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| Winter 2001 Vol. 24, No. 4 | |||
| PAACE Adult Education Midwinter Conference --- February 7-9, 2001 Details and Registration Materials at /conferences.htm
And Why Are You NOT a Member?
In my most diplomatic manner I respond, "Well, you know, the organizational membership is not supposed to take the place of individuals becoming members of the organization. We encourage each person who is involved in adult continuing education to join PAACE." This is it -- my last President’s Message -- and I find myself preaching to the choir. I know that most, if not all, of you who read this newsletter are already members of PAACE, and probably have been so for many years. So, this message may not be for you, but it is your message to deliver. And while most of us who work in any capacity in adult continuing education are members, many more are not. We are missing as members many of our co-workers, many of our staff, many of our colleagues, and many of our institutions. Ever since I have been associated with PAACE we have always talked about reaching that magic and still elusive 1,000th member. One thousand members from such a wide constituency of practitioners, participants, and providers should be easy to attain. It has not been. We seem to hover at the mid-900 level and have never been able to get much above that. As I travel across the state and talk to people who are in the field of adult education, the number of professionals who are not part of this or any other professional association amazes me. We talk a lot about professionalism, staff development, standards, and advocacy for the rights of our learners, but fail to realize that participation, through membership in one of the most respected adult education associations in the country, is a way to promote, support, and disseminate our research, best practices and knowledge. Annual membership dues are only $30 for an individual, such a small amount to add your strength to our numbers As professionals who have reaped the rewards of the research, advocacy, and training that PAACE has provided, we all need to support, through membership, its work and purpose. Let us make this first year that our former membership chair, Dave Fluke is no longer with us, the year that we commit ourselves to reaching the goal of becoming an association 1,000 strong It has truly been an honor to serve as your president. I want to personally thank the board members, committee chairs, and regional representatives for their hard work and commitment over the last year. The organization is strong and its strength comes from the many members who volunteer to carry forward its goals and ideals. I wish the very best to the incoming president, Karen Mundie, of the Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council. I know that she will do an outstanding job as a representative of adult education in Pennsylvania. (E-mail your thoughts to Jeff Woodyard.) Increase in Funds for Adult Education Kudos for PAACE's Advocacy Manual PAACE's advocacy manual, Stand Up and Be Counted, was noted on the NLA discussion listserv recently. Wrote David J. Rosen, list moderator, of the manual: "It speaks with the voice of those who have worked as adult literacy advociates, who have moved from awareness and outrage to a clear and informed understanding of how legislators make their decisions; the manual explains clearly, simply, and with the authority of experience how to change this, how - with organizing -- to do something about this." Stand Up and Be Counted is available as a PDF file on our website at /legislative/paace3.pdf.
Highlights from PAACE board meeting minutes August-December 2000 August
September
October
November
December
Read the full minutes of every month’s meeting at /minutes.
by Ella Morin, Bureau of ABLE, Division Director Educating the Workforce for Today and Tomorrow The Workforce Investment Act had its roots in 1996 and 1997 when legislators in the U.S. House and Senate looked at the many federal workforce training and education programs then in place and attempted to pass legislation which would "maximize" the resources that provide education and job training services to the workforce. In Pennsylvania, economic development and workforce development guided the state’s efforts to realign and integrate Pennsylvania’s job-training and education programs into a "seamless delivery of services to Pennsylvania’s employers and job seekers to match job skills with job needs." Many parts of the law had an impact on the adult education and family literacy system. For example, the law created a collaborative planning process at the state level in order to maximize the integration of services for individuals, and Pennsylvania implemented a unified state plan.
As a member of the Workforce Division of PAACE, you recognize that workforce programs are important to our learners and particularly so in this current "work first" environment. Employment has become a core indicator of a state’s performance. However, we know there are adults who may now be in the workforce but who would benefit from basic skill enhancement programs, so our need becomes one of determining how we can reach these employed persons and provide them services as well as services to those who are looking for employment. What is our role in the provision of the "seamless" services to the learners? Those who know the basic skills needs of learners and the skills needs of employers must discover how we can provide the educational services so necessary for today’s workers and their employers and do it "seamlessly." Two projects from the Bureau of ABLE provide assistance to adult educators and, thereby, the learners and their employers in provision of services. The Foundation Skills project is a framework for work-based foundation skills that provides a common language and understanding of the foundation skills needs of Pennsylvania’s workforce. The project identified and developed tools and resources for CareerLink partners to provide a consistent and clear message about foundation skills and their role in the continuum of workforce development activities. The foundation skills framework is flexible and contains lists of competencies to be mastered in each of 21 foundation skills and knowledge areas. These 21 foundation skills are those identified as essential skills and knowledge for every worker and include more than reading, writing, and math. The project has also identified links to assessment options and occupational skill standards. This resource can be used for career and educational planning, goal setting, providing relevant work-based foundation skills instruction, and staff development. Another project, PA WIN, offers affiliation for adult educators interested in enhancing their abilities and services to employers and workers through the selection and training of program developers. The project assists adult education providers in developing their capacity to provide foundation skills training in the workplace by supporting the development and expansion of customized foundation skills instruction. Support includes marketing information, program development, training and technical assistance, and design of customized curriculum. You can learn more about these projects and what they can do for you at Midwinter Conference. Additionally, you are encouraged to attend the Workforce Division luncheon on Friday, February 9, 2001 to hear more about workforce development in Pennsylvania and to share how you are meeting the basic skills needs of Pennsylvania’s workforce. (E-mail your thoughts to Ella Morin.) Family Literacy by Mike Sobkowski, Bureau of ABLE, Division Co-Director Increased Funding for Even Start Great news for family literacy! The Literacy Involves Families Together (LIFT) Act has increased federal funding for Even Start by a whopping 67%, from $150 million to $250 million and reauthorized the program for another five years! We are not sure how much more Pennsylvania will receive but we should get our fair share. Some of the changes also addressed in the legislation include:
PAACE Midwinter Conference Looks like another great conference coming up. Two pre-conferences related to family literacy are planned: one on the Summer Reading Program and one facilitated by Maria Almendarez Barron, a Learning and Development Consultant, on "Raising Brainiacs," a discussion on how young brains learn and what can be done to enhance their learning. Marketplace Display: We had a great family literacy display last year in the Marketplace. Let's do it again this year but bigger and better! We need your posters, artwork, poems, pictures, stories, etc. that showcase your programs. I'll try to coordinate again this year but please feel free to contact Helen Guisler for details on registering for the marketplace. (E-mail your thoughts to Mike Sobkowski.) Adult Basic and Secondary Education (AB/SE) by Mary Kay Peterson, Division Director 'Hot Issues' at Midwinter The Adult Basic and Secondary Education division is looking forward to having an active presence at PAACE’s Midwinter Conference this year. The sessions aimed at AB/SE practitioners will be both informative and invigorating, giving participants that needed boost in returning to classrooms and programs refreshed and ready to inspire students. We need your input and activism! To paraphrase George Bernard Shaw, "[elections can be] the triumph of hope over experience!" See you there! (E-mail your thoughts to Mary Kay Peterson.)  A Tribute to Dave Fluke David Fluke’s career began as a music teacher in western Pennsylvania. He later served in the U.S. Army during the Korean Conflict. When he returned he attended the University of Pittsburgh, where he received a Master of Education degree. He worked as a teacher and later a guidance counselor in western Pennsylvania; Sussex, NJ; Springfield, Delaware County; and Troy, in northeastern Pennsylvania. There, he also initiated and administered an ABE/GED program and founded the newsletter "What’s the Buzz?" under grants from the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Bureau of Adult Basic and Literacy Education. He retired from the Troy Area High School in 1988, but continued as editor of the Buzz, covering new and pending legislation, grants, program innovations, upcoming events, and social issues. He also served many years as chair of PAACE’s membership committee; one of his last contributions was a new brochure introducing the organization to potential members. Besides his involvement in PAACE, Dave was a lifetime member of the National Education Association and the Pennsylvania State Education Association. He also served a number of years as president of the Troy Area Education Association. Dave traversed the Commonwealth untiringly to cover the news for the Buzz and to attend PAACE board meetings, nearly always with his wife Julie. Besides his wife of 35 years, a brother and a stepson survive him. PAACE and ABLE have lost a loyal friend and a dedicated servant in Dave Fluke’s passing.
Retiring This Year? Research Conference Call for Proposals COABE Conference Sixth International Conference on Teaching Statistics Information is available at the ICOTS-6 IPC Web site at http://www.beeri.org.il/icots6.
Since September 2000 Maureen Bash 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 January 15, 2000 To submit material for PAACE News, please e-mail the editor at | |||
The PAACE Midwinter Conference is close at hand and I am reminded of how important our organization is to the field of adult continuing education in Pennsylvania. I am also reminded of how many of us look forward to the Midwinter Conference as an opportunity to meet with our friends and colleagues from across the state, to discover what new resources and technologies are available to make our jobs easier, and to take in the wisdom and experience of those who are presenting their ideas and research in the many workshops, meetings, and pre-conferences that are available. And then, just as I get excited with anticipation about strolling through the marketplace in hopes of finding a new and innovative textbook or discovering some thought-provoking research that answers all my questions about portfolio vs. standard assessment, I get an e-mail: "Can you tell me if our organization has to pay for each person we send to the conference, if we have an organizational membership?"
Here are the final appropriation numbers for programs under the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act, Title II of the Workforce Investment Act:
At last year’s PAACE banquet Dave Fluke received the PAACE Service Award in absentia. It was ironic that he wasn’t there to accept the award because as the roving reporter and editor of What’s the Buzz? Dave was possibly the most ubiquitous person in Pennsylvania’s entire adult basic and literacy education community. We didn’t know last February that Dave had been diagnosed with cancer, and we didn’t know when he attended his last PAACE board meeting in April, where he finally was able to personally accept the plaque. Most of us still didn’t know Dave was ill until the word circulated shortly before his peaceful death on October 27, 2000.
