[NLA] NIFL Board

[Sally Gabb]

Greetings NLA - have been lurking on the NIFL board question for some time - 
as a life long adult educator agree that continued focus on adult education 
for NIFL is crucial.  I also support the position of Archie Willard that a 
learner board member indicates a commitment to the vital importance of AELS 
in the US. It is my belief that NIFL is more than the sum of its projects.  
Having a federal think tank for adult education has energized the field 
beyond the individual projects.

As to your questions for the potential board, Tom, in light of the 
importance of maintaining an adult literacy focus, I suggest that such 
project focused questions should only pre presented following an analysis of 
the importance of an adult education presence beyond the OVAE that pursues 
vision and research to support the field.  The presence of NIFL indicates to 
the public that adult education, (the AELS as this list has so painstakingly 
established)is not only vital to the health of the nation, but has powerful 
contributions to make to the field of education and literacy overall.

The overriding context for evaluation of NIFL's accomplishments will only be 
provided by a NIFL board that is knowledgeable about and committed to life 
long literacy and adult education.  In the current environment, adult 
education could easily slip from the minimal level of public consciousness 
we have work so hard to gain.  I concur with those who have supported board 
members fully experienced with and supporting the work we do.  We cannot 
afford to lose ground, no matter how severely contested.


>From: Thomas Sticht <tsticht at aznet.net>
>Reply-To: nla at lists.literacytent.org
>To: nla at lists.literacytent.org
>Subject: [NLA] NIFL Board
>Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 14:03:20 -0700
>
>I think it is about ten years since the NIFL got underway. So it is
>about time for a ten year review of past accomplishments and future
>directions. It is not unusual when a new slate of Board members take on
>the policy oversight of an organization for the Board members to perform
>a review of the organization's ongoing and planned activities to
>determine if the activities should stay the same, be changed in some
>manner, extended, or perhaps dropped and replaced with other activities.
>I am wondering if the NLA list members have some ideas about how a new
>Board might go about evaluating the past, present and proposed adult
>literacy activities of the NIFL to determine if the NIFL should stay its
>present course or take a somewhat different direction in the next ten
>years of its existence.
>
>For instance, the major activities of the NIFL in adult literacy
>education as I understand them have been the Equipped for the Future
>project, now in existence for some 6 or 7 years I guess-should it
>continue? Why or why not?; work on learning disabilities that lead to
>the Bridges project that is now involved in disseminating LD
>information-should it continue? Why or why not?; the LINCS internet
>system with various lists for discussion of different literacy
>topics-should it continue? Why or why not?, some awareness campaign
>activities that I'm not certain many are aware of, some internships as
>NIFL Fellows and a few odds and ends of R & D and other projects-should
>these things continue? Why or why not?
>
>I'm wondering how a new Board might go about determining the value of
>all these activities and new ones planned such as disseminating more
>research into practice. How effective have the past and ongoing projects
>been in improving the adult literacy education field? How is this to be
>determined? What should new directions be?
>
>Are there any thoughts among the NLA list members about these types of
>questions the new NIFL Board might want to ask?
>
>Tom Sticht
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