[NLA] Discussion: Faith-based Organizations
David J. Rosen
DJRosen at theworld.com
Wed May 1 20:26:28 EDT 2002
Hello Tricia,
Funding and other support for faith-based organizations is not new in
adult education, although the Bush (II) Administration has made it a
priority.
Some would say that, in any case, all adult literacy organizations are
faith-based since, without adequate funds, they operate on faith. ;-)
David J. Rosen
<DJRosen at theworld.com>
Tricia Donovan wrote:
> David-
> Is the piece about connecting to 'faith-based organizations' new? I
> don't recall this being an emphasis in program development?
> Tricia
>
> ----------
> From: "David J. Rosen" <DJRosen at theworld.com>
> To: nla at lists.literacytent.org
> Subject: [NLA] Discussion: Learning for the Future --Innovation or
> Wasteful Duplication?
> Date: Tue, Apr 30, 2002, 6:35 PM
>
>
> NLA Colleagues,
>
> I received an e-mail (see below) about a new project of the U.S.
> Department of Education's Office of Vocational and Adult Education
> (OVAE), a Web-based adult learning and literacy "resource kit." I
> wonder if others on the NLA electronic list received this e-mail,
> and if anyone had the reaction I did.
>
> This appears to me to be a duplication of services which are
> already provided by the National Institute For Literacy's LINCS
> project and its partners, such as the American Library
> Association, Canada's National Adult Literacy Database, and others.
>
> I wonder if the new OVAE leadership is not aware that:
>
> the USDE is one of the the three U.S. Government agencies that
> sponsor the NIFL;
> NIFL's Literacy, Information and Communications (LINCS) project
> has already catalogued and made available the kinds of full-text
> documents this Learning for the Future (LFF) project is seeking
> and that LINCS has powerful search engines and reviewed special
> collections which make it easy to find the best and most relevant
> documents; and
> many of the documents that the LFF project would like to find
> and catalogue, unfortunately, don't exist in our critically
> underfunded field. (You can't catalogue a lot of solid adult
> education research and proven curricula models if they don't exist.)
>
> Have I missed something here, or is OVAE out of touch with the
> needs and realities of the field? Let me hear what you think.
>
> I have copied this message to Kathy Chernus at MPR, Inc, the
> person who sent me the letter on behalf of OVAE. Perhaps she would
> like to see your reactions, or to join the discussion.
>
>
> David J. Rosen
> NLA List Moderator
>
>
> [The National Literacy Advocacy (NLA) is an independent electronic
> list; it is not sponsored by any organization. Its nearly 700
> subscribers include adult literacy/basic education/ESOL
> practitioners (teachers, tutors, administrators, librarians,
> curriculum developers, researchers and others,) adult learners and
> others who are interested in the field of adult literacy education.]
>
> -------- Original Message -------- Subject: Invitation from the
> Office of Vocational and Adult Education Date: 09 Apr 02 10:06:39
> -0400 From: Kathy Chernus <kchernus at mprinc.com>
> <mailto:kchernus at mprinc.com> Reply-To: Kathy Chernus
> <kchernus at mprinc.com> <mailto:kchernus at mprinc.com> To: David Rosen
> <djrosen at world.std.com> <mailto:djrosen at world.std.com>
>
> April 9, 2002
>
>
> Dear Mr. Rosen:
>
> On behalf of the Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE), U.S.
> Department of Education, we are writing to share some information
> with you
> about a new adult learning and literacy initiative, Learning For
> the Future
> (LFF), and to invite you to participate in this effort.
>
> The USDOEs Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE), under the
> leadership of Assistant Secretary Carol DAmico, is committed to
> finding new
> ways to expand and strengthen adult education programs to ensure
> that the
> millions of American adults who function at the lowest levels of
> literacy
> have the opportunity to improve their reading, mathematics and problem
> solving skills. Learning For the Future is designed to draw on the
> collective wisdom and work of researchers and practitioners in the
> areas of
> building community partnerships, adult learning theory, adult
> basic education
> (ABE), English as a Second Language (ESL), adult secondary
> education (AS
> E)
> ,
> GED and workforce development. MPR Associates, Inc. is partnering
> with
> the Department on this initiative.
>
> Learning For the Future
>
> LFFs goal is to make quality adult education programs accessible
> to far
> more adults than currently receive services, especially those who
> perform
> at the lowest levels of literacy. The following objectives will
> guide LFF
> in the first year of the initiative:
>
> Strengthen the capacity of communities to deliver high quality adult
> basic education, GED preparation, and English as a Second Language
> (ESL)
> training;
> Ensure that the current federal/state-based adult education system is
> connected to faith-based organizations, empowerment and enterprise
> zones,
> local literacy councils and other volunteer organizations, library
> organizations, and workplaces; and
> Encourage providers to collect and analyze learner performance
> data so
> they can accurately assess the impact they are having on raising
> literacy
> levels, earning a GED,
> or
> other goals adults may have, and improve
> curriculum and instruction as a result.
> Several products will be developed and activities undertaken to
> accomplish these objectives. The initial step will be to create a
> set of tools
> that will provide support to communities that are eager to meet
> the learning
> goals of adults, especially those with low literacy skills. These
> will be
> available in a web-based resource kit housed on OVAEs website.
>
> Web-Based Resource Kit
>
> There are a number of different ways that you may wish to
> participate in
> Learning for the Future. Our immediate need is to locate
> materials, such
> as research, toolkits, "how-tos," and websites that would be useful to
> communities interested in developing or strengthening their adult
> education/workforce development programs. The kit will include
> complete articles
> or tools if appropriate, the URLs for resources that are available
> directly
> on-line, and links to other websites for those that are eith
> er avai
> lable
> for purchase or in print only.
>
> Some of the topics for the resource kit that are under consideration
> include:
>
> Effective community partnerships, including how to form, fund and
> sustain them;
> Recruitment and quality assurance for ABE, ASE, GED and ESL teachers;
> Learner recruitment, motivation and retention;
> Adult learning theory and its application to adult basic education;
> Models of effective teaching methodologies;
> Strategies for assessment and instruction for low literacy adults,
> adults with limited English speaking skills, and those with learning
> disabilities;
> Definitions and examples of quality curricula;
> Technology-based instruction;
> Professional development for adult education teachers that enhances
> learner achievement;
> Workforce development; and
> Program evaluation using learner outcome data.
>
> Plans for the website also include site profiles that highlight both
> proven practices a
> nd commo
> n challenges for a group of community-based adult
> education programs.
> If you are familiar with any research, user-friendly toolkits,
> "how-tos"
> or websites that you think should be considered for inclusion in the
> resource kit, please complete the attached from and return it to:
>
> MPR Center for Curriculum and Professional Development
> Attn: Adult Education Resources
> 2401 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Suite 410
> Washington DC, 20037
> Telephone: 202/973-0244
> Fax: 202/466-6996
>
> If you prefer, you can e-mail your suggestions to me at
> kchernus at mprinc.com <mailto:kchernus at mprinc.com> .
>
> The resource kit will be a living document that continues to grow and
> change with new information and materials. The first edition of
> the resource
> kit will be launched in the next few months. We will let you know
> when it
> will be available on-line and will send you periodic updates on the
> progress of the initiative.
>
> We think this is an opportunity to
> help adult
> education and workforce
> development practitioners meet the special needs of adult learners
> by making
> relevant research and usable tools more accessible. We hope you
> agree.
> Thank you for considering this request.
>
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Kathy Chernus
>
>
>
> Kathy Chernus
> Senior Associate
> MPR Center for Curriculum and Professional Development
> 2401 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
> Suite 410
> Washington, D.C. 20037
> 202-973-0244
>
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.literacytent.org/pipermail/nla-nifl-archive/attachments/20020501/fa44f9dc/attachment.htm
More information about the Nla-nifl-archive
mailing list