NLA Discussion: What is the Right Program Size?

[David J Rosen]

NLA Colleagues,

I would like to pursue this question of program size, and to invite you
to think about this with me, if you like. I believe this is an
important variable to consider in providing quality adult education
services to a community. And I am not sure what the right answers are yet.

If your state had significant new resources for adult education how would
you like to see this money used? (I realize that this isn't true for many
states, but it has been  -- and I hope will continue to be -- true in my
state. I think -- with organized advocacy -- this could become true for
many other states.) Would you invest in large programs, and if so, do you
think there is a limit to growth, one which would cause them to become
less effective, less tailored to students' needs? Would you invest in
small, community-based programs and help them become larger programs?
Is there a limit to their growth, beyond which they cannot be responsive
to their communities?  Would you create new programs? If so, of what
size? Would you ignore the question of size altogether?

One answer given here is to invest in what works, regardless of size.  Several 
people have said that other variables at the class level are more
important to worry about. I would agree that class variables such as size are 
important, but don't the following factors -- which may in part depend on
a program's size -- also make an important difference in quality of
service to students, whether a program, for example, has sufficient
resources to:

+ offer a range of on-site educational and personal counseling services
+ have teachers with specialization and training in math, science,
  health, learning disabilities, biliteracy, etc.
+ have stable, full-time staff positions which offer fair salaries
  and benefits
+ offer on-site childcare
+ have a facility which is clean, comfortable and completely accessible
+ offer all levels of education from basic literacy through preparation
  for post-secondary education
+ offer a full range of services during the day and in the evening (and
  maybe Saturday, too)
+ have sufficient clerical help to maintain an effective management
  information system
+ provide regular, daily access to computers for teachers and students
+ Do follow-up studies on how effective the program has been in helping
  students achieve their goals

For those of you who work in small programs with dedicated teachers and
services, but without the resources to provide one or more of the above,
would you want to grow larger in order to provide many or all of these
services?  If so, is there some point at which you would worry that you
were growing too large, that you might be losing something valuable in
being small?

I think one reasonable "no" to the question: "Would you like to grow
larger to offer all the above?" might be "Our program wants to provide
just a part of this, we want to offer just beginning literacy, or just
pre-vocational ESOL services, or...."  We have *partners* that provide
child care, counseling, ABE services, job training and the other services.
We want to remain small and do what we do well, but we are part of a
larger partnership." If the small program were in fact part of a larger
collaboration that could guarantee these services to students, I think
this might work.  Does anyone have any examples of this working in their
community? 

I am concerned about two kinds of size problems: programs which are too
small (and not part of a community service collaboration) to provide the
full range of quality services which students deserve; and programs which
are too large and bureaucratic to pay attention to individual learners'
needs and goals. What I am asking for help with is: what are some models
which are not too small or too large to provide high quality adult
education services?

David J. Rosen
<DJRosen at world.std.com>