[AAACE-NLA] Update: NIFL Director Letter Sign-on - March4thDeadline!

[Catherine B. King]

Daphne:

Thank you for providing such a letter for us.

Catherine

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Daphne Greenberg" <epedgg at panther.gsu.edu>
To: "National Literacy Advocacy List sponsored by AAACE"
<aaace-nla at lists.literacytent.org>
Sent: Friday, February 27, 2004 7:48 AM
Subject: [AAACE-NLA] Update: NIFL Director Letter Sign-on -
March4thDeadline!


> WOW! In less than 24 hours 14 people have already signed on!!!!!!! This is
> FANTASTIC!!!!
> By the way, I am sorry that my initial posting was poorly formatted-so I
am
> sending the announcement out again, and this time it will hopefully be
> easier to read and follow. Here it is:
>
> Action: NIFL Director Letter Sign-on - March 4th Deadline!
>
> Colleagues:
>
> We understand that a new, permanent National Institute for Literacy (NIFL)
> director will be chosen this year, possibly as soon as the end of June.
We
> also understand that the NIFL Advisory Board is currently drafting
selection
> criteria for a national search that will be launched in 1-2 weeks.
>
> If you scroll down, below you will find two letters, one addressed to the
> NIFL Advisory Board, one to the Interagency Group that governs NIFL. They
> contain suggested guidelines for selecting a new director. These
guidelines
> were originally drafted by the National Coalition for Literacy (NCL) and
> signed by 12 Representatives and 18 Senators from last winter, 2002 (To
see
> the historical documents go to: http://savenifl.org/congress_letter.html
> http://savenifl.org/senate_letter.html)
>
> Since we understand everyone is busy, we have come up with a simple way
for
> us to voice common concerns with those who govern NIFL.  Follow these
steps:
>
> 1) Scroll down and read the two letters
>
> 2) If you agree with the content of the letters and would like us to send
> them on your behalf, send an email to newNIFLdirector at yahoo.com that
reads:
> "Please add my name to both NIFL Director letters." Be sure to include
your
> name, City/town and state.  Though you may choose not to do so, it is
> important to include a title and organizational affiliation.  Our titles
> give credibility to our statement.
>
> It is important that we speak with one unified voice - adult and family
> literacy advocates and professional organizations, the NCL, and
legislators
> who all believe a permanent NIFL director should be fully informed in
adult
> and family literacy practices and committed to the NIFL mission and
> functions described in the National Literacy Act of 1991 and Workforce
> Investment Act of 1998.
>
> Below are the letters:
>
> ====================================================
> 1) This letter will be sent to the Secretaries of the U.S. Department of
> Education, the U.S. Department of Labor, and the U.S. Department of Health
&
> Human Services, who head the Interagency Group:
>
> As the NIFL Board begins its search for a permanent Executive Director, we
> would like to take this opportunity to share with you our views regarding
> the qualities needed for this critical position.  We respectfully ask the
> Interagency Group to include the criteria described below when reviewing
the
> Advisory Board's recommendation.
>
> The mission of the NIFL, as originally set out in the National Literacy
Act
> of 1991 and maintained in the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, is to
> provide leadership primarily in the fields of adult and family literacy.
As
> the NIFL is a resource for basic education instruction for all ages, and
as
> the NIFL Advisory Board has impressive backgrounds in early childhood and
> post-secondary education, it is most important for a new NIFL Director to
> have expertise in research, development, and policy on adult and family
> literacy issues.
>
> Over one year ago, twelve members of the House of Representatives and
> eighteen Senators wrote you sharing their concerns regarding the NIFL
> Directorship and requested that you consider several qualities as
guidelines
> when selecting a NIFL Director.  We ask that you strongly consider these
as
> criteria, that you select a NIFL Director who is:
>
> - conversant in adult education issues, research, and the diverse array of
> providers that comprise the delivery system;
>
> - passionate about building an adult learning system that integrates
> services;
>
> - knowledgeable of the variety of models and collaborative arrangements;
and
>
> - articulate in describing how adult literacy and language education
> enhances pre-K-12, post-secondary, and vocational education, job training,
> health care, welfare reform, economic development, and post-prison
success.
>
> We encourage you to hire a permanent director of NIFL who has a strong
> commitment to and track record in adult and family literacy, and is
> committed to preserving the mission and functions of the NIFL as outlined
in
> the 1991 and 1998 legislation.
>
> ===================================================
> 2) This letter will be sent to the NIFL Advisory Board:
>
> As you begin your search for a permanent Executive Director, we would like
> to take this opportunity to share with you our views regarding the
qualities
> needed for this critical position.  We respectfully ask the NIFL Advisory
> Board to include the criteria below when considering candidates to
recommend
> to the Interagency Group.
>
> The mission of the NIFL, as originally set out in the National Literacy
Act
> of 1991 and maintained in the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, is to
> provide leadership primarily in the fields of adult and family literacy.
As
> the NIFL is a resource for basic education instruction for all ages, and
as
> the NIFL Advisory Board has impressive backgrounds in early childhood and
> post-secondary education, it is most important for a new NIFL Director to
> have expertise in research, development, and policy on adult and family
> literacy issues.
>
> Over one year ago, twelve members of the House of Representatives and
> eighteen Senators wrote the Secretaries of the U.S. Department of
Education,
> the U.S. Department of Labor, and the U.S. Department of Health & Human
> Services, sharing their concerns regarding the NIFL Directorship and
> requested that they consider several qualities as guidelines when
selecting
> a NIFL Director.  We ask that you strongly consider these as criteria when
> you review candidates for recommendation to the Interagency Group.
>
> We ask that you recommend a candidate for a NIFL Director who is:
>
> - conversant in adult education issues, research, and the diverse array of
> providers that comprise the delivery system;
>
> - passionate about building an adult learning system that integrates
> services;
>
> - knowledgeable of the variety of models and collaborative arrangements;
and
>
> - articulate in describing how adult literacy and language education
> enhances pre-K-12, post-secondary, and vocational education, job training,
> health care, welfare reform, economic development, and post-prison
success.
>
> We encourage you to make a recommendation for a permanent director of NIFL
> who has a strong commitment to and track record in adult and family
> literacy, and is committed to preserving the mission and functions of the
> NIFL as outlined in the 1991 and 1998 legislation.
> ====================================================
>
> As a reminder, in order for us to send these letters on your behalf:
>
> By Thursday, March 4, send an email to newNIFLdirector at yahoo.com that
reads:
> "Please add my name to both NIFL Director letters." Be sure to include
your
> name, city/town and state.  Though you may choose not to do so, it is
> important to include a title and organizational affiliation.  Our titles
> give credibility to our statement.
>
>
> Thanks!
>
> Daphne Greenberg
> Center for the Study of Adult Literacy
> Georgia State University
>
> Jackie Taylor
> Vice-Chair
> Association of Adult Literacy Professional Developers
>
> David J. Rosen, Ed.D.
> Adult Literacy Advocate
> Boston, Massachusetts
>
> David Collings
> List Moderator
> AAACE-NLA
>
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