NLA Discussion: What is the Right Program Size?

[JCretella at aol.com]

David..

When you wrote "one answer given here is to invest in what works 
regardless of  size" is probably the best overall answer to the size of a 
program.The first question to ask is What will your community support? 
That may sound strange to those of you see "need" all around. What difference 
should local support make if there is need? In my community and other in Ct., 
funding is federal, state and local...And I am not just referring to 
dollars....but to genuine community support...David refers to other variables 
which can make a difference...the scope of a program..What do you offer? The 
quality of  a staff...teachers and support personnel...and let's not
assume a part-time staff and faculty cannot be just as effective as full-time 
staff...80% of adult educators nationally are part-timers...It is how they 
are trained that is most important...Child care is a must  and so is 
counseling...Yes, they cost money....sufficient clerical help..some are paid 
and some are volunteers...access to computers and other technology in some 
form...and of course, some kind of follow-up....it is not enough to have
good intentions to help learners if you don't have the right community 
support...I'm sure some of you are saying to yourself..he's  speaking about 
adult education and literacy in a state which is way ahead...Remember, we ran 
into the same obstacles..lack of awareness, lack of caring, lack of funds, 
the fear that adult program funding would mean less for K-12., administrative 
illiteracy, all of those obstacles and more...That's where our public 
advocacy came in...the more people who believed that the quality of 
everyone's life was dependent on everyone's level of education, the more 
support we received...it is not enough to just say it is somebody's right
to learn...that needs to be turned into some form of action..Thanks for raising 
the issue of program and class size and the other variables, David....and 
thanks to everyone for all of the insights..a good discussion...

JCretella at aol.com