’s so much easier that way. Sure, it may be easier, but armchair activism has rarely changed the world for the better. Most Americans view advocating for public causes as something better left for people more passionate, knowledgeable and politically well-connected than the citizens residing under their own roof. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Recently, PAACE members and supporters of adult and family literacy education have been successful at educating legislators about the value of our programs, but the battle is far from over. Efforts by PAACE and others in the field demonstrate the power of ordinary people to influence public policy and positively impact the funding decisions that politicians make. Simply put—advocacy works.

That’s why the PAACE Board of Directors, regional representatives and legislative committee chair JoAnn Weinberger organized advocacy workshop sessions held at locations across the state throughout May and June. With help from legislative consultant John Weidman, PAACE regional representatives Emmett Baxendell (Western), Ruth Love-Schooley (Central) and Joe Morales (Eastern) facilitated a total of six two-hour sessions between May 26 and June 8.

Although attendance for these innovative new sessions was relatively low, enthusiasm was high and participants left with renewed confidence as well as a packet full of practical advice for effective advocacy. Session information included strategies for establishing positive working relationships with legislators and their staff. Facilitators also provided advice about crafting concise and informative messages to inform policy makers about issues important to students, practitioners and the community

Initial feedback from the sessions has been very positive and participants expressed the need for ongoing advocacy training. The PAACE board, regional representatives and legislative committee welcome your questions and comments related to engaging in effective advocacy for your program. Regardless of program size, student demographics or the structure of your organization, advocacy is essential to your work as an educator. Everyone who believes in the value of adult and family literacy education should be engaged in advocacy at some level.

Whatever you do, don’t just sit there. There is no advocacy without action. Find out what you can do as an individual and as a PAACE member to make your voice heard and your wishes known in Harrisburg and Washington D.C. For more information, contact your regional representative or log onto the PAACE website and click on the “Advocacy” tab to access useful resources. Make an effort and you’ll make a difference!

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Continuing Higher Education (CHE)
Rebecca Sterley Honored by NACADA
by Kathy Chrisman, Ph.D., Carlow University, CEA/PA President

Rebecca Sterley

One of our most illustrious colleagues, Rebecca Sterley, member and secretary of the CEA/PA Executive Board and Director of the Faculty Advisor Support Center at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP), has been singularly honored by the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA).

Rebecca has been informed that her presentation, "Academic Advising via Online Communication: Bearing the Facts While Avoiding Cyber and Legal Bear Traps," at the NACADA Region 2 conference, held in Lancaster, PA, on March 22 - 24, 2006, "...has been selected as the Best of Region 2!" With this distinction, Rebecca has also been invited to repeat her presentation at NACADA's national conference to be held October 18-21, 2006, in Indianapolis, Indiana. Along with the invitation comes an offer of financial support for the NACADA national conference registration fee and/or travel expenses.

When asked about this honor and the value of NACADA activities, Rebecca said, "I believe the great and valuable thread of NACADA...is the across the board kindness of NACADA professionals to their members. I have found in various circumstances, whether through a conference or communicating to NACADA for research and information, a truly solid professional compassion to assist others. I find it greatly refreshing that NACADA professionals graciously extend themselves to lead the less experienced forward - and in turn - they then lead others forward as well. The qualities of personal and professional attention, mentorship, leadership, and welcoming comradeship are some of the great attributes of NACADA."

Rebecca has long been regarded by her CEA/PA colleagues and friends as a most imaginative and energetic presenter. Her workshops at the PAACE Midwinter Conference are always well-attended and highly regarded. Now the rest of the higher education world knows it, too!

Our sincere congratulations, Rebecca, on another job well done!

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Latest OVAE Review Newsletter Published

The latest edition of the OVAE Review has been published to the web. It features articles about community colleges working to increase America's competitiveness and a new initiative to improve GED math teachers' skills in the classroom.

Read the review at: www.ed.gov/news/newsletters/ovaereview/2006/053106.html

Bridges to Opportunity Conference
Long Island City, Queens, New York
October 27-28, 2006

The conference will offer professionals from around the U.S. an opportunity to come together to:

*strategize how to develop effective systems to support workforce development for English Language Learners
*share lessons learned from experiences and build a knowledge base that can serve as a resource in this field, and
*identify what works in workforce development for English Language Learners and make recommendations for next steps.

More information at www.lagcc.cuny.edu/ace/bridges/

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

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!

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